Chanticleer Book Reviews

Category: Reviews

The LUNA MISSILE CRISIS by Rhett C. Bruno and Jaime Castle – Alternate History Sci-fi, Action & Adventure, Alien Technology

Authors Rhett C. Bruno and Jaime Castle come together to tell the tale of alien first contact gone awry in their epic science fiction release, The Luna Missile Crisis.

The year is 1961, and cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin is set to become the first man in space. But when Yuri, snug inside the Vostok 1, is launched from the cosmodrome and into the coming night, he’s met with a collision that changes the course of history. The Vostok 1 crashes into an oncoming alien starship. Assuming the collision was actually a missile fired from Russia’s space race opponent, the United States, the soviet nation quickly launches an arsenal of nuclear warheads in response. But those warheads never make it to their target. Instead, they detonate against the hidden starship, sending a wave of nuclear destruction over eastern Europe.

In the coming weeks after contact day, military troops from both sides of the cold war are sent into the ruins of eastern Europe – into an area now called the Dead Curtain – to search for useful alien technology. During a skirmish between the Russians, the Americans, and the Vulbathi (the toad-like alien race aboard the damaged starship), a combat medic name Kyle McCoy stumbles into the chaos and sparks a ceasefire. His actions create a domino effect, bringing about relative peace between all three parties. Three years pass, and in exchange for aid in repairing their damaged ship, the Vulbathi agree to offer some of their exceptional technology to mankind. And Kyle McCoy, once foot soldier turned head of the Department of Alien Relations, is given a desk job with a title that suits his place in history.

But not everything is going as planned.

Kyle’s twin brother, Conner McCoy, is a dead-beat with a past steeped in drugs and crime. His latest venture is selling knockoff alien weaponry to mob bosses and gangsters. Conner and his crew work the circuit, living under the radar as they travel from city to city, peddling their fake Vulbathi tech with enthusiasm to boot. And it’s all fun and games and a little extra cash until one of the knock offs isn’t a knock off at all and the gun in Connor’s hand turns a man into a pile of dust and goo. Kyle is called in to investigate the case, and when the two estranged brothers reunite, the stakes become higher than either of them could have ever foreseen. Stolen identity, sabotage, explosive battles, and a myriad of historical figures all spill across the pages as the story of humans and Vulbathi unravels.

Bruno and Castle have expertly crafted an alternate history 1960’s that feels real enough to touch.

The use of historical figures as supporting cast adds to the detailed world building, and even the Vulbathi tech, which is everywhere in The Luna Missile Crisis, is most believable when the reader sees it integrated into the everyday lives of working people. A prime example is Kyle’s holotube that he regards as a “faulty prototype” taking the place of his real television. All of these stunning details are brought to life by writing that is engaging, active, and perfectly descriptive. The dialogue is witty and sharp, well fitted to the cast and their gamut of personalities, and as the chapters alternate between the two McCoy brothers, the syntax shifts ever so slightly, giving the subtle notion of a true perspective change.

Not only is the writing engaging, but Bruno and Castle have taken a well-worn Sci-fi plot – the pulpy notion of the Cold War era interrupted by an alien invasion – and breathed fresh life into it.

The narrative is strong, propelling the reader forward through an increasingly wild ride. Many will recognize familiar character archetypes of the do-good FBI agent; the grifter counterfeiter; the over-the-top gangster; the misunderstood monster and will be pleasantly surprised to find themselves growing more and more entrenched in a plot that is everything but familiar.

The Luna Missile Crisis is filled with action, adventure, and enough laser blasts to satisfy any science fiction fan, but its true strength lies in the cohesive world building and rock-solid storytelling that only two authors like Rhett C. Bruno and Jaime Castle can provide. In other words, here’s one sci-fi we can happily recommend!

The Luna Missile Crisis by Rhett C. Bruno and Jaime Castle won Grand Prize in the 2020 CIBA Cygnus Awards for Science & Speculative Fiction.

