Mariko Hewer
![Mariko Hewer](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/mariko.jpg)
Mariko Hewer is a freelance editor and writer. She is passionate about good books, good food, and good company. Find her occasional insights of varying quality on Twitter at @hapahaiku.
67 entries by Mariko Hewer
Beep: A Novel
By Bill Roorbach
![Beep: A Novel](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/beep.png)
A precocious monkey has a lot to say about us humans.
The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands: A Novel
By Sarah Brooks
![The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands: A Novel](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/thecautioustravellers.jpg)
Excessive ambiguity derails this ambitious train tale.
The Mars House: A Novel
By Natasha Pulley
![The Mars House: A Novel](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/themarshouse.jpg)
This queer, outer-space romance speaks to the human condition here on Earth.
This New Dark: A Novel
By Chase Dearinger
![This New Dark: A Novel](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/thisnewdark.png)
Literal and metaphorical storm clouds pervade this scary, hopeful tale.
The Road from Belhaven: A Novel
By Margot Livesey
![The Road from Belhaven: A Novel](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/theroadfrombelhaven.jpg)
This absorbing tale is both steeped in mystery and grounded in the everyday.
Who Owns This Sentence?: A History of Copyrights and Wrongs
By Alexandre Montagu and David Bellos
![Who Owns This Sentence?: A History of Copyrights and Wrongs](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/whoownsthissentence.png)
An astute survey of ever-evolving proprietorship laws.
Zero at the Bone: Fifty Entries Against Despair
By Christian Wiman
![Zero at the Bone: Fifty Entries Against Despair](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/zeroatthebone.jpg)
Meditations on faith, family, and life offer more hits than misses.
![Sins of the Shovel: Looting, Murder & the Evolution of American Archaeology](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/sinsoftheshovel.jpg)
An informative, uneven history of the digging-est science.
The Prospectors: A Novel
By Ariel Djanikian
![The Prospectors: A Novel](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/theprospectors.png)
This adventure falls short on likable characters but boasts an addictive plot.
We Have Always Been Who We Are
By Sofia T. Romero
![We Have Always Been Who We Are](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/wehavealwaysbeen.jpg)
Magical realism highlights the absurdities of life in this not-quite-cohesive collection.
Burr: A Novel
By Brooke Lockyer
![Burr: A Novel](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/burr.png)
This haunting, ethereal debut examines grief’s many manifestations.
Looking Glass Sound
By Catriona Ward
![Looking Glass Sound](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/lookingglasssound.jpg)
Killings and creepiness pervade a New England seaside town.
Vanishing Maps: A Novel
By Cristina García
![Vanishing Maps: A Novel](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/vanishing_2.jpg)
An intricate, rewarding portrait of a globe-spanning, multigenerational family.
The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder
By David Grann
![The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/thewager.jpg)
A rollicking yarn with more swells and dips than the ocean itself.
![All Else Failed: The Unlikely Volunteers at the Heart of the Migrant Aid Crisis](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/ALL-ELSE-FAILED-9781954276093-900x1350.jpg)
People in dire straits find allies amid the chaos.
![The Adventure of the Castle Thief and Other Expeditions and Indiscretions](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/castlethief.jpg)
This collection delights and mystifies in equal measure.
Hungry Ghosts: A Novel
By Kevin Jared Hosein
![Hungry Ghosts: A Novel](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/hungryghosts.jpg)
A mystery unfurls in the verdant, troubled Caribbean of the 1940s.
Bad Cree: A Novel
By Jessica Johns
![Bad Cree: A Novel](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/badcree.jpg)
A horror story with long-simmering revelations about family and death.
The Hollow Kind: A Novel
By Andy Davidson
![The Hollow Kind: A Novel](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/thehollowkind.jpg)
This atmospheric tale about a doomed family is a spooky delight.
