Aug 6, 20212 min read
Book Review: A Study in Crimson, by Robert J. Harris
A condensed version of this review appeared in the August 2021 issue of The Historical Novels Review. Sherlock Holmes is the type of...
Apr 16, 20212 min read
New Release: Witch in the White City
Witch in the White City is out! (This is my new dark historical fantasy/mystery set in the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition.) To buy it,...
Apr 9, 20212 min read
Bonus Content: White City, Dark Truths
In some of my earlier posts about Chicago’s World’s Fair of 1893—also known as the Columbian Exposition—I talked about how it was a grand...
Mar 25, 20213 min read
Book Review: A Perfect Spy, by John le Carré
Even without context, John le Carré’s A Perfect Spy—a tale of a British secret agent who betrayed his country because he couldn’t unlearn...
Mar 6, 20211 min read
Bonus Content: Images of the Fair
In describing Chicago's first world's fair (also known as the World's Columbian Exposition), I realized that it's easy to hear "fair" and...
Feb 11, 20212 min read
Bonus Content: How Witch in the White City Began in a Museum
Note: The post below is a spoiler-free version of my afterword to Witch in the White City, a historical fantasy/mystery set in the 1893...
Jan 5, 20213 min read
Book Review: The Evening and the Morning, by Ken Follett
In The Evening and the Morning, Ken Follett shows that he’s still a master at giving the reader the same thing, but different. The book...
Nov 14, 20205 min read
Book Review: Lonesome Dove, by Larry McMurtry
Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove starts with pigs and ends with sorrow. In between lies one of the best books I’ve read. The novel is set...
Sep 19, 20202 min read
Book Review: The Calculating Stars, by Mary Robinette Kowal
Mary Robinette Kowal’s The Calculating Stars begins as a disaster story and ends as a space race. Both tales are compelling in their own...
Dec 13, 20193 min read
Book Review: World Without End, by Ken Follett
World Without End is a worthy follow-up to Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follett’s epic tale of medieval cathedral building. World Without...
