Moss is a work of fiction in the literary, interpersonal drama, and slice of life subgenres. It is aimed at the adult reading audience, contains some explicit language and sexual situations throughout, and was penned by author Joe Pace. The ‘Moss’ of the title is the surname that belongs to the famed Isaiah Moss, a prolific writer. Our protagonist is his illegitimate son, Oscar, who has never dared to publish any of his own writing for fear of the long shadow his father’s legacy has cast. But when Oscar inherits his father’s writing cabin on Isaiah’s death, not only does he find an unpublished manuscript that could be his ticket to fame, but a tapestry of dark threads that made up many aspects of Isaiah’s life that Oscar never even knew about.

Author Joe Pace has crafted a thrilling work of literary fiction that homes in on character backstories to deliver a reflective and emotive tale of parental expectations, illusions, and secrets. Oscar is an especially well-developed central protagonist for the tale: a tortured soul with plenty to write about, but a powerfully stifling weight is placed upon him by his upbringing in Isaiah’s shadow. The novel is beautifully tense and well-paced as Oscar discovers more and more about his father that he really didn’t want to know, but along with him, we can’t look away as the darkness unfolds. Compelling and chilling, packed with drama and intrigue, I would certainly recommend Moss to readers who crave accomplished, high-quality fiction that still keeps a swift pace and delivers on every plotline.

Moss by Joe Pace is a brilliantly written story. It follows the life of Oscar Kendall, the estranged son of Isaiah Moss, a world-famous writer, who finds out about the death of his father through other people. Oscar is left a cabin on the lake and goes to see what is inside, but nothing prepares him for the things he is about to find. He finds, among other things, Ruby Pierce, one of the many women with whom his father had affairs, and her granddaughter May, a war veteran with a beautiful face but a broken spirit. He also finds an unpublished manuscript which is possibly his father’s magnum opus. The story takes us from the broken relationship with the father-son dynamic to the healing of wounds long since forgotten about. It is an amazing look at the human heart and its ability to respect and hate at the same time because, as flawed as Isaiah Moss was, his son did respect him. What will he do with this manuscript no one knows about? What role will May play and how far is Oscar willing to go to accept his father’s unconventional style of parenting. This is a truly moving story with twists that you will not see coming; a must-read for anyone.

Moss by Joe Pace is an incredible book. I really felt something reading this; the loss of his father might not be a huge event for him, but to the reader it really hits hard. You feel bad for Oscar and his estranged relationship with his father, especially the coldness in the tone of the letters, which was the only connection they had. You want to root for them to make up, but that doesn’t happen in the happy ending way you want to, and somehow that is very 'Moss'. I could really see this as a mini-series on TV with its vivid details provided by Pace. I loved every second of this book, and I really want to read the rest of his works. Moss is such a heavy story but went down so smoothly you get lost easily in the work, and with Oscar’s thoughts all written down, you become part of his world. I highly recommend this book to anyone.