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An intensely suspenseful thriller centering around the investigation of the brutal murder of two young women by a serial killer, Sons of Brutality is decidedly dark but gripping. Plumbing the seamy depths, the novel goes underground to find snuff clubs, drug-addled Satanists, occult murder, and the mob. A strong central detective is key to the genre, and Jeudy brilliantly sketches veteran detective Addison Mowbray, who believes in liquor and loyalty above all else. If you like your thrillers with a true sense of dark realism, Sons of Brutality is an expertly written and page-turning thriller that has all the makings […]

Elizabeth Buchmann combines evocative photography and equally compelling poetry in her innovative and immersive collection The Meticulous Unveiling: A Visit to the Mind. In nine diverse sections that evoke both a sense of openness to the world and pensive self-reflection, Buchmann explores such concepts as freedom, love, instinct, ego, pain, natural healing, and happiness. There is sometimes an incongruity in the language between verses, giving some poems a halted feeling, but overall, this collection is impressive for its erudition and success in navigating two separate mediums; it’s somber, at times, but also playful in the placement and quality of […]

Author and illustrator Stacey Penix has crafted a spirited journey through a child’s expansive imagination in her creatively illustrated book Where Do Balloons Go When They Disappear?? This engaging children’s book follows a young boy who wonders what happens to balloons when they fly away, with readers following the balloon as it possibly travels through the galaxy, across the ocean, and more. Using well-timed rhyming and coupled with brightly colored and detailed illustrations, the book is expertly crafted, while teaching a subtle lesson about loss. Some concepts may be too sophisticated for young children, such as “atmosphere,” but this can […]

An intensely rich and beautiful book written with the poetic touch of a writer whose heart unmistakably beats with Andalusian blood, Inheriting Our Names: An Imagined True Memoir of Spain’s Pact of Forgetting by C. Vargas McPherson is the devastating story based on true events of a family torn asunder by Franco’s Civil War in 1930s Spain. Tragedy mingles with religion and tradition as hunger and death approach the family’s barrio in the city of Seville. Now, their granddaughter, the author, travels to Spain to imagine their story, and uncover the truth that stays silent under Spain’s so-called Pact of […]