Jill Allen, Book Reviewer

View Full Profile

Book Review

Reunion in Carmel

by Jill Allen

In "Reunion in Carmel", widowed Will Kempton, a former narcotics cop, flees the hard streets and rough memories of Jersey with his two young children to become police chief of the tiny tourist town of Carmel, California. His biggest... Read More

Book Review

mADD Man

by Jill Allen

The ingenious title of Brian J. Robinson’s memoir reflects the author’s struggle to deal with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder—hence the alternative spelling of mad. But the pages of this autobiography also reveal a mad... Read More

Book Review

Angelo and the Yellow Giant

by Jill Allen

"Angelo and the Yellow Giant", by former school bus driver John Calleri, tells of the title character’s fascination with school buses—also referred to as yellow giants. Angelo’s obsession begins when he is a teenager. When he... Read More

Book Review

Alice in Wonder

by Jill Allen

Alice Lancaster, a wealthy, Caucasian international relations worker, lives with her family in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia. After an unsettling encounter with a Chinese mystic, she finds her paradigms shifting; she sees the world in a new... Read More

Book Review

Shalimar

by Jill Allen

British writer Audrey Peyton, author of three Harlequin romance suspense novels, a biography of a lion and his trainer, and a post-apocalyptic survival novel, weaves together time travel, history, romance, and daring rescues in her... Read More

Book Review

Therapy

by Jill Allen

Harrie Rose’s debut novel brilliantly explores the causes and effects of depression and anxiety, as well as how early experiences shape one’s life for good or ill. "Therapy" follows Barbara Verensky Miller as she recounts her past... Read More

Book Review

A Dance in Paradise

by Jill Allen

In Lee Chavis’ debut novel, "A Dance in Paradise", life is anything but a heavenly frolic for the ironically-named Sam Powerhouse. It is 1979 and Sam is an accomplished young law student and violinist with an undergraduate degree in... Read More

Book Review

The Ordinary Girl

by Jill Allen

In her debut novel, The Ordinary Girl, Carol Ann Iaciofano explores the life of a member of the largest and often most ignored minority—people with disabilities. Like her protagonist Payton, Iaciofano has cerebral palsy and uses a... Read More

Load More