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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
Admission – Jean Hanff Korelitz
(Reviewed by J.D. Jung) I don’t know anything about the upcoming release of the film, Admission, starring Tina Fey and Paul Rudd, but I fondly remember reviewing the book right before is was released in 2009. It was college decision time, and students constantly … Continue reading
Posted in Modern Literary Fiction
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Stone the Devil – Jac Simensen
(Reviewed by J.D. Jung) They say that money is power, so what would happen if an American billionaire decided to take international affairs into his own hands? Specifically, what if he could change the balance of power in the Middle … Continue reading
Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers
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Too Bright to Hear Too Loud to See – Juliann Garey
(reviewed by Renée Kay) Greyson Todd, a very successful studio executive, suffers from bipolar disorder. Todd detested his own father whose manic episodes created tremendous chaos both financially and emotionally for the family. On the other hand, he adored his mother … Continue reading
Posted in Modern Literary Fiction
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Tales of Tomasewski – Del Staecker
(Reviewed by J.D. Jung) No one remembers your accomplishments, only your last mistake. And it was a whopper. In fact it would plague Jan Tomasewski (aka Jake Thompson) for his entire career in the Chicago PD. While busting a Guatemalan … Continue reading
Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers
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The Stonecutter – Camilla Läckberg (Translated by Steven T. Murray)
(reviewed by Renée Kay) I came across The Stonecutter by Camilla Läckberg while at the library picking up another book I had reserved. What caught my attention was that is was yet another Swedish mystery, which I can’t seem to get … Continue reading
Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers, Scandinavian Literature, World Literature
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One Eyed Jack – Christopher J. Lynch
(Reviewed by J.D. Jung) < I love a good villain…at least in novels. So when I came across extortionist John Sharp, I just had to get to know him better. John, or “One Eyed Jack”, as they call him knows … Continue reading
The Big Clock – Kenneth Fearing (Introduction by Nicholas Christopher)
(Reviewed by J.D. Jung) Everyone adjusts their life to the big clock; sometimes it races forward, sometimes it moves backward. It impersonally reaches for some, and forgets others. George Stroud is one who it reaches for, but fortunately misses. Stroud, a married … Continue reading
Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers, Lost and almost forgotten, Reviewers' Top Picks
Tagged 1940, book reviews, mystery, noir
2 Comments
A Vicky Hill Exclusive! – Hannah Dennison
(Reviewed by J.D. Jung) Buy it! Imagine that a young journalist is stuck in a small town working for a small newspaper, but is plagued with a huge imagination and a tendency to stumble into even bigger predicaments. You say … Continue reading
Posted in Modern Literary Fiction
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Oscar Wilde and the Vatican Murders – Gyles Brandreth
(Reviewed by J.D. Jung) What happens when the self-indulgent, romantic poet Oscar Wilde joins the reserved and pragmatic Arthur Conan Doyle to solve a mystery at the Vatican? You get Oscar Wilde and the Vatican Murders, a fun read featuring … Continue reading
Through These Veins – Anne Marie Ruff
(Reviewed by J.D. Jung) Imagine that a cure for AIDS is well within our reach but research is halted and discoveries kept from the public because it may not be lucrative enough. Author Anne Marie Ruff explores this premise as … Continue reading