Historical Fiction Book Reviews | Self-Publishing Review

Review: Celey (Heritage Series Volume II) by Susan Diane Black Blackmon

Celey by Susan Diane Black Blackmon is the second book in the Heritage Series, a collection of historical novels based on real-life characters and events. Standing between fact and fiction, Celey is a heartwarming novel about hardship, family, and the hopes and dreams of a town in 19th-century Arkansas, for an engrossing and evocative work of historical fiction.

Waldron is a place on a difficult journey from wilderness to civilization, and Celey, a young woman of sixteen, experiences what it means to live in an unsafe environment, where women cannot go around town unaccompanied and bullies seem to go […]

Marina Dora Martino2023-03-21T11:26:27+02:00February 6th, 2023|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Historical Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Tim by Daniel A. Sheridan

Transporting readers back to a legendary snapshot from the long tale of America, Tim: The Story of Timothy H. O’Sullivan as a Young Apprentice at Mathew Brady’s Studio by Daniel A. Sheridan is a stunning story of youthful determination and a nascent technology that would change the world.

Young Tim is unexpectedly apprenticed to the legendary Matthew Brady at his daguerrotype studio on Broadway, and his life is forever changed overnight. Walking through the heart of historical New York is a dramatic and eye-opening shift from the young boy’s expected path – following his father and brother as a carpenter. […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2023-01-12T17:24:50+02:00December 6th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Historical Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Birdie Pesky Was Here by Andrew Augustine Connor

A spiraling account of a fictional historical heist, Birdie Pesky Was Here: The Story of the Big Bad Buxom Blonde Boston Bank Boost by Andrew Augustine Connor is a rowdy and unpredictable thriller that teeters on the edge of believable from start to finish, making it easy to forget that this novel is a wildly creative piece of imagination.

Cash and Cary make for an unforgettable duo of safe crackers as they scheme their way around their debt to a dangerous don, with a dazzling balance of laissez-faire larceny and daring deeds. They are a delightfully odd couple, and genuinely […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-10-10T17:29:21+02:00September 28th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Historical Fiction Book Reviews, Thriller Book Reviews|

Review: The Devil You Knew by Mike Cobb

Mike Cobb unravels a sinister, masterfully penned drama in The Devil You Knew. Summoning demons of the past still haunting America today, this period mystery jabs at the most painful nerves of culture and history.

The tone is grimly set in the opening chapters – the deep South of the 1960s, where religion and bigotry reign over a land already scarred by so much sin. When young girls begin disappearing, and then turning up dead, the small community at the heart of this novel is shaken to its core. Billy Tarwater would rather doodle in the hymnal than make […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-10-10T16:54:06+02:00September 15th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Historical Fiction Book Reviews, Thriller Book Reviews|

Review: A New York Haunting by C.L. Nightjar

A sprawling and deliciously disturbing historical thriller that begs to be savored, A New York Haunting by C.L. Nightjar unveils a guilty conscience made flesh, right on the page.

A promising young medical student named Anders becomes dangerously tangled in the thrilling intimacy of psychoanalysis through a new mentor, Dr. Schuller. Unexpectedly bound to a beautiful new patient of the doctor with a troubling pattern of behavior, Anders’ seemingly certain future is shaken by his undeniable attraction to her mysterious anguish.

Observation, interpretation, and obsession blur as her knot of mysteries deepen. Not only does she wish to become a […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-09-16T18:12:14+02:00August 19th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Historical Fantasy Book Reviews, Historical Fiction Book Reviews|

Perpetual Gloom by Shelah A. Johnson

The start of an epic saga of one American family, Perpetual Gloom by Shelah A. Johnson is a vivid portrait of Depression-era history, and the launch pad for The Boloney Trail trilogy.

Detailing the struggles of the Hornbeck family as they navigate treacherous years of poverty and desperation, JC and Martha are the family’s resilient backbone, while Monroe and Wyatt are the wily young ones learning the meaning of survival. From Arkansas, Louisiana, and Denver to Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico, the interwoven stories of these characters are snapshots of wandering lifestyles and the sheer willpower to keep going. Peppered […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-08-04T02:38:32+02:00August 4th, 2022|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Historical Fiction Book Reviews|

Tattered Coat by Mike H. Mizrahi

A tense Tennessee drama set in the early 20th century, Tattered Coat by Mike H. Mizrahi is a powerful tale of Southern justice, racism, truth, and courage.

A ten-year-old already scarred by too much trauma and loss, Hickory Crabtree is the only witness to the violent murder of a young white woman in the woods. To save a wrongfully accused black musician from an inevitable lynching, Hickory must find his voice, speak truth to power, and overcome a lifetime of fear. Exploring not only the twisted tools of injustice that define America’s past, this book also strikes a contemporary chord, […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-06-13T06:23:05+02:00June 10th, 2022|Categories: New Releases|Tags: Historical Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Myers by Jeff Lee

A gripping mystery that reveals its villain long before the final page, Myers by Jeff Lee is a character-driven thriller that exposes the grim repercussions of trauma and war, showing how the severe residual trauma and haunting memories of survivors can have their own terrible repercussions.

Plunging readers into a wind-blown, easily forgotten part of America, this novel is an exposé of violence, history, and family. The story pits two such souls against each other, the town’s police chief, Karl Myers, and Jerry Peterman – a soldier who never really stopped fighting, and who has forgotten any language but domination. […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2022-07-15T04:47:13+02:00June 7th, 2022|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Historical Fiction Book Reviews, Thriller Book Reviews|