Laura Jensen Walker's "The Alphabet Sleuths," the movie

Featured at My Book, The Movie: The Alphabet Sleuths by Laura Jensen Walker.

The entry begins:

“Claire Reynolds hadn’t planned to kill a man that day, but stuff happens.”

In the opening of my mystery featuring four women of a certain age, you meet main character Claire, the C-member of the self-proclaimed Alphabet Girls: Atsuko, Barbara, Claire, and Daphne. When Claire accidentally kills a man who was strangling retired cop Daphne, the gal pals must get rid of the body—a member of the local crime family—without anyone knowing. Especially the police. After Claire discovers another dead body in their California retirement community, the Alphabet Girls become the Alphabet Sleuths to track down the killer.

While writing this story about four women in a retirement community, naturally, TV’s The Golden Girls came to mind. Widowed Claire in her innocence and naïveté, reminded me of Rose, played so wonderfully by Betty White. Except Claire has a silver pixie cut ala Jamie Lee Curtis.

But Jamie Lee is such a badass I’d cast her in the role of retired cop Daphne.

Claire, I see more as a cross between Annie Potts and Mary Steenburgen.

Barbara, the tucked and plucked beautiful blonde beauty queen and retired actress (and the oldest member of the Alphabet Girls) is...[read on]

Visit Laura Jensen Walker's website.

My Book, The Movie: The Alphabet Sleuths.

--Marshal Zeringue

Pg. 99: Alice Echols's "Black Power, White Heat"

Featured at the Page 99 Test: Black Power, White Heat: From Solidarity Politics to Radical Chic by Alice Echols.

About the book, from the publisher:

A rich history of cross-racial coalitions and alliances of the Sixties' freedom movement, acclaimed historian Alice Echols's Black Power, White Heat reshapes our understanding of the entire era.

One of the most divisive issues in recent progressive politics has been what role, if any, allies might legitimately play in other people's movements. Despite the significance of this debate, it has taken place in a historical vacuum.

In Black Power, White Heat: From Solidarity Politics to Radical Chic, the Sixties historian Alice Echols explores what happened some sixty years ago when whites and Blacks came together in the fight against racism. She tells this story by focusing on two Black-led organizations that bookend the Sixties: The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the Black Panther Party. In SNCC, whites were, in part, meant to generate a "white heat" so searing it would accelerate change. Results were mixed, and white activists formed new movements, from women's liberation to draft resistance.

By 1967, the Black Panther Party was advancing its own unique brand of "revolutionary nationalism", and seeking out white supporters. Partnering with whites brought the group visibility and resources, but it also put the Panthers at odds with other Black radicals, with unfortunate consequences.

Black Power, White Heat explains how solidarity lost credibility, and not just from within the movement. Here, the FBI played a key role, and so did the discourse of "radical chic", advanced most effectively by the journalist Tom Wolfe. Still, even as Black-white solidarity lost steam, it was not entirely played out. In some of the era's most important political trials, even courtrooms became sites of solidarity as predominantly white juries returned verdicts that suggested they trusted Black Panther defendants more than the District Attorneys prosecuting them. Clear-eyed about the difficulties of solidarity, Black Power, White Heat nonetheless emphasizes the achievements and considerable promise of uniting across difference, and in ways that will inform and deepen current debates roiling progressive politics.

Learn more about Black Power, White Heat at the Oxford University Press website.

The Page 99 Test: Black Power, White Heat.

--Marshal Zeringue

Ten top contemporary nonfiction titles for Black History Month

At People magazine senior books editor Lizz Schumer tagged ten inspiring and educational nonfiction books to read this Black History Month. One title on the list:

The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation by Anna Malaika Tubbs

History is too often taught as a series of actions undertaken by men. In this biography, the author reveals the importance of three extraordinary mothers in shaping the Civil Rights movement. Without the strength and vision of these three African American mothers, the book asks, would we even have known the leadership of King, the vision of Malcolm or the clarity of James Baldwin's words?

Read about another book on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Pg. 69: Jeffrey Siger's "A Study in Secrets"

Featured at the Page 69 Test: A Study in Secrets by Jeffrey Siger.

About the novel, from the publisher:

A retired gentleman with a complicated past. A missing priceless treasure. A young woman in trouble. The first in the brand—new Redacted Man mystery series set in NYC introduces a Sherlock Holmes—worthy sleuth, and is a great choice for fans of Anthony Horowitz, Robert Galbraith, and Ann Cleeves.

