Anatomy of a Shark, a new, rollicking crime drama by M. G. Akins, is a hit with readers and reviewers alike. You will love it, too!

H. N. Hirsch, who writes the Bob & Marcus Mystery series published by Pisgah Press, says the new novel is “a great read . . . full of colorful characters and sly insight.”

Diane Donovan of Midwest Book Review (also published on her blog, donovansliteraryservices.com) writes:

“Readers of novels about crime families have plenty to choose from, but Anatomy of a Shark stands out in combining a New York mob family with a young boy’s adoption, growing up with uncommon encounters, and eventual involvement in crime – albeit, of a different kind than he’s known all his life.

“From the start, it’s evident that the first-person narrator of these experiences harbors a wry sense of ironic humor about his circumstances and an astute assessment of not just the improbability of life, but its oddities…. Akins cultivates a unique voice that captures, more so than most mob crime stories, a sense of place, purpose, and street life .

“Readers seeking a very different kind of crime family story that simmers with social issues, ironic fun, and captivating interactions will appreciate, relish, and come to love Vinnie Renaldi in Anatomy of a Shark, a top recommendation because its character’s unique ‘voice’ stands heads and shoulders above other fictional mob stories.”

Don’t wait: Anatomy of a Shark is available now from Pisgah Press, on Amazon.com, and other online and brick-and-mortar bookstores.

Winter,

Diverse protagonists are making waves in the murder mystery genre, and H.N. Hirsch is leading the charge with a captivating new installment in his crime-solving series. Winter, the latest novel from the former political science professor, centers on a devoted gay couple—Marcus George and Bob Abramson—who find themselves pulled into a murder investigation on a quiet college campus.

Set during Christmas break in 2004, Winter opens with Marcus, a professor at the University of California San Diego, discovering the body of a controversial colleague in his office. Suddenly, his partner Bob’s past warning rings true: “You never want to be the person who finds the body.” As Marcus becomes tangled in the case, Bob is reeling from a personal loss and the looming milestone of his 40th birthday.

Blending murder mystery with nuanced character development, Hirsch offers more than just a thrilling whodunnit. Drawing on his four-decade academic career, Hirsch gives the story a rich layer of political and historical context, while also exploring the evolving dynamics of a long-term same-sex relationship. The result is a series that is as emotionally engaging as it is suspenseful.

Hirsch introduced readers to Bob and Marcus in his 2020 novel Shade, set in 1985 Boston. Over four books—including Shade, Fault Line, Rain, and now Winter—the series follows the couple across decades, tracing their journey from Harvard to Southern California, with each installment jumping forward in time.

Critics have praised the series for its intelligent plotting and deeply human characters. Jean M. Redmann, author of the award-winning Micky Knight mysteries, calls Bob and Marcus “a gay Nick and Nora, a couple you’ll want to spend time and solve mysteries with.”

Winter not only delivers a tightly wound murder investigation but also continues a groundbreaking series that centers love, loss, and identity in a genre traditionally dominated by straight protagonists. Hirsch’s novels offer a fresh take on classic crime fiction—and readers eager for diversity and depth in their mysteries will find plenty to savor.

Reviews

Meanwhile, back in England . . .

The Table Read Magazine (“the best entertainment eBook magazine, UK”) describes Winter as “a chilling new mystery where love and murder collide. A quiet Saturday afternoon on a nearly deserted university campus spirals into a complex murder investigation. This chilling novel blends suspense, personal drama, and historical context, as the crime-solving couple confronts a killer—and their own vulnerabilities.”

And Molly Toolan wrote in UK’s Daily Express: “In the chilling new murder mystery Winter, Marcus becomes entangled in a murder investigation and reluctantly finds himself playing amateur sleuth. . . . Through the evolving lives of Bob and Marcus, the novels trace not only a personal love story but also the broader cultural and political shifts shaping the lives of gay men in America. Hirsch’s Bob and Marcus mystery series is filled with complex characters, colorful locations and plenty of thrills for anyone who loves a good whodunnit.”

Here in the States, Lavender magazine’s E. B. Boatner, writing his “A Word in Edgewise,” starts out, “The fourth Bob & Marcus mystery so perfectly and fully fulfilled the “You won’t be able to put this down!” claim that upon finishing, I immediately reached for the first of H.N. Hirsch’s four: an excellent four-score summer read.

Read the full review of all four books in the series on Lavender magazine.

Meanwhile, PaperPhoenixInk did a delightful and wide-ranging interview with the author about the new volume, his inspirations, likes and dislikes, and little-known (except to his former students) facts about him.

