Archive
The complete Open Letters Monthly Archive.
From the Perigord region of France to North Yorkshire, England to the Appalachian Trail - the locations of this trio of new mysteries by old hands might be far-flung, but for our mystery maven, crime is a universal language!
Read MoreBiographer Zachary Leader takes his readers on a long, detailed tour of the first half of Saul Bellow's life, and while those readers may be loving it, the critics have been complaining!
Read MoreA trio of mysteries cum thrillers from Stephen King, Peter Lovesey, and Mike Lawson—each one in its own way stylish, suspenseful, and sharp.
Read MoreDonna Leon’s 24th book starring the charismatic Commissario Guido Brunetti, Falling in Love, is every bit as spellbinding as we expect it to be. Martin Walker’s seventh featuring Bruno, Dordogne’s favorite chief of police, The Children Return, finds his small town shockingly targeted by a terrorist network.
Read MoreIn his painting "Figure on a Bed," John Koch immortalizes the kind of private moment that's usually lost in an instant - Brett Busang muses on one arresting piece of art.
Read MoreThe voice of poetry can often be the voice of lyric witness, turning our attention to moments in history that would have eluded us, or that might never have been felt as well as understood. These titles perform this function about as well as it can be done.
Read MoreOur unabashedly bookish editors and friends look back on some of the highlights from 2014's reading.
Read MoreA veteran and a newcomer give us two gripping thrillers: The Big Finish by the critically acclaimed master of suspense, James W. Hall, and The Life We Bury, a mesmerizing debut by Allen Eskens.
Read MoreJust in time for the November midterm elections, we do what doubters said couldn't be done: we present you with a list of ten great political books that doesn't include Richard Ben Cramer's What It Takes.
Read MoreFelix Francis continues to artfully follow in his late father’s footsteps with his newest thriller, Dick Francis’s Damage. The Button Man, Mark Pryor’s fourth Hugo Marston novel, is a prequel that adds a fascinating dimension to the highly charismatic protagonist of this splendid series.
Read MoreAs Hollywood looks to science fiction and fantasy novels for the 'source material' of its newest CGI spectaculars, Justin Hickey picks ten sci-fi/fantasy books he hopes the studios never find and ruin ...
Read MoreSuzannah Dunn's new novel takes readers inside the lives and tensions of the Tudor era's Seymour clan - including the timid, practical daughter who will become Queen of England
Read MoreThe critical consensus around reclusive Italian novelist Elena Ferrante is enough to make you suspect collusion - but to what end? and at what cost? Rohan Maitzen reviews the reviewers.
Read MoreRidley Scott's Prometheus, ill-served by critics when it appeared last year, is the finest sequel to the Alien movies yet made. Our contributing editor chooses ten exemplary minutes to make his case.
Read MoreA tightly drawn disturbing novel, The Frozen Dead is Bernard Minier’s auspicious debut. The Long Way Home is the tenth in Louise Penny’s celebrated Armand Gamache series.
Read MoreA Colder War is the latest from Charles Cumming, one of the best at depicting the frail and brutal world of spydom. Neely Tucker’s The Ways of the Dead marks the debut of what promises to be a first-rate series.
Read MoreIt's summer at last, and you won't find any relief from the heat in our editors' round-up of the hottest books they know.
Read MoreLord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane, those supersmart, sophisticated sleuths, are back in The Late Scholar, a savvy new detective story by Jill Paton Walsh.
Read MoreMiddlemarch is all the rage now – as it should be! But what if you’ve already read not just George Eliot’s masterpiece but all of her novels? Do not despair: these eight books will bring you close to her in spirit.
Read MoreFor a little over two years, shortly before she died, short story master Katherine Mansfield wrote a weekly book review column. Those pieces not only shed light on Mansfield's particular slant of genius, but have much to say about the embattled art of reviewing.
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