The Boys Are Back in Town: A Brody James Mystery – Karl Kling

(Reviewed by Don Jung) Brody James leaves the military to get a job in the Police Department of his hometown that he left fifteen years ago after graduating from high school. He reunites with old school acquaintances as he settles down in his new job. The characters vary from charming to evil as he investigates…

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It Takes a Lifetime to Learn How to Live: An Italian American story of coming home – Libby Cataldi

(Reviewed by JD Jung) Libby’s life was falling apart. Recently divorced, recovering from breast cancer, and struggling with her son’s heroin addiction, she felt lost and desperate for strength. Though she never got along with her own mother, she fondly remembered her loving Italian grandmother, or “Nonna”. Though unable to read or write, Nonna was…

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Fight Night 1939: The Champ, the Challenger, and a Portrait of America on the Brink – Joseph Monninger

(Reviewed by JD Jung) I had never heard of Tony Galento before reading this book—the rough-edged heavyweight best known for flooring Joe Louis in the third round of their championship bout. At first glance, his story might seem like a footnote in boxing history, but author Joseph Monninger transforms it into something far more captivating.…

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An UnderratedRead Revisited – Jump: My Secret Journey from the Streets to the Boardroom – Larry Miller with Laila Lacy

(reviewed by Ann Onymous ) “Should I come clean? I was well aware of the risk of unburdening myself to the executive in a public accounting firm, but all signs indicated I was on the path to landing my first big job...I rolled out the armed robberies, my time behind bars, the community-college courses in…

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An Exceptional UnderratedRead Revisited: Scale of Time: From the Beginning – Joseph Lanzara

(Reviewed by Pat Luboff) “The underlying mission of this book is to render, with accuracy, unimaginably long lengths of time and incredibly vast distances in space, conceivable at a glance.” You’ll note that instead of listing just the author’s name, I have included the phrase as he has it on the front of his book.…

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Best Woman – Rose Dommu

(Reviewed by JD Jung) In times like these, when the world feels heavy and overwhelming, many of us crave a light and fun read. That’s what drew me to Best Woman. Yes, it’s light and humorous on the surface, but poignant with honest undercurrents. Twenty-nine-year-old Julia Rosenberg is headed back to her hometown of Boca…

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Ham’s Heaven- Ori Gersht (Translated by Joanna Chen)

(Reviewed by Christopher J. Lynch)   Ham's Heaven was a tough book to get through – but not for the usual reasons: poor plotting, pacing, etc. It was tough because it was a very emotional story that needed to be told. The author, Ori Gersht, draws from a great deal of historical facts to create…

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The Bolden Cylinder A Bruneau Abellard Novel – Norman Woolworth

(Reviewed by JD Jung) I was excited to read The Bolden Cylinder because of its promise of jazz and its New Orleans setting—two of my favorite things. What I got was so much more: a richly layered mystery involving arson, unrequited love, and a fifty-year-old disappearance that ties the past and present together in unexpected…

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A Recommended Read for ‘No Kings Day’: Autocracy Inc. – Anne Applebaum

(Reviewed by JD Jung) “The autocracies want to create a global system that benefits thieves, criminals, dictators, and the perpetrators of mass murder. We can stop them.” Historian and journalist Anne Applebaum suggests what democracies can do to save their political systems and why we should fear these present-day autocracies in her latest book, Autocracy,…

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An UnderratedRead Revisited: Tales from Beyond the Closet – Dalton Primeaux

(Reviewed by JD Jung) These sordid tales of horror are weird. They're eclectic, frightening, and entertaining.   The kind of weird I like. There are stories encompassing sci-fi and lots of horror: a haunted wooden coffee table, a strange boba shop, wicked wigs, killer vines, and retaliating trees. A once tolerant community that all of a…

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