Carrie Dils

It's been a long time since I read Steinbeck. Picked up this book off an Airbnb shelf (didn't finish during my stay so went and found a used copy). I enjoyed the easy (if not sometimes wary) camaraderie of the character cast. I gave a good LOL several times throughout the book while also feeling the weight of each's solitude (even the gopher). A few weeks ago I passed through Monterrey and saw the sardine canneries (no idea if they're still functional). It was fun to read about a place I've seen with my own eyes.

Read this from a recommendation from My Favorite Murder podcast and it was a well-written page-turner.

I'm including a trigger warning for sexual assault, infant death, general violence.

It's possibly the worst book I've read. The characters were thin, the plot was unbelievable, the references to police procedures were wildly inaccurate, etc.

I hate giving a book 1 star because I know that writing and publishing a book is no small effort, but I just couldn't get past the awfulness of this one.

I love Kate Winkler Dawson and appreciate her attention to detail in research and storytelling. This particular story didn't resonate.

The genre isn't necessarily my favorite, but the audiobook had an all-star cast that made listening to the book really enjoyable.