John Staughton, Senior Reviewer

A page-turning mystery set within the aristocratic world of wine-making, Tainted Wine by Linda Watkins is the second tantalizing installment of her Steve Daniels Mystery series. A hard-nosed investigator must dig into the devilish past of the heiress to a winery, but he risks being pulled into an intoxicating web along the way. With the blunt and declarative storytelling style of classic noir pulp, and the sharp tête-à-tête of cleverly crafted dialogue, readers are quickly immersed in the bold attitudes, old-fashioned language, and nostalgic mood of the 1950s. Though there are some superficial errors that could be polished with a […]

Peeling back the sinister layers of conspiracy, espionage, and manipulation that shift beneath our modern world, Contrarian by Lucas Sterling is a complex thriller that hums with both tension and humanity. From lockdowns, bad water, and ecosystem collapse to deadly terror plots and shadowy assassins, the novel is a character-driven puzzle that presents readers with contemporary dilemmas of morality and duty. Though Sterling has a habit of giving away a bit too much information in his narration, this breakneck international drama is steeped in the deadly seriousness of today’s environmental crisis, for a timely and riveting read.

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A grim look into the tangled fates of decent men gone wrong, Bad Cop by Peter Sarda is the dark but gripping second installment of the Hamburg Noir series. When a hungry underworld rises up to claim the scattered pieces of a heroin empire, bloody chaos and desperate violence are inevitable, but two veteran detectives at the crosshairs are up to the task, cleverly digging into the dirt of hired hitmen, crooked allies, and a laundry list of ulterior motives. With two classic noir protagonists, sharp dialogue, and a sinister edge of vigilante justice on the gritty streets of Hamburg, […]

A wildly original start to a sci-fi series, Unanimity by Alexandra Almeida is a full-on plunge into a virtual future, where the battle lines between fragile gods and tech titans have been violently drawn. A surreal story of creative evolution and the timeless struggle against fate, this intricately woven tale is intoxicatingly original, teasing the edges of reality and fiction. With a subtle storytelling style that is both immersive and patiently coy, Almeida has crafted an ambitious existential treat for fans of near-future sci-fi.

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An action-packed fling into a brilliant new sci-fi realm, Fable’s End: A Shentonia Story is a multilayered fantasy thriller that hits close to our ideologically divided home. A legacy of conflict and cosmic oppression is finally coming to an end in Shentonia, leaving a chaotic landscape of violent warlords, deadly feuds, and vast political divides. Despite the deeply detailed world, language, history, and cultures, the battle for the soul of this fictional alien world might feel familiar to readers. A richly crafted novel blurring the lines of multiple genres, this allegorical plunge into socioeconomic, political, and existential conflict makes for […]