SPR’s book reviews of new self-published books
Working the Devil by John Hagar
Working the Devil by John Hagar is a caustic novel about one man’s attempt to bring peace and justice to an indigenous community on a small island called Infierno in the Caribbean. “Infierno” is right (“Hell” in Spanish) as the island is teeming with violence, racism, and a sadistic prison named the Sepulcher. After escaping the island during extreme unrest, Pike returns to the community with an eye on repairing a multitude problems. He has to contend with corruption from above and below: both oil corporations and the society’s own history of ingrained brutality.
All in all, Working the Devil[…]
The Street Rod Mystery by Judy Iverson is a spirited and engaging mystery about the disappearance of a young woman girl at a fifties car show. The girl is kept captive by a car-obsessed man who first fell in love with a 1959 Buick Electra 225 convertible. A huge manhunt begins for the young woman, while she tries to evade her captor, and we learn of his twisted impulses that led to the abduction, a plan that was thirty years in the making.
ReLovenship (TM) Look Within to Love Again!: A Workbook to Attract “The One” and Much More in Your Life! by husband and wife duo Mario P. Cloutier and Diane Sawaya Cloutier is a how-to guide for securing a long-term relationship in a country with a 50% divorce rate. What exactly does ReLovenship mean? It’s the concept that you must love yourself before you’re ever a good mate for someone else. Far from this being an emphasis on narcissism or arrogance, ReLovenship is more of a spiritual concept in which people need to forgive themselves and open up to their better […]
Dismantling Evan is a moving and harrowing novel about coping with bipolar disorder – not just the disease itself, but how everyone reacts to those who suffer from mental illness. Evan Phillips is moved to a small town in Texas after suffering a nervous breakdown. Her parents hope that a new setting in a calmer environment will help her recover. All does not go as planned, as Evan’s family moves next to Gavin Ferguson, a teenager who has mental illness problems of his own. A group of gifted, but troubled, teenagers bond together, but become vicious targets as the town […]
Shades: The Gehenna Dilemma is the extraordinarily original and inventive science fiction/dystopian novel of a bleak future where the IRS bring back debtors from the dead as “Shades,” turning them into servants of the state. As the old saying goes, “The only thing certain in life are death and taxes.” Shades takes this literally and combines the two ideas.
“Pinterest Saved My Marriage” is the tender and amusing story about a dissolving marriage. Jack, obsessed with work but very successful, has been neglecting his wife and she decides to leave him. As a peace offering, he starts making stuff on her Pinterest boards (gourmet food, though he’s not a cook), which he hopes will mend their broken home. Though you may be guessing where this is going, the ending comes as a big surprise.
The Gertrude Threshold by Christopher Brooks is a moving and harrowing work of apocalyptic fiction that asks the question: what would you do if it was the last day on Earth? The Gertrude Threshold refers to a mathematical calculation that precisely determines the last day humans can survive after Global Warming. A family spanning several generations waits out the last day in a series of tubes underground, and the narrative switches between characters, giving this short novella an epic breadth and scope.
Lemat is living every writer’s nightmare: the starving artist, unknown and unheralded. He hits such rock bottom that he attempts suicide, splits up with a girlfriend and gets fired from his job. He then meets Guy, a talent agent who urges him to write something lurid and incendiary, which is more like doing a deal with the devil. Selling out his artistic soul works: he becomes famous and controversial, lands a 6-figure publishing contract, but comes to realize that compromising one’s integrity also comes at a great price.