BEAUTIFUL BLOOD, the new, short novel from the late, great Lucius Shepard, is the story of a Latin American drug dealer.  Although trained as a physician, the book’s protagonist, Richard Rosacher, stumbles upon a substance whose efficacy suggests an alternative, ...

THERE'S SOMETHING ALMOST non-descript about the title of Nathan Ballingrud’s excellent new collection of stories, North American Lake Monsters. It’s as if we’re being presented with a field guide — albeit, an eccentric one — rather than a selection of ...

TAUT AND COMPELLING, Motherless Child, Glen Hirshberg’s excellent new novel, begins with a pair of young, single mothers out for a night of music at a local club. Aficionados of classic American pop musical as embodied by Howlin’ ...