Editorial Reviews

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 […]

Combining deep reflections with cutting humor, Bardo Zsa Zsa by C.B. Murphy and Nicolas Murphy is a brilliant visionary sci-fi novel with elements of the philosophical, romantic, and satirical. Russ’s life is falling into pieces, especially since he has started being abducted by aliens, so in a deep state of depression, he decides to join the Heaven’s Gate cult, who believed they had been chosen by a group of superior, benevolent aliens for salvation. A story that is at once driven by pathos and sardonic humor – like Douglas Adams with a harder edge – Bardo Zsa Zsa is a […]

A barbed and blistering satire on current political affairs, Blaze Union and the Puddin’ Head Schools by W.T. Kosmos is an unbridled take on the absurdities of modern life, written for a middle grade audience. Driven out of their school district by a book-banning craze, a teacher goes to visit their friend Blaze Union on Puddin’ Head Island to try and cure their “absurdity neurosis.” A wild, Swiftian piece of imagination, W.T. Kosmos has unleashed a book as funny as it is urgent, boldly taking on vital contemporary issues for young readers.

 […]

The cruelty of fate clashes with the power of resilience in Nowhere to Hide by Neil Turner, the latest gripping read in the Tony Valenti Mystery series. The relationships between Kevin, Pat, and Tony are crafted beautifully, while the antagonists of the novel are immediately evident, making it easy for readers to choose their side and stay there. With timely themes, compelling characters both familiar and fresh, and relatable storytelling about the dynamics within a family, Turner has delivered another thought-provoking gem of a thriller.

 […]

Ray Keating has compiled an accessible, wide-ranging compendium that analyzes and clarifies the complexity of economics in The Weekly Economist II: 52 More Quick Reads to Help You Think Like an Economist. Despite the political football that economics has become in the political sphere, Keating remains remarkably impartial here, offering fair critiques and reasonable assessments of economic decisions, theories, and policies across time. From JFK’s unusual taxation policies to the impact of Covid-19 on entrepreneurship, this is an impressive second installment of the author’s economics essays, avoiding repetition from the first collection, and offering cogent advice that feels more […]

A wild, hilarious novel that is also written with deep sincerity, I Was Once an Interesting Person by Patti Bean tracks the life of protagonist Katie from picket-fence 50’s conformity, through the substance-fueled hippie excesses of the Woodstock generation, to motherhood and the melancholy compromises of becoming an adult. Though written from the lens of a certain generation, the novel is eminently relatable to anyone looking back on their more rambunctious years, while wondering where the years have gone. An addictive, amusingly tangential read, which is conveyed with a distinctive voice and disarming frankness, Bean’s novel beautifully captures the idealistic […]