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If you think a ninja’s life is all about throwing stars and black pajamas, think again. For Chinese-Norwegian born Lily Wong, it’s a mixed bag of fighting domestic abuse, family dynamics and this little issue with the Los Angeles Ukrainian mob. No big deal.

Lily Wong is a heroine for modern times. Gutsy, humorous and bad*ss, she takes on injustice wherever she finds it, using her skills to defend women against those who would enslave them. Loads of action will keep readers turning pages faster than Lily can break a knee cap. There’s even a little romance thrown in to round out the story.

There’s more to Lily than martial arts, however. Author Tori Eldridge brings personal struggles to the table as Lily faces issues of being mixed race, loss of a loved one and how to preserve non-traditional values with a domineering grandmother. Despite her prowess with martial arts, Lily is far from being an inaccessible character. Flawed and conflicted, she’s easy to identify with.

I enjoyed being exposed to new concepts like the kunoichi, a female ninja. Unafraid to touch the hard topics of racism and human trafficking, Eldridge doesn’t disappoint in the second book of her series, The Ninja’s Blade. Lily will go to any means to protect those who would otherwise be victimized. If you are looking for a fast-paced action read with plenty of social value, Tori Eldrige’s Lily Wong series will not disappoint.

It’s uncommon for a work of horror to have a message of hope and a happy ending, but that’s exactly what Amy Langevin accomplishes with her book Spineless. Equal parts horror and empowerment, she presents the very real situation of abuse from the POV of a victim turned vigilante.

Slade seems like he is in control of his secret and unconventional treatment center and for years he’s had a successful system going without a hitch. Everything begins to spin out of control when a past client has a situation relapse and requires extra assistance. All that Slade thinks he knows collapses and he struggles to find new solid ground.

There’s an eclectic mix of everything in this story from crime thriller and romance to straight-up horror and self help. Visceral and unflinching, Langevin faces the ugly not so secret real life story of abuse and lays out the cycle in a fictional story that will challenge readers to examine their own point of view to find the potential “worms” that may be hiding there.

I especially recommend this book for those that may have a history with abuse. Langevin doesn’t mince words as she describes the damage and self harm that can be passed on to us from others… but she also astutely recognizes the circle of abuse for what it is—a deep pit that pulls everyone within proximity down. A wonderful horror, Langevin inspires with shock and wry wit.

When I prepare to read Manzetti there is a certain ceremony to it. I do not read his work in a public place. This level of darkness is to be savored alone. No innocent bystander needs to be exposed to this razor edged text. One should approach of their own volition, understanding the nightmare to come.

I do not read it fast. His work requires a slow chewing through the text, tasting and imagining the horror. I light a candle, curl up in my favorite chair and consume every twisted line. Once the last page is turned and the cover closed, I digest. I can read nothing else for at least a day. I’ve been digesting this latest work from Manzetti for a month and a half.

Whitechapel Rhapsody is everything I’ve come to love about Manzetti and more. Where much of his work I’ve read is about a fictional landscape, Whitechapel is real. Based on eleven murders that began on April 3, 1888 in the poor area known as the Whitechapel district in the East End of London, the last killing was February 13, 1891—a lucky Friday the 13th. It’s when the killings attributed to Jack the Ripper ceased…. as far as history knows.

Whitecastle Rhapsody tells the story of Jack the Ripper from both the point of view of those investigating the murders as well as Jack himself. Using well researched situations and text clipped from the original police, medical and news reports gives the already gruesome imagery the chill of reality. Not only were these bodies real, the reader comes to realize, but sometimes the victimization occurred to them after death. Not even the sanctity of coroner’s office could protect their corpse from further humiliation.

Highly recommended, but not for the sensitive reader. If gruesome and vivid imagery of death, poverty and perversion bother you, bypass this book. For those willing to look behind the curtain they will see more than the horrific true life tale of a monster. They will also see the horror that occurs in a place where life is not sacred and has no dignity, and the only god is made of copper coins.