John Staughton, Senior Reviewer

A small-town story of thievery, loyalty, love, and legacy, The Cache by Lauren Anne Davis is a character-driven dive into the epic dramas of everyday life. Navigating new adult responsibilities and unprecedented threats against his family, King is an intriguing lead in this fast-moving read, and things only get more interesting after Meagan walks into his pawn shop, guns blazing, seeking her missing jewels. As this book’s bizarre cast entangles together, their lives and personal histories come into detailed focus, new romances are unexpectedly sparked, and old feuds are finally put to rest. Though the premise is strong, and the […]

Ancient villains, powerful artifacts, and a serial killer on the loose is just the beginning of The Curse by Robert Thornton, the latest in his compelling Hope Allerd mystery series. After being asked to consult on a controversial patient who had recently discovered an Egyptian tomb, the good doctor is drawn into a high-stakes plot of time-traveling professors, reincarnated mummies, and potential pandemics from the distant past. Deliciously mixing an infectious disease thriller with a sci-fi dip into magic, this novel smoothly swings from investigative procedural to a tomb-hunting adventure, for a genre-hopping thrill. Leaving each chapter hanging with palpable […]

A quick, gritty, and intimate thriller, The Camaro Murders by Ian Lewis is a haunting small-town novel that pushes the barriers of narrative form. When a specter from the past returns to the scene of an old crime, the lives of Sheriff Hildersham, August Burrough, Culver Crisp, and the enigmatic Driver will once again be tangled in death and deceit. The hard-boiled prose and nuanced character details make this a standout read, while the supernatural elements are crafted with dark subtlety. Touching on complex themes of abuse, long-buried trauma, justice, and revenge, while experimenting with traditional expectations of the genre, […]

An epic fourth installment of the Weapons of Choice series, Finn’s War by Nick Snape is propelled forward at a blistering pace by gripping sci-fi action in a fully realized world. When the long-suffering squad at the heart of this series finally reaches a colonizing seed ship, they find an unexpected alien landscape where power, profit, and control have taken hold. As ever, these fearless warriors must push their finely tuned abilities and cutting-edge tech to the limit in order to protect one another, and outsmart the forces of oppression. There are occasional plot holes or moments of disbelief, but […]