Mark R. Rinker (Author of Evil Ambulance)

Mark R. and 75 other people liked Paul Flint's review of Trad Wife: "A real page turning twisted masterpiece that slowly reveals its claws. An intense novel that gets darker as it progresses ,the idea seems simple but it’s not. The role of the Traditional Wife becomes a mockery of expectations and a trap unfolding as " Read more of this review »
Oct 15, 2026 10:39AM · see review
Mark R. rated a book it was amazing Trad Wife by Sarah Langan (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
"Audrey's Door," the first Sarah Langan book I read, has always been my favorite of hers. It was recommended to me not long after its publication by a friend who had been in a book club with Ms. Langan a little while prior to that. The book hit me ha ...more
Oct 15, 2026 08:11AM · like · see review
Mark R. rated a book Murder Road by Simone St. James (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Solid ghostly thriller from Simone St. James. I think I liked the first half of this book considerably more than the second, but then, a lot of times that almost can't be helped with stories that have such a perplexing, intriguing set-up. Altogether, ...more
Oct 14, 2026 03:28PM · like · see review
Mark R. rated a book Kronos Rising (Kronos Rising #1) by Max Hawthorne (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Engaging, action-packed horror-adventure about a giant, crazy, prehistoric type of monster attacking a shore community. There's some intrigue, shady corporate types, red herring creatures, and some truly explosive action. The only thing "Kronos Rising ...more
Oct 14, 2026 03:27PM · like · see review
Mark R. rated a book Summer Crossing by Truman Capote	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I feel conflicted about reading unfinished, posthumously published works. But the introduction in this copy of "Summer Crossing" goes a good way toward assuaging that concern. The ending is rather sudden, and of course there's no way of knowing if th ...more
Oct 14, 2026 03:27PM · like · see review
Mark R. rated a book The Black Arrow (1888) ( historical adventure ) NOVEL by: Robert Louis Stevenson by Robert Louis Stevenson	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I've read Robert Louis Stevenson's "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," a wonderful book, but am ignorant of most of his work. "The Black Arrow" didn't exactly jump-start a desire in my heart to read through the rest of his bibliography. There's a war going on ...more
Oct 14, 2026 03:27PM · like · see review
Mark R. rated a book The Murderbot Diaries Vol. 1 by Martha Wells (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Two novellas (I love stories of this length) about the Murderbot, a human-assisting robot who has pulled out his main babysitting programming in order to give himself something like free will. This occurs after an accident, or order, we're not sure w ...more
Oct 14, 2026 03:27PM · like · see review
Mark R. finished reading Kronos Rising (Kronos Rising #1) by Max Hawthorne (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Oct 14, 2026 03:27PM · like
Mark R. rated a book Hemlock Island by Kelley Armstrong (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Kelley Armstrong's "Hemlock Island" would get four stars from me for the story and the way events play out, but I'm not crazy about some of the narrative choices, so 3.5--and when, please, will you allow half-star ratings, Goodreads? School teacher an ...more
Oct 14, 2026 03:27PM · like · see review
Mark R. finished reading Summer Crossing by Truman Capote	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Oct 14, 2026 03:27PM · like

Mark R. and 75 other people liked Paul Flint's review of Trad Wife:

"A real page turning twisted masterpiece that slowly reveals its claws. An intense novel that gets darker as it progresses ,the idea seems simple but it’s not. The role of the Traditional Wife becomes a mockery of expectations and a trap unfolding as " Read more of this review »

Mark R. rated a book it was amazing

Trad Wife
by Sarah Langan (Goodreads Author)

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

"Audrey's Door," the first Sarah Langan book I read, has always been my favorite of hers. It was recommended to me not long after its publication by a friend who had been in a book club with Ms. Langan a little while prior to that. The book hit me ha "Audrey's Door," the first Sarah Langan book I read, has always been my favorite of hers. It was recommended to me not long after its publication by a friend who had been in a book club with Ms. Langan a little while prior to that. The book hit me hard and I shortly after picked up her previous novels, "The Keeper" and "The Missing," and thoroughly enjoyed those too (particularly "The Keeper," which shares a similar sad-scary vibe with "Audrey's Door").

I re-read all of those over the next several years, always on the lookout for a new Sarah Langan novel. Then, suddenly, more than ten years later they started coming one after another. "Good Neighbors," "A Better World," and a novella, "Bloody 13," that works great as a double feature with the long-ish short story "Squid Teeth." The streak continues with "Trad Wife," possibly Langan's best book yet. I made the mistake of bringing it along on a family vacation and found myself sneaking away to read whenever possible, unable to get the story and its characters out of my head. (It's perfect for vacation, by the way, but of the relax-by-the-pool variety, where getting lost in a great story is one of the best things that can happen to you.)

There's a lot to take from this fast-paced three-hundred page jolt of rot-beneath-the-facade terror, themes of subjugation, control, and freedom, which I found myself considering long after putting the book down. First, though, it's a horror story (something Langan herself points out in the afterword, emphasizing that "Trad Wife" shouldn't be placed on the Satire shelf of your book collection).