April 1, 2022
GREAT AS a BUTTON by Masoud Malekyari – Children’s Books, Children’s Self-Worth Books, Children’s Picture Books

Masoud Malekyari’s Great As a Button is a delightful children’s book that places a soulful little plastic adornment at center stage in a thought-provoking story that offers up a positive lesson about self-worth.

This tale unfolds from a first person POV as a lonely, black plastic button falls off a shirt. The button ruminates over its plight of feeling too plain to be noticed, and wishes perhaps to be a sock, a key, or a pair of glasses, i.e., a more important item that the button surmises someone would go out of their way to look for.

Amidst encounters with an inquisitive dog and some playful ants, the button has longings to reside in a big castle while adorning a king’s coat, or to sail across the ocean while attached to a boat captain’s slicker. Fate suggests that the button might be in trouble if snatched up by birds; lucky if used by a seamstress; or forlorn when not chosen like the more ornate accessories in a tailor’s shop. When given to a young boy, surprising opportunities send the button in an unexpected direction where ultimately, he discovers newfound importance on a sunny winter’s day.

Illustrations by Sebastião Peixoto prove glowingly complimentary and are a key component of the story.

The natural color shadings render quiet, yet well-defined drawings. Quirky and whimsical features lend true personality to the bevy of characters. From the intense facial details of a battling buttons army to the sad expression of the central plastic disc pondering his plainness, this simple character with its curlicued thread body is artfully brought to life.

Peixoto also smartly visualizes enlightening options between the little button’s desire to live in a royal palace, contrasted with an outdoor tent-like open book structure, where a smokestack chimney provides warmth on a snowy day. Likewise, the thought of adventure on the high seas is pitted against the simplicity of a paper vessel floating down a curbside stream.

Great As a Button is a charming take on learning to be happy with who you are.

Like the little button, it may take some of us a bit longer than others, but finding our particular niche is key. Our own unique traits and talents will lead us to where we belong, and satisfaction will come with contentment. Comparisons with others is unnecessary, as we come to realize we are each an individual with our special place in this world.

Like the simple button who comes to understand his self-worth, this quaint, imaginative read is an important work with a vital message for both young readers and the confident adults they aspire to be.

Great As a Button by Masoud Malekyari won Grand Prize in the 2020 CIBA Little Peeps Book Awards for Early Readers Fiction.

March 30, 2022
EUDORA SPACE KID: The Lobster Tale by David Horn – Children’s Humor Books, Children’s Action and Adventure Sci-Fi Chapter Books, Children’s Humorous Action Adventure Chapter Books

In Eudora Space Kid: The Lobster Tale, author David Horn continues the spell-binding adventures of a third-grade girl living on a massive spaceship in the year 4021. Eudora Jenkins enjoys using her very sharp mind to play tricks on the grown-ups – but her latest one may backfire and cause an interplanetary crisis.

As The Lobster Tale opens, Eudora, the narrator and mastermind of her sometimes disastrous but always hilarious gambits, is in a tunnel on the AstroLiner Athena. The plan? Just a few minor computer alterations. She is aided in this naughty but essentially harmless prank by her sometimes nervous buddy Arnold. Her changes will be revealed later when she and Arnold visit the ship’s bridge. Both are excited to watch the regularly scheduled battle training exercises they will view on the main computer.

Arnold’s stepdad is what Eudora calls a “Lootenant” (her spelling does not always keep up with her math and technical skills). He will allow them into Athena’s inner sanctum to watch war exercises staged to practice in case they are attacked by the galaxy’s worst enemies, the Qlaxons. Watching the practice is a rare treat and needs the approval of the ship’s captain, Captain Jax.

Of course, Captain Jax welcomes Arnold, but some of the staff are annoyed to find Eudora with him. You see, Eudora has a particular reputation for mischief, which is proven again when her minor computer tweaks cause the “red alert” signal to blare out as an ancient earth song, “Wiggle Your Booty.”

