Acceptance

Title: Acceptance

Author: Jeff Vandermeer

Publisher:  Farrar, Straus and Giroux

 
ISBN:  9780374104115

 

Thoughts: This conclusion the original Southern Reach trilogy explains the origin of Area X, but the amount of characters and varying timelines can make it a little harder to follow than the previous installments.

 

Rating: 3/5

The Lion Women of Tehran

Title: The Lion Women of Tehran

Author: Marjan Kamali

Publisher:  Simon & Schuster Audio

 
ISBN:  9781797175348

 

Thoughts: Beautiful story of strong women and even stronger friendship.

 

Rating: 4/5

Christmas Presents

Title: Christmas Presents

Author: Lisa Unger

Publisher:  Mysterious Press

 
ISBN:  9781813164518

 

Thoughts: Fast-paced Christmas thriller perfect for fans of true crime podcasts.

 

Rating: 3/5

Greed and Glory on Wall Street

Title: Greed and Glory on Wall Street: The Fall of the House of Lehman

Author: Ken Auletta

Publisher:  Random House

 
ISBN:  9780394544106

 

Thoughts: In-depth and dense reporting, but it left me wondering what happened afterwards, because 30 years later, Lehman fell a final time.

 

Rating: 3/5

Tragedy on the Branch Line

Title: Tragedy on the Branch Line

Author: Edward Marston

Publisher:  Allison & Busby

 
ISBN:  9780749026042

 

Thoughts: Very charming historical police procedural that reads a lot more like a cozy.

 

Rating: 4/5

The Founding Syndicate

Title: The Founding Syndicate

Author: Steve Gansen

Publisher:  Audible

 
ISBN:  n/a

 

Thoughts: Gansen's concept of the Founding Fathers being more of a shadowy mafia-type organization is interesting, but the bizarre cadence of the narration makes it incredibly hard to follow and I am not quite sure I understood all of it.

 

Rating: 2/5

Fortune Favors the Dead

Title: Fortune Favors the Dead

Author: Stephen Spotswood

Publisher:  Doubleday

 
ISBN:  9780385546553

 

Thoughts: This hardboiled PI novel not only contains a thrilling mystery full of twists and turns but strong, believe female leads written by a male writer.

 

Rating: 4/5