Tag: Book Review

Posted in Book Reviews, Non-Fiction

REVIEW: Unmasked: My Life Solving America’s Cold Cases by Paul Holes

Posted on by elishasbookreview

*Do Nonfiction Books Have Spoilers?*

Trigger Warning for Murder, Death, Divorce, and Grieving

When I look back at my long career, there is a lot I am proud of. I have caught some of the most notorious killers of the twenty-first century and brought justice and closure for their victims and families. I want to tell you about a lifetime solving these cold cases, from Laci Peterson to Jaycee Dugard to the Pittsburg homicides to, yes, my twenty-year-long hunt for the Golden State Killer.

But a deeper question eats at me as I ask myself, at what cost? I have sacrificed relationships, joy—even fatherhood—because the pursuit of evil always came first. Did I make the right choice? It’s something I grapple with every day. Yet as I stand in the spot where a young girl took her last breath, as I look into the eyes of her family, I know that, for me, there has never been a choice. “I don’t know if I can solve your case,” I whisper. “But I promise I will do my best.”

Rating: 5 out of 5.

When I’m not listening to audiobooks, or reading on my Kindle, I’m listening to podcasts. I discovered this podcast called “Jenson and Holes: The Murder Squad”, it features investigative journalist Billy Jenson and retired cold case investigator Paul Holes. They would discuss cold cases, and explain police procedure to their audience who might not know how a murder investigation works in real life.

So when I saw Unmasked on the pre-order on Books-a-Million, I was so excited. I am a fan of true crime. I try to read more of it, but sometimes fiction is just what the doctor ordered. So now let’s dive into Unmasked.

Most of this autobiography talks about the Golden State Killer case. It was a lot of detectives’ Moby Dick, their elusive white whale. However, it was breakthrough in forensic technology that uncovered the truth in the end. I think this technology will go a long way and possibly clear up more cold cases.

You can’t finish a puzzle without all of the pieces.

Paul Holes; Unmasked: My Life Solving America’s Cold Cases

Seeing how Mr. Holes’ career morphed and grew over time is interesting. You see him want to be more of a lab rat, and less of a politics-driven supervisor of the labs. He wants to process evidence, and leave the politics to those who can handle that.

The discussions of divorce, love fading, and regrets for how things turned out brought back memories of my parents’ divorce. It was difficult for me to listen to however, it was nice hearing him reflect on it and realize what went wrong. A lot of ex-couples seem to be too prideful to realize what went wrong in their failed relationships.

Overall, I really enjoyed this true crime audiobook. It was informative as well as personal and relatable.

Posted in Bite-Sized Reviews, Book Reviews, DC comics, Graphic Novels

COMBO REVIEW: Comic Book Edition

Posted on by elishasbookreview

*No Major Spoilers*

Batman vs Bigby: A Wolf in Gotham by Bill Willingham

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

I like the video game, A Wolf Among Us and I think it was interesting to see two great detectives go head to head on a case. Small learning curve is involved because of the video game being mentioned, but I think the comic explains itself pretty well. There are a lot of literary references scattered throughout the story and I enjoyed the Easter Eggs.

The Death of Doctor Strange by Jed Mackay and Lee Garbett

Rating: 5 out of 5.

I like how the comics and movies aren’t carbon copies of each other. The comics and the movies are their own separate universes. But enough about that. I have read different eras of Doctor Strange and I loved the character before I saw Benedict Cumberbatch’s interpretation of the Sorcerer Supreme. After I finished the story, I watched a video that explains the story just to make sure I understood it. The narrator seemed ‘meh’ on the story, but I thought it was fantastic. Not too much of a learning curve if you have basic knowledge of Doctor Strange, and what I didn’t know about the character was explained well in the story itself.

Lady Mechanika Vol 1: The Mystery of the Mechanical Corpse by Joe Benitez

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

I received this comic from 2019’s Free Comic Friday, and I never got around to reading the issue at the time. I get easily distracted by other books, so it’s difficult for me to stick to a regiment of reading. Nonetheless, the world of Lady Mechanika is terrifying yet fascinating. In the story, there was a cirque visiting the outskirts of the town, and even though they were involved in the mystery, I would’ve like to see their show.

D.C. Bombshells Vol 1: Enlisted by Marguerite Bennett

Rating: 5 out of 5.

I liked having a women-driven story. Seeing Batwoman play baseball, and deal with haters makes it seem like not much has changed between WWII and today. Learning that in this story Batwoman is Jewish and part of the LGBT+ community made her a relatable character in my opinion. I like how no matter the story, Harley Quinn will always find Poison Ivy, just like how Harley always finds the Joker.

Posted in Audiobooks, Bite-Sized Reviews, Book Reviews, Graphic Novels

COMBO REVIEW: Doctor Who Edition

Posted on by elishasbookreview

*No Spoilers*

So this is going to be more of a test than anything, I have read a lot of books that I thought were great, but I didn’t have enough for a full or rapid review. So, I’m going to rate and give my thoughts on these Doctor Who books I’ve recently read.

Empire of the Wolf by Jody Houser

Rating: 4 out of 5.

