The end of the year is when we take a look at local books that have made an impression. The categories tend to blur, with historical fiction blending with mystery and romance.
“One of Us” is Cleveland Heights author Dan Chaon’s magnificent new horror fantasy. A quiet Akron street in 1965 is the setting for “In the Family Way,” Cleveland native Laney Katz Becker’s novel about the divisive subject of reproductive rights. Kent author Julie Hatcher’s romance “Not Quite by the Book” finds a lonely Massachusetts bookseller who uproots her life to move to Amherst with the intention of renting a historic manor and emulating her idol, Emily Dickinson.
In mystery and crime, another divisive issue, immigration, is faced in “Danger No Problem” and “Sunday or the Highway,” the first two books in the fine Domingo the Bounty Hunter mystery series by Cindy Fazzi. “The Mailman,” a thriller by Columbus writer Andrew Welsh-Huggins, is about a freelance courier who just wants to deliver a package.
Many fine books are part of established series. “Rage” is 17th in Linda Castillo’s exciting Kate Burkholder series about a police chief in a small Holmes County town. “A Grave Deception” is the sixth book in Delaware County author Connie Berry’s series about an American antiques dealer and occasional private investigator who solves mysteries in England. “Not Who We Expected” is fourth in the Locard Institute series by Lisa Black, former forensic scientist at the Cuyahoga County Coroner’s Office. “The Chow Maniac” is 12th in the Noodle Shop Mystery series by Cleveland author Vivien Chien.
“The Last Hitman” is a masterful crime novel by Columbus author Robin Yocum. Shelley Shepard Gray acknowledges that her romantic thriller “Unshaken” was inspired by the 1985 film “Witness.”
Laura Freeman’s historical romance “Sailing Into a Storm” brings a reluctant English bride to colonial America, with romance and villainy. David Nypaver’s historical novel “Defend Us in Battle” pits an evil Civil War soldier against a diffident priest who finds courage when it is most needed.
“I Died for Beauty” and Not They Who Soar” are, respectively, third in Amanda Flower’s series about Emily Dickinson and second in a series about the Wright Brothers’ younger sister Katharine, both solving mysteries. “Let’s Call Her Barbie” by Akron native Renée Rosen tells the story of an American icon.
In “False Flag,” first book in the announced Behind the Curtain series by David Axson, a man is recruited to spy for the British Foreign Service.
“The Nature of Our Times: Poems on America’s Lands, Waters, Wildlife, and Other Natural Wonders” is a collection by 210 well-known poets, addressing the initiative of the National Nature Assessment.
In nonfiction, “Why Can’t This Team Just Find a Quarterback? And Other Thoughts About Life in Browns Town” by sportswriter Terry Pluto echoes the lamentation of legions of fans who can’t understand why things keep going south. “Just Play Like You Do in the Basement: Coming of Age as the Drummer for the Greatest Entertainer in the World,” a memoir about Rick Porrello’s stint in the band of Sammy Davis Jr., beginning when Porrello was just 18.
In “Peace, Love & Subs: The True Cosmic Dave Story,” Dave Lombardy explains his path from privileged childhood to restaurant entrepreneur. “In the Rearview Mirror” by former Cleveland resident Lee Livingston is a lively memoir with deep observations about the nature of friendship. Akron author James Renner tells a harrowing story in “Scout Camp: Sex, Death, and Secret Societies Inside the Boy Scouts of America.”
“Strangely Marvelous Creatures” follows “Strangely Marvelous Stories” in a series of essay collections. “Creatures” contains stories by 15 writers, more than half with local connections.
“The Death of Mountains” by Kenyon College graduate Jordan Kurella is an imaginative and poetic allegory of Appalachia, victim of the scars left by mines and roads.
Tom Allio, David DiMenico and Don Ursetti’s “The Goomba Chronicles” is a raucous jewel of a book about growing up in an idyllic spot called North Hill. “The Boys of Rubber City” by Wooster resident Steven Richard Smith captures a Firestone Park boyhood in the early 1970s, without video games and the internet. The road trip Lee Livingston and his best friend Bob “Dango” Lyons took in 1961 involved hitchhiking, trainhopping and a ride with a convicted murder. “In the Rearview Mirror” by Livingston, a the former Cleveland resident, is a lively memoir with deep observations about the nature of friendship.
Former Front Row marketing and publicity director Jeannie Emser Schultz has written “As the Stage Turned: A Front Row Theatre Memoir,” a juicy behinds-the-scenes look.
Some fine children’s books came our way: In Hudson children’s author Jashar Awan’s brilliant storybook “Towed by Toad,” Toad is too busy to eat breakfast: “No time, Pop! Can’t stop!” Peninsula husband-and-wife team Frank Tupta and Lindsay Ward wrote “Best Day Ever!,” in which the days are all jumbled up.
“Making Light Bloom: Clara Driscoll and the Tiffany Lamps,” a storybook by Sandra Nickel, introduces the Tallmadge native Driscoll to children aged 7-10. Stow children’s author Gloria G. Adams knows this, and her “Color Me Skye” is an imaginative take on the developing emotions of a young girl.
Email information about books of local interest and event notices at least two weeks in advance to beaconbooktalk@gmail.com. I tweet at @BarbaraMcI.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Ohio authors shine in romance, mystery and nonfiction | Book Talk
Reporting by Barbara McIntyre, Special to USA TODAY NETWORK – Ohio / Akron Beacon Journal
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