Book Review

​       Mike Lee has been a frequent contributor to Blue Lake Review. His story "The City of the Dead" appeared in the September issue of BLR.
       Mike's new book, The Northern Line, offers a diverse group of short stories that draw the reader in, wanting to know more. In his book the author moves from various locations – North Carolina, Texas, and New York City -- and touches upon such varied subjects as the after effects of 9-11 on a young woman’s life, "life"/death in "Purgatory Beach," the sometimes tenuous, fragile nature of relationships, returns to one’s past life, and losses and possible gains in life and love. All of this he does with a great sense of intimacy, drawing us, inviting us into the lives of all of his characters.
       Many of these stories appear to add to each other, offering up background and context for other stories, resulting in the sum of these stories being much greater than their individual contributions, giving us further insight into a boy’s growth from childhood into manhood, following his travels from his North Carolina roots to Texas to the big city. Overall, this is a great collection and one well worth reading. You can find it on Amazon here.