Author: Richard A. Clarke & R.P. Eddy
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Review By: Shana

Cassandra of Greek myth had the gift of prophecy but the curse of never being believed. In this book, authors Clarke and Eddy turn to modern day Cassandras - those who warn of dire events but whose warnings are unheeded. The book starts with multiple chapters, each dedicated to a different catastrophe. Each catastrophe is explained, with the authors outlining the factors that made each disaster particularly harrowing, followed by an introduction to the individual or individuals who predicted the event, tried to get the powers that be to mitigate it, but were ignored. This ranges from the Madoff scandal to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear calamity, from the rise of ISIS to the formation of Hurricane Katrina and its fallout. In each instance, the authors have interviewed the Cassandra in question, parsed the technical expertise that underpinned the predictions, and examined the impact (short and long term) of failing to take the warnings seriously.

Author: Mark Schatzker
Rating: 2 Stars
Review By: Shana

While this book has some good qualities, on the whole it was mediocre. The good is contained in the scientific discussion of flavor and nutrition, and how the modern diet has inadvertently divorced the deep relationship between the two. Also good, in small doses, is the author's personal experience seeking out flavor and good food. Unfortunately, this also contributes to the disappointment I felt reading.  

Author: Jessica Chiarella
Rating: 4 Stars
Review By: Shana

Impressive debut novel, told from the points of view of four individuals. Each of our four narrators are bound together as terminally ill patients in an experimental program called SUBlife. The cutting-edge medical program clones their bodies, but rids those clones of whatever ails the original (brain tumor, lung cancer, paralysis, AIDS). While the story sounds like a science fiction plot, it is more of a character study. The four newly healthy people, given respite from imminent death, meet weekly for a support group and try to adjust to life in their new bodies. Bodies which are free of all blemishes and worry lines, all scars and tattoos, all indicia of a life lived. 

Author: Jennifer Wright
Rating: 1 Star
Review By: Shana

Jennifer Wright has taken an interesting premise and mostly squandered it. In every respect, this book misses wonderful opportunities and the result is a painfully superficial read. Wright has identified thirteen relationships in history that have ended (calling them all breakups is kind of misleading) and discussed what happened. Where each of these stories through history (reaching back into ancient Rome and coming all the way up into 1960s Hollywood) could have offered an interesting vantage point into the times and the concept of love, Wright only does a superficial amount of research and explanation. In fact, she often seems to have opted to put forth the most salacious version of events, or whatever version fits into the moral or lesson she has decided to highlight. She glosses over facts and nuance, and her historical perspective is uncritical and shallow. 

Author: Mira Grant
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Review By: Shana

Mira Grant certainly has a knack for exciting stories, deep conspiracies, and gross outs. Sal Mitchell (formerly Sally) has a second lease on life. Six years earlier she was in a car accident that, by all accounts, should have proved fatal. But as the daughter of an army colonel who also happens to be the head of the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), she has been among the first people to get an intestinal bodyguard (the euphemism for the tape worm in her body, engineered to act as a medical implant). Instead of dying, she finds herself waking up in a hospital with no memory, facing a long road to recovery. 

Author: Annie Jacobsen
Rating: 4 Stars
Review By: Shana

Another thorough job of historical reporting from Jacobsen. She has obviously closely studied de-classified documents and other sources to paint as complete a picture as possible of the United States' program to recruit Nazi scientists from Europe to work in the United States.  

Author: Lawrence O'Donnell
Rating: 5 Stars
Review By: Shana

There are books that you must work your way through, those you think you should read because they talk about something important and require a serious outlay of effort. O'Donnell has written a book that manages that wonderful alchemy of being a serious piece of historic and political research on an important time period that is a compelling read. His writing propels the story forward and it never feels like work as the pages fly by.

Author: Elly Griffiths
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Review By: Shana

This initial entry into a mystery series (currently ten books strong) feels like a quieter, British version of the mystery series by Kathy Reichs (famously turned into the American TV series Bones). Instead of a forensic anthropologist and FBI agent we have an archaeologist and detective chief inspector. There are fewer explosions and chases, no gun battles and more limited witty repartee, but you have the contrast of styles between a street smart, tough cop and a slightly out-of-touch academic.  

Author: Nina Stibbe
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Review By: Shana

I loved this, but can readily admit that it is likely an acquired taste. The humor is cutting and sardonic, innocent and wise, slapstick and heartbreaking. Our narrator is Lizzie, who begins at age 9 and progresses, relays the story of her parents' marriage coming to an ignoble end, followed by the forced move of their newly man-less family (Lizzie, older sister, younger brother, and mother) to the country. That move does not prove to be a fresh start as they receive no general welcome given that the family lacks the eponymous "man at the helm." Through Lizzie, we witness how a steadily declining financial situation strains their new life and tests their eccentric and depressed mother. 

Author: Christopher Fowler
Rating: 4 Stars
Review By: Shana

This book was not exactly as advertised, though I enjoyed it anyway. Some of the blurbs about the book, not to mention the name of the unit in question (Peculiar Crimes Unit), suggested a paranormal, supernatural, and/or occult twist. Though there is plenty of theorizing, outside the box thinking, a medium, and the suggestion of the inexplicable, this ends up being more classic British mystery accented by theatrical overtones and an odd couple detective partnering.