O Magazine's Top 20 Books to Read - Summer 2017 "Best known for his acclaimed Haitian trilogy—All Souls' Rising, Master of the Crossroads and The Stone That the Builder Refused—Bell draws on his own experiences with voodoo possession to re-create his characters' descent into a sinister otherworld. The novel toys with perspective—women shape-shifting into rocks or animals; the same life-or-death scene played repeatedly, with myriad outcomes—in a kind of primal storytelling that crackles with dread and desire."—O Magazine When Julie skips school and sets off with her best friend and some local boys for a camping trip in the desert, she finds herself the target of unwanted, drug-fueled sexual attention. Running away in fear, she takes a dangerous fall down the shaft of a vast underground cave, and it takes two days for her to be rescued. Lying unconscious in her hospital bed, Julie hovers between life and death as she travels in a seductive parallel universe inspired by remarkable cave paintings left behind by prehistoric humans. Marko, her attacker, tries to cover his tracks, menacing those who know what happened in the desert that night. Jamal, the youngest son in a family of Iraqi refugees living in Julie’s small town, is one of his prime targets. He defies Marko, keeping him away from Julie’s bedside and refusing to fall prey to his threats of violence. Meanwhile, Marissa, who gave Julie up for adoption fifteen years earlier when she became pregnant as an adolescent, is following an instinct that leads her back to the daughter she once abandoned. With the aid of Jamal and a local Native American hitman/shaman, she attempts to draw Julie back to consciousness. Madison Smartt Bell is best known for his trilogy of novels about Toussaint Louverture and the Haitian Revolution, including All Souls’ Rising, which was a finalist for the National Book Award and the PEN/Faulkner Award. Praise for Behind the Moon: "Madison Smartt Bell writes with the urgency of someone who just received a dire prognosis. And Behind the Moon will remind you that you are alive."—Jonathan Safran Foer, author of Here I Am "Between fever dreams and stone hard reality, Madison Smartt Bell has crafted a powerful examination of what is and what might be. It is simply wonderful." —Dorothy Allison, author of Bastard out of Carolina "I love these characters. I love the writing. Behind the Moon is a brilliant work." —Percival Everett, author of Half an Inch of Water "Bell gives us this fast-paced, spiritually inspired dream-story, full of heart and hope and danger. It's adventure at its finest: a spiked drink, a desert cave, a gunshot, a mother looking for her child. Buckle in: you are headed for a terrific ride."—Deb Olin Unferth, author of Wait Till You See Me Dance

Madison's savory ascent as a culinary destination pairs its rich tradition of homegrown bounty with a progressively wider international palate. Sample the fare of Mad City staples like Ella's Deli, Mickies Dairy Bar and the Plaza and enjoy tales of legendary eateries of yore, such as Cleveland's, the Fess and Ovens of Brittany. Visit the farmers' markets that feed the capital city and the unions that have struggled to represent dishwashers and waiters. Slide into a booth with the visionaries who nurtured Madison's food culture, from Gulley to Guthrie and Peck to Piper. Food enthusiasts Nichole Fromm and JonMichael Rasmus share a taste of the unique ingredients spread across Madison's evolving table.

Ah, Wisconsin. . . land of beer, cows, and the Green Bay Packers. And also the home of Ed Gein, Jeffery Dahmer, and a host of other bloodthirsty maniacs. This book goes behind the bucolic Dairy State image to reveal shocking acts of mayhem in the dark corners of Wisconsin history, and asks the troubling question: Is it something in the cheese?

For the last 25 years, writer and storyteller John Roach has held court on the back page of Madison Magazine. With musings on everything from politics and religion to family and cabin life to sports and his many obsessions--music, technology, books, weather, and hometown Madison--Roach has entertained and occasionally enraged readers with often witty and always astute observations on life as he sees it. John published another collection, Way Out Here in the Middle, in 2003. In this second edition of his greatest hits, Roach shares a collection of some of his favorite and most popular columns, which reveal as much about his edgy irreverence as they do of his soulful sentiment.

One summer evening, Lib Hanson is confronted by her painful past when Matt Marlow, the forty-year-old son she abandoned as an infant, shows up on her porch. Fiercely independent, Lib has never revealed her son's existence--or her previous marriage--to her husband, Jack. Married nearly three decades but living in separate houses (to the confusion but acceptance of their neighbors), they enjoy an ease and comfort together in small-town Anthem, Wisconsin. But Jack is a stickler for honesty, and Lib's long-dormant secret threatens to unravel their lives. When ten-year-old Charlie Taylor arrives at Jack's workshop shortly thereafter, he's not the first kid in town to need help with a flat tire, and Jack gladly makes the repair to his bike. The Taylors are new to Anthem, and Jack soon discovers that Charlie and his mom, Claire, are struggling to fit in, even as Charlie's dad, Dan, is thriving in his new job. Extending friendship and kindness, as well as introductions around the local café, Jack assumes a grandfatherly role. What he doesn't see is the drinking that Claire hides from everyone, or the secret son that Lib has allowed to move into her house and the growing attraction between Claire and Matt. When the terrible events of a fateful evening threaten everyone's carefully crafted lives, Jack, Lib, and their new friends must each determine the value of truth for the ones they love.

Mae, a blackjack dealer in a Las Vegas casino, spends her free time wandering the desert with a rifle, or sitting in her trailer obsessively watching replays of an old lover escaping the wreckage of 9/11. What she sees in those images is different from what the rest of us would see. She revels in the pure anarchy, thrills at the destruction. These images recall memories of a childhood marked by unthinkable abuse, of her drift into a cult that committed the most shocking crime of the '60s, of her life since then as a feral and wary outsider, caught in a swirl of events at once personal, political, mythic.

A missing federal agent, suitcases full of cash, a secluded cabin in the woods. Spider Lake is no longer the peaceful retreat John Cabrelli needs to recover from gunshot wounds and start a new life. Knowing Cabrelli is a former law enforcement officer, the new chief of police recruits him to help untangle a string of strange events in the little town of Musky Falls. Cabrelli and a colorful team of local residents land in the center of a fast-paced action thriller with a surprise ending that’s sure to make your head spin. Winner of the 2021 IPPY Awards for mysteries. Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist for best second novel. Winner of the 2021 Midwest Book Awards for cover design. Spider Lake is the second book in the Northern Lakes Mystery series. "Nania (again) weaves a plot that is both believable and complex, reflecting real-world scenarios where bad guys ply their criminal trade wherever they can." — Valerie Biel, award-winning author

Twelve-year-old Clare Burch has just lost the person she loves most in the world. She wonders if her feelings of sorrow and self-blame over her grandfather's death will ever go away. Out of the blue, a special request sends Clare on a journey from her home in Chicago to the Northwoods of Wisconsin. She knows that she must honor Grandpa Anthony's last wishes, even though they completely upend her summertime plans. Clare heads to rural Alwyn with her little blind dog and a duffel bag full of worries. What will she do without her best friends and swim team? Who will take her fishing and spoil her with candy now that her grandfather is gone? And most important, is she strong enough to let him go, forever? During her summer up north, Clare stumbles upon the answers to her many questions. Even more, as she makes peace with why she couldn't save Grandpa Anthony, she ends up rescuing someone else from danger. Above all, Clare learns to listen to the courageous voice inside-and discovers just how tough she really is.