Reviewed by Donna Meredith Forget the Father Knows Best clichés of the 1950s—they are so yesterday. Set in contemporary Houston and Austin, How We Came To Be (Texas Review Press, 2018) is a witty, insightful study of the forging of a twenty-first century family. A finalist in the 2017 International Faulkner-Wisdom Competition, the novel was […]
December Read of the Month: “Like Headlines,” by Nancy Dillingham
December 6, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Fred Chappell Ezra Pound, that cranky ringmaster of twentieth century American poetry, offered this definition: “Poetry is news that stays news.” His point, that strong poetry is always important, fresh, and urgent, would be soberly received by many an earnest striver in the art, even those who had never heard of Pound. Some […]
“The Guy in the Box,” by Iain S. Baird
November 29, 2018 by 2 Comments
Reviewed by Donna Meredith True confession. I have long been a fan of Iain Baird’s writing, so I approached his new short story collection, The Guy in the Box, with high expectations. Baird more than met them. I was already familiar with a number of these stories because they won awards in the Seven Hills […]
“The Shadows We Hide,” by Allen Eskens
November 27, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Johnnie Bernhard Joe Talbert, Jr., returns in The Shadows We Hide, the sequel to The Life We Bury. Now an investigative reporter, he not only solves a small-town murder in Minnesota, but does so while solving the mystery of his own family’s past. Readers will be entertained by this multi-tier plot of murder, […]
“Calusa Spirits,” by SR Staley
November 22, 2018 by 1 Comment
Reviewed by Donna Meredith Instead of losing steam, the hero of SR Staley’s Calusa Spirits gains depth and stature in this third installment of the Pirate of Panther Bay series. In some respects, the captain of La Marée Rouge is a classic pirate yet in other ways defies convention. The captain proves bold and brave […]
“Girl from Blind River,” by Gale Massey
November 13, 2018 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Donna Meredith Florida writer Gale Massey’s debut novel, Girl from Blind River, is being compared to Daniel Woodrell’s Winter’s Bone. The comparison is apt. Both feature a teenage girl determined to help family members survive in a community roiled by poverty and addiction. Nineteen-year-old Jamie Elders is caught between conflicting desires: to take […]