))
With an eye on reviewing fiction and nonfiction that has regional resonance for Connecticut or Long Island, Joan Baum considers the timeliness and significance of recently published work: what these books have to say to a broad group of readers today and how they say it in a distinctive or unique manner, taking into account style and structure as well as subject matter.
…
continue reading
In the latest installment of author Claudia Riess’ art-history murder-mystery series, Dying for Monet a coveted Monet still life goes missing and the art dealer selling the work is found dead. WSHU’s Culture Critic Joan Baum read it. Here's her review.By Joan Baum
…
continue reading
It looks like an idyllic historic Connecticut college town with students, professors, and coffee houses. But lurking under the surface is a sinister hedge fund billionaire pulling the strings. And when a co-ed turns up dead, that facade begins to crack. That’s the plot of author Michael Ledwidge’s latest thriller, No Safe Place. Book critic Joan Ba…
…
continue reading
They’re an unlikely pair. She’s a widow from the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. He’s a US veteran working as a private detective in Wyoming. But they’re both survivors of war. And that history binds this investigative team together as they work to bring a killer to justice. WSHU’s Culture Critic Joan Baum says the characters and plot of author Paul Barra…
…
continue reading
It’s not easy being a successful professional woman working for the NFL. For Poppy Benjamin, it gets a lot harder when the coach she works with is found dead. Now Poppy has to manage the growing negative press coverage while memories of bad choices from her past keep bubbling up. WSHU’s Culture Critic Joan Baum says, the new suspenseful novel, The …
…
continue reading
A Manhattan psychiatrist becomes embroiled in a high-profile mob hit when a new patient casually asks him a loaded question. Now Dr. Bill Madrian has to make himself disappear before the Mafia does. Will he survive? WSHU’s Book Critic Joan Baum read this new suspenseful thriller. Here’s her review.By Joan Baum
…
continue reading
A Dutch national bank gets swindled out of a fortune by one of its bankers. It wasn’t a crime of greed but an act of resistance. This historic case is documented in a book that has just been translated into English. Our book critic Joan Baum read it and has this review.By Joan Baum
…
continue reading
She lost the man she planned to marry. Her grief gets her kicked out of her oncology unit. And now young doctor Lark Smith struggles to heal her life and career. The head surgeon of the hospital, “Dr. Satan,” offers her a deal. But he hates her. Is Lark willing to pay the price to get her job back?By Joan Baum
…
continue reading
In her new book, When Women Ran Fifth Avenue: Glamour and Power at the Dawn of American Fashion, journalist and author Julie Satow reveals the stories of three women who elevated fashion and the retail industry during the golden age of department stores in New York City.By Joan Baum
…
continue reading
The handsome new oversized book A Year in the Vineyard by Sophie Menin and Bob Chaplin, takes readers on an international romp to explore the life cycle of grapes, vines and wines. Book critic Joan Baum has this review.By Joan Baum
…
continue reading
A high-end investment firm in Connecticut is the backdrop for a new murder mystery novel. And its author may surprise you. WSHU's book critic Joan Baum has this review.By Joan Baum
…
continue reading
A rodent rejuvenates the life of a woman who has given up on living. That’s the heart of the new novel Sipsworth, by New York-based writer Simon Van Booy. Book critic Joan Baum has this review.By Joan Baum
…
continue reading
The Mark Twain classic, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn gets a fresh retelling in Percival Everett’s new work: James: A Novel. This time we see the story through the eyes of Jim/James, a man who escapes slavery to keep his family together. Everett shares a deeply complex James who code-switches to survive. Here' WSHU’s Culture Critic Joan Baum's…
…
continue reading
A sinister underground entity builds babies with stolen DNA. Meanwhile, celebrities, with “desirable traits" hire biotech detectives to keep their genetic material safe. But will it work? WSHU's Book Critic Joan Baum has this review.By Joan Baum
…
continue reading
What is the creative process? How does art get made? These are some of the questions a new book by former New York magazine editor Adam Moss strives to answer. Our book critic Joan Baum has this review.By Joan Baum
…
continue reading
Essayist Arthur Krystal shares his reflections on aging, cultural appropriation, and oversharing on social media in his latest publication. Book critic Joan Baum has this review.By Joan Baum
…
continue reading
Yale University Press has published a catalog highlighting rarely-seen drawings and prints by the pre-eminent Renaissance Italian painter, Botticelli. Book critic Joan Baum has this review.By Joan Baum
…
continue reading
In her latest novel, The Vixen Amber Holloway, New York author Carol LaHines crafts a tense psychological tale where a Dante scholar descends into her own personal hell. Our book critic, Joan Baum, had this review.By Joan Baum
…
continue reading
A group of ultra-right extremists in New York City organized to overthrow the U.S. government. And they nearly succeed. It was just one plot in a broad effort to replace Democracy with Fascism in the 1940’s. Our book critic Joan Baum read all about it in journalist Rachel Maddow’s latest work, Prequel.…
…
continue reading
Joanne Leedom-Ackerman used to teach writing at NYU and CCNY. Now she is a Vice President of PEN International and the author of a new political thriller. Book critic Joan Baum has this review.By Joan Baum
…
continue reading
