Books

‘Running Grave’ (2023) is Rowling’s literal cult classic

In “The Running Grave” (2023, hardcover), Robin Ellacott spends months undercover in a cult church compound to gather evidence. This section is long enough to

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‘A Simple Plan’ (1993, 1998) chillingly shows how easily things can spiral

“A Simple Plan” (1993) is the consummate novel about cause and effect, choices and consequences, and the differences between inner thoughts and outward appearance. In

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Rowling’s stark ‘Casual Vacancy’ (2012) bridges Potter and Strike

After completing the seven-book “Harry Potter” series, J.K. Rowling branched into adult novels with 2012’s “The Casual Vacancy,” and it could serve as a guide

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‘QualityLand’ (2017) hits uncomfortably close to reality

Satire that makes fun of government, corporatism and an increasingly mind-numbed citizenry becomes harder to do as real-world developments come close to obliterating the line

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So what I did was, I re-read ‘Catcher in the Rye’ (1951)

In one of “The Catcher in the Rye’s” (1951) New York City walkabout vignettes, narrator Holden Caulfield attempts to strike up an intellectual conversation with

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Green and his prankish teens seek meaning in ‘Looking for Alaska’ (2005)

In my review of the 2019 TV miniseries adaptation of John Green’s “Looking for Alaska” (2005), I argued that the series breaks down the trope

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‘Trust Exercise’ (2019) a masterful triptych about broken adult-child trust

Susan Choi’s “Trust Exercise” (2019) is one of the best novels I’ve read about how misplaced/abused trust between children and adults can lead to lifelong

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‘Ink Black Heart’ (2022) explores seediest corners of social media

In her sixth Cormoran Strike novel, “The Ink Black Heart” (2022), J.K. Rowling (writing as Robert Galbraith) goes deep into the modern world of social-media

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Rowling warms up a cold case in fifth Strike novel, ‘Troubled Blood’ (2020)

As Robert Galbraith’s (J.K. Rowling) Cormoran Strike books climb to 944 pages for the fifth entry, “Troubled Blood” (2020), it raises the question of whether

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‘A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder’ (2019) introduces young readers to the genre

For her high school capstone project, Pippa Fitz-Amobi decides to go over a closed murder investigation from five years in the past, believing the late

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