American Bulk: Essays on Excess by Emily Mester In Emily Mester’s childhood home, the dining table was cleared for dining only on Christmas and Easter. Every other day was for piles: piles from shopping bags from shopping hauls from Chicagoland big box stores, but especially from the closest place Emily’s family had to church: Costco. … Read more
Elita by Kirsten Sundberg Lunstrum While “Nordic Noir” crime fiction has been a well-established genre since the 1990s (think of authors such as Henning Mankell, Jo Nesbø, Peter Høeg, and Stieg Larsson) Lynnwood author Kirsten Sundberg Lunstrum gives it a local spin as “Northwest Noir,” which describes her first novel, “Elita.” Set in the winter … Read more
October 22, 2025 by Christine Perkins Elita by Kirsten Sundberg Lunstrum While “Nordic Noir” crime fiction has been a well-established genre since the 1990s (think of authors such as Henning Mankell, Jo Nesbø, Peter Høeg, and Stieg Larsson) Lynnwood author Kirsten Sundberg Lunstrum gives it a local spin as “Northwest Noir,” which describes her first novel, “Elita.” Set … Read more
Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson “Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone” by Benjamin Stevenson is a darkly humorous thriller. Ernest Cunningham is the story’s aptly named and self-described “reliable narrator.” He presents himself as an earnest, forthright and upfront narrator – on page two he tells you everything to … Read more
Out of the Sierra: A Story of Rarámuri Resistance by Victoria Blanco “Out of the Sierra: A Story of Rarámuri Resistance” provides a window into the world of the Rarámuri, an Indigenous group in present-day Chihuahua, Mexico. Author Victoria Blanco spent years researching and living among a Rarámuri community, adapting ethnographic and sociologic practices to … Read more
Crooks: A Novel about Crime and Family by Lou Berney Think crime novels aren’t for you? Crooks may make you reconsider. In 1960s Vegas, Buddy Mercurio is a low-ranks mobster getting exactly nowhere. When Buddy catches department store clerk Lillian swiping cash from a customer, it’s love at first sight. “Mercurios don’t play by the … Read more
El Dorado Drive by Megan Abbott Oh, how the once-golden Bishop sisters have fallen. Nothing about their adult lives resembles their well-heeled childhood. Debra is drowning in medical debt, Pam’s contentious divorce drained her dry, and Harper is underemployed and ducking creditors. And then, salvation appears. The Wheel is a women-only financial “gifting club” – … Read more
October 9, 2025 by Mary Kinser Crooks: A Novel about Crime and Family by Lou Berney Think crime novels aren’t for you? Crooks may make you reconsider. In 1960s Vegas, Buddy Mercurio is a low-ranks mobster getting exactly nowhere. When Buddy catches department store clerk Lillian swiping cash from a customer, it’s love at first sight. “Mercurios don’t play by … Read more
October 9, 2025 by Jonathan Jakobitz Out of the Sierra: A Story of Rarámuri Resistance by Victoria Blanco “Out of the Sierra: A Story of Rarámuri Resistance” provides a window into the world of the Rarámuri, an Indigenous group in present-day Chihuahua, Mexico. Author Victoria Blanco spent years researching and living among a Rarámuri community, adapting ethnographic and … Read more
October 9, 2025 by Jonathan Jakobitz Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson “Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone” by Benjamin Stevenson is a darkly humorous thriller. Ernest Cunningham is the story’s aptly named and self-described “reliable narrator.” He presents himself as an earnest, forthright and upfront narrator – on page two he tells … Read more