Lawyer Jessica Fischer returns in Devil’s Hand (She Writes Press 2025), the second installment in Lori B. Duff’s legal thriller series following Devil’s Defense (reviewed here). This time, Jessica represents Susan Wolan in what initially appears to be a straightforward divorce case. Compared to defending a coach who didn’t want to meet the daughter he […]
Fall 2025 Books of Note
October 6, 2025 by Leave a Comment
Come Again No More (Jack Leg Press 2025) by David Williams. Erstwhile reporter Charley Hull is the latest casualty of a dying industry. It’s an elegy with heart and gallows humor, told in Charley’s lyrical and oft-salty voice. The novel is set in Memphis and steeped in the music of the city and nearby Mississippi […]
“Fiend” by Alma Katsu
October 6, 2025 by Leave a Comment
What happens when an elite family has a demon to do their dirty work? Alma Katsu’s Fiend (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2025) explores what a rich and powerful family is willing to do to stay on top. All the while, a dark force looms over them in the shadows—always watching, waiting. This family, the Berishas, seems […]
“Ahead of Her Time, The Trailblazing Life and Literary Legacy of Ann Head” by Nancy Thode
October 6, 2025 by Leave a Comment
In Ahead of Her Time, The Trailblazing Life and Literary Legacy of Ann Head, Nancy Thode tells the story of her mother with as much unfailing accuracy as possible for a woman who lost that mother fifty-seven years ago when Nancy was only twenty-seven years old and has relied on memory and archives. It would […]
Read of the Month: “The Summer We Ate Off the China” by Devin Jacobsen
October 1, 2025 by Leave a Comment
Introduction: When Devin Jacobsen, author of the novel, Breath Like the Wind at Dawn, reached out to me in the of Fall 2024 requesting a review of his short story collection, The Summer We Ate Off the China, it was the year-end— never a good time—so I read a sample of his work and added […]
“South of My Dreams” by F.K. Clementi
October 1, 2025 by Leave a Comment
In South of My Dreams (U of SC Press 2024)a part detailed memoir, part therapy session, we follow F. K. Clementi, the author of, as she searches the world, from her birthplace in Rome, to Poland, to an Israeli kibbutz, and finally to New York City in America, the place of her fantasized dreams. Only […]