The Golden Gate by Amy Chua

September 18, 2023

Amy Chua manages to incorporate history, social conditions, racism, and mystery in her debut mystery, The Golden Gate. Set in 1944, Chua was inspired by a ghost story about the Claremont Hotel in Berkeley, California, as well as Madame Chiang Kai-Shek’s...

All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby

June 06, 2023

No one writes with such power, while managing to convey the brutality of life, as S.A. Cosby does. His latest book, All the Sinners Bleed, is beautifully written, gritty, with a hero who carries the weight of his job and his community on his shoulders. Sheriff Titus...

Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane

April 17, 2023

Dennis Lehane’s last novel, Since We Fell, came out in 2017. He smashes that silence with Small Mercies, the most powerful novel I’ve read since S.A. Cosby’s Razorblade Tears. In fact, any book group that chooses to pair these two unforgettable...

Murder in the Park by Jeanne M. Dams

February 27, 2022

Jeanne M. Dams, author of the Dorothy Martin mysteries, kicks off the historical Oak Park Village mystery series with Murder in the Park. While the writing seems slow-paced and old-fashioned, there are little-known facts that history fans might find surprising....

Under Color of Law by Aaron Philip Clark

October 02, 2021

Racism. Fear. Violence. Lies and corruption. It’s all part of the culture of the Los Angeles Police Department in Aaron Philip Clark’s Under Color of Law. And, a young Black police officer is caught up in it. Trevor Finnegan has had some bad days. There...