Just a girl and her books
THE GODMOTHER | Barbie Latza Nadeau 09.06.2022 | Penguin Books Rating: 3.5/5 stars For as long as it has gripped our imaginations, the Mafia has been tied to an ingrained image of masculinity. We read about "made men," "wiseguys," and "goodfellas" leading criminal organizations whose culture prizes machismo, with women as ancillary and often-powerless characters: … Continue reading Book Review: The Godmother
UNMASKED | Paul Holes 04.26.2022 | Celadon Books Rating: 4/5 books From the detective who found the Golden State Killer, a memoir of investigating America’s toughest cold cases and rewards – the toll – of a life solving crime. UNMASKED is the perfect read for true crime fans who want to see the other side … Continue reading Book Review: Unmasked
A KILLER BY DESIGN | Ann Wolbert Burgess 12.07.2021 | Hachette Books Rating: 4/5 stars Lurking beneath the progressive activism and sex positivity in the 1970-80s, a dark undercurrent of violence rippled across the American landscape. With reported cases of sexual assault and homicide on the rise, the FBI created a specialized team – the … Continue reading Book Review: A Killer by Design
DON’T CALL IT A CULT | Sarah Berman 04.20.2021 | Viking Rating: 4.5/5 stars They drew you in with the promise of empowerment, self-discovery, women helping women. The more secretive those connections are, the more exclusive you feel. Little did you know, you just joined a cult. Sex trafficking. Self-help coaching. Forced labor. Mentorship. Multi-level … Continue reading Book Review: Don’t Call It A Cult
THE DOOMSDAY MOTHER | John Glatt 01.18.2022 | St. Martin’s Press Rating: 3/5 stars For years, Lori Vallow had been devoted to her children and her Mormon faith. When her path crossed with Chad Daybell, a religious zealot who taught his followers how to prepare for the end-times, the tumultuous relationship transformed her into someone … Continue reading Book Review: The Doomsday Mother
THE BABYSITTER | Liza Rodman & Jennifer Jordan 03.02.2021 | Atria Books Rating: 4/5 stars Growing up on Cape Cod in the 1960s, Liza Rodman was a lonely little girl. During the summers, while her mother worked days in a local motel and danced most nights in the Provincetown bars, her babysitter - a kind, … Continue reading Book Review: The Babysitter
NONFICTION MINI REVIEWS THE BURNING by Tim Madigan: On the morning of June 1, 1921, a white mob numbering in the thousands marched across the railroad tracks dividing black from white Tulsa, Oklahoma, and obliterated a black community then celebrated as one of America’s most prosperous. 34 square blocks of Tulsa’s Greenwood community, known then … Continue reading Nonfiction Mini Review: The Burning & Last Call
DANCING WITH THE OCTOPUS | Debora Harding 09.22.2020 | Bloomsbury Publishing Rating: 4/5 stars DANCING WITH THE OCTOPUS is a memoir of childhood trauma and its long reach into adulthood. In November 1978, Debora Harding was only fourteen. She was abducted at knifepoint from her church parking lot. Debora was thrown into a van, assaulted, … Continue reading Book Review: Dancing with the Octopus
THE FIVE | Hallie Rubenhold 02.01.2019 | Black Swan Rating: 4/5 stars Polly, Annie, Elizabeth, Catherine, and Mary Jane are all famous for the same thing. They came from Fleet Street, Knightsbridge, Wolverhampton, Sweden, and Wales. They experienced a variety of careers, from writing ballads to running coffee houses to living on country estates. They … Continue reading Book Review: The Five
AMERICA’S FIRST FEMALE SERIAL KILLER by Mary Kay McBrayer: Jane Toppin was a first-generation Irish-America nurse who started very far from the monster she became. Born as Honora Kelley, her life started with her father abandoning her and her sister to the Boston Female Asylum. Jane was indentured to a wealthy family, who changed her … Continue reading True Crime Mini Reviews
What Jess Reads 