Michael A— lives a quiet, comfortable life since his retirement from the intelligence services. Practically a recluse, he spends his days imagining the lives of the anonymous people he watches in the park beneath the window of his elegant New York townhouse—number 221—his every need tended to by his housekeeper, Mrs. Baker.

For weeks, a girl has sat in the park every morning at dawn. Always alone. Always watchful. And when the sun rises, she vanishes, as if she was never there.

But one day her routine changes—and Michael realizes that she faces terrible danger. He makes an uncharacteristic decision to abandon his solitude and help her. Soon, Michael finds himself plunged into the New York underworld, and he’ll have to use all the tricks of his former trade if he’s to keep not just himself, but his new friend, alive.

A Study in Secrets is the first in a new amateur sleuth mystery series from Jeffrey Siger, author of the critically acclaimed Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis Mysteries set in Greece.

Visit Jeffrey Siger's website.

The Page 69 Test: Murder in Mykonos.

The Page 69 Test: Prey on Patmos.

The Page 69 Test: Target Tinos.

The Page 69 Test: Mykonos After Midnight.

The Page 69 Test: A Deadly Twist.

Q&A with Jeffrey Siger.

The Page 69 Test: At Any Cost.

The Page 69 Test: Not Dead Yet.

The Page 69 Test: A Study in Secrets.

--Marshal Zeringue

Pg. 99: David A. Crockett's "Winning It Back"

Featured at the Page 99 Test: Winning It Back: Restoration Presidents and the Cycle of American Politics by David A. Crockett.

About the book, from the publisher:

In Winning It Back, David A. Crockett explores why presidents who promise to set things aright―to "restore"―so often usher in the opposite.

Since the earliest days of the United States, presidencies have seemingly unfolded in a cyclical manner, with features from prior eras recurring in later ones. Building on the idea of "political time"―that presidential terms fall within particular regime cycles―Crockett shows that presidents often fall into one of two roles: opposition presidents and restoration presidents. Opposition presidents belong to the political party not representing the dominant governing philosophy of a specific political era―for example, Republican presidents during the New Deal era (e.g., Eisenhower, Nixon) and Democratic presidents during the Reagan era (e.g., Clinton, Obama). Restoration presidents, conversely, belong to the dominant party, come to power after opposition presidents and, as such, face the task of "restoring" the dominant party's governing agenda.

But that return is rarely smooth. Restoration presidents―like Kennedy after Eisenhower, or George W. Bush after Clinton―inherit both the hope of a comeback and the burden of pent-up expectations. Crockett argues that these leaders often overreach in their urgency to restore what was, inadvertently setting the stage for backlash and, eventually, the unraveling of their own political order.

With sharp historical analysis and a wide-angle view of presidential politics from Jackson to today, Winning It Back offers timely insights on leadership legacies and the risks of nostalgia―and a clarion call for what (and who) may come next.

Learn more about Winning It Back at the Cornell University Press website.

The Page 99 Test: Winning It Back.

--Marshal Zeringue

Six historical fiction titles based on true stories

Katie Moench is a librarian, runner, and lover of baked goods. A school librarian in the Upper Midwest, Moench lives with her husband and dog and spends her free time drinking coffee, trying new recipes, and adding to her TBR list.

At Book Riot she tagged six historical fiction titles based on real people and events, including:

The Moor’s Account by Laila Lalami

The Moor’s Account is a novel that imagines the life of Estebanico, an enslaved man who is briefly mentioned in historical accounts of the Narváez expedition as one of four survivors of the ill-fated trip to explore and conquer Spanish Florida. Lalami builds on Estebanico’s story, narrating the expedition through his eyes. Mustafa ibn Muhammad ibn Abdussalam al-Zamori, known to his Spanish master Andrés de Dorantes as Estebanico, is brought from Morocco to Cuba and then to what is now Tampa Bay in a quest for gold. As the party journeys inland, they encounter disease, wildlife, and dwindling supplies. A year after setting out, only the four survivors remain. Lalami’s book is structured as a travelogue and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2015.

Read about another novel on the list.

The Moor’s Account is among Stacey Abrams's recommended reading and Adam Johnson's six powerful books about characters in impossible situations.

--Marshal Zeringue

What is Wendy Walker reading?

Featured at Writers Read: Wendy Walker, author of Blade.

