In Betrayal in Blue: Mamba Mysteries by C. R. Downing, former police Lieutenant Phil Mamba, now a private detective, teams up with select sources to create a list of drug traffickers. The police must use the list to launch a coordinated attack on the drug...

The world is just beginning to recover from a long pandemic, but during this time, many of our values ​​and our ways of thinking have been questioned due to the exceptional circumstances that all of us, globally, have found ourselves experiencing. Finding one's balance in...

Reading Me and My Social Media by Claire Carey is like riding a roller coaster of emotions, seeing a happy family possibly destroyed by a group of high school girls up to no good. Ms. Carey’s prose is so straightforward that it puts the reader...

The 'Great' Kickin' Dog: A Family Tree by Kenneth Allen Crutchfield, Sr. is a novel with its own beauty and dignity in exploring the life of a dysfunctional family. John Coleman is the main protagonist, an ex-musician, assembly line worker, and alcoholic. Don’t call him...

Because of its uniqueness, Children of Violence by Luke Gherardi was quite a surprise that kept me thinking about its contents, characters, and style for days after I finished reading it. How did this author tap so deeply into my emotions in only 138 pages?...

Common Kindred by Isaac M. Lawton is a character-driven story that explores the importance of a supportive community in personal growth and strong themes like purpose, finding meaning, friendship, family, and love. When Joe decides to do what he really wants, he is unaware that...

When the Animals Vanished: A Political Satire by Douglas Faudet revolves around a hypothetical question: what would happen if all the animals, domestic and wildlife, fishes and birds disappeared overnight? The implication for humanity becomes obvious: heartache over the missing pets and a looming economic...

Doctor Bob: Amorous Adventures of a Psychiatrist Addicted to Women and Alcohol by Peter Kelton is a challenging, complex amalgam of psychiatry, cosmology, birdwatching, communing with animals, fine food and drink, chaotic relationships, Japanese design, Mafia surveillance, the pathos of Skid Row, Amazonian forestry, helping...

A Rainbow Like You by Andréa Fehsenfeld is a drama following the life of a worn-out rock star on the road. Thirty-year-old Adrian "Jazzer" hates being on the road while touring for shows. After a decade in the limelight dissolves his marriage, Adrian takes a...

Up to this point, I’ve avoided COVID-related fiction as it has felt a bit too close for comfort. These are, as the now popular word describes, unprecedented times. And America knows this only too well. But relying on snippets of news once an evening, I...