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Jos

Jos@books.theunseen.city

Joined 1 year, 5 months ago

Music arranger and producer. Also web programmer. Thrillers, historic novels, occasionally non-fiction. Utrecht, the Netherlands.

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reviewed The Anomaly by Hervé Le Tellier

The Anomaly (2021) 4 stars

Who needs an ending with a start like that

5 stars

A spectacular premise, so much so that the ending hardly matters. So many characters that you wonder how to keep track of them all, but don't worry, it all works out in the end. I found the book well written: some sound ideas, some humour, lots of suspense, thoroughly researched. A compliment for the careful translation.

The Left-Handed Booksellers of London (Hardcover, 2020, Katherine Tegen Books) 3 stars

A girl’s quest to find her father leads her to an extended family of magical …

Pleasant but not unforgettable

3 stars

Just compelling enough to finish, but not a very memorable story. Colourful, a pleasant kind of weird, and occasionally funny. Don't look for a strong plot though, or a surprising twist. This book shows glimpses of a universe that potentially brings forth many sequels - that I'm probably not going to read. Although one day I might wonder about those sinister booksellers of Bath, who knows.

reviewed Act of Oblivion by Robert Harris

Act of Oblivion (2022, HarperCollins Publishers) 4 stars

Battles and church services

4 stars

What I liked about this book was the way the author sits down with you and very honestly says: Look, here are the facts as well as we can possibly know, and the rest I made up. The story may not be exactly true, but something like this must have happened. Perhaps not Robert Harris's best book: it contains lenghty descriptions of actual battles on British soil. Also, I haven't counted the Puritan church services described, but it seems as if there were several Sundays a week in those days. The end, while long expected, seems written in a bit of haste. That said, even an average Robert Harris book is still a good book.

Empire of Pain (2021) 5 stars

Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty is a 2021 book by …

Review of 'Empire of Pain' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Uitstekend geschreven en gedocumenteerd boek over een van de grootste schandalen in Big Pharma. Schokkend hoe kort het nog maar geleden is, en verontrustend om te bedenken hoe het hier in Nederland, nu geregeld is.