Editorial Reviews

Pulling back the curtain on the profession of death investigation, Mary Jumbelic, M.D. has crafted a gripping and original memoir in Here, Where Death Delights. Reflecting on the unexpected tragedy that defined her young life, and expounding on her consequent decades of work as a medical examiner, this memoir is an intimate exploration of mortality and the lifelong task of processing grief. Open and honest discussions about death are often avoided or seen as taboo, which makes Jumbelic’s journey through morgues, crime scenes, and the maze of human emotions such a revelation, written with a deep sense of sensitivity […]

Intriguingly wise and emotionally nuanced, Unbearable by Amy Winfield is the surreal story of a lost young camper befriending a curmudgeonly bear – one who can somehow talk, drive, cook, and even debate semantics. Whether the bear is educating Brandon about the danger of stereotypes, saving his life with plant medicine, or begrudgingly becoming his loyal companion, Smokey retains a clever sass that is both sarcastic and smart. Underlaid with lessons about personal responsibility, unfair prejudices, anger issues, self-reliance, bullying, and compassion, this witty and well-conceived short novel is heartfelt, original, and wholly entertaining.

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After a young woman’s brutal murder in the English countryside, the hunt for her killer quickly spirals out of control in The Pike, a gripping UK thriller by J.J. Richards, and the second in his DCI Walker Crime Thrillers series. As potential suspects begin desperately trying to skip town and jumping in front of trains, the heinous killings don’t stop, hinting at a far more sinister explanation than teenage hedonism gone horribly wrong. The repartee of the investigators, particularly between Briggs and DCI Walker, keep the procedural elements of the plot informative and well-paced, without giving away the whodunit, […]

Author Fred D. Hannah III delivers another installment of his Recreation series with The Dead Zone 4: Sleep Now, Forever Do Us Part, a breathless new adventure pitting cosmic Queens against Dark Lords in the DreamSpace outside reality. In a freshly forged universe packed with androids and magic, Aliana bides her time for revenge against the evil force who defeated her friends and eliminated all she ever knew. While things may look normal on the outside, the truth is that reality has become stranger than fiction, and Aliana must tap into all of her spectrum powers if she hopes […]

Set in 19th-century Australia, Phelan’s Gold by Casey Walsh is a thrilling novella following the adventures of Eamon Phelan, a charming criminal, and his gang of cattle thieves. With a new gold rush on the horizon, Eamon and his companions start their journey north, where he hopes to find business amid the chaos, but on one of their stops Eamon finds love instead, and none of his later exploits can get Shelagh Cleary out of his mind. Witty, funny, and playful, Walsh’s novella is both romantic and full of historical detail, for a unique work of character-driven historical fiction that […]

A spiraling and surreal set of stories from Mikhael Aroni, Your Lucky Day is an unassuming yet compelling work of short fiction. Tracing a mysterious force through the causes and effects it wreaks on average lives and the world at large, “The Noise” is a haunting tale of societal interconnectedness. Exploring identity, risk, and human exploration in modern relationships, “The Power” has a similar premise, but proceeds to deliver a vulnerable narrative around an enigmatic and imaginative protagonist. Layered with intentional meaning and subtle probing of social norms, Aroni offers up a brief but profound read.

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Two nebulous characters meet at an undescribed location and converse in Talk To Me, Love by Mikael Aroni, a collection of three dialogic pieces. No introduction or staging notes are given, but the protagonists reveal all that is required as their conversation develops, with the characters’ interrogation of each other revealing their particular quirks and motivations. Leaving the protagonists unnamed can make it difficult to figure out which character is speaking, but the uninterrupted dialogue creates an intensity that builds tension throughout. Modernist, absurdist, and complex in its discussion of love and connection, the book may seem to be a […]

A thoughtful exploration of fate, self-discovery, loss, and healing, The Invisible Red String by Peter Berlin and Ann Zachariah is a modern retelling of an ancient idea. The four members of a therapeutic meditation group find themselves subtly bound to one another in unexpected ways as they journey through their own wounds and weaknesses. As their most personal stories are gradually told, including revelations of abuse, abandonment, hope, and desire, the connections pulling them together become harder to resist, as if by destiny. Weaving together relevant themes of wealth inequality, cultural clashes, childhood trauma, forbidden love, and more, this slow-burning […]