Tag: book recommendations

Cults, Control, and Sadism: A Story for The Ages

Jbrow

To say The Family Upstairs is a creepy story, is a like saying the phrase 'drinking the Kool-Aid' has a funny history. Featuring a cult possession of a wealthy English family in the late 1980s, this is a coming of age story in a most adverse environment. This is a family composed of two seemingly… Continue reading Cults, Control, and Sadism: A Story for The Ages

“The wheels on the bus go round and round…”

Jbrow

The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz is a novel about the violent strangulation of Diana Cowper, who not six hours prior to her death, visits a funeral parlor to plan her own funeral service. Her choices for her memorial include a willow casket, a Sylvia Plath poem, Psalm 34, and the song Eleanor Rigby… Continue reading “The wheels on the bus go round and round…”

Olive, Again

Jbrow

Have you ever been to Crosby, Maine with the very special Olive Kitteridge? Olive is back once more in Olive, Again by Pulitzer Prize winner Elizabeth Strout. Olive still has all her quirks, directness, and often failed attempts at meaningful social interaction. Olive Kitteridge, as many know, is not a new character on the literary… Continue reading Olive, Again

An extraordinary sleuth in a changing time

Jbrow

The 'Widows of Malabar Hill' by Sujata Massey is a social commentary disguised as a whodunit "locked room" mystery set in exotic Bombay, India. The story cleverly weaves two timelines; a 'present-day' Bombay in 1921 where Perveen Mistry is working hard to become an integral part of her father's law firm. The second timeline takes… Continue reading An extraordinary sleuth in a changing time

A new rabbit hole to follow…

Jbrow

The 7 and 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle is a total trip. Guests are invited to the Hardcastle family mansion, a dilapidated Blackheath House in the English countryside, for a costume party that the Hardcastles are holding for the return of their daughter, Evelyn. Evelyn has been living in Paris, after a tragedy visits the… Continue reading A new rabbit hole to follow…