Category Archives: Fiction

Quick Fix (The Reluctant Hustler Book 1) – J. Gregory Smith

Posted on October 24, 2018 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Christopher J. Lynch) This book immediately reminded me of the movie, “A Simple Plan” with Billy-Bob Thornton, Bill Paxton, and Bridget Fonda. In Quick Fix, the main character, Kyle, a military veteran injured from an IED, is in … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers | Tagged book review, mystery, thriller | Comments Off

Baby Blue (Stratos Gazis Series) – Pol Koutsakis (Author), Anne-Marie Stanton-Ife (Translator)

Posted on October 15, 2018 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “The kind of work I do defines who I am. Who I am defines the kind of work that I do. I am my work. It gives my life meaning. I clear the world of filth … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers, World Literature | Tagged Athens, Crime, Greece, thrillers | Comments Off

The Garbage Times/White Ibis: Two Novellas- Sam Pink

Posted on September 23, 2018 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “By closing, I’d carried a drunk woman out, separated two fights, stood in the doorway to block someone from coming in after she pissed/puked herself out front…scooped puke out of a urinal with stunning accuracy, and … Continue reading →

Posted in More fiction | Tagged Chicago, dark humor, Florida, short books | Comments Off

Everybody Wins (Except for the Losers): A Record Store Day Story – Steve Murphy

Posted on September 21, 2018 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Don Jung) In this digital age, you would think that record stores are a thing of the past. But this particular record store is full of passionate employees who love what they do. After all, their world revolves … Continue reading →

Posted in Modern Literary Fiction | Tagged dark humor, music, short books | Comments Off

Poso Wells- Gabriela Alemán (Translated from the Spanish by Dick Cluster)

Posted on September 3, 2018 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “Something crouches in the streets of Poso Wells, and it attaches the nerves like a persistent drumbeat. Whatever it is haunts the dreams of the residents, panting I their faces, slobbering them with noxious saliva and … Continue reading →

Posted in Dark/Sordid/Bizarre, Latin American Literature, Political fiction, World Issues, World Literature | Tagged corruption, Crime, cults, Ecuador, noir, politics | Comments Off

The Third Hotel: A Novel – Laura van den Berg

Posted on August 27, 2018 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “The foundation of horror is a dislocation of reality, a dislocation designed to reveal the reality that has been there all along, and such dislocations happen all the time. “ That was according to the fictional … Continue reading →

Posted in Dark/Sordid/Bizarre, Horror, Modern Literary Fiction | Tagged cinema, Cuba, death, grief, Havana, Latin America, noir, surrealism | Comments Off

Absinthe: A Thriller – Guido Eekhaut

Posted on August 19, 2018 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “His methods are unconventional at best and border on illegal at times. And his opinion of women, well, I won’t go into that topic.” This is what AIVD Chief inspector Alexandra Dewaal has to deal with … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers, Political fiction, World Issues, World Literature | Tagged Crime, European fiction, Netherlands, politics, Russia | Comments Off

Serial Killers: Horror and Murder: Scary and True Stories of the Most Terrifying Serial Killers the World has Ever Seen! – Frank C. Chastain

Posted on August 13, 2018 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) Don’t be fooled by the book cover! You may think it was taken right out of a tabloid headline. No, Serial Killers takes a mostly objective look at some of the world’s darkest and most notorious … Continue reading →

Posted in Dark/Sordid/Bizarre, History | Tagged Crime, murder, psychopaths, serial killers | Comments Off

Crook’s Hollow – Robert Parker

Posted on August 6, 2018 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “You should have got on with it.” Those were the only words that twenty-five year old Thorton “Thor” Loxley remembered from his assailant. But that would not be the only attempt on his life. Thor didn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers | Tagged England, fiction, mystery | Comments Off

Bella Figura: How to Live, Love, and Eat the Italian Way -Kamin Mohammadi

Posted on July 18, 2018 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “ Now that I was living without all the relics of my former identity, there was a glimmer of something new. The heady possibly of freedom.” Kamin was thirty-two and seemed to have it all: a … Continue reading →

Posted in Bios and Memoirs, Culture, Your Best Self | Tagged Florence, Italy, Tuscany | 1 Comment