And N. N. Lights Book Heaven offers Hirsch yet another 5-star review of a book in the Bob & Marcus Mystery series. “Winter is a gripping murder mystery . . . Hirsch’s writing skills are unmatched. . . . But Winter is so much more than a mystery. The two main characters, Professor Marcus George and attorney Bob Abramson, are what drives this story. It’s been wonderful watching their relationship grow over the years. They are a gay couple who love each other dearly. Their experiences as a gay couple in society is reflective of the political landscape and changing viewpoints. The characterization of these characters throughout the book is insightful and add depth to the overall story. If you’re a mystery reader and looking for your next binge-read, pick up Winter.“

And from the Midwest Book Review (also published on Donovan’s Bookshelf, where you’ll need to scroll down), Diane Donovan writes, “Readers . . . will be especially satisfied to see the injection of moral and ethical quandaries that lead Bob and Marcus to re-examine their own ideals and decisions. . . . Hirsch takes the time to present ordinary gay family life experiences as well as tense encounters, creating a delightful interplay between personal and professional developments that impart a sense of relief from action-packed scenarios.

Bob and Marcus built a fire and listened to some old jazz records, with Zelda at their feet. Bob laid his head in Marcus’s lap on the couch.
“Come on, old man, let’s go to bed,” Bob said after a while, pulling Marcus up from the couch. “I’m going to ravish you.”

Hirsch’s blend of the gay lifestyle with investigative quandaries and unexpected outcomes gives Winter a multifaceted feel fully in sync with previous Marcus and Bob experiences. [T]heir latest challenge continues to buffet their relationship, grow their personalities and values, and immerses them academic intrigue that draws the duo into danger.

Packed with unexpected twists, a host of characters who each hold their own special interests and possible connections to events, and family life that moves in different directions, Winter is a thought-provoking saga that draws from the start and concludes with a cliffhanging bang. 

Port City

Port City — a study in contrasts. Henry McFarland, steeped in the privileged life of the elite, is relatively oblivious to the plight of workers in New York City. . . . He gets a taste of his own perspective’s impact when events shift his world enough to challenge his curmudgeonly view of wealth and social have-nots.

Eliot Sefrin does a particularly good job of capturing New York City’s social and political changes in a bygone era, the “science of the harbor” and those who interact with its processes and businesses, and, especially, the insights of those who navigate its murky waters.

Vivid descriptions explore what goes on beneath the surface of many local issues and events, bringing New York City and its interests to life. . . . Discussions of labor disputes and opposing sides assume a compelling countenance.

Port City sifts through layers of legal, social, and political history, resting its findings on strong characters whose disparate viewpoints drive home a series of points about change, adaptation, and growth.

Libraries seeking historical fiction that sizzles with interpersonal and group encounters and perspectives will welcome Port City into their collections. Quite simply, it’s a supercharged saga of transformation that will entertain while immersing readers in situations that reflect how people grow—sometimes, against all odds.

~ Diane Donovan for Donovan’s Bookshelf & Midwest Book Review

Port City, Eliot Sefrin’s blockbuster new novel based on real-life events, unfolds in 1946 as New York becomes the latest city to feel the impact of mass strikes sweeping across America in the face of defense factory closures, job shortages, worker frustration, and rampant postwar inflation.

This well-researched historical fiction pits several hundred proud, patriotic working men against powerful corporate interests, and tests the bond between two brothers—one their rebellious, innovative union leader, the other a war-weary ex-G.I. struggling to reboot his life.

Feisty, streetwise Benny Logan has risen in the union ranks as a product of his gutsy persona and willingness to break from corrupt, old-guard leaders who have sold out the city’s tugboat workers for decades. Seeking allies in his crusade to reform the labor union, Benny recruits his younger brother Jack, newly returned from the war, as a deckhand on the flagship of tugboat magnate Henry McFarland, the leader of a tugboat owners’ coalition. Supported by mob and business associates alike, the powerful and unscrupulous McFarland will stop at nothing to crush the union and protect the interests of the city’s corporate elite.

As these powerful forces collide, Jack works to find a new way forward for labor-management relations, even as he and his wife, a pregnant British war bride, attempt to recover from the emotional trauma of the war.

What Reviewers Say . . .

From Diane Donovan (Donovan’s Boookshelf) Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review:

In the very near future, young tech entrepreneur Declan Marchand invents Perpetuonics, a method of digitizing a living person’s character, knowledge, emotions, and memories — and then bringing that person back into existence after death. These”Digital beINGS”— Dings in shorthand — can theoretically “live” forever. They reside in massive servers, where they communicate with living people with the help of a living Compadore. They are also, of course, subject to rules and restrictions . . . until they begin to discover their own power.

From the evolution of the concept into reality to the devolution and, ultimately, revolution, Perpetuonics  presents an intriguing, disturbing possibility for the future of life on earth.

Jeff is the author of the acclaimed Denton the Dragon musical play and story. He lives in Black Mountain, NC.

