The Stacks
All book reviews
412 honest reviews across fiction, non-fiction, mystery, sci-fi, romance, and more.
Showing 121-144 of 412
15 Seconds
by Andrew Gross
15 Seconds by Andrew Gross 2012 review. A standalone thriller about a Florida cosmetic surgeon framed for a cop killing and forced to run as the noose tightens.
The Man With the Red Tattoo
by Raymond Benson
The Man with the Red Tattoo by Raymond Benson 2002 review. The final original James Bond continuation novel, set in Japan, with Tokyo Yakuza, a bioterror plot, and a return to Fleming-Japan territory.
Dead Heat
by Dick Francis
Dead Heat by Dick Francis 2007 review. Chef Max Moreton survives a gala poisoning at the Newmarket races and has to figure out who is killing his guests and why.
Silks
by Dick Francis
Silks by Dick Francis 2008 review. Geoffrey Mason is a barrister who rides as an amateur jockey on weekends, until his only racetrack friend turns up dead.
To Sail Beyond the Sunset
by Robert A. Heinlein
To Sail Beyond the Sunset by Robert A. Heinlein 1987 review. The final Heinlein novel, narrated by Maureen Johnson Long, mother of Lazarus Long, across a hundred and fifty years of Howard Families history.
The Cat Who Walks Through Walls
by Robert A. Heinlein
The Cat Who Walks Through Walls by Robert A. Heinlein 1985 review. A late-Heinlein World-As-Myth novel in which the writer Richard Ames is recruited into a multiverse-spanning conspiracy on Luna.
Alma Mater
by Rita Mae Brown
Alma Mater by Rita Mae Brown 2001 review. A coming-of-age novel set at a small Virginia women’s college about a senior who falls in love with her best friend during her last spring semester.
Rubyfruit Jungle
by Rita Mae Brown
Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown 1973 review. The landmark coming-of-age novel about Molly Bolt, a smart, queer Florida kid who refuses every social script she is handed.
Two of the Deadliest: New Tales of Lust, Greed, and Murder from Outstanding Women of Mystery
by Elizabeth George
Two of the Deadliest, edited by Elizabeth George review. A 2009 Sisters in Crime anthology of original lust-and-greed stories from 23 women crime writers including Patricia Smiley, Marcia Muller, and Carolyn Wheat.
A Moment on the Edge : 100 Years of Crime Stories by Women
by Elizabeth George
A Moment on the Edge: 100 Years of Crime Stories by Women, edited by Elizabeth George review. A 26-story anthology that traces a century of women crime writers from Anna Katharine Green to Susan Glaspell to Sara Paretsky.
The Scam
by Janet Evanovich
The Scam by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg 2015 review. The fourth Fox and O’Hare con-artist caper sends Kate and Nick to Hawaii to take down a casino-owning money launderer.
The Wrecker
by Clive Cussler
The Wrecker by Clive Cussler and Justin Scott 2009 review. Isaac Bell hunts a saboteur targeting the Southern Pacific Railroad in this second Van Dorn historical thriller.
The Chase
by Clive Cussler
The Chase by Clive Cussler 2007 review. A Van Dorn Detective Agency historical thriller set in 1906 about a bank robber called the Butcher Bandit and the man hunting him.
Thriller: Stories To Keep You Up All Night
by Lee Child
Thriller: Stories to Keep You Up All Night, edited by James Patterson and featuring Lee Child, review. A 30-author anthology that punches above its weight.
Make Me
by Lee Child
Make Me by Lee Child 2015 thriller review. Reacher rolls into a Mother Wells, South Dakota for a single name on a sign and stays for the bodies underneath the wheat.
Ed McBain / Evan Hunter : A Literary Companion
by Elizabeth Foxwell
Ed McBain Evan Hunter A Literary Companion by Erin E. MacDonald, with Elizabeth Foxwell. A reference work on the 87th Precinct and Blackboard Jungle author. Sharp, comprehensive.
The Long Good Dog
by Carol Lea Benjamin
The Long Good Dog by Carol Lea Benjamin review. The 6th Rachel Alexander novel. A Westminster Kennel Club case and Benjamin's most carefully observed dog-show writing.
The Wrong Dog
by Carol Lea Benjamin
The Wrong Dog by Carol Lea Benjamin review. The 5th Rachel Alexander mystery. A genetic-cloning case and the most morally complicated entry in the dog-mystery sequence.
The Robert B. Parker Companion
by Elizabeth Foxwell
The Robert B. Parker Companion by Elizabeth Foxwell review. A 2005 reference book on the Spenser novelist. Sharp critical-and-biographical assembly of the long career.
Cat's Claw
by Susan Wittig Albert
Cat's Claw by Susan Wittig Albert review. The 20th China Bayles mystery. A Pecan Springs cybercrime case, McQuaid as PI, and Albert's late-series form at its most confident.
Common Carnage
by Stephen Dobyns
Common Carnage by Stephen Dobyns review. A 1996 Saratoga mystery. Charlie Bradshaw works a Saratoga horse-racing case in his usual quietly observed register.
Science Fiction Culture
by Camille Bacon-Smith
Science Fiction Culture by Camille Bacon-Smith review. A 2000 ethnographic study of SF fandom and convention culture. The Enterprising Women follow-up with serious participant-observation rigor.
Wag the Dog
by Larry Beinhart
Wag the Dog by Larry Beinhart review. The 1997 reissue of American Hero with the title from the David Mamet film adaptation. A Hollywood producer fakes a war. Sharper than the movie.
The Librarian
by Larry Beinhart
The Librarian by Larry Beinhart review. A 2004 political satire about a young librarian recruited to organize a billionaire's archive. The Wag the Dog author's sharp post-9/11 form.