The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in Weston, West Virginia, stands at the center of Jayne Anne Phillips’ latest novel, Night Watch (Knopf 2023). It won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, is long-listed for the National Book Award in Fiction, and is a New Yorker Best Book of the Year. The Civil War’s aftermath of wounded men and […]
“Night Watch” by Jayne Anne Phillips wins Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
May 14, 2024 by Leave a Comment
“Glass Cabin” by Tina Mozelle Braziel and James Braziel
May 14, 2024 by 1 Comment
Glass Cabin (Pulley Press April 2024) is a singularly beautiful book, radiant with life-affirming prose and poetry from husband-and-wife team Tina Mozelle Braziel and James Braziel. In alternating voices, Jim and Tina tell a vivid, engaging story of how they built a house. Not just any house, mind you, but a cabin constructed in the […]
May Read of the Month: “Treatment Plan” by Darryl Bollinger
May 1, 2024 by 1 Comment
Gripping—because the story is expertly crafted to grab you by the neck and not let go. Horrifying—because the very people who should be helping drug-addicted patients are instead motivated to make sure they stay addicted. Important—because even though Treatment Plan, by Darryl Bollinger, is fictional, similar events are happening to real families. Yes, Treatment Plan […]
“Green Canvas” by Andrew Nance
May 1, 2024 by Leave a Comment
Andrew Nance is a fine writer with a keen eye for plot twists and for creating rising tensions. He excels at writing suspenseful, complex, and intriguing mysteries as he’s demonstrated before with All the Lovely Children and Red Canvas. With his newest book, Green Canvas (Red Adept Publishing 2024), he proves he’s yet at the […]
“Everybody Here is Kin” by BettyJoyce Nash
April 17, 2024 by Leave a Comment
Everybody Here is Kin is a literal storm brewing in the middle of a place called Boneyard Island. This is supposed to be Lucille’s birthday trip onward to Key West, and the island a destination to bury her father’s ashes. Instead, her mother takes off with a new man, leaving a note: See you Wednesday…I’ll […]
“Harbor Lights” by James Lee Burke
April 16, 2024 by Leave a Comment
Harbor Lights (Atlantic Monthly Press January 2024) by James Lee Burke is a collection of eight varied and gripping short stories by the multiple award-winning, bestselling author of the long-running Dave Robicheaux series. While harrowing in places, the stories collectively are stunningly powerful and impeccably crafted. The book includes a previously unpublished novella, “Strange Cargo,” […]