Reviews
Sketches from the Periphery
MP Summers (MP Summers)
Sketches from the Periphery by MP Summers is a novel set against the backdrop of the Darfur conflict in 2005-2006. Alexander Barr is a young American contractor supporting the African Union’s peacekeeping mission in Sudan, and Cassandra is a Belgian journalist navigating war-torn Darfur. Through episodic encounters and multiple perspectives—including those of local rebels like Tariq and everyday Sudanese—the novel explores the intricate relationship between foreign intervention, local resistance, and personal awakenings. As Alex becomes immerse...
The Passionate Sister
John Thorndike (Beck & Branch Publishers)
The Passionate Sister by John Thorndike is inspired by the story of the author’s mother. It follows Virginia “Ginny” Thorndike, a middle-aged, recently-divorced former anesthesiologist, as she struggles to maintain sobriety after a lifetime of addiction to alcohol and prescription drugs. The novel opens with Ginny leaving rehab and being driven home by her son Rob, who helps her purge the house of every trace of liquor and pills. Ginny’s path to rebuilding her life passes through her complicated relationships: with Rob and his brother Jamie, bo...
Possum Stew (And Other Apocalypse Recipes)
Eric Locsh (Eric Locsh)
Eric Locsh’s Possum Stew (and Other Apocalypse Recipes) is a darkly comic, immersive tale of survival in a post-apocalyptic America. The story follows Scott Bryant, a once-famous chef, as he navigates the ruined outskirts of New York City after a devastating environmental disaster known only as “the Storm.” He has watched the slaughter of his entire team and carries the stigma in the very core of his being. In the aftermath, Scott is captured by violent gangs, loses his sous chef Ted to brutal violence, and scrambles for survival, sustained by...
The Girl with the Red Nails
G. Spencer Myers (NY Book Publishers)
In The Girl with the Red Nails, G. Spencer Myers introduces Dr. Derk Bryan, who is drawn back from his sabbatical when a woman’s body—encased in an indestructible block of plastic—washes up on the Florida Panhandle. The body, discovered by Estee Sparks, a fierce environmental activist whose own life has been shattered by the effects of plastic pollution, launches Dr. Bryan into an investigation that reaches from the Gulf Coast to the upper echelons of the plastics industry. Estee, seeking retribution for her son’s death and the collapse of her...
The Devil's Quill: A Quartet of Halloween Stories
Andrew Charles Lark and Donald Levin (Whistlebox Press/Poison Toe Press)
The Devil’s Quill: A Quartet of Halloween Stories delivers a unique experience with four unnerving tales perfect for the haunted season. Within these pages, a reclusive genius unleashes a chilling experiment with deadly consequences; a grieving teen discovers that the line between sorrow and the supernatural is dangerously thin; a hardboiled detective is drawn into a web of ancient curses and secrets; and the arrival of a mysterious new kid at school turns childhood cruelty into something truly sinister. Written by Andrew Charles Lark and Donal...
The Fruitcake
Leah Orr (Orrplace Press)
Leah Orr’s The Fruitcake is a darkly comic suburban thriller set in the affluent, sun-drenched Laguna Palms neighborhood on Florida’s Hutchinson Island. The novel begins with Holly Kelly’s reluctant participation in a community fruitcake exchange, only to stumble upon a gruesome murder committed by one of the enigmatic Hudson sisters. As Holly’s narrative unspools—from her family’s move to paradise, through the forming of eccentric friendships (especially with Gina, Greta, and Chloe) to the unraveling of suburban secrets—the story alternates wi...
Chronicles of the Grim Reaper: Volume 1
Griz Calderon (Calliopezen Publishing LLC)
Chronicles of the Grim Reaper, Volume I is a compelling mosaic of stories that explore life, death, and the tenuous threads between them. Griz Calderon crafts a collection of vignettes: from “The Ending” and “The Beginning,” which frame the collection as explorations of transition, to mesmerizing tales such as “The First Harvest,” “The Quilt,” and “The Gift,” which meditate on memory, legacy, and the small acts that define a life. The scope of this collection is vast—the Presence in the Shadows” and “The Visit” offer intimate, spectral encounte...
A Cesspool of Spies
Linda Watkins (Argon Press)
Linda Watkins’ A Cesspool of Spies is set in 1950 and in a world of political turmoil as the Cold War rages, Korea is invaded, and accusations of communist infiltration shake America. The story follows Simon Biggs, a working-class WWII Navy veteran, recruited into the nascent CIA in the late 1940s. After a grueling training period under the watchful (and sometimes sadistic) Major Brad Sullivan, Simon is shipped off to Istanbul, a hotbed of espionage, where he’s quickly forced into a real assassination – killing a Soviet asset with a garrote. As...
The Wild & Zany Galactic Adventures of Commander Zhang & Lieutenant Simon, Soul Mates who Incarnate on Earth and Save the World
Vegastarchild584 (Vegastarchild584)
The Wild & Zany Galactic Adventures of Commander Zhang & Lieutenant Simon, Soul Mates Who Incarnate on Earth and Save the World is the first book in the Starseed series by Vegastarchild584. This genre-blending, metafictional, and wildly imaginative journey follows Commander Zhang and Lieutenant Simon, two galactic officers and soulmates from the Sirian star system. The story opens with Zhang, a popular actor and singer on Earth, whose life is upended by a government-orchestrated scandal that tanks his career and isolates him from his pa...
Lightning Bugs And Aliens: A Small Town Coming-Of-Age Story
Daniel Babka (Blue Squirrel Press)
Daniel Babka’s Lightning Bugs and Aliens is a nostalgic coming-of-age novella set in the small town of Twinsburg, Ohio, during the summer of 1959. The story follows thirteen-year-old Ben and his eclectic group of friends—Chip, Bobby, Mark, and Isiah—who experience the joys and anxieties of adolescence against the backdrop of Cold War paranoia, racial divides, and local intrigue. The boys’ adventures range from catching lightning bugs and exploring the woods to grappling with real-world dangers, such as a Mafia car bombing at Ben’s family tavern...