Eudora is sent to the “brig,” run by her mom. Her punishment? She is consigned to a holding cell to do her homework.

While there, she learns that Athena’s head chef wants to commandeer all the lobsters in the ship’s aquarium to prepare a great feast. Eudora’s stepdad oversees the aquarium and studies sea animals. He would never agree to have the lobsters boiled and eaten.

Eudora hatches a plot to save the lobsters. Arnold, his usual slightly reluctant self, agrees to help. Sneaking through the ship with two huge bags of lobsters, they are caught up in what appears to be a potential war with the Qlaxons. But things really heat up when a lobster from Eudora’s stash leaps out and attacks!

Horn’s creative skills are undeniably in sync with the younger readers (age 6 to 10). Children will be magnetized by the latest tale of Eudora’s shenanigans, supported perfectly by the energetic, illustrations by Deven Hoover.

Both author and artist have humorized their personal descriptions, transforming even those usually didactic segments into a fun read. Eudora is an exemplary narrator, referencing earlier actions she has taken (i.e. writing to the president of the galaxy “to get homework added to the list of enemies”) or simply skims over another adventure, saying, “I’ll tell you about that another time.”

This chatty, youth-centered storytelling brings out the hilarity and occasional genuine peril of Eudora’s antics far more powerfully than a third-person approach. This storytelling style serves to keep youngsters turning the pages. With a strong female protagonist accompanied by her more cautious and diplomatic companion, David Horn succeeds in fascinating all who read the book, whether the audience is young or a bit older. In short, Eudora Space Kid: The Lobster Tale is one Children’s chapter book we can highly recommend!

Read our review of the first book in the series, Eudora Space Kid: The Great Engine Room Takeover, here.

March 28, 2022
WHEN the WIND CHIMES by Mary Ting – Sisters Fiction, Kauai Hawaii Travel Books, Single Women Fiction

In When the Wind Chimes by international best-selling author Mary Ting, Kate Summers wants to make this Christmas extra-special for her older sister, Abby, and four-year-old nephew.

A year ago, she’d given up Christmas with her family to spend the holiday with her boyfriend, Jayden, whom she had caught cheating on her the next day. Not only is she hoping to erase that memory, but she also has another even more important reason to make this Christmas special. A few months after her disastrous break-up with Jayden, her brother-in-law, Steve, passed away from cancer, so Abby and Tyler will be spending their first Christmas alone.

After taking a leave from her job as a graphic designer in LA, Kate flies to Poipu, Kauai, determined to make this an amazing holiday, but on her way to her sister’s house, she meets a mysterious man, who gives up his cab for her. Kate can’t get the handsome stranger out of her head, and when she sees him again in her sister’s art gallery–and destroys his expensive shirt with paint–she is both mortified and excited.

Billionaire Leonardo Medici, the heir and CEO of Medici Real Estate Holdings, is the most sought-after bachelor on the island and the most elusive. Lee just wants privacy and a temporary nanny for his four-year-old daughter, Bridget. When Kate applies for the job, neither is aware of their previous connection to each other until they meet in Lee’s mansion after Kate is hired by his permanent nanny, Mona. Bridget quickly bonds with Kate, and as they grow closer so do Lee and Kate. Kate’s rocky relationship past, however, keeps her on edge, and she must find a way to overcome the damage done by her cheating ex before she can ever learn to love again.

The unpredictability of life and fate’s subsequent role in a person’s future is a major theme within this novel.

Abby, Kate’s sister, never expected to be a widow in her twenties. Steve, her husband, died suddenly from cancer. The disease progressed more quickly than doctors predicted, and she is left to fend for herself and Tyler. Moving to Kauai, the place where she and Steve honeymooned, is an attempt to escape her sadness and find peace in the place where their life together began. Starting her own gallery in such a small community was another uncertainty, and while the gallery struggles at times, destiny brings Lee into her small business, and he becomes her best customer. Lee purchases art to stage his more expensive listings, which is how he encounters Kate a second time after a quick-passing rainstorm brings them together the first time. Had Kate not jumped into his cab, slinging water all over his suit, they would not have met. Kate would have never seen the ad for a nanny had Abby not come down with a cold and needed Kate to drop Tyler off at preschool, and she would not have gotten the job had Mona not needed a replacement nanny for two weeks. The kismet that brings Lee and Kate together is an interesting and humorous part of the novel. This fate-filled string of coincidences adds a hint of the supernatural to their love’s beginning.

