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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.
Category Archives: Fiction
Sign of the Cross: A Religious Conspiracy Thriller – Glenn Cooper
(Reviewed by JD Jung) Sign of the Cross is a gripping religious thriller that blends suspense, historical conspiracy, and theological intrigue. (more…)Read More →
Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers
Tagged book reviews, Nazism, religious thriller, Vatican
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Dollartorium – Ron Pullins
(Reviewed by JD Jung) What begins as a humble, self-sufficient life running a Kansas corn dog stand turns into a sharp, darkly comic satire of greed, hustle culture, and America’s obsession with easy wealth. (more…)Read More →
The Copywriter – Daniel Poppick
(Reviewed by JD Jung) A witty, morally bracing portrait of an artist adrift in Trump-era America, where poetry, precarity, and conscience collide. (more…)Read More →
Posted in Modern Literary Fiction, Poetry
Tagged poetry, political fiction, Social satire
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Room 23: A Secret Service Agent’s Story of Espionage and Intrigue -Sean Quarmby
(Reviewed by Christopher J. Lynch) If you like thrillers written by those who have ‘walked the talk,’ then ROOM 23 by ex-Secret Service Agent, Sean Quarmby, may be for you. (more…)Read More →
Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers
Tagged Action thriller
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The Silver Book – Olivia Laing
(Reviewed by JD Jung) It’s September 17, 1974, and twenty-two-year-old art student Nicolas flees London after the death of his older lover, Alan, sensing that staying would invite suspicion he cannot afford. Venice seems like the perfect place to begin … Continue reading
Posted in Historical Fiction
Tagged Italian cinema, Italy, LGBTQ
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The Quiet War: Canadian Front – Michael J. Lalonde
(Reviewed by JD Jung) This debut espionage thriller introduces readers to an often-overlooked corner of military fiction: Canadian special operations. In The Quiet War, the immediate threat is Al-Najm al-Saghir, who isn’t just a terrorist; his long-term plan is to … Continue reading
Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers
Tagged Canada, espionage, military fiction, thriller
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Rat Town Blues: Slag Ferguson, Book One – Brian Kaufman
(Reviewed by JD Jung) Mark “Slag” Ferguson, an unlicensed private investigator and part-time bartender is always trying to make ends meet. However now in his mid-thirties, he finds himself thrust into a pair of cases that quickly spin beyond his … Continue reading
Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers
Tagged detective fiction, infidelity, noir, self-destruction
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Who Knows You by Heart – C. J. Farley
(Reviewed by JD Jung) In this multilayered and gripping novel, we are introduced to Octavia Crenshaw—a thirty-year-old Jamaican American software engineer whose journey is as compelling as the technological world that she navigates. A Columbia graduate and New Yorker, Octavia … Continue reading
Posted in Modern Literary Fiction
Tagged AI, computers, ethics, family, gender, race, suspense, technology
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The Boys Are Back in Town: A Brody James Mystery – Karl Kling
(Reviewed by Don Jung) Brody James leaves the military to get a job in the Police Department of his hometown that he left fifteen years ago after graduating from high school. He reunites with old school acquaintances as he settles … Continue reading
Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers
Tagged crime fiction, military, police
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