“As sobering and as urgent as tomorrow’s headlines, this searing novel by Edgar-finalist McDonald traces the struggle of the residents of fictional New Austin, Ohio, to cope with out-of-control illegal Latino immigrants. McDonald deftly balances his “now” against the “then” backstory as he dissects one of America’s most tormenting social problems.“—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

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About the Book: A tour of the 1950s and 1960s recounts the author’s coming-of-age experiences in a period torn between idealism and despair, chronicling his journey between Baltimore and Haight-Ashbury and his witness to the historical events of the time.This classic novel, the 1972 winner of a National Endowment for the Arts Award, turns, providing an essential companion piece to The King of Cards. Illuminated by the author’s personal experiences, this authentic coming-of-age novel presents a cavalcade of memorable characters and adventures.A tour of the 1950s and 1960s recounts the author’s coming-of-age experiences in a period torn between idealism and despair, chronicling his journey between Baltimore and Haight-Ashbury and his witness to the historical events of the time.

This classic novel, the 1972 winner of a National Endowment for the Arts Award, turns, providing an essential companion piece to The King of Cards. Illuminated by the author’s personal experiences, this authentic coming-of-age novel presents a cavalcade of memorable characters and adventures.

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About the book:

Angry 16 year-old misfit Mikal Fanon has just joined a gang of Neo-Nazi skinheads for reasons that are not entirely clear to him. He is taken in by the leader of the gang, Richard, and the two become fast (and best) friends. Emboldened by his new-found sense of belonging Mikal finds himself committing horrible acts of violence without a second thought. But two women threaten to tear his world apart–a gorgeous and passionate young Black activist on campus named Niani Shange, to whom Mikal finds himself hopelessly attracted, and Sherry Nicolas, Richard’s new girlfriend who seems to be driving a wedge between the two young skinheads . . .

Sherry Nicolas, awkward, shy, and away from home for the first time in her life, finds comfort in a brand new circle of friends and a handsome new boyfriend–the charming and charismatic Richard Lovecraft. Richard leads Sherry into a wild, thrilling, fast-paced lifestyle that is also dangerous and troubling . . . the violent “white power” underground. Though very much in love with Richard, Sherry finds herself increasingly fascinated by a group of young leftist radicals on campus lead by Niani Shange and her platonic best friend, the rather ghoulish and unstable Jack Curry.

Sherry’s (and Mikal’s) attraction to these two radically opposite–yet eerily similar–forces threatens to throw fuel on an already smoldering fire, leading to a bloody and explosive end. Who will survive and who will be burned?

Here’s a brief description of the book:

It is the autumn of 1999. A year has passed since Lucy Darby’s unexpected death, leaving her husband David and son Whitley to mend the gaping hole in their lives. David, a trauma-site cleanup technician, spends his nights expunging the violent remains of strangers, helping their families to move on, though he is unable to do the same. Whitley – an 11 year-old social pariah known simply as The Kid – hasn’t spoken since his mother’s death. Instead, he communicates through a growing collection of notebooks, living in a safer world of his own silent imagining.

“O’Connor’s prose is as beautifully terse as his plot…It’s an affecting mix, squeezing the reader’s emotions so that when the myth of the “perfect” family begins to dissolve through flashbacks, it feels like the inevitable waking from a halcyon dream.”–Booklist

Here’s a brief description of the book:

After five years of self-imposed exile on the rivers of America, trout bum Ned “Dog” Oglivie has burned his waders and hat, given away his rod, and turned his Cruise Master RV away from the famous Hemingway water in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, bound for reconciliation with his past. But some men never make it home.

“Michael Decastro, a former public defender, reunites with Tuki Aparecio, the half-Vietnamese, half-African-American diva who has already broken his heart — twice — in previous installments of this operatic and sexy crime series. In this, the sixth novel in the series, powerfully ambivalent images of the Vietnam War conjure an effective backdrop — and may well send you back to read book one.”

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Here’s what Library Journal had to say about it–

“At the beginning of a bleak February in San Diego, Noah, an independent, surfer PI, is feeling fairly content; alas, his life is in tatters by the 28th. Shelby’s third entry (after Wicked Break) catches you from the first wave, when Noah learns his father, whom he has never met, is on San Quentin’s Death Row. After the woman who told Noah about his father turns up dead, Noah is compelled to pursue a past he’s always chosen to ignore. Soon Noah is crisscrossing San Diego’s inner realms, fighting with local casino thugs and trying not to panic Mexican immigrants in El Centro, who’d just as soon have him go away. Noah’s first-person narrative makes his confusion very personal, and the fear factor ratchets up with each chapter. With plenty of twists and a startling, compelling pace, this mystery will make readers hope Noah finds some justice in the bad set he’s inherited. Hard-boiled but not quite as noir as Don Winslow or Kem Nunn, Shelby’s book will appeal to Robert Crais fans for the sense of place and the lonely world the protagonists occupy.”