Reviewed by Phil Jason This review originally appeared in Florida Weekly. Reprinted with permission. Florida is blessed with writers devoted to its natural splendors and to exploring the relationship between human endeavor, the environment all creatures share, and the severely threatened nonhuman creatures. I’ve had the privilege over the years to read and write about […]
“Whisper’s Edge,” by LuAnn McLane
June 26, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Philip K. Jason Ms. McLane’s fourth entry in her popular “Cricket Creek” series (and her eighteenth title overall) continues to explore the charm of a friendly Kentucky riverfront town in the midst of change. While business ventures can enhance the town, they can also undermine its caring, relaxed, neighborly character. In this installment, […]
June Read of the Month: “The Little Way of Ruthie Leming,” by Rod Dreher
June 5, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Reviewed by Philip K. Jason This soulful biography has the makings of an American classic. It has attributes that are likely to put it on all kinds of reading lists: family dynamics, coping with illness, grieving, religious questioning, small town life, and regional culture to name a handful. Its subtitle pushes some of these buttons: […]
Philip K. Jason Interviews Amy Hill Hearth
November 21, 2012 by 1 Comment
PJ: Tell me a bit about your personal experiences with Naples. AHH: My husband grew up in Naples. He is a 1968 graduate of Naples Senior High School. In fact, the character “Judd” in my novel is based loosely on my husband, Blair Hearth, when Blair was 12 years old. The lead character, Jackie, was inspired by my late mother-in-law. The […]
April Read of the Month: “The Not Yet,” by Moira Crone
April 16, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Review by Philip K. Jason University of New Orleans Press. 272 pages. $15.95 Imagining a Mississippi Delta area significantly transformed by decades of ferocious hurricanes, Moira Crone takes us to a realm of islands where immortals rule and the rest live lives of aspiration or rebellion in a caste-bound, static society. Who wouldn’t want to […]
“Plunder,” by Mary Anna Evans
March 22, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Review by Philip K. Jason Poisoned Pen Press. 306 pages. $24.95 hardback, $14.95 trade paper. This latest adventure of Ms. Evans’ protagonist, archaeologist Faye Longchamp, has many centers of interest. Faye is at work in the area where the Mississippi River empties into the Gulf of Mexico. That is, she is in Louisiana not far from […]