Vulnerability is another great theme found in the award-winning, When the Wind Chimes.

Abby is most definitely a strong woman. She not only begins her own business but also must be both mother and father to her son. However, Abby can’t do everything on her own. With her struggling business and the demands of her private life, she welcomes the help Kate brings and hopes she will stay on the island rather than going back to Los Angeles. The close relationship between the sisters is touching, and Kate’s job search shows how much she loves Abby and Tyler. Even though she fails to find a job as a graphic designer and has no experience as a nanny, she takes the job, planning to give the money to Abby to help her support Tyler.

However, Kate’s willingness to try something new despite her uncertainty extends to her own artistic ability. Since her horrible experience with Jayden, she has lost her confidence and desire to paint even though Abby has successfully sold Kate’s pieces in the past. It takes courage and a release of her own fear to get her in front of a canvas, but her regained confidence brings her into contact with Lee again–albeit accidental. Lee has his own vulnerability issues. Opening up and bringing Kate into his life is a risk. He cannot allow just any woman into his life. Most of the women who approach him are only interested in his money or looks, and he must protect both his privacy and Bridget. His own past causes him trepidation because he harbors a deep hurt that is known only to those within his immediate circle. Both he and Kate learn to face their deep-seated emotions rather than burying them beneath fear and uncertainty, but to do that, they must give vulnerability free reign.

When the Wind Chimes is more than a romance novel. It’s a heart-warming, feel-good read that will leave readers wanting more.

Mary Ting won the Grand Prize in the 2020 CIBAs in the Chatelaine division for Romance and Romantic Fiction novels for her spell-binding novel.

March 25, 2022
LOVE, LIFE and LUCILLE: Lessons Learned from a Centenarian by Judy Gaman – Biography, Women’s Memoirs, Aging

Award-winning author, motivational speaker, and podcast host Judy Gaman befriends a fun-loving and feisty centenarian in her CIBA Grand Prize-winning novel, Love, Life, and Lucille.

The list of titles and accolades Judy Gaman has accrued begin to pale when she encounters Lucille Fleming for the very first time. The whole reason for the meet-up with the centenarian was specifically to get her opinions on “aging gracefully,” the featured topic of a new book Judy planned to write. What was scheduled as an hour-long interview turned into an absolutely delightful, near three-hour visit. Lucille turned the tables and began asking questions about Judy’s life with compelling earnestness—something Judy rarely experienced. She was unprepared yet exhilarated.

Judy couldn’t stop thinking about this “dressed to the nines” woman with an ear-to-ear smile and a sturdy, affectionate hug. Her contact with this larger-than-life woman was so infectious, Judy made up an excuse—so that she could see her again. During that second meeting, the two became fast friends as they set Fridays aside as their day to get together. Before their next planned meeting, Judy learned that Lucille had gone into cardiac arrest. She was dead for three minutes before she came back full of vim and vigor as if nothing had happened. Five months later, Lucille was more than ready for TV interviews. With that, Judy made plans to write a second book about Lucille and their relationship.

Once Lucille agreed to Judy’s literary plans, their Friday get-togethers morphed into long, memorable, eye-opening, and at times, heart-wrenching lunch outings.

The two would share their life experiences—many happier Lucille memories than Judy’s dark, divorced-riddled childhood recollections. At the same time, those outings provided valuable lessons for Judy. She realized she had stopped thinking about her work to-do list but, instead, was “simply living in the moment” when she was around Lucille. “With every lesson, she taught me, she was making me stronger, both mentally and emotionally.” Judy had no idea that her newfound strength from her newfound best friend would carry her through a series of unforgettable roller-coaster events.

