BookLife Reviews

BookLife Reviews are paid reviews of independently published books. A lightning bolt ( ) indicates an Editor’s Pick, a book of outstanding quality.

Marriage and Hanging

Genevieve Morrissey

290p, e-book, $3.99, ISBN 978-1-7351096-9-5

Inspired by a notorious real 19th century case, Morrissey (author of the Antlands science-fiction series) delivers an engrossing murder mystery set in 1830s New England and thoughtfully tethered to the faith, expectations, and marital customs of the era. In

Milltown, a mill girl named Mary Hale is found hanged and, mysteriously, pregnant. While her death initially is deemed “a clear case of self-murder,” the town gossips suggest there’s a darker truth, and soon enough the sheriff arrives at the home of Rachel Woodley, eager to question her husband, the Reverend Josiah Woodley, who fits a witness’s description of “a tall man, in a long coat, with a fur hat.” With Josiah behind bars, Rachel steels herself to discover the truth, including what he meant when he said, “It is on my conscience.”

That premise grabs attention, but what sets Morrissey’s novel apart is its deep dive into 1830s life, from the miserable and dangerous

This deft historical New England mystery digs deeply into women’s lives. conditions endured by mill workers to Rachel’s disappointment that her marriage is cold and distant. (If she were to ask for advice, she would be encouraged only to “prayer, patience, and womanly submission.”) With that richness of milieu, the pacing is deliberate but steady, as Rachel’s investigation offers Morrissey opportunity to examine matters of belief, morality, and the suppression of women’s individuality, especially among the mill girls, whose independence is treated by society as something improper.

Deeply grounded in early American Christianity, the narrative highlights the low regard that institutions held for women. Rachel balances a laid-back amiability with a shrewd doggedness. The mystery itself proves gripping, with Morrissey deftly teasing revelations and then showing her cards at the perfect moment. Readers will be privy to gossip, occasional prison rendezvous, undercover investigations, and an ending that satisfies but finds Rachel facing an uncertain future.

Great for fans of Robert Brighton’s The Buffalo Butcher, R. J. Koreto’s The Turnbull Murders.

Cover: A- | Design & typography: A- | Illustrations: – Editing: A | Marketing copy: A

FICTION

Zodiac Pets

Eric Giroux | New Salem Books

291p, trade paper, $17.95, ISBN 978-1-7342240-4-7

This potent novel of growing up and facing the world delves into the intersection of democracy and everyday life in the small town of Pennacook, introduced in Giroux’s Ring on

Deli, where challenges such as floods and roaming boars upend lives, with citizens mired in a state of fear and resignation. Amidst this backdrop we meet Wendy Zhou, a middle schooler, who emerges as the protagonist to confront the stagnant status quo of waterfilled roads. Her journey to Pennacook follows the death of her father, with her mother consumed by apathy, distant and uninvolved. Despite this, Wendy’s sharp observations and budding writing skills lead her to volunteer at the Beat, the town’s weekly newspaper under the haphazard leadership of Graham A. Bundt. Bundt’s journalistic approach leaves her searching for tangible evidence and a newsworthy mentality. The amusingly drawn Beat staff—a “piccolo playing snot named Delmore,” Denise, and Sall—struggle to work as a team.

As Wendy’s curiosity ignites a mission to unravel the mysteries

FICTION Serabelle: Where the Wealthy Come to Play Tavi Taylor Black | Black Rose Writing 282p, trade paper, $21.95, ISBN 978-1-685-13406-8

Black (author of Where Are We Tomorrow?) chronicles the life of a teenaged servant who is seduced by her wealthy employer during the Gilded Age. In 1913, Mabel Rae leaves behind her home in Newark, to take a job as a maid at Serabelle Cottage, an island summer home in Maine’s Bar Harbor owned by Julia Ainsworth-Hunt and her husband Alistair Hunt. Alistair, who is over 50, acts on his attraction to Mabel, enticing her into an affair with him, leading her to think he might divorce Julia and marry her. But when Mabel becomes pregnant with his child, Alistair distances himself from her, and Mabel faces a sad fate: possible marriage to Gardener, the man in charge of Serabelle’s flower gardens.

