Weekly Words About New Books in

Independent Bookstores


June 4, 2023

New Fiction: Gritty Crime Drama Oozing with Racial Tension and Fact-Based Story of A Female Physician in 15th-Century China

All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby. I remember finishing Cosby's last book, Razorblade Tears, and thinking that I might have found an exciting new voice in crime fiction. The plot featured an unlikely pairing of two fathers - one black, one white - who set out to avenge the deaths of their partnered gay sons. Part revenge thriller, part social commentary, and all good writing, the book resonated on several levels and became one of my Staff Picks at the bookstore where I work. All the Sinners Bleed will become another store favorite when it publishes on Tuesday.


Here's a one-line description: Racial tensions in a small Southern town impede a Black sheriff's determined search for a serial killer. That plot baseline runs throughout the book, as Sheriff Titus Crown and his deputies track the bad guy. But Cosby isn't content with just a police procedural, albeit an interesting one. He paints an evocative and gritty picture of Charon County, Virginia, and the simmering conflict between its white and black communities. In the middle of all this is Crown, a former FBI agent who has returned to his hometown, been elected sheriff, and revamped a bigoted police force. A year into the job, a troubled young Black man is shot by a police deputy, fueling already strained race relations. Vowing to follow the truth wherever it leads, Crown investigates the incident, only to have it lead to a darker series of killings.


In its starred review, Publishers Weekly called the novel "superb," and added, "The hard-edged storytelling is supplemented by richly developed characters, especially Titus and his family, and Cosby elegantly layers his narrative over Virginia's racial history, giving the proceedings uncommon emotional depth. This is easily the author's strongest work to date."

Lady Tan's Circle of Women by Lisa See. Born into a Chinese American family, See's ancestry has been the impetus for much of her writing over the years, including novels like The Island of Sea WomenThe Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane, and Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. In her latest work of historical fiction, she draws inspiration from the true story of a Ming dynasty woman physician from 15th-century China to tell a fascinating story of female friendship.


Tan Yunxian is being raised by her grandparents and schooled by her grandmother - one of only a handful of female doctors in China. She teaches Yunxian the pillars of Chinese medicine, the Four Examinations—looking, listening, touching, and asking—something a man can never do with a female patient. Yunxian also learns about women’s illnesses, many of which relate to childbearing, alongside a young midwife-in-training, Meiling. The two girls find a mutual purpose and vow to be forever friends.


But when Yunxian is sent into an arranged marriage, her mother-in-law forbids her from seeing Meiling and from helping the women and girls in the household. Yunxian is to act like a proper wife - embroider bound-foot slippers, recite poetry, give birth to sons, and stay within the walls of the family compound. How can Yunxian break free of these traditions and pursue her healing work, and can her friendship with Meiling play a role?


"Engrossing…rich…packed with historical detail…Women’s friendships in a world where they have little freedom shape a quietly moving book." — Kirkus Reviews

Now in Paperback, A Harrowing Childhood Migration

Solito: A Memoir by Javier Zamora. Salvadoran poet and activist Zamora saw his father flee El Salvador when he was one and saw his mother follow suit when he was five. Both 'migrations' were caused by U.S.-funded Salvadoran Civil War, and his debut poetry collection, Unaccompanied (2017), explores the impact of the war and immigration on his family. With Solito, he recounts his own migration - a 3,000-mile journey from his small town in El Salvador, through Guatemala and Mexico, and across the U.S. border. A harrowing trip under any circumstances, this one is more extraordinary because he was only nine years old at the time.   


Traveling alone with a group of strangers and the "coyote" hired to lead them to safety, Javier's trip is supposed to last two short weeks. He cannot foresee the perilous boat trips, relentless desert treks, pointed guns, arrests, and deceptions that await him; nor can he know that those two weeks will expand into two life-altering months alongside the group of strangers who will come to encircle him like an unexpected family. Solito is Zamora's story, but it's also the story of millions of others who have had no choice but to leave home.


In her review for The New York Times, Karla Cornejo Villavicencio wrote, "Solito is an important, beautiful work. Zamora treks through his own memories and nightmares, revisiting a childhood that was lost. His account reads like a reporter’s notebook; everything is described meticulously so that it can be remembered. Zamora writes like someone who cannot afford to forget."

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WHY THE COLUMN?


Hi, I'm Hut Landon,and I'm a bookseller in an independent bookstore in BerkeIey, CA.


My goal here is to keep readers up to date about new books hitting the shelves, share what indie booksellers are recommending in their stores, and pass on occasional news about the book world. 


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