Category Archives: Book Review

Book Reviews (Listed Alphabetically by Title)

The Plot

If you love thrillers and books about books, then The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz might be right up your alley. Korelitz previously authored You Should Have Known which was adapted into the HBO Max limited series The Undoing, starring Nicole Kidman. In The Plot, Jake is a failed writer who steals the plot of …

The Plot: Recap & Chapter-by-Chapter Summary

Part I Part II Part III Part IV Epilogue Part I Chapter 1: Anybody Can Be a Writer Jacob “Jake” Finch Bonner is an author who previously wrote a novel, The Invention of Wonder, that made it onto the New York Times Book Review “New & Noteworthy” book list. Jake has always wanted to be …

The Personal Librarian

The Personal Librarian tells the story of Belle de Costa Greene, a black woman who became the personal librarian to the famed banker J. P. Morgan by passing as white. While the book is historical fiction, Belle de Costa Greene was a real person who managed to achieve a status in society that was noteworthy, …

The Personal Librarian: Recap & Summary

Chapters 1 – 2 (November 28, 1905 – December 7, 1905) In November 1905, Belle da Costa Greene, 26, is working as a librarian at Princeton University. Belle is a Black American who is passing as white. Belle’s real name is Belle Marion Greener. At Princeton, Woodrow Wilson is the university president. The student body …

Local Woman Missing

Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica wasn’t on my radar when it was first released, but it’s been getting some solid reviews, so I thought I’d check it out. I’ve been meaning to read something by her anyway. As I started reading, I was very intrigued by the premise of this mystery-thriller. Eleven years ago, …