Book Review: The Sin Bin

Dale “Dukes” Duquesne is a washed-up hockey player by day and a ghost, monster, and demon hunter by night. After each away game, Dukes finds the local legend that goes bump in the night and takes it down, locking it away in the Sin Bin. When his daughter, Cat, discovers the truth about his demon hunting, it becomes her dream to follow in his footsteps.

As they work their first case together, Cat will learn Dukes’ biggest secret, though. He doesn’t hunt monsters out of the kindness of his heart. He’s searching for someone that was taken by monsters years ago…his wife, and Cat’s mother, Marta! Together, they hit the road to save mankind and reunite their family.

Book Review: Atmosphere

Joan Goodwin has been obsessed with the stars for as long as she can remember. Thoughtful and reserved, Joan is content with her life as a professor of physics and astronomy at Rice University. That is, until she comes across an advertisement seeking the first women scientists to join NASA’s space shuttle program. Suddenly, Joan burns to be one of the few people to go to space.

Selected from a pool of thousands of applicants in the summer of 1980, Joan begins training at Houston’s Johnson Space Center, alongside an exceptional group of fellow candidates. As the new astronauts become unlikely friends and prepare for their first flights, Joan finds a passion and a love she never imagined. In this new light, Joan begins to question everything she thinks she knows about her place in the observable universe. Then, in December of 1984, on mission STS-LR9, it all changes in an instant.

Book Review: Class Clown

How does the son of a Presbyterian minister wind up winning a Pulitzer Prize for writing a wildly inaccurate newspaper column read by millions of people?

Dave Berry began his journalism career at a small-town Pennsylvania newspaper where he learned the most important rule of local journalism: never confuse a goose with a duck. Somehow from there he wound up as a humor columnist for The Miami Herald, where his boss was a wild man who encouraged him to write about anything that struck him as amusing and to never worry about alienating anyone.

His columns slowly grew in popularity, but he quickly developed a loyal following of readers. He became a book author and joined a literary rock band, which was not good at playing music but did once perform with Bruce Springsteen, who sang backup to Dave. As for his literary merits, Dave writes: “I’ll never have the critical acclaim of, say, Marcel Proust. But was Marcel Proust ever on Carson? Did he ever steal a hotel sign for Oprah?”

Book Review: Wild Cards - House Rules

The island of Keun lies off the coast of Cornwall, connected to the mainland only by an ancient, tidal causeway. It is a magical place, where anything can happen. The mansion crowning the island is owned by Lord Branok, a mysterious billionaire who is also a wild card of some sort—but whether he is an ace, a joker or a knave, no one is quite sure.

Parties at Loveday House are legendary—for adventure, for intrigue, for love, for danger—and guests may take on whatever personae and masks they choose when they attend. Parts of the house seem to exist out of time, and the Wild Hunt is reputed to ride the island. And haunting the house is its original owner: a woman determined to regain control over her domain—by any means necessary.

Book Review: Underscore (The Vinyl Detective #8)

Italy is known for some of the greatest (and grooviest) music ever committed to vinyl, including a rich diversity of soundtracks. One of the composers of these was Valerius Passeri. No one disputes that Passeri was a genius. The argument is whether or not he was a murderer.

Passeri’s granddaughter Chloe has come to England to hire the Vinyl Detective. The mastertapes of the albums have been destroyed and she needs immaculate vinyl copies to provide the source for a series of reissues. She wants to preserve her grandfather’s heritage and also to clear his name.

The Vinyl Detective’s real job will be to find out who actually committed a murder, over half a century ago, in Swinging London. But the real killer is not enchanted with the notion of being exposed. And, having killed once before, they see no problem in doing so again.

Book Review: The Dashing Zaddy and His Icy Protégé 1

The second sales division at Itsuboshi Trading Company is headed up by Mr. Takanashi, one of the firm's top performer and a charismatic knockout at age 40. One of his subordinates is the equally hot, cool and calculating 26-year-old, Hiwatari. Practically every woman at the company has attempted to stir up an office romance with the magnetic Takanashi, but this dashing zaddy has turned them all down, because he secretly has ED! Meanwhile, Hiwatari seems like a scary robot on the outside, but he's actually looked up to Takanashi since he started working with him four years ago. When Hiwatari gets a chance to spend the evening with Takanashi, he reveals more than he means to!

The Dashing Zaddy and His Icy Protégé volume 1 by Fumito was published April 1, 2025. Kodansha Comics provided a galley for review.

Book Review: Honeko Akabane's Bodyguards 1

Delinquent high schooler Arakuni Ibuki is drafted to protect his childhood friend Honeko Akabane, the secret daughter of a yakuza leader. It’s no small task, especially when they’re up against hired assassins who also have just one job…to kill Honeko Akabane! Ibuki joins the elite corps of bodyguards that make up Class 3-4 of Sosoji High School. Akabane is oblivious to the elaborate covert operation surrounding her. Is this team of misfits really up for the job?!

Honeko Akabane's Bodyguards 1 by Masamitsu Nigatsu was published January 28, 2025. Kodansha Comics provided a galley for review.