Book Reviews

Book reviews from the best and the brightest.

A Tale of Two Travelers

Book Reviews, Featured

Mouth to Mouth Antoine Wilson Avid Reader Press, Simon & Schuster January 2022 ...

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One of Scott Phillips’ Best Books

Book Reviews, Editor's Picks

Though The Ice Harvest and The Adjustment are in the argument...

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A Preview of Saira Viola’s New Hollywood Novel, “Smoke Show”

Book Reviews, Trending

By Todd Robins / Think of what’s compelling about literary noir.  It depends on the writer’s approach.  Patricia Highsmith...

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Chris Offutt’s Vengeful Gods of Justice in the Ginseng Hunting Grounds

Book Reviews

By Thomas Pluck / The older I get, the more I appreciate the short novel. Not every story needs to be an Ellroy epic, but not every story...

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Pelayo’s “Children of Chicago” Offers a Character-Driven Detective Story with a Horror Slant

Book Reviews, Editor's Picks

By J.B. Stevens / “Chicago is an October sort of city, even in spring.” — Nelson Algren Chicago is a town on the edge of the...

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Wit and Grit: Lauren Hough’s Essay Collection, “Leaving Isn’t the Hardest Thing,” Reads Like Crime Fiction

Book Reviews

By Thomas Pluck / The night my car burst into flames, I’d agreed to babysit for my supervisor, Sergeant Peters, because it meant spending...

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Always the Dead: Stephen J. Golds’ Semi-Historical, Dark, Noir Novella

Book Reviews

By J.B. Stevens / Many novels are crafted hoping to capture a huge audience. These books are written with promotion in mind, a clear...

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Notes on Nick Kolakowski’s Jake Halligan Novels

Book Reviews, Editor's Picks

By Elgin Tolliver / Who doesn’t want a sister like Jack Halligan’s sister Frankie in Nick Kolakowski’s novels about...

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It’s Not All Rumpy-Pumpy in Ventura: Thomas Pluck on the Latest from Scott Phillips

Book Reviews, Essays

By Thomas Pluck / Scott Phillips knows how to write a real son of a bitch. If Shakespeare hadn’t given us Iago, I bet Scott would have...

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