Mark Stevens's Blog, page 13
December 6, 2022
James W. Ziskin, “Bombay Monsoon”
A review of Bombay Monsoon for the New York Journal of Books.
November 25, 2022
Alan McMonagle, “Ithaca”
“Our town was slap-bang in the middle of the country, miles from anywhere, and built inside a hole made out of a bog, weeds, mulch, and the soggiest soil you might ever see. If that wasn’t bad enough, we were … Continue reading →
November 16, 2022
Sara Gran, “The Book of The Most Precious Substance”
Kind of whacky, quite breezy, and compulsively readable. The Book of the Most Precious Substance goes down like candy. Got a beach blanket? Need something low-cal? Here you go. The idea is irresistible. Because who doesn’t think the next book … Continue reading →
November 3, 2022
Ted Conover, “Cheap Land Colorado”
Ted Conover works as an immersive journalist. He rode the rails with hoboes (Rolling Nowhere). He embedded with Mexican immigrants moving back and forth across the U.S. border for work and for their families back home (Coyotes). He traveled the … Continue reading →
October 29, 2022
James Sallis, “The Long-Legged Fly”
“It’s strange how little is left of our lives once they’re rendered down, once they’ve started becoming history. A handful of facts, movements, conflicts, that’s all the observer sees. An uninhabited shell.” We’re in New Orleans. 1964. Lew Griffin’s office … Continue reading →
October 23, 2022
Eli Cranor, “Don’t Know Tough”
Powerful. Heavy. Dry. Don’t Know Tough sets a cool tone. That cool vibe never wavers. When the drama builds—and there’s plenty of it—the prose keeps a steady beat. That’s a style thing to notice and not a comment on the … Continue reading →
October 19, 2022
Susan Orlean, “The Library Book”
I’m biased. I’m the son of two librarians. My father worked to connect libraries via computers in the 1960’s and 1970’s. He worked at MIT in Cambridge on something called Information Transfer Experiments. Project INTREX. He was the first executive … Continue reading →
October 16, 2022
Lisa C. Taylor, “Impossibly Small Spaces”
Note: this review was originally published by Four Corners Free Press (October 2022): A couple meets at the airport. No, not how you might think. They are both there to greet arriving passengers on a plane. Except the plane crashes. … Continue reading →
October 1, 2022
Q & A #94, C. Matthew Smith, “Twentymile”
One of best things about moderating panels at writing conferences is you get the chance to read books you might not have otherwise put on your list. Such was the case with 2022 Bouchercon in Minneapolis. I had seen some … Continue reading →
September 21, 2022
South Central Noir
A review of South Central Noir (Akashic Books) for New York Journal of Books:
