Boundary Waters is the the book in the Cork O’Connor series, set in the forests and lake areas of the north end of Minnesota. Cork is a former Tamarack County Sheriff who is hired to find a missing woman (Shiloh), somewhere in the Boundary Waters area. With FBI agents and Indian guides they head out in canoes to find her, but there are others also looking … Continue reading →
Tuesdays with Morrie is an account of the author’s friendship with a university professor over many years, culminating in Tuesday visits in Morrie’s last weeks as he succumbed to Lou Gehrig’s Disease. With failing limbs and organs, he finds positive outlooks to each phase. to the end. Albom recorded the conversations and provides both the dialogues and his own observations. This is a different kind … Continue reading →
I read 25 books in 2025 and I am on track for about the same in 2026. Some books are rewarding, some are a bit of a struggle to finish, some are abandoned, and some are rereads. Some short reviews of recently finished books are included here: Cockroaches by Jo Nesbo Book # 2 in the Harry Hole series, translated from Norwegian A Nordic-noir … Continue reading →
Never Flinch is the book in the Holly Gibney/The Outsider series by Stephen King. There is a threatening stalker and a serial killer on the loose and Holly and her colleagues are trying to protect a Women’s Rights Advocate, a singer, and innocents targeted by the killer. The novel starts slowly and accelerates to a thriller ending, but of all the books in this series, … Continue reading →
Prodigal Summer is an incredibly rich narrative of a few people living in bottomlands/rural areas and forests in the Appalachian area. Three stories are told, taking turns, but eventually intertwining. The main characters have some disconnection with family, friends, neighbors, and their own past. At the same time, they are reconciling their connection to nature, finding a more balanced view and a more natural … Continue reading →
The Dogs of Riga is the second book in the Wallander series by Swedish author Henning Mankell. There are 10 books in the series, published from 1991 to 2014. I have read 5 of them and over time, I hope to read them all. Since Kurt Wallander is a deeply flawed character and the Nordic noir stories are dark and sometimes harsh, I … Continue reading →
Rogue Protocol is the third book in the popular Murderbot Diaries. Murderbot is a sentient cyborg, a Security Unit which has hacked its governor module. As a “free agent”, it is neither a robot, nor a human. The stories are told from its point-of-view. From its time as a Security Unit protecting crews on missions on interstellar ships and on planets, it continues to protect … Continue reading →
Shake Hands Forever is a crime/mystery novel by Ruth Rendell, the 9th book (of 24) in the Inspector Wexford series. The author had written over 50 books in all, mostly psychological mysteries and thrillers. She had won many awards and had sold over 20 million copies. I have been reading her books for 40 years, completing about 22 to date. Shake Hands Forever starts with … Continue reading →
Razorblade Tears is a thriller novel by S.A. Crosby. Two hard ex-cons unite after their sons are brutally murdered. Although the fathers were homophobes and were distanced from their gay sons, they did love them in their own silent and rough manner. One of the fathers is black and the other is a somewhat racist white man, but they find common ground to seek … Continue reading →
Return to Sender is the 21st book in the Walt Longmire series by Craig Johnson. This novel is another entertaining yarn, on par with the other books in the series. Having now read 20 of the books, I value the Longmire stories as a whole. Return to Sender is set in the Red Desert in Wyoming with Walt doing an investigation for a family … Continue reading →
