Summary: Human trafficking for the sex trade is the issue at the heart of the first two Jason Saylor action-packed mysteries. In the first book, which was recently reissued as Next of Kin, Jason returns to his hometown on the northern coast of Florida. He’s been involuntarily furloughed from a successful career in investigative journalism, a […]
“No Way Out But Through” by Susan Beckham Zurenda
September 9, 2026 by Leave a Comment
Susan Beckham Zurenda’s No Way Out But Through tells the harrowing story of Grace, a fifteen-year-old girl forced to marry the older man who raped her. The book is a fictional portrayal but inspired by true experience. Remarkably, child marriage remains legal for those under eighteen in thirty-three states (with parental or judicial permission), and four […]
“Perceptions of Justice: Law, Literature, and Film” by Terry Lewis
September 9, 2026 by Leave a Comment
Terry Lewis’s excellent first venture into a nonfiction book, Perceptions of Justice: Law, Literature, and Film (2026), demands reader involvement. The former judge employs a Socratic method, posing questions that encourage readers to examine their own perceptions of justice and to formulate a personal philosophy of belief. Drawing not only on his courtroom experience, but […]
“Little Stone, Little Stone” by Jennifer Schomburg Kanke
September 9, 2026 by Leave a Comment
Little Stone, Little Stone (Sheila-Na-Gig, 2026) by Jennifer Schomburg Kanke chronicles the poet’s deeply personal journey through ovarian cancer while also honoring the lives of well-known women who died from the disease. Often called the “silent killer” because its symptoms are subtle and frequently misdiagnosed, ovarian cancer becomes both subject and shadow throughout this collection. […]
Read of the Month: “The Watersmith” by Yance Wyatt
September 2, 2026 by Leave a Comment
Water imagery cascades through Yance Wyatt’s lyrical literary novel, The Watersmith, from beginning to end in both expected and very unexpected ways. Three epigraphs illustrate the religious importance of water with quotations from the Buddha, Allah, and Jesus.—totally expected use of water in a novel. So are the thunder, rainstorms, rivers, and lakes created by […]
“Clean Slate” by Brianna Labuskes
August 18, 2026 by Leave a Comment
A keenly observant, intelligent, and deeply moral crime scene cleaner takes center stage in Brianna Labuskes’ latest psychological suspense novel, Clean Slate (Thomas & Mercer, 2026). The “yuk factor” immediately grabs the reader in the opening paragraphs, but it serves a higher purpose: introducing the admirable perspective of protagonist Olive Hunt: “Brain matter was my […]