Book Review: The Writer by James Patterson and J.D. Barker

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The Writer by James Patterson and J.D. Barker  was published on March 17, 2025. It opens with Detective Declan Shaw at a closed subway station trying to work up the nerve to commit suicide when he receives a call from his partner about a break in and homicide at the home of a true crime author. Shaw makes his way to the crime scene to work the case, and in a turn of events, Declan comes under scrutiny in another case loosely connected to this new case. I received an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of The Writer  from NetGalley and Little , Brown, and Company for free in exchange for my honest review. I'm appreciative that my request for this book was approved. With this story opening with the main character trying to commit suicide, I almost didn't go any further with the book. However, I am glad I stuck with it as it took me on a fantastic ride and had my emotions all over the place. There were so many twists and turns that just when I thought I had it all figured out, there was ...
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Book Review: Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

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Book Club Book Review of Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang is about Yale classmates and friends, June Haywood and Athena Liu, debuting their novels at the same time with both expecting to become well known authors.  When Athena suddenly dies in front of her friend, June makes a rash decision and steals Athena's manuscript, pawning it off as her own in hopes of attaining some of the fame Athena found.  Will June be caught?

This novel was the October selection for the book club I belong to.  Although the synopsis sounded intriguing, I was afraid I was going to be dissatisfied with the direction that the story would take.  My assumption was correct.  

book review yellow face r f kuangJune ended up being as unlikable as I thought she would be and literally had no redeeming qualities.  She kept making excuses and trying to rationalize the reason for stealing Athena's manuscript and publishing it as her own.  I kept waiting for her to get caught or reveal what she had done, but neither one really happened, which just made my blood boil.

The ending made me almost as angry as the ending of Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.  Since I read Yellowface on my ereader, I refrained from throwing it across the room like I did with Gillian Flynn's book, which was a paperback.  With that being said, R.F. Kuang has a way with words that kept me wanting to read until the very end.  It was engaging and entertaining while bringing up very real things like racism and plagiarism.  Five out of five stars.


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