Her entry begins:

I love reading outside the thriller genre whenever I can. While I adore suspense and psychological thrillers, reading within my own genre can sometimes feel like work I’m always analyzing structure, pacing, and technique. Reading outside of it, by contrast, is pure pleasure.

Right now, I’m listening to the audiobook of Wreck by Catherine Newman, the follow-up to her runaway bestseller Sandwich. Wreck follows a family as they navigate a series of quiet and not-so-quiet crises, told through the voice of a fifty-something wife and mother confronting middle age, empty nesting, and a recent family loss. The writing is witty and sharp, yet deeply emotional - almost every sentence makes me smile yet lands with meaning. I also...[read on]

About Blade, from the publisher:

From USA Today bestselling author―and former competitive skater―Wendy Walker comes a chilling psychological thriller set in the cutthroat world of elite figure skating.

Ana Robbins was an Olympic star in the making―until tragedy forced her to leave that world behind. At the age of sixteen, she gave up her dream and never looked back. Fourteen years later, she’s a successful defense attorney, revered for her work with minors. But when her former coach turns up dead, Ana lands right back where it all began, and abruptly ended: The Palace, a world-renowned skating facility nestled high in the mountains of Colorado.

Ana returns to The Palace to defend the young skater accused of the brutal crime―Grace Montgomery. Despite her claims of innocence, all evidence points squarely at Grace’s guilt, and she’s days away from facing charges of first-degree murder.

But Ana’s investigation dredges up childhood memories of her own, triggering the fear that permeates this place where she once lived and trained far from home as an “Orphan.” With a blizzard raging outside, and time running out for Grace, Ana is determined to uncover the truth―even if it means exposing her own secrets that she buried here long ago.

Visit Wendy Walker's website.

The Page 69 Test: Four Wives.

The Page 99 Test: Social Lives.

The Page 69 Test: Don't Look for Me.

Q&A with Wendy Walker.

Writers Read: Wendy Walker.

--Marshal Zeringue

Pg. 99: Aaron Coy Moulton's "Caribbean Blood Pacts"

Featured at the Page 99 Test: Caribbean Blood Pacts: Guatemala and the Cold War Struggle for Freedom by Aaron Coy Moulton.

About the book, from the publisher:

In Caribbean Blood Pacts, Aaron Coy Moulton argues that the CIA's Operations PBFORTUNE and PBSUCCESS derived from the longstanding efforts of dictators, reactionaries, the United Fruit Company, and British intelligence to silence calls for antifascism and anticolonialism springing from the Guatemalan Revolution. In 1952, a coalition of dictators and reactionaries in the Caribbean Basin convinced the Truman administration to support a conspiracy that became the CIA's Operation PBFORTUNE, the first US government–backed plot against Guatemala's government. As Moulton demonstrates, this operation failed because US officials did not understand the network of forces involved.

In 1953, the Eisenhower administration approved Operation PBSUCCESS. This time, the CIA better understood Caribbean dynamics. The resulting destruction of Guatemalan democracy was the product of the US government applying its resources and the efforts of myriad reactionary forces.

Caribbean Blood Pacts shows how the transnational counterrevolution against the Guatemalan Revolution became a lesson for those who spent the next decades fighting the region's dictatorships in the shadow of the Cold War, from the Cuban Revolution to the Sandinista movement in Nicaragua.

Learn more about Caribbean Blood Pacts at the Cornell University Press website.

The Page 99 Test: Caribbean Blood Pacts.

--Marshal Zeringue

Five great thrillers by Black writers

Leodora Darlington is a writer from London with Ghanaian heritage. She received a distinction for her Masters in Creative Writing from Brunel University, where she studied under authors like Benjamin Zepheniah and Will Self.

A Bookseller Rising Star in 2021, Darlington is also an editor and has published a range of bestselling fiction. The Exes is her debut novel.

At CrimeReads Darlington tagged "five thrillers by Black authors that I simply couldn’t put down." One title on the list:

Dorothy Koomson, Give Him to Me

Dorothy Koomson has long been hailed as the “Queen of the Big Reveal,” and in Give Him to Me, she reminds us exactly why she wears the crown. The premise hooked me instantly. Robyn witnessed her father murder her mother when she was twelve. Now in her twenties, with her father hidden away in witness protection, Robyn decides it’s time for a family reunion.

Her method? Killing people connected to his case and leaving a chilling note on the bodies: GIVE HIM TO ME.

