The Wealth of Shadows by Graham Moore

May 19, 2025

The Wealth of Shadows by Graham Moore

In 1939, an assorted group of monetary experts from the U.S. Treasury Department set out to crash the German economy.

A look at World War II history from a different angle, this time from a monetary/economic perspective, based on actual events and people. Billed as a page-turning gripping spy thriller, it's not that at all and certainly not what I was expecting. It's slow-moving for one thing, with a lot of discussion about economic theory in the first part of the book. I also didn't find the characters all that engaging, although there is some witty dialogue among some of the characters but not enough to keep me interested, and I found myself skimming over a lot of parts. Some readers called it fascinating and it probably is to the right reader, who obviously isn't me. Not recommended unless you are into economic theory in minute detail. Or need something to help you get to sleep.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Crooked River by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

November 9, 2022

Crooked River by Douglas Preston and Lincoln

Captiva Island in Florida is a vacation paradise, with beautiful beaches where visitors enjoy collecting a wide variety of shells. But one morning, dozens of amputated feet wash up instead. The case is strange enough that the FBI's most unusual agent, Special Agent Pendergast, along with his sometime-partner Armstrong Coldmoon, is assigned to investigate. Pendergast's ward, Constance Green, is along for the ride and manages to find her own mystery to solve when she's not working with the two agents.

This is #19 in the Agent Pendergast series. Agent Pendergast is mysterious and has a number of quirks, but his ward Constance Green (who has quite a backstory of her own) and Agent Coldmoon aren't far behind in the quirky/mysterious category. Very enjoyable series, looking forward to the next release. I would suggest reading the books in order so that you get the full narrative. I listened to the audiobook - the narrator gets the inflections exactly right.

Captiva Island

Crooked River State Park, Florida

Bull Mountain by Brian Panowich

February 12, 2020

Bull Mountain by Brian Panowich

Clayton Burroughs has spent his whole life trying to be different from the rest of his family.  His father and brothers ran the biggest moonshine operation on Bull Mountain, and when prohibition was overturned, they moved on to marijuana, crystal meth, and guns.  To prove that he is not like his family, Clayton runs for and is elected county sheriff, which doesn’t sit well with his closest relatives.  His brother Halford has run his illegal businesses like a mafia don and depends on personal loyalty from those who live on the mountain, but various agencies of the federal government are closing in.  For good measure, throw in an ATF agent with a serious drug addiction and his own agenda.

The Godfather meets Winter’s Bone.  This is a quick suspenseful read with well-developed characters that kept me turning the pages, with good concise writing that doesn’t wander into a lot of unnecessary detail.  The story moves back and forth from the 1940’s to the present day with various stops in between, so if you don’t care for a nonlinear story, this may not be for you.  Be warned:  there is also a pretty high violence level.  Panowich has written two sequels set in the same area (Like Lions and Hard Cash Valley).