Much more transpires, of course, involving secrets and scandals, jewels and a dog, as Mable finds her place—or at least some protection—in this moneyed enclave that Black describes with crisp, sumptuous detail. Though Mabel, at 17, seems to have few choices in life, Black hints at the possibility of her finding a brighter future after

MYSTERY/THRILLER

Red Season Gary Genard | Cedar & Maitland Press 229p, trade paper, $17.99, ISBN 978-1-7365556-4-4

Genard’s standout fiction debut follows Dr. William Scarlet, surgeon for Scotland Yard in the Golden Age of Queen Victoria’s reign, and man with a secret: he possesses psychic abilities that allow him to glimpse the darkest hearts roaming the streets of London. With just one touch, Scarlet can expose the horrific fate of victims and their killers, a talent that lands him in the spotlight when children start disappearing from London after dark. As the crimes escalate, the supernatural seems to gain in power as well, sparking all manner of intriguing happenings: a séance plunges its participants into visions of snakes and rivers of blood, sleepwalking hints at something darker, and madness abounds.

The blend of mystery, history, and something possibly beyond our ken is enticing. Scarlet, a member of the wonderfully named Society for Supernatural and Psychic Research, is quickly bonded to this likeminded group of gentlemen desperate to solve the horrific crimes. Those crimes, tantalizingly, seem to coordinate with sundown and the moon’s

Resonant novel of a young journalist digging at hard truths about her hometown. behind the town’s plight. Giroux weaves a gripping narrative, laced with humor, that interrogates and encourages reflection on individuals’ susceptibility to the influence of those in power. As Wendy navigates the complexities of middle school relationships, or in her case the lack thereof, she becomes increasingly aware of the townspeople’s unquestioning acceptance of their situation without question, a classic coming-of-age discovery— adults don’t always actually know what they’re doing!—that here is developed with incisive power.

This quest persists into Wendy’s college years. As a senior, she digs deeper into the reasons behind Pennacook’s decline and seeks companionship with Lena whose tendencies mirror Wendy’s suicidal father. The story serves as a poignant reminder of how easy it is to succumb to the status quo, relinquishing our responsibility in the process. Through Wendy’s eyes, readers see how unquestioning acceptance can lead to our own undoing, making this a compelling and thoughtprovoking read.

Great for fans of Paul Murray’s The Bee Sting, Brandon J. Wolf’s A Place for Us.

Cover: B | Design & typography: A | Illustrations: – Editing: A | Marketing copy: A

Affecting story of a teen servant striving to belong in Gilded Age Bar Harbor.

attending a local suffragette meeting. This glimmer of hope has allure for Mabel, who toils in a world where, as Black takes pains to demonstrate, the wealthy wield “carelessly owned power.” But Black’s depiction of the elite class’s plush life of ballrooms and Cadillac Tulip Roadsters is also enticing, and the storytelling blurs lines between employer and servant through Alistair’s affair with Mabel.

Despite an emphasis focusing on the upstairs/downstairs dichotomy, Black capably handles the issue of racial discrimination by highlighting white servants’ treatment of Willie, a Black stable boy eager for opportunity, especially after they witness evidence of his touching friendship with Mabel. The novel’s most powerful moments, however, involve the transcending of social boundaries, as when the servants and their employers momentarily defy class restrictions through the solidarity of mourning, or as Mabel contemplates the possibility that maybe she can belong here.

Great for fans of Joy JordanLake’s Under a Gilded Moon, Joy Callaway’s All the Pretty Places.

Cover: A- | Design & typography: A | Illustrations: – Editing: A | Marketing copy: A

Scotland Yard faces séances, murder, and the possibly supernatural. patterns each month, prompting Scarlet and his trusted colleague, Django Pierce-Jones, to initiate a perilous investigation that will please lovers of supernaturaladjacent suspense as the heroes find themselves in the crosshairs of evil from both sides of the veil.

Genard’s cast of characters is rich and engaging enough to build a series upon, including the famous (and slightly pompous) artist Ambrose Reed, a widower who has found love again with fiancée Elizabeth Wilson, as well as Elizabeth’s elder sister, Catherine, unmarried and independent, strong of mind and opinion. Added to the mix are Mrs. Bain, the mysterious older woman who woos Ambrose away from Elizabeth, and the late Mary Reed, Ambrose’s deceased wife. Genard’s protagonist is both kind and rebellious, unable to stop using his powers as long as they bring peace and aid the public, and his humane use of his powers will endear him to readers—while keeping them eager to see his future adventures.

