Cruel To Be Kind

Joseph Souza

Level Best Books

Gwynn’s life shattered the night her husband, Tom, discovered her in bed with Detective Peters—the lead investigator on the murders she herself committed. Now Tom knows the truth: his wife is a serial killer, and he savors the leverage it gives him. If Gwynn refuses to return to their toxic marriage, he will expose her. As Tom tightens his grip, a new murderer emerges, copying the signature killings of the Muddy River Killer. Young street girls are dying again, just like before. When Ivy, a girl Gwynn cared for, is brutally murdered, Gwynn vows to deliver justice herself. But Tom controls her movements, her choices, her freedom. Every step requires his permission. To save herself and protect her son, Gwynn must decide how far she is willing to go. Will she kill her husband to escape his control? Or can she outmaneuver both Tom and Peters to avenge Ivy first.

All But The Grudges

K.B. Vaughn

Kindle Direct Publishing

Matty Swift is a young ancestry buff from Percy Harbor, a small town on the coast of Maine. After months of Covid isolation, she and her best friend Rachel jump at the chance to serve as caretakers at nearby Turtle Island lighthouse. Tasked with creating a museum from artifacts discovered in the attic, they embrace their summer idyll. And when a keeper descendant comes forward with tales to tell, it seems a glorious piece of luck. But all is not as it seems. Drug-smuggling is alive and well in coastal Maine. Wee-hours vessel sightings and lurking visitors make them uneasy. They feel watched, find things out of place. Over time, the keeper’s house seems less like a refuge and more like a well-lit stage. Who is behind these disturbances? What are they after? And will Matty and Rachel figure it out before being trapped on the island with malevolent forces?

South Jersey Sand: A Memoir in Poetry

Jean Anne Feldeisen

Kelsay Books

"'Dig deeper,' says Jean Feldeisen, and in this book she does exactly that, excavating the sands around her South Jersey roots to find a writing of richness and capacity. With meticulous attention to both the forms of poetry and the truths of feeling, she gives us an archaeology of family history, intense gleams of childhood, shards of love and parenting, and a trove of wrenching but cathartic loss and elegy. Readers will leave the book knowing that they’ve held a precious vessel, overflowing with life."

— Brian Evans-Jones, former Poet Laureate of Hampshire, UK, and winner of the Maureen Egan Award from Poets & Writers

As For The Rose

Jenny Doughty

Main Street Rag

"Jenny Doughty’s gifted collection moves through layers of time from the bedrock of her birthplace in Yorkshire to arrival in Maine. She tells her story with such richness and rhythm we feel her words grow directly out of the soil where English was first spoken. Doughty’s voice is strong, sensual, at times tender or tough, but always courageous. This is a book to savor and to feel befriended by the poet’s deep sensibilities."

— Linda Aldrich

Ladybugs and Ellie Go Camping

Written by Susan Cassidy and Randee Lyn Cassidy

Illustrated by Alyssa Willey

Maine Authors Publishing

Told through the adventures of two cousins camping with their grandparents, this educational activity book engages kids and their grown-ups by teaching them how to create lists, problem-solve, and complete fun outdoor activities to make a family camping trip enjoyable and electronic-free. They will make memories in their camping journal that will last a lifetime.