A profound and poignant collection of poems, A Mother Speaks, A Daughter Listens: Journeying Together Through Dementia (2022) by Felicia Mitchell can be read as a daughter’s memoir in verse or as a mother’s partial biography. Their merging stories are captivating and heartfelt, moving, and above all else, genuine. Anyone who has cared for a […]
“A Mother Speaks, A Daughter Listens: Journeying Together Through Dementia” by Felicia Mitchell
January 2, 2023 by Leave a Comment
Legal Thrillers: Why we love them—and reviews of three new ones
December 20, 2022 by Leave a Comment
Essay and Reviews by Claire Hamner Matturro What is it about legal thrillers that consistently entice readers who return to time and time again to this genre? Maybe it starts with the enduring legacy of To Kill a Mockingbird, American’s most beloved book, according to a PBS poll. At its core, Mockingbird is a classic […]
“Ariel’s Island” by Pat McKee
December 6, 2022 by 1 Comment
Ariel’s Island (Southern Fried Karma LLC, 2020) by Pat McKee is a wickedly intelligent, provocative, and creative novel which checks all the boxes of a riveting legal thriller. A “Best Legal Thriller” winner at the 14th annual National Indie Excellence Awards, Ariel’s Island stars six-year associate Paul McDaniel. He is a one-time poor boy whose […]
“The Way of the Saints” by Elizabeth Engelman
December 5, 2022 by Leave a Comment
Florida resident Elizabeth Engelman enters the ranks of praise-worthy novelists with more than a swirl of mysticism and a great deal of grace in her debut The Way of the Saints (Southeast Missouri State University, 2021). Her book is a compelling story of three generations of a Puerto Rican family struggling to survive cultural, historical, […]
Books in Brief
November 1, 2022 by Leave a Comment
Summer might be over—at least according to the calendar—but when there remain so many grand books to devour, the end of the season is no reason to stop your so-called summer reading. Here are some top choice books, ranging from the tender literary fiction of “Dear DeeDee” to the edge-of-your-seat thriller, “The Letter Keeper,” and […]
“how small, confronting morning” by Lola Haskins
October 19, 2022 by Leave a Comment
Poet Lola Haskins’s enthusiasm for her adopted state of Florida is expressed with grace, power, and beauty in how small, confronting morning (Jacar Press 2016; released as ebook 2021), a collection of thirty-five poems. The words and images captured in the book quietly yet passionately evoke a wild and natural Florida that is being lost […]