Category Archives: Fiction

We Begin At The End by Chris Whitaker

Posted on December 3, 2021 by bseat

Duchess Day Radley, at thirteen years old, is carrying more than her share of responsibility. Her mother, Star, seems incapable of taking care of herself much less Duchess and her five year old brother, Robin.  Fiercely independent and ferocious in … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Mystery, Psychological Mystery, Suspense, Thriller | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Matrix by Lauren Groff

Posted on November 19, 2021 by bseat

Titles of books can often be deceptive, but I have never encountered one quite as dissimilar to its content than Matrix by Groff. The title raises up images of that famous sci-fi movie starring Keanu Reeves or the coding process … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Prize winner | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Constance by Matthew Fitzsimmons

Posted on November 12, 2021 by bseat

What would you do if you had no memory of what happened in the last eighteen months of your life? What if during those lost months you did something to anger a lot of people who are now after you … Continue reading →

Posted in Detective novel, Existential Sc-Fi Thriller, Fiction, Psychological Mystery, Suspense, Thriller | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Posted on November 5, 2021 by bseat

Lost in space, overcoming enormous obstacles and always duct taping something together in order to survive. Those are the things I think of when I see a book by Andy Weir, and Project Hail Mary is no exception. When Ryland … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure, Fiction, Science Fiction, Suspense, Thriller | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam

Posted on October 29, 2021 by bseat

Sometimes I come across a book that is an “almost.” It is almost a compulsive read, it is almost a intriguing plot, it is almost profound, but not quite. There is just something that prevents it from being those things … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Mystery, Psychological Mystery, Suspense | Tagged | Leave a comment

Lightning Strike by William Kent Krueger

Posted on October 15, 2021 by bseat

I have really enjoyed reading novels by Krueger. His This Tender Land and Ordinary Grace are quite extraordinary and are on a par with Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead series in terms of the prose and their evocative characters and themes. But Krueger … Continue reading →

Posted in Detective novel, Fiction, Mystery, Series, Spiritual, Suspense | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Jack by Marilynne Robinson

Posted on October 8, 2021 by bseat

Marilynne Robinson revisits the characters she made famous in Gilead, Home and Lila, this time focusing on John Ames Broughton (Jack), the prodigal son of the Presbyterian minister in Gilead, Iowa. From the previous books we are aware of the story … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Series, Spiritual | Tagged | 2 Comments

The Plotters by Un-Su Kim (Translated by Sora Kim-Russell)

Posted on October 1, 2021 by bseat

An assassin must fulfill the requirements of the job they are hired to do. Reseng knows this because he was raised by and now works for one of the most famous killers of all time, Old Raccoon, who runs a … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Gold Diggers by Sanjena Sathian

Posted on September 24, 2021 by bseat

This book was not what I expected. I mostly don’t like magical realism and have avoided Gabriel Garcia Marquez and have struggled when reading Haruki Murakami, both of whom are known for their magical realism. It is a bit strange, … Continue reading →

Posted in Books to take on vacation, Fiction, Literary Fiction, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Istanbul Passage by Joseph Kanon

Posted on September 10, 2021 by bseat

There are usually two kinds of spy stories: the thriller/action type like The Red Sparrow series by Jason Matthews or Shanghai Factor by Charles McCarry and the the more cerebral/thinking type like John Le Carré’s  Agent Running in the Field … Continue reading →

Posted in Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Spy/Covert Operatives, Suspense | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment