Mike Finn’s Reviews > Mystery Writers of America Presents Vengeance > Status Update
Mike Finn
is 72% done
THE GENERAL by Janice Law ★★★★
This was beautifully done. The vengeance was subtle. The hatred involved was palpable. The character of the general was disclosed and, in part, defined by the suspense generated by the gardener’s odd mix of passivity and threat. The pacing was perfect.
— Jul 25, 2026 01:55AM
This was beautifully done. The vengeance was subtle. The hatred involved was palpable. The character of the general was disclosed and, in part, defined by the suspense generated by the gardener’s odd mix of passivity and threat. The pacing was perfect.
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Mike Finn
is 96% done
IN PERSONA CHRISTI by Orest Stelmach ★★
Good opening line: “Two days before the killers came for Maria, a gang of teenagers rampaged across church property”. The story reminded me of a 70s Rock Concept Album: a clever structure to the central conceit but with little emotional engagement. This is the second priest in this collection whom I found myself unable to believe in.
— Jul 27, 2026 03:19PM
Good opening line: “Two days before the killers came for Maria, a gang of teenagers rampaged across church property”. The story reminded me of a 70s Rock Concept Album: a clever structure to the central conceit but with little emotional engagement. This is the second priest in this collection whom I found myself unable to believe in.
Mike Finn
is 91% done
BLOOD AND SUNSHINE by AdamMeyer ★★
Great opening line: “Most people don’t believe in pure evil, and neither did I until I met five-year-old Dylan Brewster.” Sadly, I found the rest of the story to be too slick for its own good. I didn’t see the twist at the end coming, but by that point, I was no longer invested in the story because I didn’t believe in the main character.
— Jul 27, 2026 03:10PM
Great opening line: “Most people don’t believe in pure evil, and neither did I until I met five-year-old Dylan Brewster.” Sadly, I found the rest of the story to be too slick for its own good. I didn’t see the twist at the end coming, but by that point, I was no longer invested in the story because I didn’t believe in the main character.
Mike Finn
is 87% done
THE HOT-LINE by Dreda Say Mitchell ★★★
This was fun, mostly because it was both clever and unexpected. I enjoyed watching the quiet, accepting, non-confrontational Muslim woman finally find her anger, combine it with her creativity, and her daring to unleash a well-justified revenge.
— Jul 27, 2026 03:04PM
This was fun, mostly because it was both clever and unexpected. I enjoyed watching the quiet, accepting, non-confrontational Muslim woman finally find her anger, combine it with her creativity, and her daring to unleash a well-justified revenge.
Mike Finn
is 82% done
The cool, reasonable storytelling tone contrasts with the main character's deep, even more reasonable rage, making his actions both unpredictable and deeply satisfying.
The story details the damage a predatory venture capitalist can legally inflict on whole communities. I loved that the main character’s driver wasn't vengeance but a need to know why a billionaire would cause such harm to gain a few millions.
— Jul 27, 2026 02:20PM
The story details the damage a predatory venture capitalist can legally inflict on whole communities. I loved that the main character’s driver wasn't vengeance but a need to know why a billionaire would cause such harm to gain a few millions.
Mike Finn
is 77% done
A FINE MIST OF BLOOD by Michael Connelly ★★★
A little slice of Harry Bosch doing his thing. This time he’s set on the scent by a new data analysis technique, but his follow-through is all hunch, instinct and deviousness. There wasn’t much by way of mystery, but the ending was engineered to deliver suspense, a surprise or two and a spectacular conclusion.
— Jul 26, 2026 11:06PM
A little slice of Harry Bosch doing his thing. This time he’s set on the scent by a new data analysis technique, but his follow-through is all hunch, instinct and deviousness. There wasn’t much by way of mystery, but the ending was engineered to deliver suspense, a surprise or two and a spectacular conclusion.
Mike Finn
is 68% done
EVEN A BLIND MAN by Darrell James ★★★★
There was a lot packed into this story, and yet it never felt rushed or as if it was pushing information at me. It brought the characters and the situation into focus and then kept sharpening that focus in surprising ways that made the situation darker and the characters more complex. I found Earl Lilly fascinating. I’d like to read more about him.
— Jul 25, 2026 01:49AM
There was a lot packed into this story, and yet it never felt rushed or as if it was pushing information at me. It brought the characters and the situation into focus and then kept sharpening that focus in surprising ways that made the situation darker and the characters more complex. I found Earl Lilly fascinating. I’d like to read more about him.
Mike Finn
is 62% done
SILENT JUSTICE by C. E. Lawrence ★★
This was too slight for me. The riffs on confessions and their consequences were interesting but the priest didn’t seem real to me.
— Jul 25, 2026 01:41AM
This was too slight for me. The riffs on confessions and their consequences were interesting but the priest didn’t seem real to me.
Mike Finn
is 56% done
IT AIN’T RIGHT by Michelle Gagnon ★★★
Some marriages have reefs, just below the surface, known but unacknowledged, unexplored, constantly navigated around and hidden from strangers. This is the story of one of those navigations. The storytelling is oblique but evocative. A slight story that, like a splinter, slips into the reader’s imagination and festers.
— Jul 23, 2026 12:08AM
Some marriages have reefs, just below the surface, known but unacknowledged, unexplored, constantly navigated around and hidden from strangers. This is the story of one of those navigations. The storytelling is oblique but evocative. A slight story that, like a splinter, slips into the reader’s imagination and festers.
Mike Finn
is 55% done
by Karin Slaughter ★★★★★
A brilliantly written, chillingly dark, suspenseful story where the vengeance wrought is evil, and you won’t see it coming. The prose grabbed me from the first sentence. The set-up is original and tense. With each reveal, the situation worsens. The ending is nasty and perfect
— Jul 19, 2026 02:50PM
A brilliantly written, chillingly dark, suspenseful story where the vengeance wrought is evil, and you won’t see it coming. The prose grabbed me from the first sentence. The set-up is original and tense. With each reveal, the situation worsens. The ending is nasty and perfect
Mike Finn
is 45% done
AFRICA WILL ALWAYS NEED GUNS by Michael Niemann ★★★★
I was impressed by how rigorously this was imagined, how unflinching the depiction of apparently unassailable corruption was, and how clearly drawn Valentin Vermeulen, the beleaguered investigator, was. This is the kind of story where no one comes out clean but where it’s possible, if you have the stomach for getting dirty, to make the world slightly less broken.
— Jul 18, 2026 02:09PM
I was impressed by how rigorously this was imagined, how unflinching the depiction of apparently unassailable corruption was, and how clearly drawn Valentin Vermeulen, the beleaguered investigator, was. This is the kind of story where no one comes out clean but where it’s possible, if you have the stomach for getting dirty, to make the world slightly less broken.