Review: The Nightworkers

The Nightworkers by Brian Selfon
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Thanks to Library Journal for the advanced reader's copy!

Shecky Keenan’s world is imploding. His bank accounts are closing rapidly, his house is being watched by a mysterious man, and his newest runner, Emil Scott is missing, along with the bag of dirty money he was carrying. Shecky’s family laundering business includes his nephew Henry, who’s physically intimidating stature hides an artistic heart and his niece, Kerasha, a girl with sticky fingers and a devastating past. Family means everything to Shecky but he soon learns even family can keep dark secrets from each other, as Emil’s disappearance starts them down a path filled with unexpected turns and betrayal.

Selfon’s experience as an investigative analyst for the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office brings a realistic element to this debut novel, weaving truth and fantasy seamlessly together to create an exciting look into the city’s seedy, treacherous back alley world of drugs, money laundering and murder. The shifting perspectives, from Shecky’s heartbreaking reminisces to Kerasha’s painful memories of her mother and her therapy sessions, provide emotional depth but can leave the reader a bit disoriented. Fans of gritty, dark, dysfunctional mysteries will appreciate this one.


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Review: A Place Called Zamora

A Place Called Zamora by L.B. Gschwandtner
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Thanks to Library Journal for the advanced reader's copy!

Far away in the distance, there is a glimmer; a place called Zamora. Its possible existence brings hope to Niko and El, two young people living in a brutal and corrupt dystopian city. Premier Villinkash, the dictator who brought about The Collapse, and The Cleanse that removed everyone’s memory of life before, has instituted a mandatory and barbarous competition forcing the city’s young men to race to the death on motorcycles. Only one is allowed to survive. When Niko wins the race, he shuns a life of entitlement and wealth and chooses El as his prize. Enraged by his act of defiance, Premier Villinkash becomes unhinged and declares Niko and El traitors. A long awaited rebellion rises throughout the city, while Niko and El run for their lives, on a search for a safe haven on the horizon.

Gschwandtner’s novel has an intriguing premise that shows signs of inspiration from Suzanne Collins’ “The Hunger Games” and Veronica Roth’s “Divergent” series. The story as a whole is chaotic and disjointed, often moving from past to present events without any break in the text. Libraries with well circulating science fiction/fantasy collections may want this one; otherwise, pass.


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