read Archives

Great Gimmelmans, The

Coming-of-Age as a Bank Robber Author: Lee Matthew Goldberg In this high-speed, crime-ridden, coming-of-age-tale, twelve-year-old Aaron Gimmelman watches his family lose everything, go on the run, and turn into a group of murderous bank-robbers. The real kicker? Aaron is the sensible member of the family, the only realist in the disturbed bunch, and he started his own family down this road of crime. It begins with the stock crash of ’87. Formerly affluent, high-roller Barry Gimmelman (the father) is suddenly broke. Everything was bought through debt, through promises, through the assurance that the future held success. It’s all going back now. [...]

Frances Carden2023-12-14T19:36:05-07:00December 14th, 2023|Tags: book review, crime, drama, read, reading, thriller|

Pink Lemonade Cake Murder

Eat the Kool-Aid Author: Joanne Fluke Murder is once again brewing in Lake Eden, and this time the suspect is Hannah’s own mother! When outcast base-ball hero “No-No” rolls into town, corrupting youth, stirring up controversy, angering old enemies, and bringing back bad memories for Delores, it’s only a matter of time before Hannah stumbles over his broken body. Meanwhile, Mike is still suffering the effects of burn-out and Hannah and team think that excluding him from this case is, oddly, just what the doctor ordered. In this strange little offering, all that’s silliest in Lake Eden is in full effect, [...]

Frances Carden2023-12-14T18:34:21-07:00December 14th, 2023|Tags: cozy mystery, Hannah Swenson, mystery, read, reading|

Grapes of Wrath, The

A Nihilistic Classic Author: John Steinbeck Tom Joad, convicted murderer, is walking the long, dusty road to his Oklahoma home. He doesn’t regret what he did – he would do it again. But he does miss his family and wonder what happened to them while he was in jail. What he finds, after teaming up with an ex-preacher (Casey) on the road, is his family preparing to abandon their only home, the farm that has been with them for generations. It seems that there is hope, there is money, to be made in California. The government is taking over the farms, [...]

Frances Carden2023-12-08T16:24:56-07:00December 8th, 2023|Tags: book review, classic, grapes of wrath, historical fiction, history, read, reading|