Great for fans of Michael Ward’s Rags of Time, T. L. Huchu’s The Mystery at Dunvegan Castle.

Cover: A | Design & typography: A | Illustrations: – Editing: A | Marketing copy: A

MYSTERY/THRILLER Kill Well: The Steep Climes Quartet, Book 1 David Guenette | CMTI Publishing 373p, e-book, $7.99, ASIN B0CBLBGT19

Set in a near future where the DSM 7 includes a diagnosis of “climate anxiety,” the first entry in the Steep Climes Quartet, Guenette’s pointedly realistic thriller series, opens with a bang, as Cynthia Wainwright witnesses the murder of the boss, apparently at the hands of a police officer, amid the scrub of the Mojave Desert. Cynthia had been scheduled to meet him to drive to a meeting with the head of an investor group interested in their company Carbon’s End, which is committed to “fossil fuel divestiture.” When Cynthia, stunned, gets a text from the boss she has just seen get killed—a boss with whom she has been sharing a sexual relationship—she flees the scene in a panic. She’s hunted (by a killer, by PIs she’s not sure she can trust) but eventually finds possible security with young Jimmy, a recent college grad she encounters on a train leaving a Chicago roiled by brownouts and climate riots.

Jimmy’s heading to the Berkshires to see his father, Davin Caine, an

Pointedly realistic thriller of murder, the fossil fuel industry, and climate activism. artist/farmer/consultant and “COVID divorcee” currently applying his skills to helping a local news startup survive. The mystery of who wants Cynthia dead will upend both men’s lives, as they uncover a conspiracy involving oilmen, lobbyists, PACs, and a powerful effort to protect fossil fuel profits. Guenette demonstrates a sure hand throughout for step-by-step investigations and how the world actually works: tracking, hacking, oil business shenanigans, how contract killers communicate, and even the struggles of raising sweet corn and running an Airbnb.

Despite the crackerjack opening, the novel is chatty and fitfully paced, especially in a first half that alternates Cynthia’s flight (and sensitively handled mental struggles) with Davin’s gardening, consulting, and property management. In these, Guenette explores, with a convincing edge of reportage, the realities of climate change, and plants seeds for this long novel’s strong final third. It’s all convincing and plausible, but thriller readers will be eager to get back to Cynthia.

Great for fans of Brooks B. Yeager’s Chilly Winds, Joel Burcat’s Amid Rage.

Cover: B | Design & typography: A | Illustrations: – Editing: A- | Marketing copy: A

Clear-eyed advice for anyone making excuses not to invest.

standing one’s own finances and taking the steps not just to invest but to make informed choices. Sabath explains, in crisp and direct prose, basic concepts as long-term investing, while offering action steps, examples, hypotheticals, and more. She demonstrates that one should contribute to qualified retirement plans while building an emergency fund and eliminating debt. Other issues covered include risk, tax minimization, automatic investing, the importance of working with a fiduciary, and the power of compounding.

Sabath’s straight-talking lessons will open new investors’ eyes in this era of self-directed retirement accounts, long life spans, and a questionable Social Security system. For all her helpful specifics (“allocate no more than 10 percent of your portfolio to a single investment when you’re purchasing it”) perhaps Sabath’s greatest lesson is that the secret to investing success is no secret. Systematically saving and sensibly investing while minimizing taxes and expenses will help one live a comfortable life. As Sabath notes, most of us are capable of meeting such challenges. The Wannabe Investor illuminates the path.

Great for fans of Jean Chatzky and Kathryn Tuggle’s How to Money, John Bogle’s The Little Book of Common Sense Investing.

Powerful essays honoring bookseller Joyce Meskis and freedom of speech. this kind of loyalty and love—her care and passion for the written word and for her community. Contributors range broadly, including Senator John Hickenlooper (who went into business with Meskis), several bookselling colleagues of Meskis’s, as well as other leaders in the fight for intellectual freedom. Through her leadership in Denver and in the bookselling profession, Meskis touched countless lives.

The essay by editor Karl Weber lives up to the values that Meskis embodied by taking a bold, carefully thought out position on difficult free speech issues in the publishing and book world and arguing it with passion. Weber makes important distinctions between publishers and booksellers, not to mention government action in restricting books. Following this analysis, Weber imagines Meskis interacting with his thoughts and, touchingly, sharpening his arguments. It’s hard to imagine a more powerful tribute to her life. Readers who want to honor Joyce Meskis, or who simply are passionate themselves about books and reading, will luxuriate in this essay collection.

