In 8th Day, the stakes become incredibly personal and chaotic for Cassidy James. The plot kicks off with the abduction of a troubled child and the simultaneous disappearance of a beloved local teacher. As Cassidy digs into these twin mysteries, she uncovers a far-reaching and deadly conspiracy that threatens the stability of her entire community. … Read more
In A Circle of Friends, Lindsay Welsh moves away from the short-story format of her previous collections to deliver a singular, interconnected narrative centered on a group of women in a sleepy seaside town. The plot follows a diverse circle of friends as they navigate the shifting boundaries between platonic companionship and romantic desire. At … Read more
In 69 Barrow Street, Sheldon Lord (Lawrence Block) delivers another slice of mid-century Greenwich Village life, blending the “small town in a big city” atmosphere with the transgressive edge typical of 1960s pulp. The story centers on a specific address that serves as a crossroads for a variety of “lost souls” and bohemians. While the … Read more
In 50 Gay and Lesbian Books Everybody Must Read, Richard Canning curates an essential roadmap through the queer literary landscape. Rather than a simple list, the book is a collection of fifty succinct essays written by a diverse group of critics, authors, and public figures. These contributors dive into works ranging from the ancient (like … Read more
In 21 Gay Street, Sheldon Lord (a pseudonym for mystery legend Lawrence Block) provides a voyeuristic, “beatnik” look at Greenwich Village life in the late 1950s. The story follows Joyce Kendall, a fresh-faced college graduate from Iowa who arrives in New York for a job at a “true confessions” magazine. She finds a room in … Read more
In 13 Bullets, David Wellington strips away the romanticized, sparkly tropes of modern vampires and returns to something much grittier and more terrifying. The story follows Laura Caxton, a federal marshal who gets pulled into a nightmare when a routine traffic stop reveals that the vampires everyone thought were extinct are very much alive—and incredibly … Read more
In (Sem)Erotics, Elizabeth Meese pushes past traditional literary boundaries to explore the intimate friction between language and lesbian desire. Rather than offering a dry academic study or a straightforward story, she treats the act of writing itself as an erotic performance. The book reads like a deep, intellectual meditation where the “lesbian” isn’t just a … Read more