Tag: thriller

The Perfect Lie by Jo Spain

I’ll admit it. Jo Spain had me from the first chapter in her latest thriller, The Perfect Lie, set in Newport, Long Island. Maybe it was the protagonist, Erin Kennedy being an Irish ex-pat. I live with one of those. Which sort of makes me Irish by injection. Or maybe it was Erin’s Bellport Bay…

By C.S. O'Cinneide June 10, 2021 Off

Interview with Nicole Lundrigan

BIO NICOLE LUNDRIGAN is the author of six critically acclaimed novels, including The Substitute and Glass Boys. Her work has appeared on best of the year selections of The Globe and Mail, Amazon.ca, and Now magazine. Her most recent novel, Hideaway, is currently on the shortlist for a 2020 Arthur Ellis Award. She grew up…

By C.S. O'Cinneide May 12, 2020 Off

I Choose You by Gayle Curtis

“Mental illness is sickness of the mind caused by the constant overwhelming battle one has with one’s essence, beliefs and purpose.” (I Choose You, p. 235) If this is the definition of mental illness, then the only sane person in the novel, I Choose You, is the serial killer (ironically the one responsible for this…

By C.S. O'Cinneide January 13, 2020 Off

Where the Ice Falls By J.E. Barnard

What better way to cool off during the dog days of summer than with a frosty winter mystery? Award-winning author J.E. Barnard’s Where the Ice Falls (The Falls Mysteries #2) is set in Alberta in late December.  After reading it, I would guess that most of the people who live in this area of Canada…

By C.S. O'Cinneide August 13, 2019 Off

The Blood Spilt By Åsa Larsson

Before reviewing this book, I had to look up the term “Nordic Noir.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordic_noir) Basically, it is crime fiction that is set somewhere in Scandinavia  that is short on metaphor and long on bleak landscapes.  The weather in that part of the world lends itself well to bleakness apparently, particularly in the north.  And this…

By C.S. O'Cinneide April 29, 2019 Off

The Perfect Nanny by Leila Slimani

I am really getting into these English translations. As with The First Prehistoric Serial Killer by Teresa Solana, The Perfect Nanny was originally written in another language. In this case, French rather than Spanish. The author is Moroccan born but Parisian living, Leila Slimani. She won France’s most prestigious literary prize, the Goncourt for this…

By C.S. O'Cinneide March 25, 2019 Off