Award-winning author Judy Gaman retells the remarkable, life-changing story of her relationship with Lucille, the woman who profoundly changed her life.

Life, Love, and Lucille reads more like fiction than nonfiction. A true storyteller, Gaman enthralls her audience by taking common scenarios—visiting a friend; going to restaurants—and turning them into significant unanticipated spiritual encounters. During those moments, Gaman realizes that Lucille’s optimism came from years of perseverance through life’s ups and downs, which gave her optimism and determination, qualities severely lacking in Gaman’s life. Little by little, Lucille’s passion for life and people began to penetrate the carefully-protected recesses of Gaman’s heart.

Gaman’s first-person narration delicately weaves a consistent theme highlighting the pair’s incredibly close relationship: Lucille’s stories; how Lucille’s stories affected Gaman; Gaman’s personal, gut-wrenching struggles with family members; and the testing and strength of their faith in God that led to wholeness.

Drawing each chapter to a cliffhanging close further heightens the storyline. From one human-interest situation to the next, Gaman fills her narrative with a sequence of circumstances, slowly evolving from lighter, happier junctures to more heart-rending ones. Judy Gaman masterfully weaves her story, heartfelt, funny, outrageous – all to a compelling must-read narrative.

Through Gaman’s Love, Life, and Lucille, Judy Gaman gifts us all with the experience of what it is like to meet a woman who chose hope, love, and life above all else. Highly recommended!

March 21, 2022
DRUMS and DRAGONS: A Field Guide to Mokele-mbembe and Other Living Dinosaurs in Africa by Ryan J. Lyons – Occult Horror, Adventure, Mythology and Folk Tales

Ryan J. Lyons presents Drums and Dragons: A Field Guide to Mokele-mbembe and Other Living Dinosaurs in Africa with such a realistic edge, readers may wonder at the fictional account of the many prehistoric survivors contained within the book.

Lyons crafts Drums and Dragons as a journal written by an assistant curator, who joins an expedition into the African jungles to discover cryptids. Readers will become immersed in the spell-binding story of what happens when one dares to believe that this world still has hidden things yet to be discovered. Lyons’ approach to his work will delight and inform readers, as every aspect of these creatures’ lives is carefully documented.

Meet Matt Preston, an assistant curator at the F. Donald Hagstrom Museum of Natural History in Fairview. His life takes a strange turn, and he encounters the notorious “monster hunter,” Walter Spink. This meeting sets the stage for a mission to find dragons in the African wilderness.

The expedition leads the two dragonologists to uncover the existence of many species of surviving dinosaurs.

Preston records it all. The comprehensive work includes additional information in its appendix: A. Brief Guide to African Dragons, B. List of Plants Consumed by Mokele-mbembe, and C. Body Measurements of the Biafran Sea Dragon. Preston’s journal serves to shed light on Walter Spink’s legitimate discovery, which an apathetic public dismissed and mocked in the 1980s.

It turns out that not everyone seeking the elusive beasts is a friend to them.

Spink and Preston must preserve these species from natural predators in the forest and from human game hunters. Meanwhile, a feticheuse, a witch doctor of Toukalaka village, attempts to stop the two men from seeking more dragons. She warns them that they are the most significant risk to these creatures’ survival. As for Preston and Spink, they believe in what they are doing.

Drums and Dragons illustrates how we derive meaning and purpose through caring for others and other species, and author Lyons accomplishes this with a good bit of humor.

Spink, a well-informed naturalist, divulges information on dragon physiology, diet, habitat, behavior patterns, and plants indigenous to African forests. Moreover, he shows compassion for the dinosaurs, to the point that he frets about one female mokele-mbembe’s choice for a mating partner. This dry humor permeates Matt Preston’s record.

This story concerns the nature of dwelling on desire.

