Malasz

Nonfiction Doughboys, carrier pigeons, and blind luck NEVER IN FINER COMPANY: The Men of the Great War's Lost Battalion By Edward G. Lengel 368 pp. Da Capo Reviewed By William C. Crawford War produces instantaneous heroes as well as those who percolate up to public prominence over time. The men of the Lost Battalion fall squarely into both camps. This book illustrates how makeshift, multiethnic, military units made up of mostly poor, Gotham City soldiers rose up to demonstrate surprising battlefield valor during the Great War. When the Yanks were surrounded with no food and little ammunition, our boys had a plucky way of shifting the odds miraculously back in their favor. They stuck together and leaned on their New York City roots. Blind luck and a wounded carrier pigeon also played into this saga, but mostly dogged personal determination overcame blatant command mistakes to produce a gripping rescue of US soldiers hopelessly trapped in the Argonne Forest. A disparate...

Fiction What if they’d gone underground? THE MIDDLEMAN By Olen Steinhauer 368 pp. Minotaur Reviewed by Sarah Corbett Morgan What if the Occupy movement, or Bernie Sanders for that matter, had gone underground and formed a political terrorist cell after the 2016 election? What if, in an eerie and nonviolent way, thousands of young people quietly walked away from society—disappeared—and caused a local and ultimately national news sensation?  What if corrupt FBI agents then infiltrate the terrorist cell? These are the premises of Olen Steinhauer's new novel, The Middleman . Author of ten other books, plus the acclaimed TV series,  Berlin Station , he has written a thriller for these troubled times. The story unfolds in 2017-18 and Trump is president. Left-wing groups and protesting in the streets, the FBI is aware and monitoring the situation. Martin Bishop, the charismatic leader of the terrorist group, the Massive Brigade, is a wanted man, and FBI agent Rac...

--> Fiction And I picked the place myself DIG YOUR GRAVE A Gus Parker and Alex Mills Novel By Steven Cooper 368 pp. Seventh Street Books Reviewed by Eric Petersen Mystery writer Steven Cooper returns with the second novel in his new mystery series featuring an unlikely pair of sleuths, and it’s even better than the first entry, Desert Remains , which is also reviewed on this site. Whenever Phoenix homicide detective Alex Mills is tasked with investigating a bizarre and brutal murder, he turns to his close friend, eccentric psychic Gus Parker, for help – something the police department likes to keep on the down low in these cynical times. Gus is not your typical psychic, as “some people regard him as an aging hippie himself, what with his long raffish hair, the beaded bracelets, the occasional Yoga class, and of course, the psychic visions.” His psychic powers began manifesting when he was a teenager; his visions are unpredictable, varying from clairvoyance to precognition. He n...

Hope Anderson is at a crossroads. After six years with her boyfriend, she is no longer sure what she wants, and when her father becomes ill she heads to her family's cottage at Sunset Beach in North Carolina to make some difficult decisions. Tru Walls has been summoned across an ocean from where he was born and raised in Zimbabwe by a letter from a man claiming to be his father. In journeying to Sunset Beach, Tru hopes to unravel the mystery surrounding his mother's life, but the letter will lead him in an unexpected direction. When these two strangers' paths cross, their chance encounter sets in motion a heart-breaking story - one that will transcend decades, continents and the workings of fate.  Nicholas Sparks always produces such deep and emotional novels that feel so real that it is no surprise that they end up on our screens. His latest release Every Breath is quite simply a beautiful fuss free storyline that is based on a real life romance which only adds to the em...