Book Review: The Hidden Staircase

A haunted mansion, eerie happenings, thefts, and a search for her missing father—amateur teen sleuth Nancy Drew braves secret tunnels and sinister suspects in this thrilling classic from the 1930s. The suspense builds to a spine-tingling crescendo when she discovers cryptic clues, unraveling the truth behind ghostly events and a hidden staircase. Will Nancy’s fearless detective work expose the mansion’s chilling secrets and unmask the villain behind them? A spooky page-turner for mystery lovers of any age!

Nancy Drew Mysteries book 2: The Hidden Staircase by Carolyn Keene will be republished June 16, 2026. Dover Publications provided a galley for review.

Book Review: The Secret of the Old Clock

She’s smart, fearless, and always one step ahead of the mystery. An enduring symbol of wit, courage, and girl power for generations, teenage amateur sleuth Nancy Drew makes her iconic debut in Book no. 1 of this legendary series. When a missing will could change the fortunes of the kind Turner family, Nancy races against time to uncover clues and outsmart the scheming Topham family. Originally published by Grosset & Dunlap in the 1930s, this captivating mystery, written under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene, continues to fascinate millions of readers.

Nancy Drew Mysteries book 1: The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene was republished May 19, 2026. Dover Publications provided a galley for review.

Book Review: The Side Questers

Anya Dazel is a burnt-out barkeep in Eternity: The Endless Realm, the world’s premier online role-playing game. As a non-player character, her life is stuck in a programmed loop—forever serving the same drinks to the same patrons and helping players with an automatic quest event that unfolds when they enter her pub. She longs for any disruption to this monotonous existence, even if that feels like an impossible dream.

But when Eternity receives an update, and Cyrus Blackwood is added to Anya’s pub, her dream unfurls as a nightmare. Cyrus is everything that Anya is not—a mysterious, brooding warrior with a gigantic sword and a tortured past. Everyone in the tavern is fascinated by him, and even worse, when the next player arrives, it’s Cyrus who helps them with their quest, not Anya. Realizing that she’s being replaced, Anya lashes out at Cyrus, inadvertently knocking them both out of her tavern and into the wider realm of Eternity.

Book Review: Dick Tracy volume 2

Still reeling from the fallout of the bloody gang war that gripped the city, Detective Dick Tracy has little time to recover as he confronts a series of grisly murders. With bodies piling up, a newly deputized Pat must grapple with his new path, and Tess makes a startling discovery--all kicking off the must-read second arc of one of the most acclaimed new series of the year!

Dick Tracy volume 2 by Alex Segura, Michael Moreci, and Geraldo Borges, was published on July 1, 2025, by Mad Cave Studios.

Book Review: Too Much Too Young

In 1979, 2 Tone exploded into the national conscience as records by The Specials, The Selecter, Madness, The Beat, and The Bodysnatchers burst onto the charts and a youth movement was born. 2 Tone was black and a multi-racial force of British and Caribbean island musicians singing about social issues, racism, class and gender struggles. It spoke of injustices in society and took fight against right wing extremism.

The music of 2 Tone was white youth learning to dance to the infectious rhythm of ska and reggae; and crossed with a punk attitude to create an original hybrid. The idea of 2 Tone was born in Coventry, masterminded by a middle-class art student raised in the church. Jerry Dammers had a vision of an English Motown.

Book Review: Marvel Dimensions

The story opens with a sweeping tour through the classic origins of Marvel’s most iconic characters. Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Wolverine, and many others appear in dramatic, fully painted spreads that echo their earliest stories. A narrator describes each moment with confidence, guiding the reader through these touchstones of Marvel’s history. But as the story moves forward, the tone begins to shift. The voice behind the narration is not who the readers expect and carries a motive that slowly pushes the narrative somewhere darker and far more unpredictable.

Once this change becomes clear, the book expands into something larger and more surprising. Storylines twist in on themselves, characters behave in unexpected ways, and events ripple across the Marvel Universe with growing tensions. Ross uses the structure of the book to create anticipation and pull the reader deeper into a mystery that keeps widening. Every new sequence reveals another layer, building toward a final act that reframes everything that came before it.

Book Review: Eternally Electric

Debbie Gibson was just sixteen when she released her multi-platinum debut album Out of the Blue and recorded “Foolish Beat” in 1988, making her the youngest person to ever write, produce, and perform a Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper. A child actress who became the original pop princess, Debbie had full creative control over her music and, when that no longer aligned with a transitioning arts scene, she went on to star in Broadway’s Les Misérables, Beauty and the Beast, and Cabaret, as well as in the London production of Grease. Yet, for all the accolades and achievements, her success came at a high price.