In Marlin Barton’s historical novel "Children of Dust", a family struggles with the repercussions of the death of their newborn. In the 1880s in Alabama, Rafe has multiple... Read More

An elliptical novel that integrates the death of a lineage into a reflection on personal mortality, Kat Meads’s "Dear DeeDee" recasts the unresolved stories of a Southern... Read More

Next to dazzling, bohemian Scarlet, self-effacing Mel seems circumspect. In the episodic vignettes of Joan Frank’s painstaking character study, "The Outlook for Earthlings",... Read More

In Karen Quevillon’s novel "The Parasol Flower", a doctoral candidate, Nancy, becomes so entranced by an illustration of a painting that she stumbles upon during her research... Read More

In the masterful novel "Treasure of the Blue Whale", snowballing secrecy and lies are counterbalanced by genuine community warmth. In Steven Mayfield’s bracing literary caper,... Read More

In Jane Bernstein’s thoughtful, character-driven novel "The Face Tells the Secret", a woman struggles with new knowledge about her unhappy childhood. Roxanne was never close... Read More