Reviewed by Claire Hamner Matturro Author Ace Atkins proved a long time back that he is a gifted storyteller and disciplined writer capable of building suspenseful plots and creating intriguing characters. He also knows how to write a sentence with punch and sizzle. The author of twenty-six books, including numerous best sellers and multiple-award winners, […]
November Read of the Month: “Tampa Bay Noir,” edited by Colette Bancroft
November 3, 2020 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Claire Hamner Matturro Akashic Books has long made a name for itself with an impressive string of award-winning original noir anthologies; thus, it is no surprise that its latest, Tampa Bay Noir, continues in that edgy, first-rate, compellingly dark tradition. Edited by Tampa Bay Times Book Critic Colette Bancroft, Tampa Bay Noir contains […]
“The Red Dirt Hymnbook,” by Roxie Faulkner Kirk
October 29, 2020 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Claire Hamner Matturro The Red Dirt Hymnbook (Fine Dog Press 2019), by emerging author Roxie Faulkner Kirk, is a chilling story of an innocent young woman tangled in a snare of religiosity, domestic abuse, and her own claustrophobic fears. The writing and perceptions in this book are bold, tasteful, and exceptionally well done. […]
“The Summer House,” by Lauren Denton
October 13, 2020 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Claire Hamner Matturro On one hand, The Summer House (Thomas Nelson, June 2020) has a simple plot—an unlikely friendship between two women sparks a second chance at happiness for both. On the other the hand, the plot is as complex as human emotions. And that is where the richness of The Summer House […]
Claire Hamner Matturro interviews Susan Y. Tanner, Author of “A Whisper of Trouble”
September 24, 2020 by 1 Comment
CHM: Good morning, Susan, and congratulations on your newest book, A Whisper of Trouble (KaliOka Press Sept. 2020), which is the 12th book in the Trouble, black cat detective series, and the fourth book you’ve written in the on-going Trouble collection. For readers who aren’t yet familiar with this series, it’s the brainchild of Alabama […]
September Read of the Month: “The Smuggler’s Daughter,” by Claire Hamner Matturro
September 3, 2020 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Marina Brown A really superb writer can gather all of the ravelings, the dozens of characters, the seemingly impossible happenstances of a novel and, in a few deftly written pages, offer us a revelatory and thoroughly satisfying denouement. And it’s not easy. Claire Matturro has, in The Smuggler’s Daughter, accomplished all of those, […]