Underrated Reads

The History Major – Michael Phillip Cash

Posted on March 30, 2016 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Lee Nelson) Part mystery, part Twilight Zone, this fast-reading novella will excite the lovers of the unknown. (By the way – it’s hard to write a review when one wants readers to discover the unexpected twists and turns for themselves, so please bear with me.) A young woman wakes up after a night of heavy…

Baronne Street – Kent Westmoreland

Posted on March 27, 2016 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “The morning sun transformed into a rainbow as it passed through beveled-glass panes and formed a halo around Coco’s tousled black hair Her olive features and brown saucer eyes never looked more vibrant. I melted like white chocolate on a wrought iron bench on a summer day.” But New Orleans P.I.…

Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers | Tagged New Orleans, thrillers. New Orleans fiction | 1 Comment

Out of Darkness (Brier Hospital series) -Lawrence Gold

Posted on March 24, 2016 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Ishita RC) Human Trafficking is not only abhorrent but also one of the fastest growing criminal enterprises in the 21st century. Dr. Cynthia Lange has learned about the harsh realities of life through sheer strength of character and also because she had the luck of having good people on her side. She may…

Posted in Modern Literary Fiction | Comments Off

Death in Profile – Guy Fraser-Sampson

Posted on March 21, 2016 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “…the internet is a fantastic information source but reading is different. With books you learn things, random things, whatever the author might be talking to you about, and you sort of soak them up like a sponge over the years. They are stored away in some dim recess of the unconscious…

Posted in Crime, Mystery and Thrillers | Comments Off

When I First Knew- Joan Alden

Posted on March 19, 2016 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Ishita RC) “It’s starting to get to me how unfair life is when it comes to boys and girls.” A profound statement from a seven year old girl speaks a lot about the society that was prevalent at the time and still exists. It was difficult to be a tomboy, especially in suburban Detroit…

Posted in Modern Literary Fiction | Tagged LGBT | Comments Off

The Fine Art of Fucking Up- Cate Dicharry

Posted on March 16, 2016 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “Never could I have imagined such a circumstance: the building underwater, Ramona trapped inside, the Pollock in peril, Suzanne and James in love in a kayak, Ethan at home playacting fatherhood with an international exchange student, and me, wanted by campus police, staggering around in sewage, a chipmunk carcass thumping against…

Posted in Humor & Satire | Tagged humor | Comments Off

The Poker Game: A Jack Dantzler Mystery – Tom Wallace

Posted on March 14, 2016 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Cathy Carey) “Dantzler leaned against the marble bar and surveyed the carnage. Five adult males, all deceased, were slumped over in chairs situated around a poker table, victims of what appeared to be a single gunshot to the back of the head. Each man was bent at the waist, his head, arms and…

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

Marry Your Billionaire: A Modern Cinderella – C. J. Anaya

Posted on March 11, 2016 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by Ishita RC) Madelyn ‘Midge’ Knightly has a famous Hollywood producer- father and a trust fund as a legacy. But instead of following her birthright, she stepped off the path six years ago to create her own name and destiny. And she vowed to avoid playboys. Now her estranged father has asked for help.…

Posted in Romance | Comments Off

In the Café of Lost Youth – Patrick Modiano (Translated from the French by Chris Clarke)

Posted on March 8, 2016 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “I’ve always believed that certain places are like magnets and draw you towards them should you happen to walk within their radius. And this happens imperceptibly, without you even suspecting... It seems to me that because of its location, the Condé had that sort of magnetic power, and if one were…

Posted in French Literature, World Literature | Tagged French, noir | Comments Off

The Cowboy Bible and Other Stories – Carlos Velázquez (Translated from the Spanish by Achy Obejas )

Posted on March 6, 2016 by J D Jung

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “The sacrilege I’d committed two hours earlier of breaking dozens of records proved irrelevant. The Cowboy Bible didn’t respond either. I tore at it, implored it, cursed it, and still failed.” These are the words of a luchador and in this opening story “The Cowboy Bible”. In this case the bible…

Posted in Humor & Satire, Latin American Literature, World Literature | Tagged Mexican literature | Comments Off