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", the two friends’ lives are traced across decades with... 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 that it changes the course of her life. The painting is the... 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, "Treasure of the Blue Whale", a coastal town experiences a... 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 to her mother, Leona, who prided herself on not being... Read More