A hard-nosed journalist with an inside line to the Chicago PD, Paul Crawford is the mystery-unfurling investigator at the heart of this urban drama. It doesn’t take long to realize that solving a recent string of perfect murders is beyond the average detective’s pay grade, while Crawford’s sleuthing skills bring him to the deadly mix from a different angle. As he fills […]
Painting a gritty and visceral picture of life on the road, specifically the rugged west, author T.K. O’Neill crafts a haunted hero in his latest novel, Dive Bartender: Flowers in the Desert.
Frank is itching for a new chapter in Denver, but there aren’t enough mountains in Colorado to keep old habits and bad luck from catching up. Navigating a seedy minefield of manipulation, desperation, desire, and even hope, this wandering rogue of a protagonist finds himself in strange company, compelled to stay just a bit longer in decadence and pleasure, and delaying his California dreams one day at […]
The fourth book of Jenny Knipfer’s excellent Sheltering Trees series, By Broken Birch Bay is another swirling portrayal of uncertain romance and intense family drama. Steeped in longing reveries and subtle prayers for deliverance, this is a tender and emotional story, particularly when it comes to Petra’s scarred heart and Honey’s innocent hopes for happiness, but there is also grit and struggle, giving the book the feel and import of a Christian parable. Knipfer masterfully weaves a small-town historical drama, peppered with a sharply crafted whodunit, resulting in a rustic and remarkably engaging work of pastoral historical fiction that offers […]
An inspiring novel about persistence, faith, and the brutal beauty of the natural world, Purity Found by Jane Catherine Rozek is an empowering and spiritually nourishing installment of the author’s Spirit Quest series. Kate is a devout and fearless protagonist, dropped into an intimidating new world, but she is undaunted by neither divine visions nor divinely attractive men. Loosely linked to a larger belief structure and philosophy, the book is both a thrilling tale of rugged romance and a spiritually-driven parable of connecting with God during life’s greatest challenges. Despite some archetypal tropes in the storytelling, the emotional entanglements are […]
A classic story of the heart coming to life, A Mountain Leads Home by Shelley Kassian is a stylish and engrossing second installment of her Places in the Heart series. Loosely based on real events, this is a charming tale of unexpectedly crossed paths on the slopes of life, the ethical dilemmas of undeniable desire, and the sacrifices that real people make to take a chance on love. Taylor is far from the cliché snowboarder, despite his hunger for sick tricks, and Sarah is a three-dimensional protagonist, not just a damsel desperate for companionship. Putting her unique spin on the […]
Author E.J. Wedge plunges readers into the dark and unknown ocean of the future with his first novel, The Noble Exiles, the first installment of the Ocean Black series, a sprawling and visionary sci-fi debut.
Unknown centuries in the future, with Earth long ago abandoned, the scattered seeds of humanity have spread to dozens of other stars and planets across the galaxy. However, the details of how the interstellar Nation was finally united, and how the Forging War saved our species, may not be the true origin story of cosmic peace.
The tale is told largely from the perspective […]
When it comes to solving heady and head-scratching cases, John Consequent is the philosophical key for any bizarre lock, and the police have once again come knocking at his door. Putting his circuitous wit and wisdom to the test, this brainy sleuth must outmaneuver a wickedly sharp intellect whose existentialism has turned to murderous nihilism.
Celebrating the beauty of that which cannot be tested empirically, this is a clever thriller, and surprisingly light, […]
Author Tracy Grogan plunges readers into mysterious new depths with Derelict, the second book in the Divemaster Ricky Mystery series.
After taking a job as a dive instructor in Egypt, it doesn’t take long for the unshakeable Ricky Yamamoto to be caught up in another maritime mystery, when her job prospects literally blow up in her face. On top of that, the local authorities are far too occupied with civil unrest to properly investigate the disappearance of a fellow diver on her team. Unable to shake the feeling that her life has once again stumbled into something sinister, Ricky […]