Peter E. Boroch's The Man in the Leather Jacket immediately immerses readers in a scene filled with action surrounding Hector, the complex anti-hero. The opening sequence, set in Payne’s Bar, is charged with suspense and anticipation, vividly capturing Hector’s tense interactions with the bar’s patrons....

An Empty House Doesn’t Sneeze by David Scott Richardson transports readers to a vividly depicted 1943 Pacific Northwest, where the specter of World War II looms large but is filtered through the innocent yet perceptive lens of 15-year-old Scotty Johannsen. Richardson deftly weaves together the...

Goode Vibrations of the Wresting Place by Amy Safford captivates readers right from the opening pages, drawing them into the chilly March weather of Maine. Pennie wakes up with multiple regrets, including the young man beside her, after a wild night of birthday celebrations. Her...

Toquuxla by James N. Brenna is a captivating narrative that transports readers to the dawn of human exploration in North America, particularly Montana. At the heart of the story is Toquuxla, or Toq, a young man who ventures into a world different from the one...

One Life for Another by Greg Laird is a legal mystery in which Steve was going to represent a man found guilty of murder, and the success of his defense would decide the man's fate. Scottie Pinkerton was found guilty of killing his wife Ashley...

In her novella Life After Love, Lorraine Cover looks at themes of second chances, healing from lost loves, and self-discovery. The story revolves around aspiring author Kate Covington, who wants to write about passion but lacks it in her life after her husband’s death. Although...

Being lonely is harsh; it can happen to the young and old alike. Often, though, it is a choice. Scott Semegran's novel, The Codger And The Sparrow, indicates that loneliness is self-inflicted at times. For Hank O'Sullivan, life has been reduced to killing time in...

In Ben Raterman's Speak to Me, eight-year-old Justine dreamt of leaving the trailer park where she lived with her mother, Rachel, or Rachelle, and her six-year-old brother, Joseph. Justine and Joseph hoped to find and sell their ancestor Jannie Thomas's jewelry to buy a house....

Alone Along Writers' Roads by Tom Wood is a romantic thriller. Three debut novelists want to change the world with their work but they didn't expect people to die for it. Davis Quigley used to be a beat broadcast reporter in Chicago. Bored with it,...

Carolyn McBride brings us soulful women's fiction in The Cicada Spring. Katie Young is adrift. She has just said goodbye to her daughter who will be attending college in New York City. Now she will be returning home to Virginia, alone. She has a stable...