Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for this e-ARC.

What would you do if you discovered as an adult that your grandparents and aunt had been Nazi spies? That is what Christine Kuehn relates to us in “Family of Spies”. When she is in her 30s a documentary filmmaker approached her to confirm that her paternal grandfather had been a key German spy working with the Japanese in the run up to the attack on Pearl Harbor. This leads Ms. Kuehn on a 30-year journey of discovery that culminates in this book. Ms. Keuhn provides an engaging look at her family taking us back to pre-WWI and how her grandparents became involved in the Nazi party and revelations of near misses of both potential significant roles within the Nazi party and scrapes with death.

The book explores the German connection in the information gathering to plan the attack on Pearl Harbor, a historical fact that much to my chagrin had not been aware of. Further, Ms. Kuehn describes the training that Japanese soldiers went through, of which we would now describe as “radicalization” providing insight on their determined and unrelenting efforts in trying to conquer the Pacific.

Beyond the historical facts she brings to bear, she describing the dysfunctional family dynamics, especially of her father’s ability to compartmentalize that part of his life, from what appears to be shame.

While at times there are passages that appear to be redundant, I wholeheartedly recommend this read and encourage you to follow Ms. Kuehn’s journey.

Thank you to NetGalley and Catapult, Counterpoint Press, and Soft Skull Press for the e-ARC!

Originally published by Javier Moror in Spanish as “A prueba de fuego” in 2020, this new English language version comes via translator, Peter J. Hearn.

This work is technically historical fiction, as it is a biography of the real-life architect and builder, Rafael Guastavino (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafael_Guastavino), as told in an imaginary memoir style by his son Rafael. Spanning the decades from 1870s through the 1930s , but mostly focused on the era pre-dating WWI.

As both an architectural/public works and New York City aficionado, I found the book engaging and enjoyable, and was surprised I had never hear of Guastavino before. However, while it’s title states it’s a “novel” it reads much more like a memoir or biography, so reader beware.

This a fun, Scooby-Dooish romp set in and around a library in suburban Austin, where the “found family gang” end up needing to solve two murders. While the characters are fun along with the action, the preposterous co-incidences at the core of this novel, along with an unrealistic portrayal of a public library and librarians (I have been a librarian for 25 years and worked for a public library early in my career), lead me only to a 3-star, but recommended read. It was fun, and would make a great tv or streaming movie.

Thank you to Tor Publishing Group & NetGalley for ths e-ARC of Nicholas Binge’s “Extremity”

This is the second e-ARC book by Nicholas Binge that I have had the pleasure of reading this year! This novella was appropriately paced and an interesting read of 3 different first-person perspectives. Binge once again puts a new spin on time-travel. As not all plot-lines/explanations are wrapped up, it leaves me wondering is there more to come for this universe?

Enjoyable read for those who like police procedurals, as well as sci-fi/spec-fic.

Thank you to Fantagraphics Books and NetGalley for the e-ARC!

A contemplative journey through a series of vignette (semi-interconnected) that explores the nighttime and our dreaming. Wonderfully illustrated with a sparse amount text, letting the pictures set the mood and tell the story(ies).

Towards the end there was some text that particularly resonated with me and my feelings about the night: “The night does not belong to us. She harbors her own mysteries. Inhabited by convergences and divergences, fears and longings, readings and prayers one night bides its time to be the last, but meanwhile, they will be fleeting, endless, nightmarish, overwhelming…”

This was a brief, quick read that lingers, and could be re-read multiple times, providing different and/or deeper meaning and perspective.

Thank you to Drawn and Quarterly and NetGalley for the e-ARC.

Another delightful romp from the mind of Tom Gauld, author of “Revenge of the Librarians” and “Department of Mind-Blowing Theories” among others! This time it is a collection of his comics with a science-bent. A quick read, where I found myself chuckling and laughing out loud! I highly recommend this or any of his works.

Thank you to IDW Publishing | Top Shelf Productions and NetGalley for this e-ARC.

An engaging, sweet and nostalgic tale of Halloween/Samhaim to in verse and beautifully illustrated with strategically minimal colors! The story of a young girls who’s parents are dental professionals who do not like the Halloween holiday, and the help she receives from the Halloween Spoops spirits.

What really struck me was the artwork; the drawings only utilized orange, yellow and gray tones that truly evoked Halloween. Further, the style had an old-timey, nostalgic appearance, which the illustrator commented on in her bio, that that was the intent.

A great read that I recommend for this Halloween/Samhaim holiday season for kidz of all ages!

Thank you to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic | Atlantic Monthly Press for the e-ARC.

This was a captivating, raw, emotional memoir of a wildland firefighter. It focuses on the years that River Selby was engaged in that profession, as well providing insight into their life and troubled family life that led them to that profession for nearly a decade in the early 2000s, as well as their struggles with mental health and bulimia. Along the way it explores the natural history of the American West and the way we have mismanaged the land (and fire) that now combined with climate change is leading to evermore destructive wildland fires. It further documents the rough life, low-waged aspect of this seasonal type of work, as well as the misogynistic culture they endured during their time in the service.

As the father of a firefighter/paramedic, I found the details of how wildland firefighters go about fighting fires fascinating.

River Selby’s prose is engaging in a way that while you know they are now in a PhD program and have written this book, their is a bit of that “edge of the seat suspense” that has you rooting for them to succeed, and concerned they won’t.

Finally, I not only appreciated the fact that they included a bibliography, but also a suggested further reading list.

I highly recommend this read!