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Wow

Reviewed: 01-18-25

Wow! What a shocker at the end! The best novel Patricia Highsmith never wrote. Excellent!

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2 people found this helpful

Read this book!

Reviewed: 01-11-25

Read this book! It is excellent! In the best traditions of Olen Steinhauser, Len Deighton, and John Buchan

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Pessl’s best since Special Topics.

Reviewed: 11-29-24

Pessl’s best since Special Topics. Exquisite, almost too-smart-for-its-own-good prose, and a tangle of mysteries so dense, untangling them feels as satisfying as unknotting a pair of wired earbuds. Also her trademark and pitch perfect dialogue, and a wonderfully canny and cunning narrator in Dia, make for an absolutely envigorating late-fall read. I was lucky enough to read it in a snow day, and it will satisfy every whodunnit craving you have. Read it with a glass of hot cider. And bring some tissues for the end.

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The master does it again!

Reviewed: 09-14-24

The master of narrative espionage nonfiction does it again. Arguably MacIntyre’s best since Agent Sonya and most seat-of-the-pants thrilling since The Spy and The Traitor. A hard pounding, un-put-downable rollercoaster of thrills and poignant psychological insight into hostages, terrorists, police, and special forces. Plus you get to learn about the origins of tear gas and Stockholm syndrome among other many excellent discursions.

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Disciplined prose

Reviewed: 08-12-24

I really Loved it can’t wait for the next one! I know it will be good!

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2 people found this helpful

Utterly Fascinating!

Reviewed: 05-01-20

The most fascinating book I’ve read that should be required reading for international poly sci and international affairs. It is a work of daring and bold journalistic achievement. Szablowski obtained the oral testimonies of the chefs who served dictators and asked these culinarians the hard questions we’d all want to ask. The chef’s answers are a revelation of how to survive, and more importantly, how to manipulate, a tyrant. And the insights into the daily lives, the tastes and proclivities, of these evil men, their lavish generosities juxtaposed against their capricious cruelty, render these twentieth century tyrants more inscrutable ever. How could someone capable of such wanton cruelty have such a fondness for ice cream? But also, why shouldn’t he? Ice cream is delicious and a dictator is only human after all, just another animal with needs, wants, and a reward center.

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1 person found this helpful

A must for tv watchers

Reviewed: 08-14-19

If you want to understand television in the 21st century and how it fits into the history of the medium, and you want to read exacting criticism of your favorite shows, this is your book. Great collection of essays by a superb critic.

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1 person found this helpful

Ben Macintyre true to form

Reviewed: 09-20-18

Perhaps his best, maybe second to Agent Zigzag or A Spy Among Friends, British spy historian Ben Macintyre relates a deeply-researched and fully alive griping tale of real life intrigue, espionage, and escape, while also commenting on the utility of espionage and the moral equivalencies of both sides. Although I loved Macintyre's own reading of Rogue Heroes, glad John Lee is back to lend his voice to this wonderfully engaging story. Lee's excitement and enthusiasm, and his ability to convey Macintyre sly humor, are perfect for this story. I bought both the audiobook and kindle version, unsure of where/when I'd read it, but I found Lee's voice so captivating, that I've let him read the whole thing to me. Highly recommended, better than any spy fiction out there (save maybe Le Carre, Greene, Ambler, whose suspense, thrilling pacing, and literary prose Macintyre rivals or even bests).

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56 people found this helpful

To the last word, it’s never what you think

Reviewed: 06-25-18

Fantastic, listening to it, it sneaks in and cuts deep. Kushner’s reading illuminates her fantastic prose and a compelling story that draws you in and eludes you to the end.

h/t Stephen King, who wrote a glowing Facebook post about the book, and, more specifically, this recording. I might not have otherwise listened.

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1 person found this helpful

Haunting, addicting yarn that will keep you up all night

Reviewed: 06-11-18

Could press stop. Groundhog Day meets Veronica Mars, intended in the best way possible. A great teen mystery, with a Groundhog Day twist that gives the characters a huge canvass on which to grow and figure out their complicated lives and the complications of life. Don’t be turned off by the YA designation, while this book would be great for teen readers (I imagine devouring this book as a kid again and again), a terrific, meaty and suspenseful tale with Pessl’s unique voice and trademark wit and turn of phrase. It may be PG-13, but that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable or compelling. Great performance, too, if you can (and should) forgive the narrator’s lamentable genteel southern accent. Get past it, and you’ll be rewarded!

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5 people found this helpful