Whiny, overly dramatic teenage girl as narrator? Nope. Was hoping for The Historian kind of book. YA is *not* my jam. Concept was good, execution was weak.

Good but not great. Ends very abruptly. Preferred the first 3 in the series

Bernie Gunther gets dragged into a locked room murder mystery by Heydrich. In a Prague chateau full of Nazis. Heydrich would be a great character if he weren‘t one of the vilest creatures in real life

Oh man, this was a cheesy book. Take a heartwarming Hallmark movie of the week about a family dealing with the death of a mentally ill son. Throw in some schmaltzy random ghosts. Add a pinch of T.S. Eliot and plenty of Harvard references for some intellectual pretense. Then toss in the fire and bake for 30 minutes. 459 page waste of my time

Note: I read Tbe Night Circus, found it very enjoyable. Recommend highly.
*This* book, however, is a rambling mess. Starts out interesting: vast secret library reachable through secret doors, stories within stories, evil secret societies... but unravels 1/2 way through. Too many symbols, then more symbols. I do not want to hear about bees, keys, and swords!!! Stop!!! Threw it down in disgust when I finished.....

Berlin 1934/ Havana 1954. Beenie Gunther gets involved with an Olympics scandal, which comes back to bite him in the ass 20 years later in Cuba. One of the best Gunther books

1942. Bernie Gunther has to track down a starlet with a dark past for Goebbels. Side trip to wartorn Croatia was like something out of Heart of Darkness. Another solid entry in the series

For the most part, a highly enjoyable collection of dark and creepy short stories, which feel more 1920 than 2020. Really enjoyed the Charlie Parker novella “Tbe Reflecting Eye”— hard-boiled detective meets Stephen King .

Story of 3 girls who disappear at a summer camp, as told by the lone survivor, who may or may not be psychiatrically damaged. Great twist at the end. Surprisingly good!

Great idea for a book. Enjoyed the first 2/3. But the whole reason the bad guys are doing their bad deeds is ridiculous and ruined it for me....

One of my ATFs. Tragic romance in WWII England. The ending is a gut punch. Terrific book.

Quirke has sobered up, and his daughter‘s friend is missing. Foul play is suspected. Well written, but ‘50s Dublin is a bleak place.

A murder mystery at Oxford in the 1660s, told from multiple points of view. “If you like Rashomon, you‘ll love this!” I am a fan of Pears style, obviously. I need to reread this!

A murder mystery told backwards. London 1909 to Paris 1890 then Venice 1867. Well written, intriguing story. Great book.

Great book, brutal read. Cormac McCarthy meets Moby Dick.

Creepy old house with a creepy ghost kid. Author keeps things moving. Lots of great references to ‘80s goth bands!! Nick Cave& Bad Seeds! Joy Division! The Cure!

Interesting, think it lost something in translation? Definitely some creepy, unsettling chapters. Bad things happen when a Japanese family moves into an apartment building by an old Buddhist cemetery.

Enjoyed this one much more than expected. 4 horror authors stay in an evil house. Nice variation on Haunting of Hill House

Cromwell‘s POV of Henry VIII‘s court. A complex machinator. One of my ATFs.

Vol 2 of the Cromwell story, as brilliant as Wolf Hall.

The arrival of the viral apocalypse, and the aftermath. Fantastic book.

Surprisingly good. Could easily have been a cheezy romance novel, but was much more entertaining. Magical realism.

The ending crushes your soul. Erlandur is a side story in this one— prefer the books where he is the focus

Another solid Rejkyavik thriller

Serial killer targeting police officers. Norway seems to have a lot of serial killers! Another solid Harry Hole adventure.

Hole has become such a miserable bastard. Too much going on in this book. Probably my least favorite HH so far.

Lot of great history about Nazis in Norway during WWII. Harry Hole tracks an assissin in Oslo.

One of the best Harry Hole books. Creepy Norwegian serial killer.

First translated book in the series. Harry Hole in Sydney. Not my favorite.

Harry Hole in Thailand. So much better than the Bat. Hole is definitely a more interesting character in this book.

Lizbeth Salander is a great character. The “locked room” mystery at the heart of this novel was great. (Mikael Blomqvist, however, is tedious...) Loved this one.

#5 in series. Gypsy crime in Denmark. Marco was an interesting character.

#8 in series. Not my favorite. A lot of terrorism and Assad‘s backstory. I would have preferred not to now!

#4 in series. Just batshit crazy. Serial killer getting revenge. Loved it!

#3 in the series. Very dark, tense thriller, as usual. But well written!

First translated book in the series, lots of character introduction. Politician is kidnapped and locked away for years. Great introduction to the series.

#6 in this series. Another bizarre murder, and the sun cult is particularly creepy.

Fascinating history of a Chicago serial killer in 1893

How Erlandur got his start in the Reykjavik PD. Really solid!

Pretentious. Hated this. Tartt is better

No Erlandur in this one. Good, not my favorite in the series.

One of the best entries in the series.

Chandler at the top of his game. Noir at its finest.

One of the best books in the Reykjavik series. Erlandur is like Wallander in many ways, but the story is engrossing.

Great Agatha Christie style murder mystery. Fandorin is a wonderful character, and this is one of the best in the series.

Love the Harry Hole series, but the first book takes awhile to get in gear. But the books get better.....much much better.

A brilliant and devastating WWII story. Great ending. Possibly Mcewan's masterpiece?

5th book in the Department Q series, with another strong showing for Morck and Company.

One of the great pieces of literature.