ArcaMax

Every morning at 8 a.m., Honey German calls her husband, Nuni.

He goes to work much earlier than her, so they've made a routine of touching base once Honey wakes up.

It's such a habit that when Nuni didn't get a call from Honey one July morning, he knew it was a red flag.

Nuni tried ringing her once. Twice. Three times. Four. Each call went ...Read more

Christopher Michael‘s "Tomb of the Black Pharaoh" is a gripping tale that blends cosmic horror, historical intrigue, and psychological suspense, centering on a protagonist whose curiosity propels him into the dangerous realm of forbidden knowledge.

Beginning with the discovery of ancient relics in a dusty attic, his journey quickly spirals ...Read more

If in another life author Richard A. Danzig decided to become a standup comic, well, he could probably do a lot worse, given his spot-on talent for writing funny monologues for his comedian character Verne Slater in the recently released legal thriller, "Punch Line."

Despite what the book’s title might infer, "Punch Line" is anything but a ...Read more

'ONE OF THEM DAYS'

Rated R for language throughout, sexual material and brief drug use.

What it’s about: Two best friends living in L.A. have a crazy day trying to secure their rent payment.

The kid attractor factor: The comedy will be a draw to teens

Good lessons/bad lessons: Never let your boyfriend pay your rent, have each other's backs...Read more

Saturday morning began with a video text of one of the grands doing a wild gymnastics routine on an exercise mat in the middle of their family room. She was lunging, flipping and cartwheeling (barely clearing the sofa, the TV and a younger sister’s head), all to the soothing strains of “Who Let the Dogs Out?”

The antics culminated in a ...Read more

Q. My son is 9. His mother and I broke up a year and a half ago. Although we absolutely do not get along, we have been trying to share his time. We exchange every few days. Each time he has to leave my home, I see the happy little boy slip away. Sometimes he tells me he doesn’t want to go, but he can’t tell me why. I told his mother, but she...Read more

It was date night for me and my husband, the first since our daughter was born. When we returned to my mom’s house for the baby — hurriedly, being first-time parents — I heard a strange but familiar voice.

It was that of Raffi Cavoukian, known simply as “Raffi,” who rose to fame in the 1970s with such folksy, reassuring numbers as “...Read more

The sweeping tale of the French Acadians in America and one family’s trials over hundreds of years of persecution is revealed in "The Acadians" by Samuel Andre Aucoin.

Aucoin mixes history and light fiction to tell the often heartbreaking story of the Acadian experience in America. Beginning with a trip to the Vietnam War Memorial in ...Read more

History is most clearly observed through the rearview mirror. Leaders can more accurately be judged by the impact of their speeches, actions or inaction, beliefs and accomplishments not by eulogies but after an adequate amount of time has passed for a more objective assessment. Yesterday’s lauded heroes may have legitimately earned the ...Read more

Can we ever make peace with our regrets? That is the question I asked myself while reading Tom Casey’s "Unsettled States" (Heresy Press), which begins with a raw portrait of familial fracture. Bradley’s visit to his mother, Eleanor, opens the door to a past steeped in warmth now shadowed by regret.

Eleanor, a once-spirited woman, is now ...Read more

A week after giving birth to her second daughter, Amelia Laytham's focus was on baby Jocelyn's and big sister Vera's sleep schedules; on breastfeeding her newborn; on the balancing act that parents navigate.

The morning she was scheduled to bring Jocelyn to the pediatrician for her first checkup, Amelia woke up feeling like someone was sitting ...Read more

CHICAGO -- South Loop’s FAME Center started in 2018 in what founder Sheila Fortson called “a broom closet” with just a few students and a piano. The nonprofit is now looking to become a major music and arts education landmark in Chicago with the purchase of a 56,000-square-foot historic building.

Matthew Thomas, 14, remembers that when he...Read more

'DEN OF THIEVES 2: PANTERA'

Rated R for pervasive language, some violence, drug use and sexual references.

What it’s about: A sequel to the 2018 heist movie that takes the action to Europe and the world of diamond thieves.

The kid attractor factor: Not much, this is an adult crime thriller.

Good lessons/bad lessons: As always, in crime, ...Read more

CHICAGO -- As a mom of three girls, Khallilah Watkins isn’t new to the process and preparation it takes to breastfeed a baby outside of the house.

One time with her second daughter, she had to hunker down in a restaurant bathroom for a few minutes to pump.

“That was my first experience pumping in a restaurant and inside of a smelly public ...Read more