Indie book reviews

IndieReader’s reviewers are tough, but fair

Our Reviewers won’t judge your book as compared to other self-published titles, but against other books, period. Our ratings are based on the following criteria, although reviewers are able to award partial stars (i.e. a 1.3 or a 4.7), rather than rounding up or down to a whole or half number.

1/5

Really bad 
Work on it.

2/5

Mediocre
1-2 bright spots.

3/5

Good
Worth reading.

4/5

Very Good
1-2 spots that need work

5/5

Excellent!
Must-read.

* IndieReader receives compensation for most of the books it reviews, along with copies of those books.

Rating:
3.0 / 5.0

Irv Segal’s mystery novel SECRETS OF THE RABBI’S MAFIA has an interesting premise, a likable protagonist and a fascinating setting. Unfortunately, it is also marred...

May 19, 2023

LEANN AND THE CLEAN MAN

By Jeff Shaw
Rating:
3.5 / 5.0

Jeff Shaw's LEANN AND THE CLEAN MAN, a dark crime, blood-splattered revenge thriller set in the seedier side of Singapore, shows off the author's skill...

IR Approved
May 1, 2023

DEATH IN PINK

By Djordje Bajic
Rating:
4.2 / 5.0

As icy and forbidding as the frozen streets on which it plays out, Djordje Bajic's DEATH IN PINK is a very well written slice of...

IR Approved
April 17, 2023

WATERBORNE

By J. Luke Bennecke
Rating:
4.0 / 5.0

With intriguing concepts and well-rounded protagonists, J. Luke Bennecke’s WATERBORNE is a high-octane page-turning thriller, elevated by fascinating scientific detail and an empathetic hero.

April 14, 2023

THE HUNT FOR RAUBGOLD

By Katherine Burlake
Rating:
2.8 / 5.0

Katherine Burlake crafts a compelling premise and strong action sequences in THE HUNT FOR RAUBGOLD, and though readers might be left unsatisfied with the narrative...

IR Approved
April 12, 2023

THE RAVEN’S CRY

By Kim Herdman Shapiro
Rating:
4.7 / 5.0

With THE RAVEN'S CRY, Kim Herdman Shapiro tells a deeply immersive, evocative tale against an enticing backdrop of characters and plot threads that will leave...

March 31, 2023

GILLESPIE FIELD GROOVE

By Corey Lynn Fayman
Rating:
3.8 / 5.0

Corey Lynn Fayman's GILLESPIE FIELD GROOVE is an absorbing mystery that thrills when its skilled author stays faithful to the detective genre’s charms and lets...

IR Approved
March 24, 2023

THE MAENAD’S GOD

By Karen Michalson
Rating:
5.0 / 5.0

THE MAENAD'S GOD is never the same book twice: flowing from intrigue to mysticism, romance to mythology, Karen Michalson weaves an epic and constantly surprising...

March 22, 2023

VIBRATIONS IN THE FIELD

By Daniel Burke
Rating:
4.0 / 5.0

Daniel Burke's VIBRATIONS IN THE FIELD is a surprising, scintillating, and hard-hitting blend of intrigue, spirituality, and quantum physics that makes for a truly compelling...

March 17, 2023

TO CATCH THE SETTING SUN

By Richard I Levine
Rating:
3.0 / 5.0

For readers who tear through crime thrillers and love sinking their teeth into stories of deranged, violent, pathetic killers and the damaged men and women...

IR Approved
March 3, 2023

THE GIRL IN THE BLUE BLAZER

By Alretha Thomas
Rating:
4.5 / 5.0

Author Alretha Thomas makes every word, character, and scene count in THE GIRL IN THE BLUE BLAZER, a very well-written suspenseful story with twists and...

March 1, 2023

SCULPTING THE MISTS

By Jeff Dodson
Rating:
3.8 / 5.0

Jeff Dodson's SCULPTING THE MISTS works as an engaging political thriller, with two well developed leads and their skillfully crafted relationship enough to pull the...

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