Tag: garlic

Diavola by Jennifer Thorne

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For a supposedly haunted house ghost story, the most terrifying thing in this book was the Pace family. Seriously. Hoo boy were they a big ol' mess. I mean, I have a dysfunctional family. You have a dysfunctional family. Hell, who doesn't have a dysfunctional family? But the Pace family puts the "fun" in dysfunctional. … Continue reading Diavola by Jennifer Thorne

Hell House by Richard Matheson

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A group of ghost hunters walk into a haunted house. Sounds like the opening of a joke, for my money, but it's not. Instead, it's the premise for one of the weirdest, creepiest, horniest and silliest (in the sense of the ending, that is) haunted house books I've ever read, and that's saying something because … Continue reading Hell House by Richard Matheson

A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers

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You know a writer is good when he or she writes a villain in such a way that you not only sympathize and empathize with them, you find yourself actively rooting for them and hoping they get away with murder. Patricia Highsmith did it with Tom Ripley. Thomas Harris did it with Hannibal Lecter. Shakespeare … Continue reading A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers

The Club Dumas by Arturo Perez-Reverte

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"The Anjou Wine" is the first chapter in this rollicking adventure tale reminiscent of Alexandre Dumas, the famous French author of The Three Musketeers saga, and plays a starring role in this week's recipe, too. The Club Dumas, in short, is the tale of Lucas Corso, an antique book dealer who is sent in search … Continue reading The Club Dumas by Arturo Perez-Reverte

The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas

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The revolutionary era of Mexico seems to be a popular literary backdrop these days, which I appreciate because it shines a light on an era that I personally know little about. Growing up in New Mexico, the connection with Mexico was of course a significant part of our culture, and I have a vivid memory … Continue reading The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

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So yes, this is totally a chick-lit book. I admit it. I also admit that I rather enjoyed it. So go ahead and judge me, all you literary snobs. Oh wait, I'm the literary snob! I forgot! Anyway, Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen is totally a rip-off of Alice Hoffman's wonderful book Practical Magic, … Continue reading Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

Velvet was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

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Having read pretty much everything that Silva Moreno-Garcia has written, including a few of her most excellent short stories, I was prepared to love Velvet was the Night, if only for the noir-ish title and the gorgeous cover. I love noir in both literature and film, and of course I fell madly in love with … Continue reading Velvet was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

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I have a secret fondness for books set in Ivy League environments, probably because there is something so romantically removed and ivory-tower-academia about them. Two other books that I love and which are set in these same environments are A Discovery of Witches and Ninth House, both of which I've previously blogged. Donna Tartt, whose … Continue reading The Secret History by Donna Tartt

The Sixteen Pleasures by Robert Hellenga

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Un uomo mediterraneo. Doesn't that have the loveliest ring to it? It translates from the Italian to "a Mediterranean man" but it means so much more than that bland phrase. Un uomo mediterraneo is elegant, dapper, romantic, tips his hat to ladies, dresses immaculately, does not rush through life but rather meanders joyfully, enjoys all … Continue reading The Sixteen Pleasures by Robert Hellenga

Johannes Cabal The Necromancer by Jonathan L. Howard

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It's rare for me to find a book that I love on as many levels as I do Johannes Cabal The Necromancer. It's got a hero who sold his soul to Satan in order to gain knowledge of the occult and how to bring people back from the dead. It's got an evil, yet hilarious, … Continue reading Johannes Cabal The Necromancer by Jonathan L. Howard