Category Archives: Reviews

Mortal Stakes

Posted on March 13, 2026 by smellincoffee

Spenser is a private detective working in the Hub City, and he’s just been approached with an interesting job. Red Sox management thinks one of their players is throwing games, and they want him to find out if their hunch … Continue reading →

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Double Play

Posted on March 10, 2026 by smellincoffee

Burke has returned home from World War 2 with a body full of scars and a mind even more disturbed. He arrived home not to hugs and kisses, but to a letter from his wife telling him that she’d run … Continue reading →

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The Tragic Comedy of Suburban Sprawl (Revisited)

Posted on March 6, 2026 by smellincoffee

Almost twenty years ago I attended a guest lecture at my university and heard a talk that would prove to be exceptionally influential on my thinking.  The talk, by Jim Kunstler, was on how American urban design – the built … Continue reading →

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The Confessions

Posted on March 5, 2026 by smellincoffee

Fifteen years ago, I read The Confessions; I am not sure what prompted me to do so, other than perhaps a desire to read The Classics, and my belief that St. Augustine was like Cicero, a brother in avid pursuit … Continue reading →

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The Crossroads

Posted on February 26, 2026 by smellincoffee

Joe Pickett’s body lies in a bullet-ridden Game Warden pickup truck, with no indication of where he was going or who he expected to find. As he’s airlifted to a hospital and specialists go to work on him, his three … Continue reading →

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Andrew Johnson

Posted on February 23, 2026 by smellincoffee

Andrew Johnson is one of those presidents who can’t get away with merely being forgotten; he is no Pierce or Fillmore, whom the general public knows nothing about. If Johnson is mentioned, his reputation is closer to that of his … Continue reading →

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Harry Potter and the Strangely Tortured McGuffin Quest

Posted on February 22, 2026 by smellincoffee

I’ve been looking forward to the full-cast audio edition of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire for a while now, because (1) the full cast audio books are BRILLIANT (2) I’m addicted to them and have accepted that all … Continue reading →

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With Malice Toward None

Posted on February 20, 2026 by smellincoffee

As part of my US Presidents course of reading, and in combination with my obsessive 1840s – 1860s dive,  I’ve read two biographies of Abraham Lincoln this year –   one hailing him a saint, the other a brute. Both … Continue reading →

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Taking Religion Seriously

Posted on February 19, 2026 by smellincoffee

I should preface this review with a bit of biography; some who have been reading me for a while are already familiar with it, and others have gotten bits of it, because I’ve grown more comfortable sharing over the years. … Continue reading →

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Back of Beyond

Posted on February 16, 2026 by smellincoffee

Who’s up for a horror movie, western style? The story begins when an older man is found dead in his half-burned cabin, with a hole in his head and an empty bottle of liquor beside him. When Cody Hoyt arrives … Continue reading →

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