Brig Berthold

Damnit. Really wanted to love this. Quinn's technical execution wasn't as shabby as others are saying. And suspending disbelief is required. But this one lost me and I hate that it did. The premise was so good.

This is 100% brain candy. And for what it is, it's fun. For you hyper-critical readers (like me) you'll be rolling your eyes at the redundancy of detail and the syntax issues. But suspending that, it was a pretty good time. Palate cleanser for sure.

Charming.

This may be the finest of the Bascombe novels.

Just fantastic. Authoritative, accessible, richly detailed. How can you not be romantic about baseball? Fischman gets it and, here, he's told a deeply human story the way it deserved to be told.

I've never read anything like this, stylistically. I really enjoyed it.

Simple, effective language. Gut-wrenching, character-driven story filled with empathy from start to finish. My first Lucinda Berry.

Know what you're getting, going in.
This is not mainstream literature. It's brain candy and that's okay! It's pulpy and it moves and the characters (plus their interactions) are not supposed to be hyper-realistic.

Brilliant, Elegant, Violent, and Honest.

I appreciated this book's message, its themes, and the other bits of context used to aid one's interaction with this novel. I did not, however, enjoy it and I will not be bullied into it.

Redeeming Statement: The Old Man and the Sea is an absolute masterpiece.

The pace is that of a drunken vicar, stumbling his way home from a wake at the local pub, meandering across the foggy moors without caring whether he makes it home or meets God. There are a few things I took away from this but, ultimately, not for me.

Nope. Skip this one.

What I'm the..? Couldn't even reach 100 pages.

She did it again! Wow. Who... why... I don't even know. This is now in the running with my favorite of the series. I'll need to go back and read Career of Evil to be sure. Holy crap!

Masterful and Engaging

I could not say enough about how brilliant this collection was. I was held in a tight but loving embrace from start to finish.

Terrific ending to a really fun trilogy!

Beautiful novel

This was good. The ending made it. But it was engaging mostly the whole way through.

This was such a fun experience!

This was a beautiful story. Terrific writing.

Wow. This book was fabulous. That doesn't always happen with assigned reading but this one was a banger.

I loved this story. It was so cute and loving and warm. Themes of love and coming of age. I will recommend this widely.

This was a great balance of science and practical tips

I loved this book so much! Seriously, I will be recommending it widely, especially to a certain dramatic demographic. I went into this cold, with no understanding of what was to come, and I believe that was a terrific stroke of luck. Now I suggest everyone do that.

Sensitivity warnings for anyone interested. The racism and homophobia were probably suitable for the LA 50's underworld but it was pretty intense for a 2023 reading.

The conclusion was, perhaps, not as tightly satisfying as the film. But the depth and complexity of the intrigue in the novel were so much more satisfying.

The writing style took a second to get into but then it flowed at a clipped, deliberate pace that made a thrilling page-turner. I will say I prefer Ellroy's previous and less machine-gun style prose.