‘The Book Thief’ (2005) is a beautiful novel about death and Nazis
Book club book report: Despite being narrated by Death during a very busy time, Markus Zusak’s YA novel is miraculously life-affirming.
Books
Preston & Child hop dimensions in ‘Angel of Vengeance’
Book review: The authors intriguingly wrap up their time-travel saga as their long-running protagonists and antagonists meet.
‘Valley of Fear’ (1915) does the multi-genre riff even better
Sleuthing Sunday (Book review): Doyle improves on “Study in Scarlet’s” blend of mystery and flashback in his final Sherlock Holmes novel.
Dave’s ‘The Night We Lost Him’ blends romance, mystery
Book club book report: The author draws us in with questions, and smoothly builds believable characters amid the quest for answers.
Detective back by popular demand in ‘Return of Sherlock Holmes’ (1905)
Sleuthing Sunday (Book review): It’s debatable how much Doyle’s heart was in it, but his mind certainly is in this third short-story collection.
‘The Immortalists’ (2018) examines life through lens of death
Book club book report: Come for the hook (a fortune teller predicts death dates) but stay for the four siblings’ journeys through life.
Doyle tires of his detective in ‘Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes’ (1894)
Sleuthing Sunday (Book review): Tiring of his creation, Doyle “kills off” Holmes in “The Final Problem.” (Don’t worry. He’ll be back.)
Doyle solidifies an icon in ‘Adventures of Sherlock Holmes’ (1892)
Sleuthing Sunday (Book review): Two novels came first, but it’s in the monthly magazine short stories that Sherlock Holmes really shines.
‘Sign of Four’ (1890) shows early signs of Holmes’ iconic status
Sleuthing Sunday (Book review): Doyle’s pacing is engrossing and action-packed as the detective takes up a case that comes to his doorstep.
‘The Birds’ (1952) flies higher as a short story than as a movie
On a Hitchcock kick (Book review): Stay beyond the Hitchcock homework for other du Maurier classics in the nine-story “Don’t Look Now” collection.