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Jason BooherEdward Gorey was famous for his signature black and white illustrations that are often steeped in humor with a sinister twist. Gorey also drew his whimsical images on envelopes for letters he sent to a close friend. And that friend has just published a collection of their correspondence in a new book. WSHU’s Book Critic Joan Baum read it and has this review. -
HarperCollinsFootball captain, Rhino Rhinehart is in trouble. He punched a fellow student. Now Rhino is in his high school’s counseling group so he can stay on the football team. He’s surprised to find The Group a source of support. But his connection with them also lands him in the middle of a tragic school incident. How will Rhino find his way through it? Well, WSHU’s Culture Critic Joan Baum read this book for young readers. Here's her review.
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Reading books in translation can be a tricky venture. Does the work reflect the author’s original vision or the perspective of the translator? What’s a reader to do? Well, there’s a new book out that explores the delicate nuance of translation. WSHU’s Book critic Joan Baum has this review. -
Fairy Tales! Those fanciful yarns we learned as children were fun bedtime stories. But, author and scholar Jack Zipes believes they can be so much more. In his latest work, Buried Treasures: The Power of Political Fairy Tales, Zipes shares lost stories, that he says, could transform minds and nations for the better. Book critic Joan Baum has this review. -
A bereaved college student, a landscaper, and a lawyer form an unexpected love triangle in the debut novel by Connecticut-based writer Diane Parrish, Something Better. WSHU’s Culture Critic Joan Baum says don’t underestimate this debut work that dives deep into love, redemption, and forgiveness. -
Buckle up! Award-winning cartoonist and author, Jules Feiffer takes readers on a wild ride in his latest work- Amazing Grapes. A brother and sister team up to find their mother. But they must journey through a strange dimension filled with extraordinary friends and foes. WSHU's Joan Baum has this review. -
In Carolyn Jack’s latest novel, a child prodigy navigates the ruthless worlds of classical music, opera, and his mother’s ambition. Can he survive the pressure? Book critic Joan Baum read the book. Here’s her review. -
In the suspense novel, The God of the Woods, by Liz Moore, a teen disappears from a summer camp in the Adirondacks. But she’s not the first to go missing. Now a police detective is determined to solve the mystery but she’ll have to unravel generations of local secrets to do it. Book critic Joan Baum has this review. -
It looks like an idyllic historic Connecticut college town with students, professors, and coffee houses. But lurking under the surface is a sinister hedge fund billionaire pulling the strings. And when a co-ed turns up dead, that facade begins to crack. That’s the plot of author Michael Ledwidge’s latest thriller, No Safe Place. Book critic Joan Baum has this review. -
In the latest installment of author Claudia Riess’ art-history murder-mystery series, Dying for Monet a coveted Monet still life goes missing and the art dealer selling the work is found dead. WSHU’s Culture Critic Joan Baum read it. Here's her review. -
They’re an unlikely pair. She’s a widow from the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. He’s a US veteran working as a private detective in Wyoming. But they’re both survivors of war. And that history binds this investigative team together as they work to bring a killer to justice. WSHU’s Culture Critic Joan Baum says the characters and plot of author Paul Barra’s new novel Sgt. Ford’s Widow, are compelling, suspenseful, and moving. -
It’s not easy being a successful professional woman working for the NFL. For Poppy Benjamin, it gets a lot harder when the coach she works with is found dead. Now Poppy has to manage the growing negative press coverage while memories of bad choices from her past keep bubbling up. WSHU’s Culture Critic Joan Baum says, the new suspenseful novel, The Snap, by Connecticut resident Elizabeth Staple will keep you guessing till the end.