R.F. Wilson’s latest Rick Ryder Mystery, Murder on the Rocks

Jeff Hutchins’s new dystopian novel, Dingdom Come

Laurie Holder’s stylized memoir, Clay Documentaries

Jean Redmann, author of the award-winning Micky Knight Mystery Series, is a fan of both previous books in the series. She writes, “Bob and Marcus are a gay Nick and Nora, a couple you’ll want to spend time and solve mysteries with.”

Purchase Rain today!

C. Robert launched his professional career as a young man at the Little Theatre of Savannah, GA, and later was one of the cofounders of the Southern Appalachian Repertory Theater (SART), affiliated with Mars Hill College (now University), in 1975. In addition to degrees from the University of South Carolina, University of Georgia, and The Catholic University of America in DC, he was a National Endowment Fellow at Yale in 1995. He also studied at the Sorbonne and at the University of Dijon (France) on a Fulbright grant.

He is also the author of more than four dozen plays, including the 1979 musical Rivals, which garnered a David B. Marshall Award in Musical Theater at the U. of Michigan. His play Chiaroscuro (Nocturne) premiered at Theater Memphis in 1984, where it was a winner in the theater’s national play search. He won the Robert Chesley Foundation Playwriting Award in 2011 for both The Catbird Seat and The Love Quartette.

In Acting Onstage, C. Robert includes chapters on Auditions, Rehearsals (and learning lines), Blocking, Lights/Props/Hair/Costumes, and a variety of generic issues involved with stagecraft. It’s truly a must-have companion for every actor, of every age and level of experience.

Our Story, This Place

Restored through the efforts of several dozen members of the historic Black Long Ridge community and many other friends, the school has been reimagined as both a historic site and an interactive, educational museum. It is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.

This book provides comprehensive information about Black education in the rural South from after the Civil War through the time of desegregation, sharing personal reminiscences by alumni and descendants of the many education leaders dating back more than a century. It is a fascinating story, capturing what might otherwise be a lost history of a people and a place that shaped the destiny of thousands in western North Carolina.

Shade, a classic murder mystery by H. N. Hirsch; A Twilight Reel, award-winning eBook by Michael Amos Cody

H. N. Hirsch’s brilliant, classic murder mystery, Shade, comes out just in time for summertime reading! When gay, misfit Harvard Professor Marcus George discovers that one of his most brilliant recent graduates, scion of a wealthy, establishment Boston family, has been brutally murdered at a gay Maine resort, he finds himself investigating the agonizing question who might have wanted Trip Howard — Addison Cornell Howard III — dead, and why. While striving to gain tenure amid the backbiting, backstabbing world of academic politics, he begins to discover the tawdry details of the young scholar’s life … along with an unexpected love of his own.

Highly recommended” by Midwest Book Review’s senior reviewer, Diane Donovan, and not just for mystery fans. “Describing Shade as a ‘murder mystery’ alone does it an injustice. Few books would tackle the conundrum presented by the outcome of a murder probe that reveals forces of corruption alongside the draw of a love destined to change everything. These elements set Shade apart from most other murder mysteries.”

Cody Honored with Feathered Quill

Michael Amos Cody has been honored with the 2021 Feathered Quill award for A Twilight Reel, his collection of short stories, and was recently named a Feathered Quill finalist for his previous novel, Gabriel’s Songbook. A Twilight Reel will be released for Kindle in June.

Letters of the Lost Children: Japan — WWII, by Reinhold C. Ferster and Jan Atchley Bevan is now available through local bookstores and online booksellers.

The coffee table-sized volume ($34.95, 35 illustrations) is built around original pictures of Japan’s student-soldiers (some as young as 13) sacrificed as military fodder in the final years of the Second World War. The cache of photographs, apparently collected by an unidentified American soldier, forms the background for an in-depth, dramatic recreation of the lost lives of these unknown boys through a series of well researched, re-imagined letters to family and loved ones. The book includes historical research into the culture of Imperial Japan and its approach to war.

In a first collaboration with Sunny and Al Lockwood’s Front Porch Publishing, Pisgah Press will release the print version of one of the couple’s delightful travel books: Cruising from Boston to Montreal—about their voyage via Bar Harbor, Maine; Halifax, Nova Scotia; Prince Edward Island; Quebec City, and other 0aritime stops along the St. Lawrence River.

The Lockwood’s have written numerous best-selling travel memoirs, in both eBook and print formats, including: Cruising Panama’s Canal: Savoring 5,000 Nautical Miles and 500,000 Decadent Calories; Cruising the Mediterranean; Finding Ourselves in Venice, Florence, Rome & Barcelona; Cruising the Atlantic: Our Epic Journey from Miami to Barcelona; and Cruising the Mississippi: From New Orleans to Memphis on a Genuine Paddlewheeler.

Reed’s Homophones Fourth Edition with expanded listings is available now at Amazon

Editor-in-chief A.D. Reed has updated and expanded the fourth edition of Reed’s Homophones: A Comprehensive Book of Sound-alike Words. It’s available here or through Amazon.com for just $17.95.