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Tag Archives: gift

The Burning Edge by Rick Mofina (2012) – BR00172 (2019) – ๐Ÿธ๐Ÿธ๐Ÿธโšชโšช

The PolyBlog
November 17 2019

Plot or Premise

A woman witnesses an armed robbery at a truck stop, and as the FBI closes in on the robbers, they worry that the woman saw too much.

What I Liked

The story is told from the perspective of four groups — Lisa, the woman who saw the robbers; Jack, a journalist digging for the story; the robbers themselves; and Frank, the FBI agent hunting them. The story jumps from person to person, which is great for seeing the different aspects of the investigation vs. home life. Short chapters, kind of Patterson-style, keep the action moving.

What I Didn’t Like

The short chapters seem a bit too jumpy in places, and the constant PoV shift isn’t even. The journalist is good, but the backstories for the witness and the FBI agent are overkill. Past losses, current illnesses, everything reads a bit more soap opera-ish than mystery novel. And the final motive for the robbery is ridiculous.

Disclosure

I am not personal friends with the author, but I have met him in person at a writers’ group meeting.

The Bottom Line

Well-written but superficial mystery plot.

Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged action, Amazon.ca, Amazon.com, B&N, book review, Chapters, crime, detective, fiction, Gannon, gift, Good Reads, Google, Kobo, Library Thing, mystery, Nook, novel, OPL, paperback, police, PolyWogg, prose, Reading Challenge, Savvy Reader, sleuth, stand-alone, suspense | Leave a reply

Bear by Marian Engel (1976) – BR00162 (2019) – ๐Ÿธ๐Ÿธ๐Ÿธ๐Ÿธโšช

The PolyBlog
July 11 2019

A historical librarian gets a chance to catalog the books at a remote island home for a summer in Northern Ontario, and encounters locals, free time to figure out her life, and a pet bear.

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Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged adventure, Amazon.ca, Amazon.com, B&N, book review, Chapters, e-book, fiction, gift, Good Reads, Google, historical, Kobo, Library Thing, literary, Nook, novel, OPL, PolyWogg, prose, psychology, Reading Challenge, romance, stand-alone | Leave a reply

Darkest Hour by Jenny Carroll (2001) – BR00031 (2004) – ๐Ÿธ๐Ÿธ๐Ÿธ๐Ÿธโšช

The PolyBlog
March 28 2004

Suzannah is a mediator — she helps ghosts move on from this plane to the next. But when she’s not embracing her sixth sense, she’s earning money as a staff babysitter at a hotel/resort and dreaming about Jesse who haunts her current home. Then she meets trouble in the form of spoiled brat Jack who can also see ghosts, but doesn’t know that ghosts are actually real and is instead three steps away from a nervous breakdown. Suze has to help him figure out his own role with ghosts, at the same time that she tries to figure out more of the mystery with Jesse’s past life.

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Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged adventure, Amazon.ca, Amazon.com, ARC, audio, B&N, book review, borrowed, Chapters, detective, e-book, fiction, gift, Good Reads, Google, hardcover, Kobo, library, Library Thing, Mediator, mystery, new, Nook, novel, paperback, paranormal, PolyWogg, prose, romance, series, sleuth, suspense, used, Young Adult | Leave a reply

So Like Sleep by Jeremiah Healy (1987) – BR00038 (2003) – ๐Ÿธ๐Ÿธ๐Ÿธ๐Ÿธโšช

The PolyBlog
October 9 2003

John Cuddy gets asked by a friend to look into what appears to be an open-and-shut case — a young impoverished black man tries to get ahead at university, dates a white co-ed, and then after she turns up dead, he confesses to the crime while holding the murder weapon. Everyone thinks he’s guilty, including him. But Cuddy finds a strange group of people involved — a whacked psychiatrist with strange ideas, an elderly fitness nut, a sports fan, seductive patients, and sundry lovers.

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Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged Amazon.ca, Amazon.com, ARC, B&N, book review, borrowed, crime, Cuddy, detective, fiction, gift, Good Reads, Google, hardcover, Kobo, library, Library Thing, mystery, new, Nook, novel, PolyWogg, prose, series, sleuth, used | Leave a reply

Scarpetta’s Winter Table by Patricia Cornwell (1998) – BR00087 (1999) – ๐Ÿธโšชโšชโšชโšช

The PolyBlog
October 10 1999

A cookbook disguised as a novel.

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Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged Amazon.ca, Amazon.com, ARC, audio, B&N, book review, borrowed, Brennan, cooking, e-book, fiction, gift, Good Reads, hardcover, library, Library Thing, mystery, new, non-fiction, novel, paperback, PolyWogg, prose, series, used | Leave a reply

My Latest Posts

  • Deadlines, dominoes, and delaysJanuary 30, 2023
    As most people who have read this blog from time to time already know, I’m big on time management techniques, various options for to-do lists and tracking tasks. I like to set ambitious annual goals, and then monitor them throughout the year. Some years turn out better than others. Whereas many people set resolutions and … Continue reading →
  • Curated: We Need To Talk About Professional Jealousy – Electric LiteratureJanuary 20, 2023
    I occasionally like to share online articles that I like, and you’ll see sporadic posts entitled “Articles I Like” throughout the blog. But honestly, Curated is probably a more accurate title. I recently found an article by Benjamin Schaefer on the website Electric Literature, although I was led there by ThePassiveVoice website. The article is … Continue reading →
  • Schrodinger’s computer purge (part 1 / 3)January 15, 2023
    So, I’m a techno-wannabe-geek with elements of hoarding in my DNA. I find it hard to dispose of working computer parts, long after I’ve outgrown the need for them. Some “saves” are practical and some are not. And like Schrodinger’s cat, my computer purge is both real and theoretical at the same time. A. Network … Continue reading →
  • Some more reading ideas…January 15, 2023
    Chapters/Indigo has their Reading Challenge for the year too. They do it up like a bingo card, but the headings are: I’ll have to go through some of the links to see if there’s anything I want to add to my long list. ๐Ÿ™‚
  • 11 years, a gig platform, and a chequeJanuary 13, 2023
    Somewhere in this universe, if life after death exists, my father is rolling over in his grave. Or rolling his eyes, shrugging his shoulders, throwing up his hands…whatever the ghosts do when they see their descendants doing stuff that they think is ridiculous. And it is NOT my father’s fault. Let me be clear. He … Continue reading →

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