Book Reviews | Self-Publishing Review

Review: Whither, Willie Wicked? by Jan Ewing

Whither, Willie Wicked? by Jan Ewing

In Whither, Willie Wicked? Jan Ewing has produced a terrific piece of work, tackling hard subjects that are both topical and magical, melding the real with the imagined.

The story follows Thomas Llewellyn Gareth, known as Gareth, a private investigator tasked with locating the punk rock star Jeff Christopher after his disappearance in light of a rape accusation. All is not as it may seem, with rumors that Jeff Christopher has turned into someone else, Willie Wicked, and questions arise as to his father’s intentions after Gareth learns Jeff squeezed him out and lost his father a lot of money.[…]

SPR2019-01-22T10:50:57+02:00April 16th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Crime Fiction Book Reviews, Detective Fiction Book Reviews, Fantasy Book Reviews|

Review: I’m Going to Kill That Cat by F. Della Notte

F. Della Notte’s cozy mystery, I’m Going to Kill That Cat, is a highly entertaining whodunit with a feline twist.

Father Melvyn Kronkey is devoted to his clerical duties at Saint Frances de Sales Church, and to his widowed housekeeper Mrs. B.’s marvelous cooking. Life is good until the longstanding antagonism between two of his older parishioners, Martha and Velma, culminates in a heated confrontation, thanks to an unexpected fall Martha blames on Velma’s cat. Martha angrily threatens to kill Velma’s cat but it’s Velma who turns up dead a short time later. Not surprisingly, Martha becomes the police’s prime […]

Marta Cheng2019-12-11T08:11:09+02:00April 16th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Mystery Book Reviews|

Review: Lunacy and Death by Tom Dombrock

Outside of a personal tragedy or affliction, the average person rarely gets a deep look into the complexities of mortality and mental illness. However, in Lunacy and Death, the insightful new book Tom Dombrock, readers are welcomed into the author’s world, which has been defined by these challenging topics for decades.

As both a Psych Aide in a locked psychiatric ward and a technician in a Medical Examiner’s Office, Dombrock has seen more shattered realities than most people could ever imagine. This book is not a flashy or dramatic vision of a psych ward, à la One Flew Over […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2019-01-22T15:12:54+02:00April 13th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Psychology Book Reviews, Social Science Book Reviews|

Review: Miguel Traveler: The Man from Texas by Daniel McFatter

Navigating the modern world is hard enough, but waking up and finding yourself in a bizarre and unforgiving future is a much greater challenge. In Miguel Traveler: The Man From Texas, author Daniel McFatter ambitiously takes readers into the future – a vision where society as we know it has broken down, the wasteland has overtaken the promised land, and survival is not promised to anyone.

When the Woman in Black wakes Miguel from his stasis slumber, he embarks on a journey to discover his own purpose – why was he put in stasis? What happened at the end […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2018-04-13T13:20:13+02:00April 13th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Science Fiction Book Reviews, Western Book Reviews|

Review: The Building (Furnass Towers Trilogy Book 1) by Richard Snodgrass

The first book in Richard Snodgrass’ Furnass Towers Trilogy, The Building is an evocative work of literary fiction, in which the construction of an apartment tower acts as a pivot to unveil an eccentric cast of characters, allowing Snodgrass to deftly weave the stories of the people in this struggling mill town.

Usually, with a cast this big, it is possible to lose focus and drain tension. However, The Building works in the opposite direction: every point of view reveals a little bit more and every switch has the satisfaction of putting the right puzzle piece into place – slowly […]

SPR2019-01-22T11:00:06+02:00April 13th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Literary Fiction Book Reviews|

Review: Elevator Quest by Emmanuel M Arriaga

Office life is the bane of many existences, and who hasn’t wished for the universe to throw them a magical curveball to save them from boredom? In Elevator Quest, a whimsical and creative novel by Emmanuel M. Arriaga, those wishes for an exciting escape are granted to a ragtag collection of corporate professionals who are transported from an elevator into a completely new and harrowing world.

Within the first few pages, readers are introduced to a dozen people facing the most terrifying experience of their lives – plummeting to their deaths in an elevator failure. However, the book doesn’t […]

John Staughton, Senior Reviewer2021-02-09T05:24:42+02:00April 12th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Fantasy Book Reviews|

Review: Culling the Herd by Edward R. Etzkorn

The seemingly innocuous phrase, “The few for the many,” proves to be a chilling mantra in Culling the Herd, a riveting thriller by Edward R. Etzkorn.

Tired of her four-year stint as women’s health editor for a second-rate magazine, Chloe Freestaff left the jungles of New York City twelve months earlier for the harshness of Kenya’s Mwenga National Game Reserve. Now nearing the end of her tenure, Chloe learns that an old African tradesman has stumbled upon “something evil” inside the game reserve. The long-suppressed journalist in Chloe smells a story, and she convinces him to show her what […]

Marta Cheng2018-06-19T06:09:55+02:00April 11th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Thriller Book Reviews|

Review: Portraits by Higgs Boson

Portraits by Higgs Boson

Portraits is quite an achievement, as dauntingly detailed in its character descriptions as Shaw (who also wanted his actors to have particular heights, clothes, and eye colors, and his sets to have specific furniture), and as discursive in its stage directions as O’Neill.

This not to say Portraits is Shavian, or as steeped in naturalistic turmoil as O’Neill. Rather, as Higgs Boson (an amusing pseudonym) states in his author note, it’s an attempt, on the whole successful, to revive the Theatre of the Absurd, with its echoes of Ionesco, Sartre, and Durenmatt, and, farther afield, A Frolic of His Own[…]

Nolan Powers2020-02-21T07:30:55+02:00April 4th, 2018|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Theatre Book Reviews|