The Strand Magazine’s Top 25 Books of 2017 These are the Strand Magazine’s pick for the Top 25 Books of 2017, amongst many others. 1. The Fifth Petal by Brunonia Barry (Crown) 2. Two Days Gone by Randall Silvis (Sourcebooks Landmark) 3. Follow Me Down by Sherri Smith (Forge Books) 4. Where Dead Men Meet […]
Category Archives: Reviews
Review of the Week: The Ways of Wolfe: A Border Noir By James Carlos Blake
Review of the Week: The Ways of Wolfe: A Border Noir By James Carlos Blake Mysterious Press 2017 $25.00 Fans of Rex Stout should be forewarned: this book is not about the legendary orchid-loving detective who weighed one-seventh of a ton. Instead, this book is part of a family saga (the earlier books are as, […]
Book Review of the Week: The Last Hack: A Jack Parlabane Thriller
Book Review of the Week: The Last Hack: A Jack Parlabane Thriller By Christopher Brookmyre Atlantic Monthly Press 2017 $25.00 The Last Hack is the latest in the Jack Parlabane series. Beginning in 1996, they focus on an investigative journalist’s digging into mysteries and the ensuing misadventures. At this point in the series, Parlabane […]
BOOK REVIEW: You Gotta Be Dirty: The Outlaws Motorcycle Club In & Around Wisconsin
BOOK REVIEW: You Gotta Be Dirty: The Outlaws Motorcycle Club In & Around Wisconsin By Michael Grogan Badger Wordsmith 2016 $14.95 In this true-crime history, Michael Grogan looks at the criminally inclined motorcycle gangs that were active around the southeastern Wisconsin area. Milwaukee is the hometown of Harley-Davidson, and though most motorcyclists are respectable […]
Book Review: The Darkness of Evil
Book Review: The Darkness of Evil Alan Jacobson has spent his twenty-year writing career delving into the deep reaches of the criminal mind, and The Darkness of Evil, his seventh novel featuring FBI profiler Karen Vail, is another fine entry in the canon. Drawing on his many years of work with the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis […]
Book Review: The Trophy Child By Paula Daly
Book Review: The Trophy Child By Paula Daly The Trophy Child By Paula Daly Grove Press 2017 $25.00 The Trophy Child is an exploration as to what makes a dysfunctional family. Is it the combined flaws of each member, or is it just one toxic person who poisons everything? In Paula Daly’s terrific […]
Review of the Week: The Whole Art of Detection
Review of the Week: The Whole Art of Detection The Whole Art of Detection: Lost Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes By Lyndsay Faye Mysterious Press 2017 $25.00 Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson have inspired generations of writers to continue adding to their adventures long after Sir Arthur Conan Doyle set down his pen. Lyndsay Faye […]
Book Review of the Week: Walk Away by Sam Hawken
Book Review of the Week: Walk Away by Sam Hawken WALK AWAY By Sam Hawken New York: Mulholland, 2017. $26.00 Walk Away opens on New Year’s Eve in Miami. Camaro Espinoza (who made her debut in 2015’s The Night Charter), a former combat medic moonlighting as captain and sole crew member of a deep-sea charter […]
Women Writers for a Waning Winter
Women Writers for a Waning Winter As winter days wane into the eventual thaw of spring, here are a few recent offerings from the first ladies of felonious fiction to help you capture the slow burn. First up is Lisa Gardner’s outstanding Right Behind You (Dutton), which revisits FBI profilers Pierce Quincy and Rainie Conner, […]
Book Review of the Week: Feeding Hannibal: A Connoisseur’s Cookbook
Book Review of the Week: Feeding Hannibal: A Connoisseur’s Cookbook By Janice Poon Titan Books 2016 $29.95 I have voiced my admiration for the television series Hannibal in the past (https://strandmag.com/dvd-review-hannibal-season-three/). Not only did the show manage to adapt the well-explored subject matter in a fresh and creative manner that still somehow remained remarkably loyal […]
Book Review: The Beautiful Dead
Book Review: The Beautiful Dead The Beautiful Dead By Belinda Bauer Atlantic Monthly Press 2016 $25.00 The Beautiful Dead is the story of Eve Singer, a television reporter specializing in crime cases. When a twist of fate makes her the obsession of a serial killer, she becomes a pawn in the killer’s game […]
Top Ten Thrillers of 2016
Top Ten Thrillers of 2016 By John B. Valeri Let me preface this list by noting that it’s based solely on books published this calendar year that I’ve had the pleasure of reading. No doubt, there are other exceptional titles that I have yet to acquaint myself with. In fact, I highly suspect that my […]
