MADreads

Book reviews by library staff and guest contributors

Cat and mouse to the death

Cover of The Jigsaw Man
A review of The Jigsaw Man by Nadine Matheson

In her debut thriller (though not her 1st written work), Matheson dives right into the goriest of serial murders and the angsty-est of protagonists. Our angsty hero is Detective Inspector Anjelica Henley who, on her first day back to active duty after a severe injury, finds herself confronted with dismembered body parts - parts that are clearly not all from the same body. And if that's not bad enough, the way in which the victims are found is all too similar to the pattern set by Peter Olivier, a serial murderer known as the Jigsaw Man, who has been in prison for the past two years.

Posted by Jane J on Feb 23, 2021

The power of Booker T. Washington's voice

Voices of Black America
A review of Voices of Black America: Historical Recordings of Speeches, Poetry, Humor & Drama by Naxos Audiobooks

This audiobook provides a treasured portal to the past. It features original recordings from 1908-1946 of speeches by Booker T. Washington, the poems of Langston Hughes and Paul Laurence Dunbar recited by the poets, comedy routines, and more. All told, there's approximately 1 hour and 47 minutes of content.

To hear these famous voices is very special. The sound quality is on par with other historical recordings I've heard. That takes a moment to get used to, but feels intimate, like you've gone back in time and are witnessing the moment. 

Posted by Molly W on Feb 22, 2021

Complicated high-flyer

Cover of The Rise and Fall of Charl
A review of The Rise and Fall of Charles Lindbergh by Candace Fleming

Famous for his pioneering flight from New York to Paris, Charles Lindbergh was lionized in his lifetime. Fleming’s well-researched biography is a rags-to riches story that doesn’t side-step Lindbergh’s Nazi sympathies and white supremacist activities, but rather portrays the path of eugenics pseudo-science paired with disinformation that he followed to get there.  

Posted by Karen L on Feb 11, 2021

Skills at the ready

Cover of The Ninja Daughter
A review of The Ninja Daughter by Tori Eldridge

In Eldridge's new series the main character is a Chinese-Norwegian ninja-trained woman who takes on the Ukranian mob in Los Angeles. Talk about cross-cultural! This is it. It's also action-packed and fast-paced and the perfect book to dive into if you're hunkered down during this polar vortex.

Posted by Jane J on Feb 10, 2021

Reading their own

Cover of Celebrity Memoirs
Celebrity Memoirs

I saw a New York Times article about celebrity memoir audiobooks that are read by the author. The three titles they mentioned are listed below as well as a few others you might enjoy. And if audiobooks aren't your cup of tea, then there are also links to the physical book or the ebook.

Posted by Kathy K on Feb 9, 2021

Read Native 2021

Cover of Birdsong
A review of Birdsong by Julie Flett

Read through the seasons - and emotions - in Birdsong by Julie Flett. A young Cree girl, Katherena, moves to a new home with her mother. She misses her “friends and cousins and aunties and uncles”. The new home is over the mountains and near a field “covered in snowdrops”. She feels lonely and does not feel like getting out her pencils and paper for drawing. “My hands are cold.” But soon, she meets their nearest neighbor, an older woman named Agnes – who loves gardening and making things out of clay.

Posted by Tracy on Feb 8, 2021

Pages

Subscribe to MADreads