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 […]
Category Archives: Reviews
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 […]
Book Review: A VERY PUKKA MURDER By Arjun Raj Gaind
Book Review: A VERY PUKKA MURDER By Arjun Raj Gaind A VERY PUKKA MURDER By Arjun Raj Gaind Scottsdale: Poisoned Pen Press, 2016. $26.95 One of India’s best known comic book writers and the originator of several critically acclaimed, bestselling graphic novels, Arjun Raj Gaind is coveting a new audience with A Very Pukka […]
Book of The Week: The Old Man By Thomas Perry
Book of The Week: The Old Man By Thomas Perry The Old Man By Thomas Perry Mysterious Press 2017 $26.00 The Old Man is a thriller that illustrates that advancing years don’t necessarily mean that one’s life has to be dull and devoid of adventure. As the novel opens, Dan Chase is retired, his […]
Book Review: Every Man a Menace by Patrick Hoffman
Book Review: Every Man a Menace by Patrick Hoffman Every Man a Menace By Patrick Hoffman Atlantic Monthly Press 2016 $25.00 Patrick Hoffman’s Every Man a Menace is a panoramic international crime novel in which the action spans both hemispheres. The story revolves around drug-smuggling: MDMA is making its way to California, and a […]
Book Review: The One Man by Andrew Gross
The One Man by Andrew Gross “It begins with two men….they were running.” The old man looks out, but this time, his eyes are alive with memory. “Running for their lives,” He says as the prologue ends and Gross’ tale commences. In the short few pages of the prologue / opening, I found myself […]