Nights of Plague: A Novel
By Orhan Pamuk; translated by Ekin Oklap
![Nights of Plague: A Novel](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/nightsofplague.jpg)
This inventive tale of a long-ago contagion speaks to our world today.
Valley of Shadows: A Novel
By Rudy Ruiz
![Valley of Shadows: A Novel](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/valley.jpg)
A heavy dose of magical realism keeps the pages turning in this gritty, neo-Western mystery.
Dünkirchen 1940: The German View of Dunkirk
By Robert Kershaw
![Dünkirchen 1940: The German View of Dunkirk](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/dunkirchen.jpg)
This in-depth chronicle leans heavily on detail while providing novel insights.
The Bone Flower
By Charles Lambert
![The Bone Flower](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/theboneflower.jpg)
A racing plot and imaginative details deliver uneven results in this supernatural saga.
Reward System: Stories
By Jem Calder
![Reward System: Stories](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/rewardsystem.jpg)
This penetrating collection prompts reflection on how technology has forever changed us.
You Have a Friend in 10A: Stories
By Maggie Shipstead
![You Have a Friend in 10A: Stories](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/youhaveafriend.jpg)
This new collection will delight readers while keeping them on edge.
Book of Night
By Holly Black
![Book of Night](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/bookofnight.jpg)
Stumbles aside, this fast-paced occult thriller is a worthy read.
Life Without Children: Stories
By Roddy Doyle
![Life Without Children: Stories](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/lifewithoutchildren.jpg)
This collection of pandemic tales casts the lockdown in a new light.
No Gods, No Monsters: A Novel
By Cadwell Turnbull
![No Gods, No Monsters: A Novel](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/nogods.jpg)
This first book of a new trilogy is mystical, mythical — and a bit mystifying.
Nine Shiny Objects
By Brian Castleberry
![Nine Shiny Objects](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/Screenshot_(204).png)
This ambitious, multi-decade saga ultimately fails to connect all the dots.
Before Trans
By Rachel Mesch
![Before Trans](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/Screenshot_(163).png)
A fascinating analysis of identity, women’s rights, and literature as a transformative tool.
Fracture
By Andrés Neuman; translated by Nick Caistor and Lorenza Garcia
![Fracture](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/fracture.jpg)
A moving examination of love and human relationships in the face of calamity.
Competitive Grieving: A Novel
By Nora Zelevansky
![Competitive Grieving: A Novel](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/competitive.jpg)
Though it aims for pithy commentary on anguish, love, and growth, this story ultimately lacks a cohesive message.
Your Ad Could Go Here
By Oksana Zabuzhko
![Your Ad Could Go Here](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/yourad.jpg)
With some excavating, these tales yield up various nuggets of wisdom.
The Hare: A Novel
By Melanie Finn
![The Hare: A Novel](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/The-Hare-Melanie-Finn-cover_2048x2048.jpg)
A guileless young woman becomes ensnared by a malevolent conman.
Flyaway
By Kathleen Jennings
![Flyaway](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/Screenshot_(5).png)
Steeped in magical realism, this debut novel examines human nature and choice.
Nine Shiny Objects: A Novel
By Brian Castleberry
![Nine Shiny Objects: A Novel](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/Screenshot_(204).png)
This ambitious, multi-decade saga ultimately fails to connect all the dots.
![Before Trans: Three Gender Stories from Nineteenth-Century France](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/Screenshot_(163).png)
A fascinating analysis of identity, women’s rights, and literature as a transformative tool.
The Violinist of Venice: A Story of Vivaldi
By Alyssa Palombo
![The Violinist of Venice: A Story of Vivaldi](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/violinist.jpg)
Music, passion, and betrayal in 1700s Italy.
The Hummingbird: A Novel
By Stephen P. Kiernan
![The Hummingbird: A Novel](https://www.washingtonindependentreviewofbooks.com/assets/uploads/hummingbird.jpg)
Parallel narratives intertwine in this satisfying tale of love, loss, and redemption.