“[Do] you really believe that the US government has deliberately covered up the cure for cancer?” This question, asked by Eli James, the protagonist in Robert Bailey’s newest political thriller, The Boomerang (Thomas and Mercer May 2025), reflects the central conflict in a riveting, suspenseful, and gloriously bold novel. The author has faced cancer within […]
SLR editors converse with Robert Bailey, author of “The Boomerang”
Introduction: Southern Literary Review is pleased to present this three-way exchange about Robert Bailey’s newest book, The Boomerang, which is his eleventh novel. Robert joins Editor Donna Meredith and Associate Editor Claire Hamner Matturro in discussing The Boomerang, a political thriller that had Donna and Claire both going “Wow” when they read it. Robert is […]
“Her Best Self” by Mindy Friddle
Her Best Self (Regal House 2024) by Mindy Friddle is a fascinating look inside a dysfunctional family in a well-crafted, evocative story with a psychological thriller quality to it. Throughout the novel, pervasive cunningness by several characters heightens tensions and casts a riveting net sure to pull readers deeper into the tale. A darkly comedic […]
“Not What She Seems” by Yasmin Angoe
Riveting. Character-driven. A literary thriller you will want to devour in one sitting. Not What She Seems (Thomas & Mercer 2024) is all this and more. None of the many-layered characters are what they seem at first glance. Yasmin Angoe’s latest novel is a worthy successor to her series featuring Nena Knight, which SLR reviewed […]
“Plunder,” by Mary Anna Evans
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 […]