1. Tara Laskowski’s review of The Maid: A Novel by Nita Prose (Ballantine Books). “The work that goes into an immaculate hotel room often goes unnoticed. One walks into the finished product and appreciates its elegant simplicity, everything crisp and delightful and new. This is how I feel about The Maid, Nita Prose’s short-but-memorable debut crime novel. It’s such a pleasure to experience, readers won’t realize all the behind-the-scenes hard work that goes into crafting such a fun and surprising mystery.”


2. Adam Schwartz’s review of Hell of a Book: A Novel by Jason Mott (Dutton). “Just over a third of the way into Jason Mott’s Hell of a Book, the narrator describes the wood-burning heater in his childhood home as having ‘more tricks than a carful of monkeys.’ One could say the same about Mott’s wonderful new novel itself. Hell of a Book is many things: part send-up of the publishing industry, part road-trip comedy, part metafictional sleight of hand. But at its core, the novel is a harrowing and powerful meditation on racial injustice and its effects on the human psyche.”


3. Jennifer Bort Yacovissi’s review of The Lincoln Highway: A Novel by Amor Towles (Viking). “As with any good odyssey, this one is peopled with characters who flit through the story in cameos to move the plot, thwart progress, or add flavor. There is the wise, patient Sister Agnes; the malevolent Pastor John; an actual Ulysses separated from his wife and son and wandering the country; Emmett’s bunkmate from Salina, Townhouse; Professor Abacus Abernathe, whose book of adventurers Billy keeps close and reads aloud for any who will listen; Woolly’s suffering but loving sister Sarah…and a large cast of others. Arguably, that cast is a tad too large, and some of the stories range too far afield, but this is Amor Towles in an antic mood, and many of his readers will be willing to follow him wherever he leads.”


4. “It’s an All-Star Lineup!” “The 2022 Washington Writers Conference is thrilled to welcome you back in person on May 13-14! In addition to our one-on-one agent-pitch sessions, we’ll have an exciting array of panels covering everything from the business of writing to specialized craft workshops. Just who will be there? We’re glad you asked!”


5. Eugene L. Meyer’s review of Black Cloud Rising: A Novel by David Wright Faladé (Grove Press). “Richard’s white half-sister Sarah teaches him to read and write, in violation of North Carolina law, and corresponds with him after he has left the manor to fight for the Union and freedom. But, again, his enslaved mother provides a reality check: In letting Sarah school Richard, his owner/father had merely ‘allowed his daughter a pet to play with of a Sunday afternoon.’ Tellingly, the white Etheridges call the young man Dick, with a presumed familiarity, while he is Richard among his own people.”

Click here to get our free biweekly e-newsletter, and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest! And if you’d like to advertise with us, click here.