And the Creek Don’t Rise
R.M. Gilmore. Mac Gille Mhur, $24.95 (372p)
ISBN 978-1-73586-351-1
Seamlessly blending horror, fantasy, and
Southern small-town life, Gilmore ( 17
Marigold Lane) crafts a hauntingly beautiful
world. Lynnie Russell is turning 20 and
hopes to finally leave Havana, Ark., where
she lives with her brother, Garrett. Her days
are spent working at the gas station, her
nights drinking at Maldoon’s bar with
Garrett; her best friend, Hattie; and
Garrett’s best friend (and Lynnie’s nemesis),
Rusty Kemp. But Lynnie’s birthday cele-
bration takes a dark turn, throwing a wrench
in her plans. After a revelatory conversation
with Rusty, Lynnie wakes up covered in
blood, finding Rusty dead and herself
somehow changed: she’s capable of spouting
claws, fur, and fangs. Thrust into a super-
natural world drawn from Irish folklore and
urban fantasy tropes, Lynnie must reconcile
her new form with the desire to keep her
family safe. Her coming-of-age is kicked
into high gear by her transformation,
forcing her to find balance between who she
thought she was and who she’s becoming.
While Lynnie’s story can get fairly dark,
Gilmore tempers the horror elements with
dry wit, tongue-in-cheek humor, and a
small but memorable supporting cast. This
is sure to capture readers’ hearts and
imaginations.Closure
Lindsey Todd. Veritas Words, $14.99 trade pa-
per (260p) ISBN 978-1-51366-344-9
Todd debuts with a powerful epistolary
novel of a young woman torn between her
love for a man and love for God. Morgan
Wells writes a long letter to her first love,
Wade, examining the highs and lows of
their six-year relationship. Morgan and
Wade meet during their first year of high
school and start dating their junior year.
While Wade wins Morgan over with prom-
ises to never hurt her and always take care
of her, he soon insists on going further sexu-
ally than Morgan is comfortable with.(While they are both Catholic, Morgan is
much more devout than Wade, who won-
ders if God is real and if keeping faith is
necessary.) As the relationship matures and
they become sexually active, Morgan
struggles with the dichotomy between
what her faith teaches and the life she is
living. She prays for Wade and hopes he
will finally embrace God, but comes to the
realization their differences might be
irreconcilable. Morgan and Wade’s rela-
tionship builds gradually, which makes
the intensity of Morgan’s moral wrangling
and difficulty making a final decision reso-
nate. Todd’s moving, emotionally complex
story nicely captures the magic and heart-
ache of first love.The Land Steward’s Daughter
Becky Michaels. Mildred, $14.99 trade paper
(314p) ISBN 978-1-7351401-1-7
Michaels explores the social hierarchy of
Regency England in her enchanting debut.
Elaina Walker, daughter of the Duke of
Blackmore’s land steward, has long believed
that she would marry Will Winter, the
duke’s youngest son. Close childhood
friends, the pair haven’t seen each other for
the eight years that Will has been off
fighting in the Napoleonic Wars but have
maintained an intimate correspondence.
When Will returns home to Blackmore
Park, his father informs him that he has
purchased Larkspur Castle in Cambridge-
shire and wants Will to move there to take
over the estate—but Will refuses to go
without Elaina as his bride. The duke and
duchess refuse to give their blessing,
hoping instead to arrange a match between
Elaina and their family banker. Defiant,
Will and Elaina elope to Gretna Green
before embarking on a future together at
Larkspur. But their severely lacking funds
force them to engage in much manual labor,
testing their marriage and pushing them to
evaluate what is most important in their
lives. Michaels critically analyzes the aris-
tocracy’s elitism while highlighting
refreshing protagonists willing to risk soci-
etal censure for a chance at happiness. The
allure of the lifelong love between Will and
Elaina will entice readers from the firstpage.Lost Time
Winona Kent. Blue Devil, $15 trade paper
(204p) ISBN 978-17773294-1-9
In Kent’s accomplished sequel to 2019’s
Notes on a Missing G-String, musician and
amateur investigator Jason Davey has
joined a reunion tour of Figgis Green, a
British folk band that his parents belonged
to and had its heyday in the 1960s and ’70s.
In Hampshire, Duncan Stopher, an enthu-
siastic fan of Figgis Green, approaches
Davey, who has a reputation as a sleuth with
a gift for resolving missing-person cases.
Duncan claims to have a lead on a decades-
old cold case—the disappearance of Pippa
Gladstone, a 16-year-old who vanished in
Spain in 1974 while on vacation with her
family. Duncan has found a photo from a
Figgis Green concert that shows Pippa in
the crowd months after her family last saw
her. Before Davey can do much digging,
Duncan is stabbed to death, and he becomes
the prime suspect. The plot twists are
logical, and Kent nicely balances plot and
character. More series entries would be
welcome.Paper Hearts
Steven L. Hawk. Hawkmark, $2.99 e-book
(192p) ASIN B07RXNLBFF
A depressed man travels through the
American West on a bicycle in this compas-
sionate story from Hawk (Peace Warrior).
Max Tivoli, a 42-year-old washed-up writer,
contemplates suicide after his wife, Alisa,
leaves him. Instead, he sells their house in
Boise, Idaho; outfits a bicycle with a trailer;
and sets off for wherever the road takes him,
“a way of ending his old life without the
accompanying mess.” He soon finds a
Chihuahua, Cody, abandoned in the desert
and adopts him. While cycling with Cody,
Max’s renewed sense of human connection
with the people he encounters gives him
hope he’ll write again. He meets an aspiring
writer, a runaway teenager whom he takes
under his wing, and his mother-in-law,
Lupita, who persuades him to face the whole
truth about Alisa’s reasons for leaving.
Throughout his ride, which takes him all® REVIEWS
79aBOOKLIFE, MARCH 8, 2021
The following are reviews of self-published titles that have previously appeared in PW
Fiction