John Staughton, Senior Reviewer

Untimely romance, summer grief, and sweet second chances combine in Blue Miracle by Blair Harton, a tender and dramatic work of romance. Natalie and Grayson meet in their youth in a beachside town, but bad luck and worse weather pull them apart. A decade later, small-town serendipity brings them back into each other’s orbit, but distance, time, and the scars of heartbreak are hard to overcome, no matter how strong the connection. A time-leaping tale told from intimate dual perspectives, this tangled love story is driven by its emotional depth and attention to character, feeling as much like a contemporary […]

A quaint and charming mystery pulled from Alice Kanaka’s inimitable creativity and love of dogs, Gallant Guard-dach: Cozy Mysteries with a Dash of Dachshund is a breezy and original whodunit. Lizzy Hornwhistle is trying to avoid her newfound fame as an author by lying low in snowed-in South Dakota, but she is quickly drawn into neighborly commitments, planning committees, slow-burning diner drama, and curiosity over the mysterious new resident, not to mention constantly doting on her furry friends. Along with the tangled webs of romance, resentment, and deadly revenge that stretch across this small town, her days are full, to […]

A globe-spanning legal thriller that crackles with attitude and authenticity, The Good Doctora by Todd Merer is a fast-paced, character-driven drama about surviving a criminal enterprise in style. Electra Esq. is a savvy suit who has earned her spot as a top-shelf lawyer for cartel bosses, but proximity to deadly men like Martin Montez means a much higher chance of catching a bullet – or being framed for murder. As her lines of morality and self-protection begin to blur, it will take all of her wiles to defend a questionable client, avoid entrapment, and keep the legal and literal targets […]

An elegant historical drama steeped in magic, mistrust, and unlikely alliances, Before the Coming Dawn by Steve L. Ririe is a mesmerizing second chapter of his As the Starlings Fly saga. After performing what some consider a miracle, the manipulative mayor of New Harmony is more popular than ever, but the sinister force whispering inside his head is eager to use that power for its malicious ends. At the same time, a string of murderous attacks stoke fears that threaten the town’s collective humanity, forcing the grieving Emily, LeFevre, and Marco to reveal the darker truth behind the monstrous horror. […]

An imprisoned mercenary takes on a slate-cleaning mission that lands him at the center of a galactic conspiracy in A Dark Culling by Jonathan Staten, a gripping mash-up of crime thriller and science fiction. Rick Dawson has been slowly shaving years off his murder sentence by handling hits and unsavory tasks for the Warden of the Ceris Max prison, but a high-end hunt for the enigmatic Imogen Rivera offers him a shot at actual freedom. However, a revelatory change of heart shifts Rick’s loyalty to a more worthy cause, setting this antihero squarely against the sinister powers that still hold […]