(Reviewed by JD Jung) When I visit a city for the first time, I like to go to a local English-language bookstore---if I'm lucky enough to find one--- to discover novels featuring the town, incorporating its culture into the story. A Death in Valencia does just that as it combines the history and culture with…
(Reviewed by JD Jung) “I am so glad I was born in Syria and get to be young in Damascus, no matter the fear and danger. I love Damascus even if she is cruel to me.” Our narrator Furat lives in the shadows and has always had to hide his sexuality. There are places where…
(Reviewed by JD Jung) Originally published in 1931, in English in 1939, and now re-released in English, The Yellow Dog offers readers a taste of Georges Simenon's signature crime storytelling. Set in the small seaside town of Concarneau, France, a series of unsettling murders and attempts shake the town. Most of the crime scenes seem…
(Reviewed by JD Jung) For years Americans have taken for granted the most cherished and essential constitutional principles, one being the separation of Church and State. Historian and ordained minister Randall Balmer presents a timely, thoughtful, and deeply researched examination of this issue from the 17th century to current day in his book, America’s Best…
(Reviewed by JD Jung) “ Eighty-three-year-old Harvey Usher is a recluse who still, after two years, mourns the death of his wife. When he finds a young woman inside his house who claims to be his wife, he’s sure that he’s being conned. He calls the police to get her out, but this redhead ---whom…
(Reviewed by Christopher J. Lynch) Outside The Law follows the life of Bruce Davidson, a decorated Marine, police officer, lawyer, and family man, as he heads down a destructive path of depression, alcoholism, divorce, and financial collapse, before finally turning to a life of crime on the run. I felt that the writing in…
(Reviewed by John Heilman) A Friend of Dorothy’s manages to capture a young gay man’s search for belonging while simultaneously describing another young man’s decline during the early days of the AIDS epidemic. The book is a powerful reminder of the devastation of AIDS before effective treatments became available. This is a must read for…
(Reviewed by JD Jung) “ If you're searching for a crime thriller that grips you from the first page and doesn't let go, Invisible Helix is the novel for you. When homicide detectives investigate a plausible murder: a man floating in Tokyo Bay, shot in the back, they think it will be open and shut.…
(Reviewed by Pat Luboff) “I’m too tired. I just want to go to bed with a book.” In Chapter 1, sixty- one -year-old Cat was asked what she was good at. She thinks: “Certainly not marriage or motherhood or housekeeping, despite my years of practice.” And she describes other things she’s not good at…
(Reviewed by JD Jung) Colombian drug lord Diego Velasquez is facing financial ruin. It’s right after 9/11, and the U.S. borders are tightening, and corrupt officials are now refusing bribes. His two sons represent the family’s split identity: Carlos, deeply enmeshed in the cartel, and Esteban, with no interest in the family business, is…
