literature

A Splendid Death, the latest thriller, by Connecticut-based author Mark Rubinstein, tells the story of two brothers from New Jersey who become entangled with government-backed mercenaries in Franco’s Spain. WSHU’s Culture Critic, Joan Baum says the novel is a nail-biter. Here’s her review.

A rustic castle on a remote Scottish island. It’s an ideal setting for a literary conference until it all goes horribly wrong. The dramatic death of the conference organizer compels three romance writers to team up and solve a Who-Done-It. WSHU’s Culture Critic Joan Baum read The Authors Guide to Murder.

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.