® REVIEWS
54eBOOKLIFE, JULY 29, 2019
those seeking a deep dive into meaning in
life and how to pursue it.Thirteen Across
Dan Grant. MindScape, $19.95 trade paper
(516p) ISBN 978-1-7325040-5-9
Grant’s intelligent second thriller fea-
turing physician and FBI agent Kate
Morgan (after 2018’s The Singularity
Witness) opens with a bang. Morgan is
riding the Washington, D.C., Metro when
a bomb explosion derails her train, causing
massive casualties. Despite her valiant
efforts to treat the wounded, Morgan comes
under suspicion from the investigators after
a briefcase with her name on it is found in a
subway station—and the four-digit number
that a Metro worker wrote on her wrist to
mark her as a survivor turns out to unlock
the briefcase, whose contents include clues
to a crossword. Since one clue suggests an
ongoing threat, Morgan is frantic to answer
it. Amusingly, the FBI brings in real-life
New York Times crossword editor Will
Shortz to assist. Grant plausibly extrapo-
lates from current science to explain the
secrets behind the mayhem, which involve
a covert government program that will
resonate with readers of the Captain
America comic book. Fans will look forward
to Kate’s third outing.The Vision of Antje Baumann
Laurence Power. Lulu, $19.99 trade paper
(288p) ISBN 978-1-4834-8532-4
Power (Black ’47) shines a searing light
on the torments experienced by Holland’s
citizens during WWII, focusing on a
Catholic Oosterbeek family’s trials during
the Nazi occupation. Wim and Corrie
Baumann have three children, and the
oldest—Cornelis, or “Nelis”—tells the
story of his younger sister Antje, who, “from
birth... had brushed with death so many
times” and lost sight in one eye at age five
before losing her vision completely a few
years later. After that, she foresees incidents
small and large, such as her near inclusion
in a roundup of Jews. While the town suf-
fers the indignation and then atrocities of
the occupation, the persecution of Jews, and
a battle, Antje often turns to Nelis with
insights about their family’s decision to
become part of the dangerous Resistance,
including the creation of a hideout in theirhome and heart-stopping raids. Nelis’s nar-
ration is stark, and his straightforward
observations deepen the chill of this unset-
tling story of Nazi brutality and unbearable
family losses.Welcome to Spicetown:
A Spicetown Mystery
Sheri Richey. Sheri Richey, $11.99 trade paper
(274p) ISBN 978-1-795303-53-8
In Richey’s appealing series launch set in
Spicetown, a small Ohio community, Cora
Rae Bingham, the town’s ambitious, hard-
working mayor, wants to implement some
of her improvement plans before the end of
what she fears will be her final term as
mayor. One goal is to erect a statue in honor
of the man for whom the town is named,
John Spicer. (In a cute touch, all the streets,
like Dill Seed Drive, are named after spices.)
Meanwhile, Cora’s ally, police chief Conrad
Harris, is asked to help Sheriff Bobby
Bell—a man he dislikes—after the county’s
fireworks are stolen before a planned dis-
play. A subplot involves Cora’s suspicions
that one of Spicetown’s shopkeepers is
cheating customers. The main focus is on
the pleasant interpersonal dynamics of
Spicetown’s residents, including elderly
busy body Harvey “Saucy” Salzman, who’s
constantly looking out for a problem to
report or complain about, and Cora’s love-
lorn assistant, Amanda Morgan. Cozy fans
who prefer the crimes in their mysteries to
be nonviolent will be charmed.Nonfiction
Be the Hero of Your Life
J. Scott MacMillan. Balboa, $14.99 trade
paper (194p) ISBN 978-1-982216-42-9
This spirited guide from life coach
MacMillan (Monetize Your Message) assem-
bles self-help concepts inspired by the work
of literature professor Joseph Campbell
(1904–1987), designed to teach readers
how to reclaim the narrative of their life.
After rising up the ranks at Sprint to
become a project manager and then moving
on to a lucrative career as a marketing con-
sultant, MacMillan reached a point in his
life where he was thriving financially, but
also stressed-out and deeply unhappy.
While suffering chronic, debilitatingshoulder pain, he was told he needed to live
a healthier lifestyle and, during an epiph-
anic moment in the shower, decided he
would become the hero of his own story.
Realizing many of his ideas about reimag-
ining one’s personal narrative as a means for
transformation came from the theories of
Joseph Campbell, MacMillan then set about
understanding how to live a good life
through the three phases of what Campbell
dubbed “the hero’s journey”: departure,
initiation, and return. Taking cues largely
from popular culture, MacMillan breaks his
visualization and actualization principles
(where thoughts can influence actions) into
12 parts, which he explains using characters
from movies, such as Dorothy in The
Wizard of Oz. Exercises and worksheets
exploring how to find one’s calling, set off
on an adventure, and choose a mentor will
help readers navigate their own personal
narratives. While readers looking for
research-based advice will be disappointed,
those who already believe in visualization
and actualization techniques will find
MacMillan’s suggestions worth a look.Fag Hags, Divas and Moms:
The Legacy of Straight
Women in the AIDS Community
Victoria Noe. King, $16.99 trade paper
(226p) ISBN 978-0-9903081-9-5
In this well-researched but somewhat
aggrieved history, Noe, a writer and AIDS
activist, recounts the history of the AIDS
epidemic with a focus on the unsung con-
tributions of straight women. Noe writes,
“Straight women have entered the AIDS
community throughout the epidemic for
various reasons, but all with the same
intent: to make a difference.” Noe traces
“the battle lines drawn in the first years of
the epidemic” and identifies key players
such as Elizabeth Taylor (“She was hands-on
when it counted, because the epidemic was
always personal to her. Friends were dying”)
and Princess Diana (who, in 1987, at the
first HIV/AIDS hospital unit in London,
“shook hands—no gloves, no hesitation—
with a man with AIDS... to prove that the
virus could not be passed through casual
contact”). Noe also includes “stories of
[straight] women who were largely
unknown, but whose influence affected
thousands,” including volunteers, educa-