What I love about this book is the cat-and-mouse dynamic. It’s not just a revenge thriller; it’s a psychological deep dive, especially with the return of profiler Dr. Kez Lanyon (fans of Every Smile You Fake will be thrilled, though this absolutely works as a standalone). Koomson balances a dark streak of feminist rage with a plot that is clever, complex, and utterly compulsive.

Read about another novel on Darlington's list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Q&A with Janet Burroway

From my Q&A with Janet Burroway, author of Simone in Pieces:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

Simone in Pieces both describes the heroine’s plight and offers the reader a clue to how to read the novel. Simone has lost her childhood memory in a traumatic war rescue, and must reconstruct a self as herself-from-now-on. Mostly, like all of us, she takes from her encounters with others what she wants and needs to make herself a fulfilled person. The novel uses many points of view, so readers take from each voice what they feel and need from it. My fear about the title was that some might think it meant only “she’s all to pieces” emotionally. Certainly that cliché often applies to Simone, but the emphasis is on the remaking and its complexity. Simone is an “opsimath”—one who begins learning late in life, including learning about...[read on]

Visit Janet Burroway's website.

The Page 69 Test: Bridge of Sand.

The Page 69 Test: Simone in Pieces.

Q&A with Janet Burroway.

--Marshal Zeringue

Pg. 69: Robert Dugoni's "Her Cold Justice"

Featured at the Page 69 Test: Her Cold Justice (Keera Duggan) by Robert Dugoni.

About the book, from the publisher:

To save a client accused of murder, defense attorney Keera Duggan must fight a complex web of corruption in a riveting novel of suspense by New York Times bestselling author Robert Dugoni.

In a quiet South Seattle neighborhood, a suspected drug smuggler and his girlfriend are murdered in their home. When a young man named Michael Westbrook is accused of the brutal double homicide, his uncle JP Harrison turns to Keera Duggan to defend him. JP is Keera’s trusted investigator, and he desperately needs Keera to save his nephew against escalating odds.

The evidence is circumstantial—Michael worked with one of the victims, drugs were found in his possession, and he bolted from authorities. Ruthless star prosecutor Anh Tran has gotten convictions on much less. With the testimony of two prison informants, the case looks grave. But Keera never concedes defeat. To free her client, she must dig deep before Tran crushes both of them.

As the investigation gets more twisted with each new find, Keera is swept up in a mystery with far—reaching consequences. This case isn’t just murder. It’s looking like a conspiracy. And getting justice for Michael could be the most dangerous promise Keera has ever made.

Visit Robert Dugoni's website and Facebook page.

The Page 69 Test: Wrongful Death.

The Page 69 Test: Bodily Harm.

My Book, The Movie: Bodily Harm.

The Page 69 Test: Murder One.

My Book, The Movie: Murder One.

My Book, The Movie: The Eighth Sister.

The Page 69 Test: The Eighth Sister.

My Book, The Movie: A Cold Trail.

The Page 69 Test: A Cold Trail.

The Page 69 Test: The Last Agent.

My Book, The Movie: The Last Agent.

Q&A with Robert Dugoni.

The Page 69 Test: In Her Tracks.

Writers Read: Robert Dugoni (March 2024).

The Page 69 Test: A Killing on the Hill.

My Book, The Movie: A Killing on the Hill.

The Page 69 Test: Beyond Reasonable Doubt.

My Book, The Movie: Beyond Reasonable Doubt.

Writers Read: Robert Dugoni (October 2024).

My Book, The Movie: Her Cold Justice.

The Page 69 Test: Her Cold Justice.

--Marshal Zeringue

Pg. 99: Emily Mendenhall's "Invisible Illness"

Featured at the Page 99 Test: Invisible Illness: A History, from Hysteria to Long COVID by Emily Mendenhall.

About the book, from the publisher:

A moving cultural history of disability―and a powerful call to action to change how our medical system and society supports those with complex chronic conditions

From lupus to Lyme, invisible illness is often dismissed by everyone but the sufferers. Why does the medical establishment continually insist that, when symptoms are hard to explain, they are probably just in your head?

