All through college, and for several years after, I was a self-professed true crime girlie. I suspect my interest sprung from watching CSI with my parents growing, nestled up in the secure monotony of Midwest farmland while learning about decomposition and blood splatter. In my mid-20s, several provoking pieces about survivorhood and a handful of […]
K. Twaddle
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Mindy Mejia’s Iowa Mysteries series continues with ‘The Whisper Place.’ Refresh on all the action before you crack it open
Midwest thrillers are few and far between, but every time one crops up it scratches a special itch in my heart. There is something rich and powerful at having scenes from your childhood play out with hints of something absolutely foreign. Mindy Mejia is helping build the Midwest mystery genre with the third installment of her “Iowa Mysteries” series…
Posted inBook Reviews
Book Review: ‘The Whisper Place’ by Mindy Mejia
Mindy Mejia’s The Whisper Place continues her Iowa Mysteries series, following cop-turned-private-investigator Max Summerlin and his psychic friend and work partner, Jonah Kendrick.
Posted inBook Reviews
Book Review: ‘The Body Farm’ by Abby Geni
The Body Farm by Abby Geni is a collection of stories rooted deeply in the physical. Although the collection derives its title from the final short story of the book, it is an aptly chosen one; each story focuses on the disastrous effects of life on the human body, running from the miraculous to the […]
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Book Review: ‘Mojave Ghost’ by Forrest Gander
I read about one book of poetry a year. I enjoy poetry now, despite an adolescence spent being intimidated by it. I am thrilled that Mojave Ghost by Forrest Gander (New Directions) became my poetry book of the year. Structured with page breaks and asterisks but no formal titles, he creates something that flows effortlessly […]
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Book Review: ‘Blue Light Hours’ by Bruna Dantas Lobato
I was a daughter who left her mother. This is a fairly common experience, from my understanding of the world, many children leave their parents, either to move down the street or across the country. My act of leaving was comparatively short in distance but long in duration, as I packed my suitcase once and […]
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Book Review: ‘Disturbing the Bones’ by Andrew Davis and Jeff Biggers
As a teenager, Dan Brown changed my brain chemistry. My obsession with his books grew from my more youthful, and more naive, obsession with Indiana Jones — back before I understood that cultural artifacts should probably stay with their culture of origin. Dan Brown made me feel sophisticated and smart, creating an affection for political […]
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Book Review: ‘My Lady Melisende’ by Misty Urban
There is a special type of book that I affectionately refer to as the “kettle corn book.” Growing up, there was no food that my stepmom could eat more of than kettle corn. It was simultaneously awing and terrifying how much of it she could put away without thinking about it. A good kettle corn […]
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Book Review: ‘The Monsters We Make’ by Kali White
I grew up in the era of stranger danger. I was a generally anxious child even on my best days, a veritable nightmare on my worst; my family loves to tell the story of my weeping refusal to approach Santa Claus at a school event, unable to recognize the costumed man as my own father.
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Book Review: ‘Inmani: Nova Mundo Blues’ by Cullen McHael
Never before have I come across a book that so thoroughly encapsulates the experience of enjoying a piece of Juicy Fruit gum. Cullen McHael’s debut Inmani: Nova Mundo Blues does just that; the novel provides a world and characters that are satisfying to chew on, but in some ways leaves the reader wanting. Inmani follows […]
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Book Review and Q&A: ‘The Overnight Guest’ by Heather Gudenkauf
I grew up in a small town — population 600 on a good day. Rural Iowans are familiar with the one gas station, one bar kind of town, but it takes a special writer to encapsulate small-town life without turning it trite. Heather Gudenkauf, a New York Times bestselling author based out of Iowa, does […]
