Tag: rich

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#BookReview: Lie In The Bay by Holly Danvers

Strong Yet Short Neighborhood Mystery. Fans of the whole “entire neighborhood has secrets that impact each other” subgenre, I have a book for you. Even if you don’t think you’re into that thing… this is still a strong mystery that you’re going to want to try out.

Danvers manages to pack quite a tale into less than 250 pages, making this a great short read for those looking to not turn as pink as the cover of this book while reading it poolside or beach side during the summer. Told from multiple perspectives, Danvers does a solid job of making each feel distinct enough from the others that it is fairly easy to track who’s head we’re in at any given point, at least for those readers who don’t find doing this at all taxing to near impossible. Danvers even manages to illuminate some far too common “real world” issues these days in ways that never feel preachy yet also show the “real world” complications of these actions.

Truly a great, short, mystery read that will thrill fans of the genre and raise the heartrate of nearly anyone, particularly given its different sequences here.

Very much recommended.

This review of Lie In The Bay by Holly Danvers was originally written on May 22, 2026.

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#BookReview: The Missing Ones by A.R. Torre

HBO Desperate Housewives. This is one of those books that requires a certain composure to be able to withstand – but for those with the fortitude, it will be quite fun and delicious indeed. One where everyone has secrets, a lot of them are dark, and some of them are the kind that tend to grab a lot of headlines when exposed, even when among fully consenting adults.

Spice level is maybe jalapeno or so, *maybe* a touch hotter, but it is more the exact scenarios of the spice that will test more people than the actual heat of it. So more like a very concentrated lemon suppository kind of heat than a “I’m breathing fire” heat. The kind of heat that (mostly) doesn’t *hurt* so much as make at least a lot, perhaps most, of people extremely uncomfortable.

The other things that will be difficult for some are the multiple perspectives combined with seemingly no real distinction between them – these are all similar people with similar enough backgrounds living similar enough lives, and the way they “speak” on the page doesn’t really differentiate themselves strongly, so it can be difficult at times to keep track of whose head we’re in at what point. Combined with a short documentary style interview paragraph or so at the beginning of each chapter, most often from still other perspectives, it can be a lot at times, even for such a short-ish (300 ish page) book.

But for those with the fortitude, this really is a strong, delicious book that has a lot to offer. It hits in some expected ways… and a few unexpected ones to boot. Torre knows what her readers will expect in such a situation and tale, and both gives and withholds these expectations to craft a story that is compelling for what it actually is. One where you could absolutely see even a lady reading this book with a strong maduro cigar as she lounges out on her back pool deck overlooking the 18th hole at a golf course, daring the fat asses playing through to ogle her knowing that she could ruin any of them in an instant. So, not exactly the “chilling poolside in Vegas with the girlfriends” vibe, yet also far from a girlboss thing as well.

Overall a strong book that will prove itself too strong for some readers – and that is perfectly ok for both the book and those readers who know themselves well enough to know they likely can’t withstand it. For those who do choose to take on the challenge though, please do leave a review yourself wherever you found this one.

Very much recommended.

This review of The Missing Ones by A.R. Torre was originally written on May 17, 2026.

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#BookReview: Falling For You Again by Kerry Lonsdale

Lonsdale At Her Absolute Best. Gah. These past couple of weeks. So very much going on. My wife had a widowmaker type heart attack, survived while having 2 stents placed in arteries 90 and 100% blocked, and is having a stent placed in her 80% blocked widowmaker artery later this week. Lonsdale herself suffering an unimaginable personal tragedy that is unfortunately all too common – even one of my own aunts has suffered it, and then we get to the dozens of people – including kids – dead in the Texas flash floods less than a week after Lonsdale’s tragedy. Bill Goldberg is facing his retirement match in Atlanta this weekend, and his own father died a week before that match. All the neverending political bullshit. Even I’m facing direct challenges in my own life that in some cases even my wife isn’t as fully aware of just how much they’re weighing on me as maybe she should be, things that few beyond family would even care about – if even them – and which I doubt I’ll ever publicly discuss.

