An UnderratedRead Revisited: Mother Of – Lauren Coffin

(Reviewed by JD Jung) Meredith Mayes is facing the unthinkable. Her husband and son died in a car crash ten years ago. Now, her other son Percy has been penned with the nicknames “The Minor Street Monster”, “The Ann Arbor Assassin” and “The Michigan Strangler”. Percy tortured and killed twelve women from 1993 through 2013…

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An UnderratedRead Revisisted: The Cowboy Bible and Other Stories – Carlos Velázquez (Translated by Achy Obejas )

(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…

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The Delivery – K.M. Halpern

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “Was it better to be sad in a world that made sense or happy in a world that did not.” When forty-six-year-old Wilbur came home from work one day, his grumpy, over-bearing wife Sarah informed him that he received a heavy crate, of which the delivery men brought down to the…

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An UnderratedRead Revisited: The Third Hotel: A Novel – Laura van den Berg

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “The foundation of horror is a dislocation of reality, a dislocation designed to reveal the reality that has been there all along, and such dislocations happen all the time. “ That was according to the fictional Yuniel Mata, director of Revolución Zombi , the first horror movie ever made in Cuba.…

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Things I Have Withheld – Kei Miller

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “…the place where I have always felt most comfortably gay is in Jamaica. In Jamaica, I know the language and the mannerisms of queerness. In Jamaica, I know how to dance. In Jamaica, I do not have to constantly translate my sexuality into mannerisms and speech and dances that sometimes feel…

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In Celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month

( by JD Jung) To commemorate National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 - October 15) in the United States, we at UnderratedReads want to re-introduce you to a sample of the exceptional "underrated" books written by Latin American authors that we have featured on our site. We are also including two memoirs written by Mexican…

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Beware the Mermaids – Carrie Talick

(Reviewed by Don Jung) What happens when you are content with your current life, but circumstances force you to make unexpected changes? Fifty-seven-year-old grandmother, Nancy, thought she was happy, but then caught her husband with another woman on their yacht. This wasn’t a one-time occurrence. This had been going on for years. However, he doesn’t…

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The Dark Remains – William McIlvanney and Ian Rankin

(reviewed by JD Jung) October 1972, Glasgow –Detective constable Jack Laidlaw is reassigned to the Glasgow crime squad. Though he has a sixth sense on what is happening on the streets, the higher ups feel he needs “handling”, as he carries a reputation of going rogue. Hence, he is assigned to Detective Sergeant Bob Lilley.…

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The Total FilmMaker – Jerry Lewis, Foreword by Maltin Leonard

(Review and poem by Betty Jo Tucker) Way back in the 1950s and 60s, I was an avid Jerry Lewis fan. I enjoyed watching his silly characters doing nonsensical things in movies like “The Delicate Delinquent,” “The Nutty Professor” and “Cinderfella.” It was great fun to see his slapstick comedy and to cheer him on.…

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Here, Right Matters: An American Story – Alexander Vindman

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “Regardless of any impact on the president, the domestic and foreign policy consequences, or personal costs, I had no choice but to report what I’d heard. That duty to report is a critical component of U.S. Army values and of the oath I’d taken to support and defend the U.S. Constitution.”…

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