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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
Wait: A Novel – Gabriella Burnham
(Reviewed by JD Jung) “They threw me out of the country like I was a nothing.” Wait delves into the intricate layers of family, identity, and the harsh realities faced by undocumented immigrants in the United States. Through … Continue reading
Posted in Immigration, Modern Literary Fiction, World Issues
Tagged Brazil, class, immigration
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The Purple Don: Mystery Thriller Suspense Novel (Illuminati) – SLMN
(Reviewed by Don Jung) The Purple Don is a gripping and eerie murder mystery that takes readers deep into the world of crime, power, and deception. At the heart of the story is Joey Diamonds, the son of a … Continue reading
Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers
Tagged crime fiction, LGBTQ, Mafia
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The Debt Collector – Steven Max Russo
(Reviewed by Christopher J. Lynch) The Debt Collector by Steven Max Russo is a very good book for readers who enjoy this genre. The basic premise is an unassuming female debt collector, Abigal, comes into a new town to … Continue reading
Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers
Tagged crime fiction
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The Deceived Ones – Judith Krummeck
(Reviewed by JD Jung) “Luck always seems to be against the man who depends on it.”- Ukrainian proverb Vira Blyzinska fled to Poland from her home in Ukraine due to the Russian invasion. She brought little with her … Continue reading
Posted in Culture, Modern Literary Fiction
Tagged culture, family, immigration, Romance, Ukraine
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The Club of True Creators – Milan Tripkovi
(Reviewed by JD Jung) “We aren’t criminals! We are authors whose works your children will study in Serbian language classes one day. We are the architects of some of the most refined literary achievements ever committed to the Serbian tongue. … Continue reading
Posted in Humor & Satire, Slavic Literature
Tagged artists., Serbia, Social satire, songwriting, writers
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Goldenseal – Maria Hummel
(Reviewed by JD Jung) Lacey and Edith, ages seventy and seventy-one respectively, have been estranged for forty-four years. It’s now 1990, and Edith decides to travel across the country to visit her one-time best friend. Lacey, born in Prague, … Continue reading
Posted in Historical Fiction, Modern Literary Fiction, Reviewers' Top Picks
Tagged friendship, Los Angeles, relationships, socio-economic class, WWII
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My Killer: A Supernatural Crime Thriller – Gary Sherbell
(reviewed by JD Jung) NYC assistant district attorney Joel Marcus has made a lot of enemies as a prosecutor. Add to that, he is unhappily married, but stays because he loves his young son. To get through all this, he’s … Continue reading
Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers, Sci-Fi/Speculative/Fantasy/Mythology
Tagged Crime, prejudice, supernatural, thriller
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Mission Churchill – Alex Abella
(reviewed by JD Jung) 1933-Havana Cuba: Irishman Marcus Riley’s objective is to kidnap the visiting Winston Churchill and hold him hostage in exchange for IRA members serving time in London prisons. However former Detective Inspector Walter Thompson, now serving as … Continue reading
Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers, Historical Fiction
Tagged Cuba, London, Nazism, political fiction, thrillers, Winston Churchill, WWII
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The Shining – Dorothea Lasky
(reviewed by JD Jung) The Shining, a collection of over thirty poems, takes us to places similar to those that the Overlook Hotel made famous through Stephen King’s novel and Stanley Kubrick’s film of the same name. Though just as … Continue reading
Posted in Dark/Sordid/Bizarre, Poetry
Tagged artists., identity, poetry, relationships, self-destruction
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Forgottenness – Tanja Maljartschuk, translated by Zenia Tompkins
(reviewed by JD Jung) “I was an inconsequential being who had suddenly become deathly afraid of life.” Our present-day narrator suffers from mental/psychological disorders: frequent panic attacks, obsessive compulsive disorder, substance abuse, and changing levels of agoraphobia. Eventually she breaks … Continue reading
Posted in Historical Fiction, Slavic Literature, World Literature
Tagged history, mental illness, political activism, politics, Ukraine
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