It’s been along time since I’ve posted anything on my page, so I thought I’d share some reviews of books I’ve read recently. This is a a bit of a smorgasbord, so hopefully you can find something that interests you.

Looking for book club fiction? Try Diana McDonough’s Ginger Star (Pirates and Plantations in Jamaica: The Story of Ginger Star). Here are my thoughts on it:

Author McDonough treats us to a fascinating story of wealth, poverty, slavery, and redemption set in Jamaica in the early 1700s. Set in the “Golden Age of Piracy,” when Jamaica was a favorite port-of-call, the novel blends well-researched history with a compelling story of strong women who resist the roles that society thrusts upon them. McDonough provides us with an unflinching look at the slavery that made the plantations possible, while exploring the humanity of the people caught in its web. This is book club fiction at its best. Highly recommended.

How about post-apocalyptic fiction that isn’t just about building a new world but grieving the loss of the old one? Here’s my review of SurrogaCity Requiem by L. Wade Powers:

“Some things in the past cannot be recovered, and some things in the future will not be realized.”

Author Powers treats us to a thoughtful post-apocalyptic journey, as humankind tries to recover from a plague which has rendered most men on the planet sterile. This book is the sequel to SurrogaCity, the novel that introduced us to the International Progressive Gynocracy. Yes, women now rule the world, but with our predilection for violence, the future remains in doubt. After all, as Powers so aptly puts it, “Perfect societies require perfect humans,” and we will always fall far short of that.

This is high-concept speculative fiction that explores what might come after artificial intelligence. It is also a poignant meditation on grief as its characters face the enormity of their losses. Highly recommended.

Do you like being frightened so much that you have to go back and check all your doors and windows twice to make sure they’re locked before you go to bed? The Whisper Man by Alex North will do that to you:

This book is absolutely terrifying. The writing is superb, the editing is flawless, but I must append a caveat: due to its villain—a serial killer who preys upon young boys—this will be a hard pass for some readers. Let me be quick to add, however, that there is no graphic description of the murders. Nonetheless, author North gives us the stuff of nightmares, as though the raw emotion of Picasso’s “Guernica” could be translated into prose. The menace and suspense grow page by page until they are all but overwhelming. The exploration of dysfunctional family relationships and the malignant emotional seeds they plant is harrowing. This journey into darkness makes you feel as if you’ve been plunged underwater and must struggle up to the surface to catch a breath, to make it back to the light. Don’t expect to sleep once you’ve turned the final page.

Finally, how about a truly lovely literary novel? My Own Heart’s Song by Katherine Girsch is just that:

To call this a “coming-of-age story” doesn’t do justice to this deeply introspective glimpse into life and love from the perspective of a young woman growing up in the Bronx. Music, painting, photography provide the tapestry upon which she inscribes her emotions, as she explores what it means to love another person, to comfort a friend who has suffered catastrophic loss, to experience joy in the mysteries of relationships all around her. The central device of the novel, giving each character first-person chapters, allows the reader to see the world through their eyes, as they come to terms with the dynamisms and conflicts that propel them forward. The story is elegantly simple, the prose, poetic. It’s a song of love and grief, and ultimately peace with all that life offers. Five enthusiastic stars.

Now I’m off to select a new book to read. I continue to try to get my latest manuscript accepted by an agent who’s willing to take a chance on it. Nothing yet. Forty or so rejections, but I’ve still got 130 more queries out there. Wish me luck!