Category Archives: Fiction

You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty-Akwaeke Emezi

Posted on May 24, 2022 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) #CommissionsEarned I must admit that I’m not a romantic, and I very seldom read romance novels. That said, You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Nigerian author Akwaeke Emezi takes this genre to … Continue reading →

Posted in Romance | Tagged Contemporary Romance, grief, love, Romance | Comments Off

Exit Strategy – Linda L. Richards

Posted on May 17, 2022 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) #CommissionsEarned “…the sum of my life left me in a black hole. I was desperate, but I was also empty. Then life suddenly showed me the way to make sense of it. A certain kind of … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers | Tagged crime fiction, murder, Silicon Valley, technology | Comments Off

The Krubera Conspiracy – Jeff Buick

Posted on May 15, 2022 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Don Jung) #CommissionsEarned The country of Georgia is home to the Krubera Cave, the world’s deepest cave at 7,308 feet beneath the earth. Here is the setting for this spy thriller as the brother team of Damon and … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure, Crime, Mystery and Thrillers, Reviewers' Top Picks | Tagged CIA, corruption, espionage, Georgia, Krubera Cave, Russia | Comments Off

The Book of Morfeo – Stefano Benni

Posted on May 8, 2022 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) #CommissionsEarned “What you do is supposed to be sacred. It’s supposed to be about healing. You should be taking it seriously, as seriously as death.” Italian writer, Stefano Benni addresses a serious issue that is prevalent … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor & Satire, Italian Literature, Sci-Fi/Speculative/Fantasy/Mythology | Tagged angels, dark humor, death, God, greed, healthcare, magical realism, profits, Religion, short books | Comments Off

Love, Death & Rare Books – Robert Hellenga

Posted on April 29, 2022 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) #CommissionsEarned “I want to live life, not read about it.” That is what people kept telling Chicago bookseller Gabe Johnson, who came from generations of rare book dealers. With the growth of online bookstores, even his … Continue reading →

Posted in Modern Literary Fiction | Tagged bookstores, death, love, philosophy | Comments Off

Accusation (A Raquel Rematti Legal Thriller Book 3) – Paul Batista

Posted on April 1, 2022 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) #CommissionsEarned A-list celebrity Aaron Julian has recently been accused of sexual harassment and assault by multiple starlets. According to his accusers, he made sure that their careers would tank if they didn’t comply with his wishes. … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers | Tagged #METOO, celebrity, corruption, criminal justice, Sexual abuse, sexual harassment and assault, trust | Comments Off

Songs by Honeybird – Peter McDade

Posted on March 27, 2022 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Pat Luboff) #CommissionsEarned “Find your focus and the story may write itself: music and drugs, race and gender, a tragic barn fire and a missing body. It’s all much more dramatic than one usually sees in a dissertation….” … Continue reading →

Posted in Modern Literary Fiction, Reviewers' Top Picks, Romance | Tagged friendship, history, music, philosophy, Romance, sexism | Comments Off

Tard – Del Staecker

Posted on March 17, 2022 by J D Jung

(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 Crime, Mystery and Thrillers, Philosophical reads, Reviewers' Top Picks, Sci-Fi/Speculative/Fantasy/Mythology | Tagged corruption, down-syndrome, family dysfunction, fantasy, philosophy, redemption, Religion, sociopaths | Comments Off

Paris Noir: The Suburbs: Akashic Noir Series – Hervé Delouche (Editor)

Posted on March 5, 2022 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “Where was French romanticism? The opulence of the West? I found Paris—Pantin, really—very different from what I had imagined. I found Pantin ugly…”. An Albanian national flees his country in fear for his life and joins … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers, French Literature, Reviewers' Top Picks, Short stories, World Literature | Tagged French literature, immigration, noir, Paris | Comments Off