“‘Let’s raise a glass of sparkling champagne to the great blondes of Hollywood: the sacred and the profane, the damned and the deified, the fragile and the unassailable, with Harlow’s line from
Crime fiction and suspense author Lawrence Block has been publishing for more than 50 years, and his latest offering is a case study in the crafting of a successful anthology of fiction: begin with
“an artful mosaic that converges with breakneck speed toward the end of the book, bringing the story to a climax and conclusion that are ultimately very satisfying . . .”
Set in Brighton at Christmas time, Smoke and Mirrors by Elly Griffiths spins a tale of murder, theatrical magic tricks, and some very grim fairy tales.
Tens of millions of Americans live in suburbs, so it’s not surprising to see so many readers gravitating toward stories that happen there. The literary crowd loved the way John Cheever wrote them.
