(Reviewed by JD Jung) "That's why I'm listening to the city tonight, with Chet Baker playing softly in the background." Another book I picked up while visiting Bologna, Italy, was Almost Blue by Carlo Lucarelli at Feltrinelli Librerie. It turned out to be one of the most gripping noir crime novels I've read…
(Reviewed by JD Jung) Edward C. Sellner's Kindred Spirits brings together two unlikely figures—Trappist monk Thomas Merton and Beat Generation icon Jack Kerouac. This well-researched biography explores how Buddhist thought influenced each man's spiritual journey. Both men battled depression, wrote compassionately about society's outsiders, and were influenced by Zen scholar D.T. Suzuki and the concept…
(Reviewed by JD Jung) Set on the outskirts of Dublin in 2025, Buyer Beware follows Ellie as she moves into the first home she's ever owned. Unfortunately, it's cold, filthy, and falling apart, and with little money to spare, she can barely afford to live there. Then strange things begin happening. Someone seems to break into…
Reviewed by Don Jung) From Lompoc With Love is the sixth in a series of spy thrillers that is fast paced with nonstop action that takes you around the world. James Flynn is a retired “secret agent" who is trying to get back to a normal life in Switzerland with his girlfriend. A lovely Russian agent…
(Reviewed by JD Jung) I usually gravitate toward gritty thrillers rather than cozy mysteries, so I wasn't expecting Savvy Summers and the Po'boy Perils to hook me the way it did. But this engaging culinary mystery quickly won me over. Savvy Summers owns Essie's Place, the most popular soul food restaurant on Chicago's South Side,…
(Reviewed by Don Jung) (Editor's note: With the political demise of Graham Platner, the actual demise of Lindsey Graham, and the questionable demise of Mitch MConnell, the United States Senate is back in the spotlight. Though written during Trump's first term, Mr. Siegel Writes to Washington is still a timely and hilarious read. -JD…
(Reviewed by JD Jung) Eric Kherson is forty years old, divorced, has little contact with his son, and is struggling to find meaning in his life. He makes a good living but feels disconnected from both his personal life and his sense of purpose . When an old school acquaintance he barely remembered, Amelie, offers…
(Reviewed by JD Jung) “People want stories; it doesn’t matter who wrote them, they need stories to take their mind off things, stories to identify with or to take them elsewhere. Stories that won’t hurt, that will heal a wound, restore trust, instil beauty into their hearts.” One of my favorite things to do while…
(Reviewed by JD Jung) Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt offers a fascinating and deeply original perspective on death through the character of Travis Smith, who is death in human form. Rather than causing death or deciding who dies, Travis has a singular purpose: he comforts people in their final moments and gently releases them…
