Sunday Surprise!

Phoenix Noir edited by Patrick Millikin

Patrick Millikin…as if to prove his witty claim that ‘sunshine is the new noir,’ offers one superb specimen, ‘Whiteout on Van Buren,’ in which [author] Don Winslow makes skillful use of a city street at high noon to provide the perfect metaphor for life and death.”—New York Times Book Review

Brand-new stories by: Diana Gabaldon, Lee Child, James Sallis, Luis Alberto Urrea, Jon Talton, Megan Abbott, Charles Kelly, Robert Anglen, Patrick Millikin, Laura Tohe, Kurt Reichenbaugh, Gary Phillips, David Corbett, Don Winslow, Dogo Barry Graham, and Stella Pope Duarte.

The Psychology of Superheroes: An Unauthorized Exploration from Benbella Books (Psychology of Popular Culture series)

Unmasking superhuman abilities and double lives, this analysis showcases nearly two dozen psychologists as their essays explore the minds of pop culture’s most intriguing and daring superheroes, including Spider-Man, Batman, Superman, and the X-Men. Exposing the inner thoughts that these reclusive heroes would only dare share with trained professionals, heady experts give detailed psychoanalyses of what makes specific superheroes tick while answering such questions as Why do superheroes choose to be superheroes? Why is there so much prejudice against the X-Men mutants? What makes Spider-Man so altruistic? and Why are supervillains so aggressive? Additionally, the essays tackle why superheroes have such an enduring effect on American culture.

Solitaire Mongoose by Mosi Tyrone Wells

Solitarie Mongoose is an action-packed thriller that follows the life of F.B.I. agent Mosi Wells. There is nothing superhuman about him nor is he a superhero. Every aspect of his life is real as he walks, runs, ducks, and dodges all types of bullets through a labyrinth of danger and intrigue designed by the very people who hired him.

Wells was sent to the penitentiary as a young, naïve nineteen-year-old. He learned to focus and harness his energies while in prison and became too much of a threat to national security, so he was transferred from the state system to the federal system so the secrets his mind contains can be guarded more closely.

After his release, a power-crazed ex-U.S. Marshal and current drug lord for the Ricardo Santiago drug cartel chases Wells for five years but cannot catch him because Wells used his wits, resources, and Mongoose-like agility to stay alive long enough to retrieve information on Manuel De La Osa that exonerates him of being a fugitive from justice and an escaped felon.

After suffering so much and so long, Wells is finally given a reprieve. Edward Shelton gives him money, authority, and the opportunity to start a new life, but all this isn’t because he is well liked. The opportunity is given to him because they can’t kill him, as Manuel tried, so they assign him to a unit in the F.B.I. so he can go undercover and die in the line of duty.

But Wells is truly ”nickel slick” and can see through muddy waters with a blindfold on, and so he embarks on this new life of murder, lies, and deception. He places the pieces together bit by bit as he tries to live his newfound life, but as the day of resurrection is upon him, the ending of this thriller is only the beginning of a mystical tale of ancient faith, truths, and much confusion that spirals into a greater force as Wells goes deeper inside his own mind by finding and collecting the clues.

About Jackie 3282 Articles
I am a 30-something SAHM with two adorable boys and a supportive husband who is very tolerant of my reading addiction. I love to read and easily go through about a dozen books a month – well I did before I had kids. Now, not so much. After my first son was born, I began to take my hobby of reviewing a little more serious and started Literary Escapism to help with my sanity. I love to discuss the fabulous novels I’ve read and meeting all the wonderful people in the book blogging community has been amazing.

1 Comment

  1. Now this sounds like a book with a different twist in it. Like if you can’t beat them..join them but in the opposite way. Very interesting. susan L.

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