And then we get to this book.

Escapism at its absolute finest, but with so many layers so expertly and intricately crafted that it pulls at the heart just enough for catharsis without delving into pain. That exquisitely powerful balance that the singular best description I’ve ever found of it (so far?) was the moment in XMen: First Class where Charles is teaching Erik to harness his full power and move the (60s era giant) satellite dish some distance away. Lonsdale, in this second chance romance book with various things that will irk various readers, manages to capture that feeling so well without ever even acknowledging it.

This is a romance for the real person. The flawed person. The one with flawed parents. Even the one without parents any longer. The one who just wants to do their job, do it well, and go home to be with their cat and their friends. (Sorry, dog lovers. This is a cat book. Read it anyway.)

If you need your romance books characters to be some idealized Superman or Wonder Woman, well, this book isn’t really for you – but you should still read it anyway, because it will pull at even your hardened heart strings.

If you need ghost pepper level spice in your romance books, again, this book isn’t really for you – but read it anyway and discover how there is so much more to love than just the physical.

If you need your books to have some kind of political messaging, again, not the book for you. Read it anyway and discover the power of *real* relationships, where love and community hold sway over the raw desire for domination and subjugation.

Read this book because as excellent as Lonsdale’s books have been over the years, whether it be the early “Everything” trilogy of romances or the more recent women’s fiction books of the “No More” trilogy and Find Me In California, this really is Lonsdale at her absolute best yet.

And I am 100% honest in saying that of the 90 books I’ve read this year upon finishing this one, this is absolutely in contention for best of the year, certainly for best of the year so far.

Very much recommended.

This review of Falling For You Again by Kerry Lonsdale was originally written on July 8, 2025.

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#BookReview: A Switch Before Christmas by Karen McQuestion

Solid Depression-Era Almost Dickensian Christmas Tale. This is one of those tales that effortlessly blends elements of A Christmas Carol, A Tale Of Two Cities, and The Parent Trap into a concoction uniquely its own and along the way shows two women in particular – and through them, many more people – the magic of Christmas as they see how “the other half” lives.

What McQuestion does particularly well is bringing a high degree of realism into this tale in all aspects – perhaps the only bits that feel weird to at least some in 2024 are when a particularly naive character walks into certain situations and actually comes out *without* being assaulted… but then, that is more on those types of readers as such assaults, while far more common than they should be (that they happen *at all* is too common, to be clear), are not the *actual* norm even in 2024. Far more common, however, are all the heartstrings being pulled – the young ones in the Girl’s Home nearly steal every scene they are in, and another encounter in a different situation later – one that starts out seeming like it could go very wrong, very fast, by 2024 standards – ultimately becomes one of the scenes where the room gets the dustiest while trying to read this book. In other words, put your 2024 assumptions in the other room while reading this book and simply enjoy the magic McQuestion creates here. You have my word that nothing actually damaging happens in this tale designed to be an uplifting Christmas story.

Overall a solid realistic, almost Dickensian, Christmas tale that at just under 200 pages is both an excellent read for those pressed for time when family and friends are gathered and you need some “me” time… or for those looking to finish out those annual reading challenges and need a short and quick book to help them meet those goals.

Very much recommended.

This review of A Switch Before Christmas by Karen McQuestion was originally written on December 17, 2024.

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#BookReview: One Wrong Word by Hank Phillippi Ryan

Twisty Interconnected Suspense. This is another one of those tales where Tony Stark’s snark about Nick Fury in The Avengers rings true: his secrets have secrets! Or to use another movie connection… Now You See Me: Come in close, because the more you think you see, the easier it’ll be to fool you. Yes, this is one of *those* books, the kind where the WTFs per minute rise and you begin to get whiplash from whipping your head back and forth trying to follow all the twists and turns, particularly late in the tale. Ultimately a satisfying read… if you like that kind of story. For those that don’t… you’ve been warned. Very much recommended.

This review of One Wrong Word by Hank Phillippi Ryan was originally written on February 9, 2024.