Inspired by her work with long COVID patients, medical anthropologist Emily Mendenhall traces the story of complex chronic conditions to show why both research and practice fail so many. Mendenhall points out disconnects between the reality of chronic disease―which typically involves multiple intersecting problems resulting in unique, individualized illness―and the assumptions of medical providers, who behave as though chronic diseases have uniform effects for everyone. And while invisible illnesses have historically been associated with white middle-class women, being believed that you are sick is even more difficult for patients whose social identities and lived experiences may not align with dominant medical thought. Weaving together cultural history with intimate interviews, Invisible Illness upholds the experiences of those living with complex illness to expose the failures of the American healthcare system―and how we can do better.

Visit Emily Mendenhall's website.

The Page 99 Test: Unmasked.

The Page 99 Test: Invisible Illness.

--Marshal Zeringue

Ten fantasy and romantasy titles for embracing feminine rage

A self-proclaimed hopeless romantic, Braidee Otto combines her academic background in Literary Studies with a deep passion for storytelling to create heartfelt, immersive narratives. Songbird of the Sorrows is the first installment in her debut adult romantic fantasy series, Myths of the Empyrieos. She lives in Adelaide, South Australia, with her partner, two beloved dogs, and a cat that appeared in her backyard on the winter solstice.

About Songbird of the Sorrows: An outcast princess turned spy embarks on a mission to infiltrate a rival kingdom, but the secrets she uncovers force her to decide whether to follow orders or defy them.

At The Nerd Daily Otto tagged "ten fantasy and romantasy books with heroines who are gloriously, righteously angry." One title on the list:

The Book of Azrael by Amber Nicole

Bound by a centuries-old deal with a monster, Dianna has spent lifetimes doing terrible things to protect her sister and survive. When she is forced to track down an ancient relic held by her enemies, she’s forced into a hostile alliance with Samkiel, a celestial warrior who abandoned his crown and his people long ago. As their realm is threatened, Dianna and Samkiel must confront their dark pasts—and each other—before the world falls to ruin.

Read about another novel on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Will Shindler's "The Bone Queen," the movie

Featured at My Book, The Movie: The Bone Queen: A Novel by Will Shindler.

The entry begins:

Before I wrote The Bone Queen, all of my novels were police procedurals. I’d always tried to make them as realistic and gritty as possible, so for this book I deliberately set out to do something different. I wanted to write in a new style, to experiment with a different kind of prose and a looser, more atmospheric form of storytelling. Hopefully the hills of Athelsea Island are a little more evocative than the streets of south London, and the line between reality and fantasy a little more blurred. For that reason, when I think about directors, I’m drawn to perhaps someone like Alfonso Cuarón or Guillermo del Toro - which should give you a sense of the tone I’m aiming for!

The story follows Jenna, a recovering alcoholic, as she searches for her runaway teenage daughter, Chloe. The clues she uncovers suggest Chloe may have travelled to the fictional island of Athelsea (with sincere apologies to the Scilly Islands, which I’ve geographically displaced just off the coast of Cornwall). Jenna is accompanied by her glamorous younger sister, Hattie, who is carrying a significant secret of her own.

With my previous books, I’ve never really given much thought to casting. It’s not that I object to the idea, but I find that once you start picturing specific actors, the characters can lose some of their individuality - something I like to preserve while I’m writing. For the purposes of this exercise, though, The Bone Queen has three major female roles which would require some heavyweight casting….

I briefly considered widening the net and casting non-British actors - Sadie Sink as Chloe, for example, was a tempting idea - but in the end I’ve limited myself to a trio of Brits.

For Jenna, I’d want someone who can combine toughness with real vulnerability, so my choice would be the mighty...[read on]

Follow Will Shindler on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.

My Book, The Movie: The Bone Queen.

--Marshal Zeringue

Pg. 99: Trishula Rachna Patel's "Becoming Zimbabwean"

Featured at the Page 99 Test: Becoming Zimbabwean: A History of Indians in Rhodesia by Trishula Rachna Patel.

About the book, from the publisher:

The first comprehensive history of Indian migrants and their descendants in Zimbabwe

Becoming Zimbabwean tells the long-overdue story of the Indian community in the former British colony of Southern Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe. Centering the stories of individuals and families, and building on a foundation of extensive archival research, Trishula Rachna Patel—a Zimbabwean of Indian origin herself—shows that the history of Indians in Zimbabwe is not of a transient diaspora but one of deliberate permanence.

