Pleasant Nights

Title: Magic

Author: Roland Lazenby

Genre: NF

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

When I requested this book, I had no idea how long it was. Over 800 pages. To my delight, it’s so well-researched, and as a huge Magic fan since my childhood, I loved every page. This book was so much fun to read.

The book follows Magic’s life, mostly his childhood and basketball career, and briefly touches on his business ventures. There isn’t a lot to say in a review, other than, if you want to read a giant book about Magic Johnson, then you will love this.

Title: Down the Hill

Author: Susan Hendricks

Genre: Non-fiction/ true crime

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

I’m reasonably well-versed about the murders of Libby German and Abby Williams, following the case through the news, and was so relieved when an arrest was made. So when I saw this book, written by a CNN anchor, I was interested to see what more she had to offer about the story. This book was fine, but the author wrote the book more like a reporter, using giant chunks of interviews, rather than as a writer.

Susan Hendricks tells her story and how she got to know the families. I feel like she truly cared about them and their pain and didn’t use them to get a bigger story. In fact, this book’s forward is written by Libby’s sister, Kelsey. I enjoyed the book and felt the families’ pain of their loss. Susan tells a lot about her side of meeting with the families, attending CrimeCon, and discussing the case with the police. This book is worth the read for anyone interested in the case or in true crime in general.

Title: Murder Road

Author: Simone St. James

Genre: horror/thriller

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

I love Simone St. James’s books. I’ve read The Haunting of Maddy Clare, The Broken Girls, and The Sundown Motel, all of which were excellent. This story was just as excellent as the others. I love that her books are horror-adjacent but still fit into the thriller category. Best of both worlds!

In 1995, Eddie and April are on their honeymoon when they see a bloody woman at the side of the road. They pick her up, take her to the hospital, and then are accused of being her murderers. They know they aren’t but don’t know how to clear their names. As they begin to dig in her death, they uncover more secrets about the stretch of road where they found her.

This story has a lot of great secrets and reveals that I didn’t see coming. Eddie and April are great characters who you really root for, even though they have pasts that they are running or hiding from. Add in a good cop, a stubborn widow, and two nosy teen girls, this book has a great cast of secondary characters. I thought this book was great and will definitely recommend it.