The setup is superb and will be happily familiar to genre fans, as a writer down on her luck after a sudden rise to fame receives an offer to spend some time out of town, out of her comfort zone, in order to take on a possibly troubling subject that will hopefully get her back on the path toward success. She's coming out of tragedy and a general loneliness and looks past foreboding signs and warnings to learn more about a strange little town founded on violence and crime, now run by a mysterious, sometimes strangely robotic woman. If she can write an award-winning article about the "trad wife" who commands the show, maybe she and her subject can both benefit. Oh, but what are these weird stories she keeps hearing around town, and how does this trad wife have everyone so completely on her side (under her control)?

I love the way this story plays out. There isn't a single thing I'd change. It's strange, uplifting, disturbing, and oddly optimistic.

Already looking forward to reading this one again. ...more

Mark R. rated a book

Murder Road
by Simone St. James (Goodreads Author)

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Solid ghostly thriller from Simone St. James. I think I liked the first half of this book considerably more than the second, but then, a lot of times that almost can't be helped with stories that have such a perplexing, intriguing set-up. Altogether, ...more

Mark R. rated a book

Kronos Rising (Kronos Rising #1)
by Max Hawthorne (Goodreads Author)

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Engaging, action-packed horror-adventure about a giant, crazy, prehistoric type of monster attacking a shore community. There's some intrigue, shady corporate types, red herring creatures, and some truly explosive action.

The only thing "Kronos Rising ...more

Mark R. rated a book

Summer Crossing
by Truman Capote

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

I feel conflicted about reading unfinished, posthumously published works. But the introduction in this copy of "Summer Crossing" goes a good way toward assuaging that concern.

The ending is rather sudden, and of course there's no way of knowing if th ...more

Mark R. rated a book

The Black Arrow (1888) ( historical adventure ) NOVEL by by Robert Louis Stevenson

The Black Arrow (1888) ( historical adventure ) NOVEL by: Robert Louis Stevenson
by Robert Louis Stevenson

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

I've read Robert Louis Stevenson's "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," a wonderful book, but am ignorant of most of his work. "The Black Arrow" didn't exactly jump-start a desire in my heart to read through the rest of his bibliography.

There's a war going on ...more

Mark R. rated a book

The Murderbot Diaries Vol. 1
by Martha Wells (Goodreads Author)

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Two novellas (I love stories of this length) about the Murderbot, a human-assisting robot who has pulled out his main babysitting programming in order to give himself something like free will. This occurs after an accident, or order, we're not sure w ...more

Mark R. finished reading

Kronos Rising (Kronos Rising #1)
by Max Hawthorne (Goodreads Author)

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Mark R. rated a book

Hemlock Island
by Kelley Armstrong (Goodreads Author)

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Kelley Armstrong's "Hemlock Island" would get four stars from me for the story and the way events play out, but I'm not crazy about some of the narrative choices, so 3.5--and when, please, will you allow half-star ratings, Goodreads?

School teacher an Kelley Armstrong's "Hemlock Island" would get four stars from me for the story and the way events play out, but I'm not crazy about some of the narrative choices, so 3.5--and when, please, will you allow half-star ratings, Goodreads?

School teacher and recently published author Laney inherits a secluded island on Lake Superior from her friendly ex-husband, Kit, and she rents it out to folks looking for a no-wifi kind of getaway in an impressive two-story home with an open floor plan and no blinds covering the floor-to-ceiling windows. She receives a call from guests leaving the house letting her know that someone splashed blood in an upstairs closet. This jives with a weird hex symbol Laney recently found on the grounds. She heads out there to learn who's behind this trickery.

Along with her, her sixteen-year-old niece Madison, she arrives at the island, only to find that her ex is there, along with her one-time best friends Sadie and Jayla, and Jayla's asshole cop brother, Garrett.

The team investigates, somewhat awkwardly, as they have much in the way of family-and-friend history, plenty of it unpleasant, and for a while the reader isn't sure if there's something truly supernatural at work here or if it's an elaborate prank by a would-be killer . . . I assure you, the explanation is worth sticking around for.

Things get intense, and the relationships between these characters only add to the tension. What I'm not so into is all of the internal dialogue between Laney and herself. Yes, it's a first-person story, with a main character who's a mystery writer, but there was still too much back n forth in italics, Laney talking to herself, and a lot of this could have been cut to make a swifter-moving, more satisfactory read.

There is also some important background information kept from the reader until the third act. This is fine, except that the way it's presented in its first-person is very much, "Then Jayla said something that I didn't like, and we talked about that, and it was very bad, but anyway, on to the next thing." This sort of slow reveal works better in third-person. Here, it just makes the reader wonder why we aren't able to be in on what the narrator clearly feels is important.

That said, the story is still quite good, as are the characters. Solid conclusion too.

And now I'm on to her next horror novel, "I'll Be Waiting". ...more

Mark R. finished reading

Summer Crossing
by Truman Capote