Indians initially played a critical part in the settler colonial process in Southern Rhodesia, but as new generations were born and raised, their politics and social lives evolved to localized forms of citizenship. Eventually, they functioned as part of the resistance to the Rhodesian white minority government, either through participation in the system as nonwhites or by joining the Black anticolonial nationalist movement. They did all this through their shops, African-rooted institutions that became social, economic, and political spaces through which Indians became Zimbabwean. In this highly readable and authoritative study, Patel makes clear that Zimbabwe cannot be properly understood without accounting for the substantial Indian community that has woven itself into the fabric of the nation.

Learn more about Becoming Zimbabwean at the University of Virginia Press website.

The Page 99 Test: Becoming Zimbabwean.

--Marshal Zeringue

Five top Shakespeare-inspired novels

Rebecca Fallon is a New England-born Londoner and a graduate of Williams College and the University of Oxford.

Family Drama is her debut novel.

At Lit Hub she tagged five titles that make for:

a masterclass in how to steal from Shakespeare, featuring some world-class thieves. Each story contains shades of its foundation. All deal in Shakespeare’s timeless themes of power and family, loss and love. All strike at the most profound elements of life. But each also departs in truly original ways, allowing the author to express something honest and new through the conversation with the source.

One novel on the list:

Emily St. John Mandel, Station Eleven

Station Eleven opens with a Toronto-based production of Lear starring the famous actor, Arthur Leander. Leander is Lear-like offstage as well; his life is defined by three women, “a series of failed marriages,” that leave him regretful and unsure of who loves him and how much. On the night he has a heart attack onstage, a curtain falls over the whole world as a highly contagious flu becomes a full-blown pandemic. In the ensuing chaos, North America comes to resemble Lear’s Britain: a society without order or leadership, defined by acts of arbitrary justice and violence. Both texts wonder, who will inherit this “gored state?” But for Mandel’s characters, apocalypse is only the beginning.

Twenty-years after the catastrophe, one young actor from Leander’s last production, Kirsten Raymonde, takes on the role of Cordelia within a roaming theatre troupe. Along their journey, she finds herself constantly looking for Arthur, as Cordelia attempts to “search every acre in the high-grown field,” for her lost father. She collects clippings of him from old magazines, stores them in a plastic bag. She tells other members of the ensemble about him, and this act of recounting feels a means of keeping him (and his world) alive.

From the beginning, the novel is engaged with Shakespeare’s works as embodied performances that spark various reactions and interpretations in an audience. Some characters treat Shakespeare’s words with utter reverence, and others who find him “insufferable.” Regardless, the companies who bring them to life are bound together by deep bonds of trust and a love for stories that transcend centuries. Unlike Lear, Mandel’s novel is threaded with hope—often in the act of performance itself. Even the most tragic art is a form of salvation.

Read about another title on the list.

Station Eleven is among Lauren Wilson's eight top books featuring cults, Barnaby Martin's seven titles featuring parents & children at the end of the world, Brittany K. Allen's ten books that get the theatre world right, Jeanette Horn's nine twisted novels about theatrical performers, Isabelle McConville's fifteen books for fans of the post-apocalyptic TV-drama Fallout, Joanna Quinn's six best books set in & around the theatrical world, Carolyn Quimby's 38 best dystopian novels, Tara Sonin's seven books for fans of Margaret Atwood's The Testaments, Maggie Stiefvater's five fantasy books about artists & the magic of creativity, Mark Skinner's five top literary dystopias, Claudia Gray's five essential books about plagues and pandemics, K Chess's five top fictional books inside of real books, Rebecca Kauffman's ten top musical novels, Nathan Englander’s ten favorite books, M.L. Rio’s five top novels inspired by Shakespeare, Anne Corlett's five top books with different takes on the apocalypse, Christopher Priest’s five top sci-fi books that make use of music, and Anne Charnock's five favorite books with fictitious works of art.

--Marshal Zeringue

What is S.J. Rozan reading?

Featured at Writers Read: S. J. Rozan, author of First Do No Harm: A Lydia Chin/Bill Smith Mystery.

Her entry begins:

I've just finished one book and am starting another. Both are non-fiction, which I read a lot.

The first is Kate Fox's Watching the English. Fox, a British anthropologist, decided to turn the participant-observer techniques she uses on foreign societies back onto her own people, to see if she could find the essential nature of "Englishness." It's sharply observed and in places very funny. I'm writing a new series set in London so I thought I'd try to increase my understanding of my characters and their...[read on]

About First Do No Harm, from the publisher:

In the latest novel in S. J. Rozan’s groundbreaking mystery series, Lydia Chin and Bill Smith face a dangerous task: they must unlock a hospital's many secrets in order to save an innocent man.