The art style was interesting, all of the speech bubbles were placed where characters had their mouths closed. It looked like they were communicating telepathically. Not sure if this is common or if I’m just noticing it in this comic story. Seeing the Eleventh Doctor interact with Rose has been a bit strange. In this storyline, Eleven just lost Amy and Rory and is in a major depressive episode. However, I thought he would be over the moon to see Rose again.

Doctormania by Cavan Scott

Rating: 4 out of 5.

This is a collection of stories, two small ones and one big story. I think the bigger story was the best out of this collection. However, I think Rose sounded whiney and annoying throughout the collection.

The Krillitane Storm by Christopher Cooper

Rating: 4 out of 5.

It’s always interesting seeing the Doctor on a solo adventure, and even if he’s by himself, he won’t be for long. The Krillitane are a returning enemy, and the episode they were featured in gets referenced a bit throughout this story. This story had a good twist ending, and I kind of wish we could learn more about the Krillitane. They are an interesting villain and can almost go toe-to-toe with The Doctor.

Posted in Book Reviews

REVIEW: Mastodon by Steve Stred

Posted on by elishasbookreview

*No Major Spoilers*

*Trigger Warning for body horror, animal death/cruelty, and death of a parent*

17 years ago, Tyler Barton was born in the Rocky Mountains, while his parents were on a hike.

On that day, his mother disappeared, never to be seen again.

Now, history repeats itself.

On the 17th anniversary of her disappearance, Tyler’s father is flying home when the plane he’s on disappears – in the same area where his mother was last seen.

Undeterred by officials, Tyler decides to hike into the area in search of his father, hoping to find him alive and bring him back to safety.

But there’s a reason that area is prohibited to enter and even though Tyler doesn’t care, he’ll soon find out that the wilderness can hide some of the deepest, darkest fears known to man.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

I remember when I saw the promo for this book, I was so excited because the cover reminded me of a Wendigo, an Indigenous mythological creature. I couldn’t wait to dive in to it. After some time to read it, digest it, and gather my thoughts, I’m ready to explore this review of Mastodon.

This valley was wearing his rational mind down to the point of not believing anything he saw, but also accepting that anything was possible.

Steve Stred, Mastodon

This novel isn’t at all what I thought it was going to be. Not that the summary led me astray, it didn’t. It was the cover on top of my assumptions that left me unprepared for this mind-twisting read. What I thought was a simple answer, turned into something I never saw coming until it was too late.

Tyler reminded me of Brian from The Hatchet in the way there’s not much personality there so we, as the reader, can get a more fulfilling experience seeing the world through his eyes. However, there’s not much to his character other than his parents being missing and all of the hiking and camping trips he and his dad went on throughout his life.

One thing that adds to the mystery surrounding this restricted military compound is how the scale seems to shift and change to fit the current moment or situation. It felt like months for Tyler to reach the spot where his dad’s plane crashed even though it had only been three or so days.

One small gripe I have about this story is how bland and boring Kyle is as a character. Like I said previously, that might have been to give us a more open view of his world and experiences. However, it made the story drag a bit.

Another critique I have is how rushed the ending feels. It’s like the author wrote the main scene(s) that he wanted to write and then the rest was rushed just to finish writing. The final twist ending left me unsatisfied and disappointed.

Overall, this was an okay read. There’s plenty of horror elements to last you a lifetime as well as disturbing imagery. I think you’d like Mastodon if you like the horror subgenre splatterpunk, as well as those who enjoy monster tales and Kaiju stories.

Posted in Book Reviews, Graphic Novels, Rapid Reviews

RAPID REVIEW: Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker

Posted on by elishasbookreview

*No Major Spoilers*

Nova Huang knows more about magic than your average teen witch. She works at her grandmothers’ bookshop, where she helps them loan out spell books and investigate any supernatural occurrences in their New England town.

One fateful night, she follows reports of a white wolf into the woods, and she comes across the unexpected: her childhood crush, Tam Lang, battling a horse demon in the woods. As a werewolf, Tam has been wandering from place to place for years, unable to call any town home.

Pursued by dark forces eager to claim the magic of wolves and out of options, Tam turns to Nova for help. Their latent feelings are rekindled against the backdrop of witchcraft, untested magic, occult rituals, and family ties both new and old in this enchanting tale of self-discovery.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Mooncakes has been making it’s way around social media, and I have finally gotten the appetite for some desserts. So let’s dine on this review of Mooncakes.

This graphic novel reminds me a lot of These Witches Don’t Burn. They both have cute witches, and magic, but Mooncakes doesn’t have any relationship drama. I like that the romance between Nova and Tam feels natural and it’s of the popular trope, friends to lovers.

One thing I loved about the story was how Nova is deaf and wears a hearing aid. It was nice seeing disability being represented here in a positive way. Also, for Nova and her family treating Tam like she’s family even though she’s a werewolf.

One small gripe I have is how jarring some of the panels progress. One of the grandmas would tell Nova that her friend is coming over soon, and in the next panel she’s next to Nova talking like she didn’t teleport. Maybe it’s just my imagination though.

Overall, I enjoyed Mooncakes. It was cute and colorful, and even when the story gets dark, it’s still bright and colorful. I would recommend this novel for people who are undecided on whether to read it or not. As well as fans of witches, werewolves, and magic potions.