Author Archives: bseat

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

Posted on December 16, 2016 by bseat

Ove is a curmudgeon. He is resented by the neighbors for his relentless enforcement of the rules in the neighborhood. Every day he makes reconnaissance tours, morning and evening, taking down license numbers of cars who are parked illegally or … Continue reading →

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Bull Mountain by Brian Panowich

Posted on December 9, 2016 by bseat

Clayton Burroughs is a bit surprised when an agent from the ATF walks into his office. As sheriff of a small community in Georgia, a visit from an agent of a  federal agency was a rarity, but Clayton guessed that … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

The Unquiet Dead: A Novel by Ausma Zehanat Khan

Posted on December 2, 2016 by bseat

It shouldn’t be, but it is unusual to find a Muslim as the lead character in a book as one of the “good guys” rather than a terrorist. In the Unquiet Dead, Esa Khattak is just such a character. A second … Continue reading →

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Everyone Brave Is Forgiven by Chris Cleave

Posted on November 25, 2016 by bseat

Books about war are often peopled with characters who are unbelievably courageous or ignominious cowards right from the very beginning, cheating the reader of knowing why they became that way. In Everyone Brave is Forgiven, however, Cleave sets up a much … Continue reading →

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Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye

Posted on November 18, 2016 by bseat

You cannot help but be intrigued when the first sentence in a book is: “Of all my many murders, committed for love and for better reasons, the first was the most important.” But when a book really delivers on the … Continue reading →

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Before the Fall by Noah Hawley

Posted on November 11, 2016 by bseat

Scott Burroughs almost missed the plane. In fact he had expected it to have already left, but it was still sitting on the tarmac when he got out of his cab. It was bit embarrassing climbing aboard the private jet, … Continue reading →

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Speak: A novel by Louisa Hall

Posted on November 4, 2016 by bseat

What makes us human? What is memory? What is the difference between the human mind and Artificial Intelligence? Interesting questions to raise as we be come more and more dependent on Siri (and the like) to manage our lives or … Continue reading →

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Salvation of a Saint by Keigo Higashino

Posted on October 28, 2016 by bseat

Yoshitaka had always been quite clear with his wife, Ayane. From the beginning he had told her that he wanted to have children but since it was clear now that she could not have any, he told her that he … Continue reading →

Posted in Detective novel, Fiction, Mystery, Psychological Mystery, Series | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

Posted on October 21, 2016 by bseat

Have you ever wondered about the road not taken? I do! I wonder what would have happened if I had taken my speech professor’s advice and joined my college debate team. Would I have ended up where I am today … Continue reading →

Posted in Existential Sc-Fi Thriller, Fiction, Science Fiction, Suspense, Thriller | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance

Posted on October 14, 2016 by bseat

J.D. Vance grew up in Middletown, Ohio and the Appalachian town of Jackson, Kentucky. Looking at just the outline of the author’s personal story:  His grandparents, “dirt poor and in love,” move to Middletown in order to escape the poverty … Continue reading →

Posted in History, memoir, Non Fiction | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment