No Such Thing as Goodbye by Karmen Špiljak

I had more fun with this book than I expected to once the story began. We plunge right into the mess that our lead protagonist is trying to make of her life while at the same time correcting her trajectory. What happened next seemed too lucky for me to fully appreciate it. Even if I…

Magical Disinformation by Lachlan Page

I sometimes pick up books outside my comfort zone in order to try something new. This was one such story. It is a spy novel, as the tagline rightly claims. It is also a little more than that because we have a person who usually has a desk job decide to do something extraordinary to…

Sashay to the Centre of the Earth by Chris McCrudden

I have reviewed the previous two books earlier on the blog #1,#2 This entire series was quite a pleasant surprise and a roller coaster of stuff (for the lack of a better word, I did try, but there's something about this set of books that does not fit into any particular box).I was curious after…

Chasing Manhattan by John Gray

I do not know how I missed two things about this book that was fully on display when I checked recently. First, it is the second in a series, usually not a good place to start, and secondly, it is a very religious-themed book. It felt more overt and in full force at the beginning,…

The Missing Sister (The Seven Sisters #7) by Lucinda Riley

I thought this would be the end of the story, but I found out that I was wrong. I was very sad to hear of the author's passing last year, but comments on Goodreads seem to indicate that her son may be finishing the series for her. After following this series since the beginning, I…

The Memoirs of Stockholm Sven by Nathaniel Ian Miller

I am not one who is usually well served by hype. I tend to not 'get' what people are finding exciting from a particular book making its rounds. When I do understand the point and join my voice with all those clamouring, it is a joy all on its own. This is one such book.  I initially…

Shape of a Boy by Kate Wickers

I am not an avid traveller by today's terms (even pre-pandemic), but I have done my fair share. I was drawn to this memoir because of the unique perspective of travelling with children in tow.In the author's position as a travel journalist, she gets offers to stay and write about those experiences. This also means…

The Fine Art of Invisible Detection by Robert Goddard

This was an odd book. I picked it up at the library in a hurry because I felt like I had seen it make the rounds on the blogosphere and was curious about its content.The book features an odd protagonist for a male writer, a female middle-aged Japanese woman. Umiko Wada has a job as…