Short Stories

Review: 1,000-Year-Old Ghosts by Laura Chow Reeve

Review: 1,000-Year-Old Ghosts by Laura Chow Reeve

A grandmother teaches her family to deal with difficult memories in a unique way — by pickling them in jars. “1000–Year–Old Ghosts” appears in the new anthology Pen America Best Debut Short Stories 2017. School is back in session and I find myself struggling to manage my love for literature and my hectic schedule.  Fortunately, […]

Review: Valentine’s Victim by Harper Lin

Review: Valentine’s Victim by Harper Lin

It looks like superstar singer Emma Wild is going to be single on Valentine’s Day. She’s ignoring all of Detective Sterling Matthew’s calls and evading her promotional duties for her third album release. All she wants to do is sit at home, watch trashy TV shows and eat junk food. But a journalist from Rolling […]

Review: Death of a Snowman by Harper Lin

Review: Death of a Snowman by Harper Lin

Everything’s going well for singer Emma Wild. Taking a break from her crazy celebrity life in Hartfield has been a refreshing change, even if she did have some difficulty choosing between her movie star boyfriend Nick Doyle and her high school sweetheart Detective Sterling Matthews. But she has made up her mind: she knows who […]

Review: New Year’s Slay by Harper Lin

Review: New Year’s Slay by Harper Lin

Superstar singer Emma Wild is back for another murder mystery in her Canadian hometown of Hartfield, Ontario. Things are heating up with Emma’s high school sweetheart, the handsome Detective Sterling Matthews, but when her movie star ex, Nick Doyle, comes looking for her with a huge diamond engagement ring, Emma’s world turns upside down. When […]

Review: Killer Christmas by Harper Lin

Review: Killer Christmas by Harper Lin

After breaking up with hunky movie star Nick Doyle, Grammy Award-winning singer Emma Wild returns to her hometown for Christmas to get away from it all. In Hartfield, a small town in Ontario, Canada, she gets caught up in a murder case after a fan’s drink is poisoned at the Chocoholic Cafe, owned by Emma’s […]

Review: The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

Review: The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

Acclaimed by critics, beloved by readers of all ages, taught everywhere from inner-city grade schools to universities across the country, and translated all over the world, The House on Mango Street is the remarkable story of Esperanza Cordero. Told in a series of vignettes – sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes deeply joyous – it is the story […]

Review: Christmas Angels by Viola Shipman

Review: Christmas Angels by Viola Shipman

From the beloved author of Indie Next Pick The Charm Bracelet, Christmas Angels is a delightful love story. Kate, a single woman in her 30s, works as a designer/decorator for a large interior landscaping company bedecking and bedazzling St. Louis for the holidays. Her work keeps her from spending the holidays with her family and […]

Review: Boots and Bedlam by Ashley Farley

Review: Boots and Bedlam by Ashley Farley

‘Tis the season for chaos. Wedding bells will soon be ringing in the Lowcountry. All Sam Sweeney wants is to marry her man on Christmas Eve surrounded by family and friends. But emerging complications, some humorous and some not so humorous, threaten to converge and derail the best-laid plans during the busy stretch between Thanksgiving […]

Review: The McCullagh Inn in Maine by Jen McLaughlin

Review: The McCullagh Inn in Maine by Jen McLaughlin

Her second chance at love. . . Chelsea McCullagh escapes to Maine with a gun and fresh bruises. She’s ready to begin anew-until she runs into her old flame, Jeremy Holland. As he helps to fix her inn, her heart heals and they rediscover what they once loved about each other. But as the two […]

Review: Otherworld Secrets by Kelley Armstrong

Review: Otherworld Secrets by Kelley Armstrong

The next Otherworld anthology from #1 New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong… More than a decade after Kelley Armstrong first opened the doors to the Otherworld, fans are still clamoring for more. In response to their demands—and to coincide with the Syfy Network show based on the series—Plume has signed up three Otherworld anthologies, […]