With River Valley Hospital in the midst of negotiations to avert a nurses' strike, a wealthy benefactor is set to give a large donation to honor of the Chief of Emergency Medicine: Dr. Elliott Chin, the brother of private investigator Lydia Chin.

Before the donation can be finalized, a member of the nurses' negotiating committee is found murdered. A morgue assistant is arrested and although he denies even knowing the victim his father and brother, both doctors at the hospital, are quick to urge him to take a plea. Another negotiating committee member abruptly resigns and a senior biomedical technician disappears. An officially off-limits section of the hospital basement turns out to be a hotbed of unauthorized—and in some cases criminal—activity.

Hired by the arrested man's lawyer, Lydia Chin and her partner Bill Smith start to dig into the events and personnel at the hospital. Among the union disputes, blackmail, thefts, lies, and a detective who really, really doesn't like them, one thing becomes clear: the dictum to "First Do No Harm” is not in effect at River Valley. As time runs short, Lydia and Bill face a complicated and dangerous task: they must unlock the hospital's secrets to save an innocent man.

Visit S.J. Rozan's website.

The Page 69 Test: Paper Son.

The Page 69 Test: The Art of Violence.

Q&A with S. J. Rozan.

Writers Read: S.J. Rozan (February 2022).

The Page 69 Test: Family Business.

Writers Read: S. J. Rozan (November 2023).

The Page 69 Test: The Mayors of New York.

The Page 69 Test: First Do No Harm.

Writers Read: S. J. Rozan.

--Marshal Zeringue

Five novels that celebrate Mesoamerican cultures & mythologies

Angela Montoya has been obsessed with the magic of storytelling since she was a little girl. She hasn’t seen a day without a book in her hand, a show tune in her mind, or a movie quote on her lips. She is the author of Sinner's Isle and A Cruel Thirst. When she isn’t lost in the world of words, Montoya can be found hiding away on her small farm in Northern California, where she’s busy bossing around her partner and their two children, as well as a host of animals.

Montoya's new novel is Carnival Fantástico.

At The Nerd Daily the author tagged five novels that explore "the dynamic, complex deities that can only be found in Mesoamerican legends." One title on the list:

Daughter of Fire by Sofia Robleda

With magnificent prose and captivating storytelling, Robleda is an author whose books will always have a special place on my shelves. Set during 16th-century Guatemala, this historical fantasy draws heavily from Mesoamerican lore and history–– specifically K’iche’ Maya traditions. Catalina, our biracial protagonist, works in secret to preserve the sacred texts in the face of Spanish colonization. She is the kind of main character you root for the second you meet her on the page. Robleda weaves a tale that is heartbreaking, beautiful, and profoundly inspiring, rooted in the real-life suppression of the Mayan culture during this period. This is a novel that must not be missed. I’m also extremely excited for her upcoming book, The Other Moctezuma Girls.

Read about another novel on the list.

Daughter of Fire is among Carolina Ciucci's eight stunning historical novels by Latine authors.

The Page 69 Test: Daughter of Fire.

--Marshal Zeringue

Pg. 99: George Lewis's "Un-Americanism"

Featured at the Page 99 Test: Un-Americanism: A History of the Battle to Control an Idea by George Lewis.

About the book, from the publisher:

Inside notorious and influential struggles to define what it means to be “un-American,” illuminating the complex evolution of the term throughout US history

The term “un-American” has been wielded as a powerful tool throughout US history, from Jefferson’s vision of the early Republic to the Trump era, yet no objective definition has ever been universally agreed upon. For the first time, George Lewis’s Un-Americanism offers a long history of this term, tracing what it has meant to whom through close looks at the most prominent contests for control of its definition and deployment.

Lewis examines case studies that show politicians using the idea of the un-American to advance their agendas, organizations using it in racial nationalist campaigns, and federal committees using it in investigations such as those of the anticommunist “Red Scare” of the Cold War, along with activists and coalitions who have countered rhetoric of the “un-American” by claiming their own use of the term. In these chapters, Lewis delves into the role of institutions and organizations such as the American Legion, the House Un-American Activities Committee, and the American Civil Liberties Union. Lewis paints a compelling picture of how the term has both shaped and been shaped by the country’s social and political landscape.

