“The Salvation of Miss Lucretia,” by Ted Dunagan

Reviewed by Mollie Waters The Salvation of Miss Lucretia is the fourth installment in Ted Dunagan’s series for young adult readers. The books feature two young boys, one white and one black, who are able to overcome the difficulties of the segregated South during the 1940s in order to form a lasting friendship. In their […]

“The Prayer Box,” by Lisa Wingate

Reviewed by Mollie Smith Waters Although it is rare to read a book that will change one’s perspective on life, it is not all that uncommon to learn a valuable life lesson from a good read. Such is the case with Lisa Wingate’s The Prayer Box, a solid story with a clear message: do not […]

Mollie Smith Waters Interviews Ted Dunagan

Ted Dunagan was born in 1943 in Coffeeville, Alabama. He completed the second grade there and then moved to Grove Hill, where he graduated from high school in 1961. He served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam era, after which he attended Georgia State University in Atlanta. Later, he married, began raising a family, […]

“The Darkling,” by Carolyn Haines as R. B. Chesterton

Reviewed by Mollie Waters When Carolyn Haines presented her new work The Darkling at the Alabama Book Festival in April 2013, the question on her audience’s mind was who in the world is R. B. Chesterton? Haines is best known for her popular crime novels the Bones series, which has a devoted following, but she […]

“Creole Son,” by Michael Llewellyn

Reviewed by Mollie Waters The challenge of writing historical fiction is finding the balance between factual events and the fictional story the author tries to weave into that reality. In his work Creole Son: A Novel of Degas in New Orleans, Michael Llewellyn finds that balance by crafting a tale that is rich in both […]

“Eden Rise,” by Robert J. Norrell

An earlier version of this review appeared in The Montgomery Advertiser. Reviewed by Mollie Smith Waters. What would you do if your best friend were killed right in front of you? What would you do if the person who murdered your friend then turned his weapon on you and was attempting to take your life […]