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UnderratedReads is devoted to discovering underrated books and under-represented authors. We highlight hidden gems from around the world–honest reviews only, never pay-to-play.
Author Archives: J D Jung
The Fitful Sleep of Immigrants – Orlando Ortega-Medina
(Reviewed by JD Jung) “We were a family of emigrants, on the move from generation to generation. Forced to flee our homes because of intolerable situations imposed on us by those in power. The United States was meant to be … Continue reading
Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers, Modern Literary Fiction, Reviewers' Top Picks
Tagged addiction, family, immigration, Judaism, LGBTQ, Religion, San Francisco, thrillers
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An UnderratedRead Revisited – A Season in Lights: A Novel in Three Acts – Gregory Erich Phillips
(Reviewed by JD Jung) #CommissionsEarned “Less than a year ago, when the curtain fell after the opening night applause, I assumed the New York City I knew—and my place in it—could last forever.” A Season in Lights celebrates performers and … Continue reading
Posted in Revisited
Tagged Broadway, Carnegie Hall, COVID-19, dancers, dreams, New York City, pianists
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The Blue is Where God Lives – Sharon Sochil Washington, PhD
(Reviewed by JD Jung) #CommissionsEarned “If Satan is successful, the family’s history will end with the blue baby girl.” It is currently 2008, and Blue (referenced above) is grieving the murder of her daughter. She questions God’s existence, which leads … Continue reading
Posted in Historical Fiction, Sci-Fi/Speculative/Fantasy/Mythology
Tagged African literature, class, folkore, magical realism, mysticism, poverty, slavery
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The Vulture Fund (Curtis Westcott Crime Thrillers Book 3) – Jeff Buick
(Reviewed by Don Jung) #CommissionsEarned Two unlikely murders that don’t appear to be related become the focus of Boston detective Curtis Westcoast and his team as they try to unravel one mystery after another. This is a murder mystery series … Continue reading
Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers, Reviewers' Top Picks
Tagged hedge fund, India, murder
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An UnderratedRead Revisited: Tard – Del Staecker
(Reviewed by JD Jung) #CommissionsEarned “Thou shalt not be a victim, and thou shalt not be a perpetrator. But above all else—thou shalt not be a bystander.” That’s one lesson Richard Bettis learned from Matt. One referred to Matt Mueller … Continue reading
Posted in Revisited
Tagged corruption, crime fiction, downs-syndrome, family dysfunction, fantasy, philosophy, Religion, sociopaths
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Sweet Undoings – Yanick Lahens (translated by Kaiama L. Glover)
(Reviewed by JD Jung) #CommissionsEarned “Nowadays, in the cities, you’ve got to drink it all in, the honey and the bile. All in the same cup.” Judge Raymond Berthier has just been murdered, and his nineteen-year-old daughter, Brune, is grieving … Continue reading
Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers, Culture, World Issues
Tagged corruption, Crime, culture, Haiti, Haitian literature, murder
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An UnderratedRead Revisited:The Final Days of Abbot Montrose: An Asbjørn Krag Mystery – Sven Elvestad and Stein Riverton
(reviewed by Ann Onymous ) Retired Detective Asbjørn Krag and his police colleague Keller are trying to solve the mystery of the disappearance of Abbot Montrose. But with no photographs, no one really knows what the Abbot looks like. He … Continue reading
Posted in Revisited
Tagged crime fiction, Norwegian literature, thrillers
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I’m Not Going Anywhere – Rumena Bužarovska,(translated by Steve Bradbury)
(Reviewed by JD Jung) #CommissionsEarned “She cried because her son didn’t love her, because her husband didn’t love her, because she felt lost at work, because the country was a total mess and had no future…” These words of desperation … Continue reading
Posted in World Literature
Tagged dark, jealousy, Macedonian literature
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Lifeline to a Soul: The Life-Changing Perspective I Gained While Teaching Entrepreneurship to Prisoners- John K. McLaughlin
(Reviewed by Christopher J. Lynch) #CommissionsEarned It’s not often that you read a book that sounds like you might have written it yourself, especially a memoir. But that’s exactly how I felt reading John K. McLaughlin’s brutally honest and heartfelt, … Continue reading
Posted in Bios and Memoirs
Tagged memoirs, prison
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