Spink determines to stop the hunters from killing his savage dragon friends. He also insists on keeping track of their lives as long as possible. When the feticheuse demands that he leave the dinosaurs alone, and in exchange, she will keep the creatures safe from the hunters, he is torn. What happens next will make the book stick in readers’ minds long after it is finished.

Drums and Dragons by Ryan J. Lyons won 1st Place in the 2019 CIBA Paranormal Book Awards for Supernatural Fiction and comes highly recommended!

March 18, 2022
OUR TIME to DANCE: A Mother’s Journey to Joy by Eva Doherty Gremmert – Epilepsy, Biography, Parenting

Our Time to Dance: A Mother’s Journey to Joy by Eva Doherty Gremmert demonstrates the importance of advocacy for those who are disabled, intellectually or otherwise.

In the early morning of August 18th, 1979, Eva Doherty Gremmert awoke with a contraction. A young mother already, Eva is worried about how she will cope with caring for two infants. She tried to calm her concerns by remembering that babies typically arrive easier and more quickly the second time around; however, the delivery ends up being long and exhausting. Once her son Nick arrived, Eva could not shake the feeling that something might be wrong. For the first several months of Nick’s life, doctors actively ignored her concerns and told her nothing was wrong with her son.

A mother knows best, and with a lot of courage and determination, Eva and her husband Arden finally find a doctor that listens and agrees with their concerns.

Their world becomes full of physical therapy and pediatric neurological appointments. When Nick reaches school age, Eva and Arden also become very involved in ensuring he receives the right educational program. Sometimes, a whole new program needed to be created. The road is often tricky, but Nick is full of life and love, and of course, dancing.

Eva crafts Our Time to Dance into a beautiful story of a mother’s unyielding love. She holds nothing back as she describes her fears of motherhood and the emotional toll of caring for her intellectually and physically disabled son. This book ultimately is not just about Nick’s particular story but also about the importance of advocating for those with disabilities and their families. Eva describes many instances where educational professionals could not provide Nick with the proper program and, subsequently, underestimated his unique abilities and potential to learn.

The structure of the book has two timelines that transition back and forth.

One timeline begins just before Nick is born – the other picks up when Nick reaches adulthood and experiences more severe seizures. This results in his doctor’s suggestion that they prepare for the possibility of his passing. Eva and Arden decide to take a big road trip so that Nick can visit friends, possibly for the last time. As they depart, Gremmert reflects on the many challenges throughout Nick’s life, from physical therapy and his education. On every page of this story, readers see Nick’s abundant love and joy with everyone he meets.

Eva hopes that by writing Our Time to Dance, readers will “find the strength and hope they need and the joy they desire.” Finding the good in difficult situations makes going through them a little easier.

The powerful message contained in Our Time to Dance makes the book a treasure, and is sure to help those who live with and work with persons with disabilities. Gremmert won First Place in the CIBA 2019 Journey Book Awards for narrative non-fiction for her inspirational work. Highly recommended!

March 16, 2022
GUINEVERE: At the Dawn of Legend (Tales and Legends for Reluctant Readers) by Cheryl Carpinello – Children’s Arthurian Folk Tales & Myths, Children’s Ancient Civilization Fiction, Children’s Girls and Women Books

What happens when a young strong-willed princess does not want to take the throne? Find out in the much-anticipated second book in the Middle-Grade fiction series, the Guinevere Trilogy by Cheryl Carpinello, in Guinevere: At the Dawn of Legend.

Cedwyn & Guinevere return with even more adventures than in the first book. The first story ends with the dynamic duo bolting into the forest with their bows drawn; but now, Guinevere aims her arrows not at an enemy, but at everyone around her. She’s fighting with her father, her father’s magician, and even herself.

Guinevere, it seems, is spoken for. Unlikely as it may seem, she is now engaged to be married to King Arthur.

