ATMOSPHERIC HISTORICAL THRILLER follows currents of greed, corruption, and vice in a far-north mining community at the tail end of the gold rush. Rich in detail, and in subtle characterization. SOLID B

THE ICE BARN
Anywhere Books
2022

DEATH ON “INFLUENCER ISLAND”: timely thriller with an interesting narrative structure adds some freshness to the Battle Royale trope. Lots of grimdark atmosphere to boot. SOLID B

INFLUENCER ISLAND
Greater Path LLC
2022

WILD PARANORMAL THRILLER is goofy, funny, but genuinely suspenseful as well. A bite from Nicolas Cage turns big fan Stanley into a “wereCage”, but he’s not the only one…. SOLID B

WERECAGE
Ian Fortey
2022

A SONGWRITER AND A GHOST TEAM up for an unusual quest. Clever thriller with a great premise and lots of insight into the life of a working musician just trying to get by. SOLID B

KILLING ME SOFTLY (THE COMEBACK TRAIL)
Whitefox Publishing
2022

THE LIFE OF MEGABESTSELLER V. C. ANDREWS, best known for her 1979 modern Gothic Flowers in the Attic and its sequels, illuminates her fiction with a discussion of some of the personal challenges she faced, including disability. SOLID B

THE WOMAN BEYOND THE ATTIC
Gallery Books
2022

IN A MAGICAL 1930s NEW YORK, a private detective with the power of casting runes takes on real estate corruption, stock market chicanery, and an attack on his sorceress sweetheart. Fun mix of noir tradition and fantasy themes. SOLID B

HOSTILE TAKEOVER (ARCANE CASEBOOK BOOK 8)
Dan Willis
2022

AN AMBIVALENT THIEF HAS second, and third, thoughts about stealing from a wealthy lookalike. Sharp psychological thriller, well plotted. SOLID B

THE DOUBLE: A TWISTED AND UNPUTDOWNABLE PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER
Tamarillas Press
2022

THE LAST YEARS OF A COMPLICATED WOMAN’S life, evoked with affection and exasperation by her novelist son. Both a nuanced portrait of a fierce, brilliant, difficult person and an indictment of how society can fail the vulnerable elderly. SOLID B

TASHA
Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster
2022

IN A WORLD OF RAGE ZOMBIES, only one rational man and his dog survive. Or…maybe not? A tale of unlikely apocalypse is unexpectedly cozy and thoroughly British in its charm. SOLID B

FLESH AND BLOOD (BEFORE AND AFTER BOOK 2)
Andrew Shanahan
2021

HERDING CATS—IN SPACE! Or rather, the cat-like sapient beings of Planet Dave, oddly resistant to the best rescue efforts of the starship Teapot. Fun, jokey interstellar adventure in the Hitchhiker’s Guide tradition. SOLID B

JUDGEMENT DAVE: SCI-FI THAT PUTS THE CAT IN CATASTROPHE
White Hart Fiction
2022