The Stacks
All book reviews
613 honest reviews across fiction, non-fiction, mystery, sci-fi, romance, and more.
Showing 601-613 of 613
Queenpin
by Megan Abbott
Abbott's noir homage about a young woman apprenticed to an aging mob accountant. Reads like Cain in heels.
Bury Me Deep
by Megan Abbott
Megan Abbott rewriting a real 1930s Phoenix murder case as a fever dream. Period noir with a feminist undertow.
Special Assignments
by Boris Akunin
Two Fandorin novellas in one volume. Akunin writing pastiche so well it stops being pastiche.
Chapter and Hearse : And Other Mysteries
by Catherine Aird
A short story collection from a quiet master of the English procedural. Best read one a night, the way you would eat a chocolate.
Sister Pelagia and the White Bulldog
by Boris Akunin
A nun-detective in 19th century Russia investigating a poisoned dog. Funnier and warmer than that summary suggests.
Transit
by Ben Aaronovitch
A Doctor Who Virgin New Adventures novel from the mid-90s. Better than it has any right to be, weirder than the show ever managed.
The Blade Itself
by Joe Abercrombie
Grimdark fantasy with a beating heart underneath the cynicism. Abercrombie writes the kind of characters you would cross a kingdom for.
The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide
by Douglas Adams
The collected Hitchhiker's books in one volume. If you have not read these, you have a treat ahead. If you have, you already know.
Digital Minimalism
by Cal Newport
Newport is at his most quietly persuasive here. Not a screed against phones, but a framework for getting your attention back.
It Ends with Us
by Colleen Hoover
Colleen Hoover at her most daring. A romance that refuses to be comfortable, and is more powerful for it.
The Midnight Library
by Matt Haig
A gorgeous concept executed with warmth and wit. The Midnight Library will make you think differently about the choices you have made - and the ones still ahead.
Deep Work
by Cal Newport
A wake-up call for knowledge workers everywhere. Newport makes a compelling case that the ability to focus deeply is the superpower of the 21st century.
Atomic Habits
by James Clear
The single best book on building good habits. Clear breaks down the science into a practical system anyone can follow - and actually stick with.