Don’t Mean a Thing
Fun and quick chick-lit read set in Darwin Australia. The swing dancing background of Don’t Mean a Thing makes it perfect for fans of Dancing with the Stars! Macie joins the Royal Australian Air Force after a bad break up with her verbally abusive ex-boyfriend. She finds not only aContinue Reading
Kill Creek
Beware, you may not sleep well after reading Kill Creek! Kill Creek begins with four horror novelists agreeing to a live-streamed interview in a long abandoned haunted house in Kill Creek, Kansas. The interviews are held on Halloween night and the novelists stay overnight within the house. All the novelistsContinue Reading
Dawn in Damnation
Interesting setting and plot wasted with a lackluster resolution. Dawn in Damnation opens in a western bar where a veteran resident is explaining how a newbie got there. Damnation is “hell’s sifter”. Those that have some redeeming qualities included in an evil life, go to Damnation to be judged. ThoseContinue Reading
Punk is Dead: Modernity Killed Every Night
Interesting, but pretentious, essays and memoirs about punk rock’s beginnings in England. The essays here vary tremendously in readability and point of view. Quite a few emphasize the punk “scene” and how awesome it was for the writer to be a part of it. Others interpret punk as a reactionContinue Reading
High Moon #1
A former Pinkerton detective, MacGregor, searches for a known criminal in a Western town infected with evil. Set in 1890, the villainous gangs in this graphic novel are extremely original paranormal creatures. Their originality is the best part of this book. The other characters are western movie stereotypes like theContinue Reading
Subhuman
A non-stop roller-coaster of a read! Subhuman begins by showing the seemingly disparate specialties of five scientists. Dr. Cade Evans is an archaeologist, who has just discovered a mass grave underneath an existing excavated Egyptian tomb. Within it, Evans finds a mass of animal and human bodies, one with anContinue Reading
Hidden in Plain Sight: America’s Slaves of the New Millennium
Intriguing look at modern human trafficking victims, their abusers and customers. Hidden in Plain Sight addresses the many ways to exploit humans to make money. It includes those forced into prostitution, paid little for domestic work or to work on produce and cocoa farms, and coerced into solicitation crews. SexualContinue Reading
The Stories of Edgar Allen Poe: Manga Classics
Great manga version of the most famous of Poe’s tales. This volume of Edgar Allen Poe tales includes The Raven, The Tell Tale Heart, The Cask of Amontillado, The Fall of the House of Usher and The Mask of the Red Death. All are famous as Poe’s best work. TheContinue Reading
Streak of Chalk
With beautiful artwork and a plot that can be interpreted many ways, this is a perfect book club read. Streak of Chalk tells the story of two strangers on a mysterious island where the only residents are the proprietor of an inn/general store and her silent adult son. There isContinue Reading
Y is for Yesterday
Good penultimate addition to the series. Y is for Yesterday is the 25th book in Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone private detective series. Y is set in late 1989 and details two mysteries. The first involves Kinsey’s attempted murderer from the previous book in the series, X. Ned Lowe is onceContinue Reading
Big Book of Rogues and Villains
Another great anthology from Otto Penzler, this time investigating crime. Focusing on criminals from the Victorian era to modern day fiction, the Big Book of Rogues and Villains has something for everyone. Some of the bad guys are mostly good like Donald Westlake’s Dortmunder, who is more of a bunglerContinue Reading
How the Finch Stole Christmas
Great mystery but missing usual comedic family subplots. In How the Finch Stole Christmas, it’s Christmastime in Caerphilly. Michael’s college has decided to bring in a has-been actor named Malcolm Haver to increase tourist attendance for its annual play, A Christmas Carol. Unfortunately, Haver has a drinking problem, which meansContinue Reading
Literally Me
Interesting dip into the head of someone who isn’t me. Literally Me is a hodgepodge of cute illustrations and seemingly random life observations by a slightly famous Instagrammer. Four Horsewomen of the apocalypse is the best story as it has a plot with a surprisingly religious twist on fame. AnotherContinue Reading
Picture Perfect Murder
Humorous cozy mystery with a touch of romance. Ryli Jo Sinclair is a reporter for her small hometown newspaper and moonlights as the town’s forensic photographer. Ryli is intrigued by the new police chief, Garrett Kimble, who appears not to reciprocate her attention. She is called in to photograph theContinue Reading
Spot 12: Five Months in the Neonatal ICU
Heartfelt graphic memoir shares interesting insights about the trauma of having a sick child. Spot 12 shares the author’s story of a child, Asa, who is born with trachea issues. It especially addresses the parents’ conflicting feelings when surgery may cause immediate pain to their child while only possibly providingContinue Reading
Telling Stories
Practical ideas for improving your writing. Telling Stories covers most areas of writing short fiction, novels and memoirs. It has sections on structure, characterization, detail, point of view, language and revision. It also has a short section on the writing life, which includes how to start writing and defeat writer’sContinue Reading