House of Glass (St. Martin’s Press 2024) by Sarah Pekkanen is a wonderfully crafted, well-paced mystery with a good bit of psychological thriller blended in. It is a character driven “who done it?” but not in a police procedural way as no law enforcement detectives are center stage in solving the death of a young […]
“The Book of Sorrows” by Kenneth Robbins
October 8, 2024 by Leave a Comment
The Book of Sorrows (Southern Arizona Press 2023), by professor, author, and playwright Kenneth Robbins, is a brave and sometimes acerbic retelling of portions of the Old Testament in verse form. Brave, because it must have been a difficult undertaking to recast Old Testament stories as poems with modern sensibilities. Brave also because some readers […]
“Say Hello to My Little Friend” by Jennine Capo Crucet
October 2, 2024 by Leave a Comment
Readers might never want to visit attractions featuring trained, captive orca whales after reading Say Hello to My Little Friend (Simon & Schuster 2024) by Jennine Capo Crucet, and this intense, haunting novel establishes why that would be a good thing. Which is to say, though the book focuses also on Cuban youths Ismael Reyes, […]
“Flags on the Bayou” by James Lee Burke
September 29, 2024 by Leave a Comment
James Lee Burke writes in his author’s notes that he considers his historical novel Flags on the Bayou (Atlantic Monthly Press 2023) to be his best work. That is saying a lot considering Burke’s long and brilliant career as a novelist in which he continues to garner both critical and commercial successes. Flags on the […]
“Birdhouse Jesus” by Terri Chastain
September 24, 2024 by 1 Comment
Birdhouse Jesus (Twisted Road Publication 2023) by Terri Chastain is a powerful novel. Like many powerful books, it has some heart-clutching, harrowing scenes, but, on balance it is uplifting. Yet, given some elements of the plot, perhaps there should be a trigger warning that the story contains a few scenes of sexual abuse of a […]
“The Pearl Diver’s Daughter” by Michael Blanchard
September 10, 2024 by Leave a Comment
The Pearl Diver’s Daughter (Cloud Mountain Press 2023) by Michael David Blanchard is a collection of gently intellectual and lyrical poems which often question the place in the world for both poetry and for a poet. Filled with evocative sensory details, radiant natural images, and a frequent sense of curiosity and wonder, the poems are […]