Un-Americanism offers a profound analysis of how this term has drawn and redrawn lines between what is considered “good” or “bad” politically. By exploring its complex evolution, the book highlights how the term has impacted each generation’s understanding of national values and American identity. Lewis challenges readers to reflect on its ongoing influence in defining who truly belongs in the American story.

Learn more about Un-Americanism at the University Press of Florida website.

The Page 99 Test: Un-Americanism.

--Marshal Zeringue

Pg. 69: Mara Williams's "The Epicenter of Forever"

Featured at the Page 69 Test: The Epicenter of Forever: A Novel by Mara Williams.

About the book, from the publisher:

A moving story about family, forgiveness, and unexpected love―where the fault lines of a fractured past become the foundation for building something new.

Eden Hawthorne spent idyllic childhood summers in Grand Trees, a mountain town perched along a restless earthquake fault in the heart of California’s fire country. But her family and future were shattered there, and she vowed never to return―until news of her estranged mother’s illness forces her back twenty years later.

Still reeling from her recent divorce, Eden has to confront her mom’s found family, including single father Caleb Connell, who blames Eden for the seismic rift that drove her away. But as they move beyond a battle of wills, Eden and Caleb discover shared wounds and intertwined histories―and succumb to an attraction that feels fated.

When her mother’s condition worsens, Eden faces an impossible choice between the man she’s falling for and the mother she’s just beginning to forgive. And with time running out, Eden fears her decision will doom her to relive the aftershocks of past heartbreak.

Visit Mara Williams's website.

Q&A with Mara Williams.

The Page 69 Test: The Truth Is in the Detours.

My Book, The Movie: The Truth Is in the Detours.

Writers Read: Mara Williams (August 2025).

My Book, The Movie: The Epicenter of Forever.

Writers Read: Mara Williams.

The Page 69 Test: The Epicenter of Forever.

--Marshal Zeringue

Five spy thrillers that are also good literature

Michael Idov is a novelist, director, and screenwriter. A Latvian-born American raised in Riga under Soviet occupation, he moved to New York after graduating from the University of Michigan.

Idov’s writing career began at New York Magazine, where his features won three National Magazine Awards. His first book, 2009’s satirical novel Ground Up, sold over 100,000 copies worldwide and was optioned for a series by HBO. From 2012 to 2014, he was the editor-in-chief of GQ Russia, an experience that became the basis for his 2018 memoir Dressed Up for a Riot.

In addition to spy novels The Collaborators (2024) and The Cormorant Hunt (2026), Idov has worked on numerous film and TV projects, including Londongrad, Deutschland 83, Cannes Main Competition title Leto, and his own 2019 directing debut The Humorist. He and his wife and screenwriting partner, Lily, divide their time between Los Angeles, Berlin, and Portugal.

[Writers Read: Michael Idov (October 2009); Q&A with Michael Idov]

At CrimeReads Idov tagged five favorite books "that work both as excellent spy thrillers and good literature, delivering all the clandestine kicks while treating the reader as an actual adult." One title on the list:

Lea Carpenter, Ilium

Behind a cheeky le Carré epigraph (“Then the new style began”) lies a well-observed first-person novel about falling in love with an older man…who then recruits you to entrap a Russian oligarch with a killer past. With a relatable amateur agent at its center, discovering tradecraft and its attendant moral ambiguities as she goes, it is a great transitional text for the romance-minded but espionage-curious.

Read about another novel on the list.

Ilium is among Barbara Nickless's seven spy novels to take you around the world and Flynn Berry's four great novels of subtle espionage.

Q&A with Lea Carpenter.

--Marshal Zeringue

Q&A with Madeleine Dunnigan

From my Q&A with Madeleine Dunnigan, author of Jean: A Novel:

What's in a name?

I knew Jean’s name early on. Jean’s mother is a German Jewish refugee and a francophile. I knew Jean’s name needed to be French because of this; I also knew it needed to complicate his identity as an English teenage boy.

In French, ‘Jean’ is a boy’s name; in English, we would use ‘Gene’ for a boy and ‘Jean’ for a girl. This subtle difference, although not pressed upon in the novel, was essential to the crafting of his character. From birth, he feels like an outsider. To others, there is something mysterious and...[read on]

Visit Madeleine Dunnigan's website.

My Book, The Movie: Jean.

The Page 69 Test: Jean.

Writers Read: Madeleine Dunnigan.

Q&A with Madeleine Dunnigan.

--Marshal Zeringue