The Devils – Joe AbercrombieAnother book that appeared on multiple Best Of lists I scrolled through at the end of 2025. With good reason: it was one of the best books I’ve read in the past year or so. At its core this is your classic quest novel. A teenager is identified as the presumptive heir to a throne that…

I started 2026 with two books that were recommended from a couple sources I trust. With mixed results. American Sky – James Grady This novel landed on the best non-fiction list of Steve Donoghue, a poster of tremendous and voluminous year end lists. Thus I was really excited to get to it, described as a muscular, coming-of-age story. It left…

My final four books of 2025, which ended up being my most prolific reading year on record. Appropriately, and I’m not making this up, I read 67 books last year. Honest to God! SIX SEVEN!!!! Cross, Sanctuary, The Devil – Ken Bruen Three more entries in Bruen’s brilliant Jack Taylor series, read over roughly a week. Somehow they are getting…

Somehow I haven’t read a spy book since July. It was time to revert to the mean, so this entry features one proper spy story, one that brushes up against the genre, and a proper mystery. Sheepdog – Elliot Ackerman When I added this to my reading list, I noted that it was described as being for people who liked…

The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay – Suzanne Collins One of the great parenting gifts I’ve received recently is L re-discovering her love of reading over the past year. She started reading more in the spring while she was rehabbing. When summer rolled around she kept up with it. After she got a Kindle she really took off. She is…

Just one book in this entry, as I’ve begun a trilogy that might take a week or so and don’t want to forget about this one in the interim. The House Across The Lake – Riley Sager I read a couple of Sager’s thrillers last October, and they had a nice dose of spookiness that butted up against the supernatural…

A bit of a slog lately, as I’ve worked through a group of books that I did not love. These are the risks you take when you grab suggestions from many different sources. Swag – Elmore Leonard Last month I came across an article that was an appreciation of some of Leonard’s lesser known works. I’ve read several of his…

In the Weeds: Around the World and Behind the Scenes with Anthony Bourdain – Tom Vitale A book that has been out three years but I managed not to hear about until just now. Written by one of Anthony Bourdain’s closest associates, it is definitely a warts and all accounting of what it was like to work with the late…

The Magdalen Martyrs, The Dramatist, Priest – Ken BruenBooks three, four, and five of Bruen’s Jack Taylor series. I read them in five or six days. They are that good. Like many series there are multiple repeating themes and plot devices. Bur Bruen was a good enough writer that he made each book completely compelling and just different enough where…

I’ve been on a hot streak this month. In addition to the books below, I have three more I need to share. As they are related, I’m saving those for next week. King of Ashes – S.A. Cosby The latest addition to Cosby’s growing collection of terrific thrillers. Here Roman, a rising Atlanta financial advisor to athletes and other celebrities,…