The thought of marriage to a man more than twice her age makes her anxious and upset. Guinevere tries to convince her father that she does not want the engagement, but all of her attempts are thwarted. In a form of rebellion, she sneaks out in the middle of the night to go for a ride on her horse. Riding her trusty steed always calms her nerves and helps her think.

As she rides on, she encounters a magical beast – a unicorn and, of all people, her father’s magician and confidante, Merlyn. Does the chance meeting between the girl and the beast have any significance? Readers won’t be able to put the book down!

Carpinello presents her Middle-Grade work with fast-paced action, stunning imagery, and characters that jump off the page.

Descriptions of Guinevere riding on her horse in the moonlight, waves crashing against the beach as she goes, will work to enthrall young readers. Even more, Carpinello, a former educator, develops her series with the reluctant reader in mind, balancing scenes of action against those dealing with some tough, real-life issues such as death, marriage, and family relations.

Carpinello sets her story firmly in the Middle Ages, where war, smoke and violence are common.

Readers will enjoy the dynamic and believable characters contained within Guinevere: At the Dawn of Legend. The events and descriptions feel authentic to the time, as well, and are woven into the storyline seamlessly. Carpinello offers an extensive glossary in the back of the book to help readers gain insight and perspective into the story. There may be a few missing words from the glossary, but overall, young readers will be able to pick up clues to word meanings via the surrounding text. Make no mistake, this novel is compelling and will hook even reluctant readers immediately.

Guinevere: At the Dawn of Legend belongs next to the other fun-loving Medieval tales for the Middle-Grade crowd. While there is no doubt the story benefits from reading the series in order, this book can and does stand on its own. All in all, this novel will find its audience with those who yearn for adventure and love the intrigue of the Middle-Ages.

Guinevere: At the Dawn of Legend by Cheryl Carpinello won First Place in the CIBAs 2018 Gertrude Warner Book Awards for middle-grade fiction novels.

March 14, 2022
The DEVIL’s BOOKKEEPERS: The Noose Tightens, Book 2 by Mark H. Newhouse – Jewish Literature, Jewish Historical Fiction, WWII Historical Fiction

Mark H. Newhouse, son of German Holocaust survivors, includes the very personal and poignant first-hand sourced materials made available to him by the Yale University Press in his important historical fiction series, The Devil’s Bookkeepers. This inclusion lends a ribbon of humanity and compassion that raise the series to premiere status – a study, if you will, of the immutable human spirit. Newhouses’ series should encourage all who read it that hope is a gift and kindness and understanding is the answer to hate. It is a gripping story of love and survival that will haunt you until it’s shocking climax.

From the first day of 1942, the conditions in the Jewish ghetto of Lodz, Poland, deteriorate. In Mark H. Newhouse’s historical fiction novel, The Devil’s Bookkeepers: Book 2, The Noose Tightens, those who thought their situation would get better now wish to survive and save their loved ones, But can they?

The narrator Bernard Ostrowski, an engineer, should have enjoyed the prime of his life. He married a beautiful young wife, Miriam, who gave birth to their newborn daughter Regina. Ostrowski landed a lucky position in the records office of the ghetto’s leader, Chaim Rumkowski (an actual historical figure drawn by the author in dark, realistic detail). Rumkowki uses brutal force to forge the ghetto prisoners into a manufacturing hub for the Nazis in a still hotly debated effort to save its residents as the Nazi noose inexorably tightens.

Ostrowski’s team includes a young man named Singer. And as the war continues to escalate, Singer urges Ostrowski to escape with his wife and child. Singer even promises to help them do so. However, Singer disappears, leaving an astonishing letter declaring his love for Miriam behind. The letter torments him as he tries to survive and save Miriam and his daughter.

In the meantime, the Nazis begin deporting Jews from Poland – to where, no one knows.

Rumkowski receives news that will shatter the bookkeepers’ faith in his leader’s basic decency. As the Nazis ramp up the expulsion of Jews from the city. Ostrowski, finally realizes that the noose is closing on everyone in the ghetto. Starving and weakened, he and Miriam must attempt to escape.

