In Caitlin Hamilton Summie’s beautiful debut novel, the heart of a family is peeled away, layer by layer, until we know each member intimately and with profound results. Sarah Macmillan cares deeply about the bonds that tie together the generations of her family. She’s a loving and attentive granddaughter, and it pains her to witness […]
Donna Meredith Interviews Betsy Reeder
January 12, 2022 by Leave a Comment
Donna Meredith interviews Betsy Reeder for Southern Literary Review. Reeder is the author of an historical trilogy: Madam’s Creek (2017), Broomstraw Ridge (2019), and her latest, Salt in Boiling Water (2022). These stories center around the lives and loves of characters caught up in vivid events of the Civil War and its aftermath in southern […]
“The Heathens: A Quinn Colson novel,” by Ace Atkins
December 22, 2021 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Claire Hamner Matturro Quinn Colson, the bold, ethical, and driven sheriff of Tibbehah County, Mississippi, is the worthy protagonist in a well-received eleven-book series by Ace Atkins. In the newest in the series, The Heathens (Putman 2021), a petite seventeen-year-old female, TJ Byrd, and her charming, thieving boyfriend, Ladarius, steal the show. As […]
December Read of the Month: “Wild Spectacle,” by Janisse Ray
December 14, 2021 by 1 Comment
Reviewed by Claire Hamner Matturro Janisse Ray’s writing has always been robust and rich with that magical, evocative touch that pulls her readers into a scene, a thought, an emotion, or an insight. Just as in her acclaimed Ecology of a Cracker Childhood, Ray’s insightful, eloquent writing shines in Wild Spectacle: Seeking Wonders in a […]
“The Incredible Winston Browne,” by Sean Dietrich
December 8, 2021 by 1 Comment
Reviewed by Claire Hamner Matturro Sean Dietrich’s newest novel, The Incredible Winston Browne (Thomas Nelson 2021) reads as if it is a gift from Dietrich to his readers. It is singularly beautiful. Rich with Dietrich’s trademark everyman eloquence and his profound insights into the human condition, Winston Browne tells the story of a dying man […]