SPR’s book reviews of new self-published books
Rush by Cole Poindexter
The second in Cole Poindexter’s Parker Derrick series, Rush is a fast-moving crime thriller with a stellar female lead, which expands and improves on its predecessor.
This installment finds the Little Rock CSI protagonist called to a murder scene in a hotel where a note asks for her by name. When she realizes the murder victim is a private investigator she knew seven years back in Jasper when she was attacked, things get very strange. As Parker delves into the evidence, she finds herself being triggered, remembering details of her own experience that might just help with the current case.[…]
A momentous and impressive display of carefully crafted poetry, The Humbling and Other Poems by Robert J. Tiess is a complex yet accessible collection.
An absolutely adorable children’s book about a cranky gray kitty and her kindhearted sister, Andrea Lane’s Abby the Crabby Tabby Discovers Gratitude illuminates the importance of maintaining a positive attitude and being thankful for what you have.
An emotional work about experiencing amnesia and uncovering harsh personal truths, Chiuba Obele’s The Orientation of Dylan Woodger is a complicated debut novel that touches on difficult subjects.
A detailed recollection of the author’s formative journey in the Peace Corps, Awkward Stumbles and Fuzzy Memories: Memoir of a Peace Corps Volunteer by Kathy Ivchenko is a heartfelt and vividly told memoir of self-discovery.
An amateur sleuth uses her knowledge of crime novels to solve her friend’s murder in Michelle Corbier’s Murder Is Revealing, an engrossing mystery about shady business deals and dishonest scams.
Whimsical, relatable, and more than a little surreal, The Hotchkiss by Pierre Lawrence is an off-kilter but witty novella that examines the petty troubles of married life, and the dark fantasies that inevitably arise.
A short story about a young teenager befriending a girl with Down syndrome, Pierre Lawrence’s You’re Just Angie! captures the honest self-discovery and learning curves of childhood.