Great for fans of Wendy Welch’s The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap, Lewis Buzbee’s The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop.

SELF-HELP

Rise Above the Story Karena Kilcoyne | BenBella Books 272p, hardcover, $26.95, ISBN 978-1-637-74390-4

This urgent, compassionate guide to reframing one’s own narrative and thinking blends practical self-help advice, complete with much hard-won practical knowledge, with a raw look at Kilcoyne’s own life story: how she endured a hard childhood, struggled to find happiness as an adult, and then, through therapy and a host of searching techniques, began the hard but edifying work of “unraveling decades’ worth of emotional malnourishment and releasing the shame that fueled my story.” Growing up with abusive parents, watching her father go to prison, and caring for her siblings and a mother who never left bed, Kilcoyne never had a childhood, mortified at being destitute and often facing life without water or power—in every sense of the word.

Kilcoyne developed a fear of abandonment and a deep need to hide her shame, and she made unhealthy relationships and personal choices well into adulthood. When she began the slow path towards healing,

SELF-HELP

Brilliant Emotions: Great Agony,

Great Promise—True Stories from a

Buddhist Psychotherapist

Paul Cashman | Naropa University

152p, trade paper, $14.99, ISBN 979-8-870-60173-1

“We tend not to trust our own brilliance, our true nature,” psychotherapist Cashman writes at the start of this clarifying self-help guide that draws on the author’s lifetime study of two traditions he believes are more related than we may know: Buddhist meditative practice and clinical psychology. In Brilliant Emotions,

Cashman demonstrates how “exploring, befriending, liberating” our feelings can help us in connecting to—and ultimately trusting—that “true nature.” To guide readers toward it, he presents a Four-Step Practice, an original tool for learning how to regulate, embrace, and control one’s emotions. Demonstrating through client anecdotes and his own personal life lessons, Cashman explores feelings of anxiety, fear, anger, and jealousy, making the case that these “negative” emotions are in fact common, natural feelings that can, when faced and examined, offer valuable insight, especially into their own triggers.

This empowering text lays out a practical, comprehensive process to

PICTURE BOOKS

Bull & Bear Learn Piggy Banks’

Golden Rule

Craig A. Robinson | Nolyne Publishing

34p, hardcover, $18.99, ISBN 979-8-218-27915-8

Every adult who shudders when tax season arrives would probably agree that kids should learn more practical financial skills in school. Robinson’s helpful picture book for young children aims to remedy this oversight by teaching kids the basics about how to save and be responsible with their money. Inspired by Wall Street terminology to describe rising or declining prices, here a literal bull and bear (named, simply, Bull and Bear) are friends with different approaches to handling their cash. Bull is a “savings and investment scholar” who knows how to grow his wealth, while Bear works hard but still struggles to save up the $100 he needs to buy a new bike.

Distraught, Bear goes with Bull to visit a pearl-wearing pig named Piggy Banks, who shares her golden rule: “When you make a dollar, break a dollar—into spending, saving, investing, and giving too.” Piggy Banks explains how savings accounts generate interest, why investing money is important, and even how donating money to charity can bring “peace and clarity.” Following these straightforward guidelines, Bear is finally able to save up the money he needs to make his big purchase.

Powerful, inviting guide to resetting one’s narrative of trauma. an empowering path she lays out here for others, Kilcoyne discovered she needed to face how the personal “story” that she told herself was holding her back. Her vivid, moving account of healing will pull readers in, and survivors of any type of trauma will relate and feel real hope as Kilcoyne demonstrates how a debilitating narrative can be changed with dedicated work, the courage to get to know one’s self in the deepest ways, and a willingness to try multiple approaches.

Kilcoyne leads the way by telling her story—both what she lived and what she felt—with rare candor and insight, while coaching readers through clear, resonant explanations of trauma, brain chemistry, and more. As she introduces a host of steps toward story changing (mindfulness practice, journaling, therapy, mediation, and many more) she notes that everyone’s healing journey will be different. Above all, she asks readers to trust the truths that emerge from this work, arguing “This is the doorway to your new life.” Journal prompts and incisive questions invite reader introspection.

