This was a long one! I was initially interested because I saw the ads for the mini-series on TNT. While I enjoyed the premise (forensic profiling at the turn of the century), the writing was a bit dry in places. The last 100 pages flew by though, as the mystery unraveled. I will say that it seems Caleb Carr did spend a lot of time researching 20th century New York, and I enjoyed the bits of history sprinkled in.

If you’re interested in mysteries with a psychological bent, you might try this one out. Just know that it is long!

I’d heard of Kate Atkinson and even started watching the mini-series “Case Histories” on Amazon Prime before I started this book. For me, the ideas I had going in did not match what I read, which probably led to my slight disappointment.

Atkinson has that meandering style of writing, where you might want to go back and check a tiny detail, but you can’t find it because her paragraphs don’t have a typical beginning or end. The writing is atmospheric, much more focused on character than plot.

I wouldn’t mind this as much, but the book really seemed to be billed as a detective story. There were also some huge coincidences that I found unbelieveable (for example, when Lily-Rose asked Amelia and Julia to help Theo when he collasped), some plot holes (Stan Jessop’s wife was never interviewed about the man in the yellow sweater.. really?), and the timeline jumped in places.

3 stars for nice writing.

I enjoyed Gabrielle Zevin’s writing. I would liken this to more of a “fun read,” but Zevin brings her light and creative touch to a heavy subject. I particularly enjoyed her daughter’s section.

3.5 stars.

I’m familiar with all the frameworks in this book, so it was a quick read for me. It would be great for someone just starting out, since it’s very concise and a bit more personal than reading about personalities online. I enjoy Anne Bogel’s blog and book recs, so I knew I had to read this book.

4 stars.

Fun read, somewhat reminiscent of Blake Crouch’s Dark Matter. The story is written/told in a very interesting way, which I did enjoy. The writing is a bit stilted and doesn’t reveal too much about the main plots, and the characters are one-dimensional, which is why I give it 3 stars. However, the story moved along at a good clip, and I’d recommend if you want a fun sci-fi read. I hear the next book gets better!

This was my first audiobook experience, and I absolutely loved it. Many of the real people involved in The Princess Bride read their own vignettes, such as director Rob Reiner and producer Andy Scheinnman. Major players like Robin Wright and Billy Crystal make a few appearances as well. There are many different voices, but someone always introduced them, making it easy to tell who was talking. Cary Elwes remains charismatic yet seemingly humble, despite his worldwide fame. It’s clear that everyone involved in the film has great affection for it. I think it’s one of the situations where everything came together at the right time, and hit exactly the right notes. A wonderful experience on audiobook, probably even better than reading the book. I think its about 6 hours, and it was perfect while taking walks, getting ready for bed, doing housework, etc. Highly recommended.