Through Any Window (Red Adept Publishing 2024) is a robust, compelling mystery that checks all the right boxes—twisty, well-paced plot with not one, but three unsolved murders, complex characters, crisp prose, conflicts galore, and excellent world-building. The wickedly clever twists and turns in this engaging, character-driven novel will keep readers intrigued as the author quickly […]
“Dark Dive” by Andrew Mayne
July 1, 2024 by Leave a Comment
Although I’ve been a fan of Andrew Mayne thrillers for some time, I never reviewed his books for Southern Literary Review. His early novels, like the superb story in The Naturalist, aren’t set in the South, so I read them only for enjoyment, not for sharing with SLR readers. But after hurtling through title after […]
“Letters from My Sister” by Valerie Fraser Luesse
July 1, 2024 by Leave a Comment
Two families – one white, one black – both devoted to the land they’ve farmed together and to one another. Two brothers – one a loyal suitor, one a philanderer. Two sisters – one a refined Southern beauty, one a tree-climbing nonconformist. Stir into the mix a handsome stranger restoring a nearby farm to its […]
“Apothecary 709” by Cristen E. Rose
June 19, 2024 by Leave a Comment
If you are seeking a delicious escape from disheartening news about elections and climate change, you won’t find a better one than the utterly enchanting novel Apothecary 709 (Happy Cat Press 2023). In her debut novel, Cristen E. Rose builds an amazingly detailed, gorgeous story world with fairies, shadows and changelings. This gaslamp fantasy opens […]
BettyJoyce Nash interviews Gerry Wilson, author of “That Pinson Girl”
June 19, 2024 by 1 Comment
INTRODUCTION: BettyJoyce Nash and Gerry Wilson met in 2019 at the Key West Literary Workshop. Gerry’s debut novel, That Pinson Girl (Regal House: February 2024) was published recently by Regal House. BettyJoyce’s novel, Everybody Here is Kin (Madville Publishing) debuted in September 2023. BJN: I’m wondering how much of your grandmother’s story is true? GW: […]
“Key West Sketches: Writers at Mile Zero” edited by Carey Winfrey
June 18, 2024 by Leave a Comment
Key West Sketches: Writers at Mile Zero (Blair 2023), edited by Carey Winfrey, is an engaging, well written collection of short stories, poetry, and fiction by some well-known writers as well as lesser known but still outstanding ones—all with connections to Key West. Even though there are some familiar names, some materials in this anthology […]