Joey Madia, New Mystics Reviews

   (atmospherepress.com, 2020). ISBN: 9781649218780 What a weird thirteen months it’s been for writers of dystopian fiction. Between a pandemic whose origins are heavily debated; a fractured political system and radical electorate featuring the storming of the US Capitol, outcries of false-flag ops and conspiracy theories fueled by the mysterious Q; increasing evidence that social media is more Big Brother and psychologically/economically invasive than we feared; a sizable portion of the populace dependent on prescription drugs and illegal opioids and somewhat distrustful of a rushed-to-market vaccine; and the ongoing Cult of Trump, so-called Real Life has all the makings of what used to crawl with clicking nails and crooked limbs solely from dystopian writers’ minds. So I spent a lot of time while reading Orange City —well… the entire time —whispering to myself… this could really happen… yes, it really could … Which admittedly puts more weight on the quality of the writing.

 (Gumshoe—A Next Chapter Imprint, 2020), ASIN: B08R3KDZ9R It should be said up front that this is the fourth book in a series, and I have not read the prior three. Rest assured there is plenty of context to the prior installment and, should you like this one, you’ll know there is plenty more. Place-based thrillers, especially a series that digs deep into the history of a locale, fictional or not (the latter represented best by Stephen King’s Castle Rock, Maine), invite the reader into a detailed world full of mysterious characters and a cumulative lore that one-offs and stories less tied to place often do not. In this case, the acknowledgments indicate that the author spent considerable time on the islands and used a real-life apartment where she stayed as the model for the one in the novel (with permission of the owner). Blackthorn also indicates that the history presented about the islands and the villa are, to the best of her knowledge, true. As a writer of historical fictio

   (Australia: Odyssey Books, 2020). ISBN: 978-1925652918 Let’s face it: we are all in need of some new and different heroes. With the recent success of Millie Bobby Brown as Enola Holmes—sister of Sherlock and Mycroft—on Netflix, it could be that the next big thing in inspiring role models is a young girl armed with a keen imagination, broad knowledge, an adventurous spirit, and a flair for story (think Greta Thunberg). All of these boxes are checked by Ann Harth’s delightful character, Bernice Rose Peppercorn, as they were “back in the day” by Charles Schulz’s Lucy, Astrid Lindgren’s Pippi Longstocking, and Judy Blume’s Sheila the Great. Bernice, a journaler and fledgling writer, is also a fan of a big-time celebrity who lives near her, Crystal Bell, who makes action adventures with a hint of mystery, with titles like Murder in Mumbai . The inciting incident is when Miss Bell’s house is robbed. Bernice is armed with her notebook, in which she makes entries—with her Crystal