Newhouse opens each chapter with brief vignettes from the primary sourced materials that will chill the reader.

This book offers truth enmeshed with a well-crafted, imaginative, and credible story that will change and challenge readers. Newhouse wishes that in absorbing it, we may all say, “Never again to anyone.”

The Devil’s Bookkeepers series by Mark H. Newhouse is highly recommended and won the Grand Prize in the 2020 CIBA Fiction Series Awards.

Read our review of the first book in The Devil’s Bookkeepers series, The Noose, here.

March 9, 2022
A SEASON in LIGHTS: A Novel in Three Acts by Gregory Erich Phillips – Contemporary Literature

Gregory Erich Phillips’ A Season in Lights is a well-crafted, engaging exploration of creatives, each following their heart and trying to reach their dream.

Against backdrops of the 1980s AIDS crisis and the more recent COVID-19 pandemic, the story entwines the lives of a 30-something dancer and an older musician as they strive to make their artistic mark in the cultural capital of New York City.

Here in a two-fold unveiling, the story comes to life from the first-person perspective of Cammie, a starry-eyed aspiring dancer from Lancaster, PA, and the third-person reveal of Tom, a more seasoned black pianist. He longs for a classical career but is too often labeled a jazz musician. Cammie first encounters Tom in a studio dance class where he’s taken a job as the musical accompanist. Befriended by the gay dance instructor, Tom heeds the worldly advice offered about surviving in the Big Apple. “All you’ve got to do is convince people that you belong. You’ve got to tell them who you are before they tell you.”

Phillips’ masterful narrative is layered with a backstory for each character, with details revealing multi-dimensional individuals.

Small town Cammie is close to her ailing father; she has a troubled yet artistically talented sister; and a mother who seems to carry everyone’s burdens. Cammie harbors guilt for leaving behind family obligations to follow her own path. Tom has tried to leave behind his own familial ties. Unfortunately, with an absent father who landed in prison for dealing drugs, and an older brother who seems headed in a similar direction, Tom is hesitant about the consequential outcome of such connections. Within their May/December style romance, these primary characters find solace and understanding with relatable family concerns and the need to venture beyond expectations and comfort zones.

As a dancer and musician himself, Phillips clearly draws on his own knowledge and experience to render authentic, believable characters in his writing. Here, personal experience from the NY stage easily translates to the page. Capturing the lighted spectrum of Broadway, the back alley theaters, and side-street clubs, the city becomes a character unto itself. The city seems alive as a place for second chances with its vibrant electric pulse.

In a nod to Broadway, Phillips presents his novel in three acts.

While the overall narrative effortlessly alternates between earlier times and the present day, the trio of segments maintains an appropriate momentum to propel events forward. Whether considering the classic themes of sibling rivalry, racism, and interracial romance, or the more contemporary struggles of theatrical LGBT community prejudice, drug addiction, or the new need for social distancing, the topics are well incorporated throughout the story line.

From the worry and fear showcased in HIV testing and AIDS-related complications ignited in the ’80s to the stress and anxiety of shutdowns, casualties, and the unknowns of the more recent COVID19 virus, Phillips highlights the extraordinary opportunities for friendship and healing. Even though the city and its inhabitants are scarred, the hope remains that New York will rebound. A surprise twist in the book’s final moments sheds a brighter light on the central characters, the NYC community, and the world at large in recognizing that we’re all in this together.

A Season in Lights is a modern-day tale featuring artists, dancers, and musicians and their efforts to honor the famous NY song adage, “If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.” Through passion, grit, and determination against the odds, the final reveal is a lesson about making the most of the moment. Phillips has done an outstanding job with this creative, literary presentation that will indeed have readers looking for an encore.

A Season in Lights: A Novel in Three Acts by Gregory Erich Phillips won Grand Prize in the CIBA 2020 Somerset Book Awards for Contemporary Literature – and is a novel that comes with high recommendations.

March 7, 2022