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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
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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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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PRIMO—a stageplay: Auschwitz through the lens of time – Ed Davidson
(Reviewed by Heidi A. Swan) #CommissionsEarned Primo Levi was a writer, chemist, and a survivor of the Holocaust. This tightly written one act play is a fictional account of the last day of his life. As he goes through his … Continue reading
Posted in Historical Fiction
Tagged audio book, Auschwitz, Holocaust, stage play
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The Dish Dog – Peter Davidson
(Reviewed by Don Jung) #CommissionsEarned Kimberly King turned down a golden opportunity to work at her father’s highly successful investment fund company. Instead, she wanted to make her own mark in the world. She now works as a forensic accountant … Continue reading
Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers
Tagged crime fiction, FBI, insider trading, New York, Wall Street
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The Flowers of Buffoonery – Os Amu Dazai, (translated by Sam Bett)
(Reviewed by JD Jung) #CommissionsEarned “A man crushed by reality puts on a show of endurance.” This is exactly the case with twenty-five-year-old Yozo Oba, who is sent to a seaside sanitarium to recover from injuries due to failed suicide … Continue reading
Posted in Far Eastern Literature, Lost and almost forgotten
Tagged Japan, mental illness, short books, suicide
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The Lord’s Tusks – Jeffery Ulin
(Reviewed by Ann Onymous ) #CommissionsEarned “…Michael nodded, climbing into his car and silently steering back toward camp. He passed by the troop of baboons, still frolicking in the savanna, slowly making their way back home, oblivious to the powers … Continue reading
Posted in Environmental, World Issues
Tagged Africa, environmental fiction, Kenya, poaching
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Central Places – Delia Cai
(Reviewed by JD Jung) Twenty-seven-year-old Audrey Zhou is leading a life most of us would be envious of. Living in New York City as a sales rep for a newspaper, she has many friends and is engaged to a … Continue reading
Posted in Immigration, Modern Literary Fiction
Tagged immigrants, relationships
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A Death in Valencia – Jason Webster
(Reviewed by JD Jung) When I visit a city for the first time, I like to go to a local English-language bookstore—if I’m lucky enough to find one— to discover novels featuring the town, incorporating its culture into the story. … Continue reading
Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers
Tagged corruption, crime fiction, gentrification, murder, Spain, Valencia
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The Endless Rose – Carlos Maleno (translated by Eric Kurtzke)
(Reviewed by JD Jung) #CommissionsEarned “Then he thought of that woman, of her writing, that disappeared into itself—chaotic, brutal, savage, suicidal—like automatic writing, or the writing of a lunatic.” Thirty-seven-year-old publisher Roberto Fate was totally mesmerized as he read a … Continue reading
Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers
Tagged crime fiction, murder, publishing, Spain
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