PositiveCriminal Element... a fast-paced crime story ... Dahl takes Claudia’s post-assault emotional chaos—humiliation, anger, loneliness, desperation—and uses them to drive a believable, heartbreaking vengeance storyline. Because sometimes revenge isn’t the healing balm we wish it to be ... The visceral descriptions made me furious, which definitely served to engage me through the rest of the story ... While I appreciated the anger and the desire for revenge, The Missing Hours is also a testament to vengeance being \'a dish best served cold\' ... In many ways, the growth of the family into a unit is one of the most interesting and moving elements of this story. I think Claudia’s family would’ve been down with exacting some vengeance of their own.
John Glatt
RaveCriminal Element... a true-crime juggernaut ... Glatt expertly interweaves the issues of mental health and privilege ... I was practically yelling at the pages—as if anyone can hear you through the pages and years ... Glatt...gracefully portray[s] the complicated maneuvers and motives of all parties in this case ... Golden Boy: A Murder Among the Manhattan Elite brings to the forefront two aspects of American life we are grappling with—privilege and mental health stigmas. John Glatt, by thorough investigative research and empathy for all involved, has managed to present these complicated matters in an intriguing, enthralling narrative.
Christopher Golden
PositiveCriminal ElementThe Pandora Room is a worthy follow-up to Ararat—however, it’s not necessary to read Ararat before The Pandora Room. Christopher Golden does a good job establishing both new interactions and revealing previous relationships. The horrors inflicted on the characters, both supernatural and natural, are visceral and real. When you look up from turning pages, probably sometime late at night, you’ll be happy that you’re safe at home.
Ed. by Lincoln Michel & Nadxieli Nieto
RaveCriminal Element\"Michel and Nieto and all of the authors have done a superb job creating a kaleidoscope of death and dismemberment ... And among these English language wizards, you have several tiny stories in translation. From French to Japanese, there are stories that appear side-by-side in their original language and in English. Michel and Nieto’s choice to showcase these stories in a multi-lingual format adds an extra dimension to the collection: the human experiences of crime are universal ... Tiny Crimes is the perfect book to take with you to any airport, any doctor’s office, any police station...well, anywhere you need to take a break from the world and experience some good stories.\
Charles B Rosenberg
PositiveCriminal ElementCharles Rosenberg’s The Trial and Execution of the Traitor George Washington charts a creative alternative-history tale filled with action, adventure, and twists ... Rosenberg obviously did his homework on Washington; the first president’s manner and physical characteristics are well-drawn. Washington’s behavior is depicted in a way consistent with his contemporaries’ descriptions ... Both American forefathers and British personages take part in Rosenberg’s story. The student of history will find much to recognize but won’t be able to predict the course of events ... The Trial and Execution of the Traitor George Washington by Charles Rosenberg breathes fresh life into the sometimes stagnant annals of history. The reader will come away hard-pressed not to feel the consequences of these fictional events. But sometimes, perhaps, to get the larger picture, the picture must be altered.
Adrienne Celt
PositiveCriminal ElementInvitation to a Bonfire is—forgive me—a slow burn ... Adrienne Celt’s Invitation to a Bonfire will infiltrate your subconscious and make you read passages twice, maybe three times ... When the threads—like lit dynamite fuses—hit their target, you’ll get way more than just a bonfire.
John Hart
PositiveThe Criminal ElementThe Hush is a novel that is reminiscent of many Southern Gothic novels: hanging trees, slave graveyards, gritty characters who have seen the inexplicable, and a history that refuses to be buried. While reading The Last Child first may help give some insight into the relationship between Johnny—the 'Little Chief'—and Jack (and it will definitely fill in some gaps with Johnny’s family), Hart manages to weave the rich backstory into his narrative without a hiccup. The two men are fully drawn characters with a relationship that is easy to get behind ... The Hush is a visceral, atmospheric novel covering 6,000 acres and 150 years of troubled history. John Hart has written a worthy follow-up to his well-received The Last Child. Readers old and new will look up from the pages sometime around midnight, flooded with relief that they’re safe in bed and not out in the twisting trails of Hush Arbor.