Great for fans of Lisa Weinert’s Narrative Healing, David Denborough’s Retelling the Stories of Our Lives.

Cover: A | Design & typography: A | Illustrations: – Editing: A | Marketing copy: A

Powerful, practical guide to facing and understanding negative emotions.

do just that: give readers the skill and confidence to acknowledge these feelings, better understand themselves, and regulate their actions when these emotions rise up. Noting how these feelings can power negative actions such as alcoholism and domestic violence, Cashman delves deeply into ways to recognize them and to take steps to cope with and potentially heal from the underlying issues that may stir them. Cashman persuasively connects ancient wisdom with contemporary life and psychology.

Brilliant Emotions pushes readers to face dark feelings and their causes head on. With clear, concise examples and actionable steps and strategies to explore emotions safely, Cashman provides an organized outline and program to do the work toward emotional intelligence and healthy coping strategies. For the curious or for those already steeped in mindfulness practices and healing therapy, this is a compelling read and powerful resource.

Great for fans of Anita Phillips’s The Garden Within, Allison Choying Zangmo and Anyen Rinpoche’s Stop Biting the Tail You’re Chasing.

Cover: B | Design & typography: A | Illustrations: – Editing: A | Marketing copy: A

Helpful picture book making the basics of handling, saving, and investing money.

Framing complex ideas in a simple way using fun, rhyming prose will help kids (and adults) understand how to take care of their money in a way that is both pragmatic and ambitious.

Carolina Buzio’s colorful illustrations make the characters appear friendly and approachable, showing Bear wearing striped pants and a tiny bowler hat while Bull has slicked-down hair and green, square-rimmed glasses. The pictures also include helpful diagrams, with one showing interest growing like a tree and another at the end helpfully breaking down a real-world example of the golden rule. In a world where Wall Street can seem like an elite institution that aims to exclude, this user-friendly book offers young people a leg up on their financial future.

Great for fans of Jasmine Paul’s A Boy, a Budget, and a Dream, Harriet Ziefert’s You Can’t Buy a Dinosaur with a Dime.

Cover: A | Design & typography: A | Illustrations: A Editing: A | Marketing copy: B+

PICTURE BOOKS Brave Mermaids: The Treasure Maria Mandel Dunsche | Merlion Publishing 58p, trade paper, $14.99, ISBN 979-8-988-96723-1

Dunsche continues her Brave Mermaids series (after Shell of Magic) with this playful tale of shipwrecks, hidden treasure, and working together. Mermaid sisters Livi and Lexa are back, exploring the deep blue with their merpup, Finn, when Livi zeroes in on a shipwreck she spotted one day while playing—a discovery so impressive that Lexa declares it to be “splashtastic!” Even the resident shark can’t dampen their spirits as the bubbly pair set about exploring, in the process uncovering a sparkling golden treasure chest.

The loot proves irresistible, but the sisters soon realize it won’t be an easy task to open the chest; after several attempts, Lexa gives up, while Livi vows to unseal the treasure at any cost (and calls Lexa a “seapooper” for losing interest). The girls eventually call in the help of several sea-dwelling friends, including familiar faces from the first in the series. Soon, it’s all hands on deck as the group works to crack open the chest: seacorn Aria tries tickling it with a pirate’s feather,

Mermaid sisters rely on their friends’ help to uncover shipwrecked treasure. and when that doesn’t work, Sparkles the dolphin insists a pirate polka will do the trick. That’s delightful, of course, but after their attempts fail, Livi, true to form, still refuses to give up, suggesting the friends band together to try their ideas all at the same time—a breakthrough that will please readers.

De Zoysa’s luminous illustrations are splashtastic themselves, evoking an ocean teeming with life; whether it’s the sisters’ iridescent mermaid tails, flashy fish swarming around the ship’s wreckage, or the treasure in all its glittering glory, younger readers will find a torrent of eye-catching visuals in this cheerful tale. Ultimately, the friends’ decision to work together pays off: Livi finally gets her treasure, and, as a thank you to her friends for their help, everyone gets their own piece. Dunsche includes a treasurethemed maze for younger readers at the end.

Great for fans of Kim Ann’s Where Do Mermaids Go on Vacation?, Rachel Bright’s The Squirrels Who Squabbled.

Cover: A | Design & typography: A | Illustrations: A Editing: A- | Marketing copy: A