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April Read of the Month: “Wet Work,” by Donna Meredith

Donna Meredith Reviewed by Claire Hamner Matturro “This isn’t what Isaac Harewood hoped to buy with his money.” Not at all. Rather, in Wet Work, the latest novel by Tallahassee’s award-wining author...

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“The Trench Garden,” by L.C. Fiore

L.C. Fiore Reviewed by Donna Meredith In L.C. Fiore’s short story, “The Trench Garden,” which appears in the new Ploughshare’s Solos series, four men come together to restore a ravine in Tennessee...

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“Dream Chaser,” by Pat Spears

Pat Spears Review by Donna Meredith Dream Chaser, by Pat Spears, delivers an iconic figure as the protagonist: a Southern blue collar drunk struggling to hold onto a job and his family. That’s hardly a...

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“The Secret of Magic,” by Deborah Johnson

Deborah Johnson Review by Donna Meredith The fiftieth anniversary of the Freedom Summer is the perfect time for the release of Deborah Johnson’s novel, The Secret of Magic. Johnson’s story reminds us...

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“A Long Time Gone,” by Karen White

Karen White Reviewed by Donna Meredith Take a wounded woman with a good heart and addiction problems. A troubled child who needs love. A dog in need of a home. And a man who has known since childhood...

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“Hiding Gladys,” by Lee Mims

Lee Mims Reviewed by Donna Meredith Hiding Gladys, a Cleo Cooper mystery by Lee Mims, reads easily, the pages gliding by in quick succession. Interesting facts about geology weave their way through...

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“The Story Keeper,” by Lisa Wingate

Reviewed by Donna Meredith Escaping the past proves more difficult than New York editor Jen Gibbs thinks in The Story Keeper, Lisa Wingate’s uplifting new novel about a woman’s journey to find a...

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“Each Shining Hour,” by Jeff High

Jeff High Reviewed by Donna Meredith Jeff High delivers another heart-warming novel in Each Shining Hour, the sequel to More Things in Heaven and Earth, further exploring life in a small town in...

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“The Wishing Tide,” by Barbara Davis

Barbara Davis Reviewed by Donna Meredith In Barbara Davis’s haunting novel, The Wishing Tide, three people allow their troubled pasts to define the present, stripping them of any chance of happiness....

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“The Cottoncrest Curse,” by Michael H. Rubin

Michael H. Rubin Reviewed by Donna Meredith It’s the history woven into the tale that grabbed me most in Michael H. Rubin’s debut novel, The Cottoncrest Curse. Thoroughly researched, this historical...

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“The Land Breakers,” by John Ehle

John EhleCredit: D. H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville Reviewed by Donna Meredith John Ehle’s The Land Breakers transports readers to the mountains of...

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“Dollbaby,” by Laura Lane McNeal

Laura Lane McNeal Reviewed by Donna Meredith Dollbaby, Laura Lane McNeal’s debut novel, is a Southern gothic tale with the requisite decaying mansion, locked rooms, long-held secrets, and a sometimes...

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April Read of the Month: “Sewing Holes,” by Darlyn Finch Kuhn

Darlyn Finch Kuhn (photo by Susan Cross) Reviewed by Donna Meredith Like many Southern novels, Sewing Holes explores a somewhat dysfunctional family facing challenges and loss. Yet Darlyn Finch Kuhn’s...

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“The Lion of Babylon,” by Michael Whitehead

Michael Whitehead Reviewed by Donna Meredith Combining touches of magical realism with the stark reality of life in a war zone, Michael Whitehead delivers a memorable literary novel with The Lion of...

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June Read of the Month: “Song of the Vagabond Bird,” by Terry Kay

Terry Kay Reviewed by Donna Meredith Novels about male bonding are fairly unusual—unless the band of brothers emerges from war. Armed conflict plays no part in Terry Kay’s latest novel, though the...

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“Fate Moreland’s Widow,” by John Lane, and “Seam Busters,” by Mary Hood

Reviewed by Donna Meredith We all—well, all of us except Lady Godiva, nudists, and that one infamous Emperor of fairytale fame—wear clothes. Yet most of us give little thought to the mill workers who...

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New Fiction on Black Middle-Class Families and Universal Themes

Review essay by Donna Meredith African American fiction writers have, for the most part, overlooked middle-class families as subjects until recently. Stacy Campbell, Lamarr White, and Barbara Joe...

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“Bull Mountain,” by Brian Panowich

Brian Panowich Reviewed by Donna Meredith The ancient story of brother pitted against brother gets a fresh take in Brian Panowich’s debut novel, Bull Mountain, by combining family saga, mystery, and...

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“Understanding Richard Russo,” by Kathleen Drowne

Kathleen Drowne Reviewed by Donna Meredith Richard Russo is a beloved novelist known primarily for his stories of life in declining northeastern factory towns, so a reasonable person might question why...

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“The Splendor of Ordinary Days,” by Jeff High

Reviewed by Donna Meredith With the third novel in the Watervalley series, Jeff High’s talent has matured as he captures the rich tapestry of small-town life – as few contemporary authors have – in...

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