STILL LIVES (Counterpoint Press) is:
*Reese Witherspoon/Hello Sunshine's book club pick for August
*Book of the Month pick for May
*Amazon Top 20 Mystery/Thriller of 2018
*BBC Culture 10 Best Books of 2018
*CrimeReads Best Psychological Thriller of 2018
*On TIME's list of Best New Books to Read This Summer
*A Daily Beast Best Beach Read of 2018
*On Buzzfeed's list of 30 Summer Books to Get Excited About
*Entertainment Weekly's June Must-Reads
*Chicago Review of Books Best Book of June 2018
*Read It Forward's Best Books of June
*Nine Books We Can't Wait to Read in June at PureWow
*Women.com's 22 Books You Must Get Your Hands on in June
*Refinery29 Best New Books of June
*PopSugar's 50 New Books to Wow Your Book Club With
*"While “Still Lives” is a deeply affecting examination of how our culture fetishizes female victims of crime — be it in art, news, or publishing — it will also have readers feverishly turning pages to discover the fate of engaging characters who are more than symbols of what’s wrong or right about Los Angeles."--LA Times
*Starred review in Publisher's Weekly:"[In] this exceptional suspense novel... the careful characterizations of the players in the Rocque’s sphere of influence mean that, as the mystery unfolds to reveal them as suspects or victims, the reader feels deep empathy that comes from perceiving them as real people, not plot devices."
*"Still Lives is both savvy and lyrical—the perfect beach read for either coast." --Wall Street Journal
*"Sensational… This is not only a satisfying mystery, but also an ambitious, intelligent and often uncomfortable study of gender, violence and art."-- The Guardian
*A brief history of Still Lives' milieu at Omnivoracious, Amazon's Book Review
*"Still Lives is a electrifying mystery, one that crackles with suspense and intrigue. But it is not just an exploration of the shady underside of the L.A. art scene, or a warning about the dangerous combination of fame, money, and sex, and it is certainly not just a titillating tale about a missing woman. Like the fictional exhibit it was named after, Still Lives is an indictment of how women's bodies are treated by a society that is determined to control and consume them, and it's so much more than a story. Because when it comes fear, anxiety, violence, and abuse, as Maggie puts it, 'It's not a story to us,' it's an experience we face every day." --Bustle
*Featured in Library Journal's Mystery Genre Spotlight: Crime Fiction's "Girl" Power
*Ink and Fable Top 5 Most Anticipated Reads of 2018
*American Booksellers Association 2018 Winter Institute author
*"This is a whip-smart mystery and a moving meditation on the consumption of female bodies all rolled into one." --Kirkus Reviews
*“Hummel . . . presents a polished, droll, and provocative art-world thriller . . . With a cast of strong and complicated female characters, headed by a determined, reckless, funny, and imperiled amateur sleuth, Hummel crafts a shrewd and suspenseful inquiry into womanhood and the dark side of the art market, punctuated by striking variations on identity, portraiture, and ‘still lives.'”--Booklist
*"[Still Lives] offers an intriguing insider’s view into a high-stakes, turbulent industry, from peculiar artists to fabulous exhibitions...[and] the story line revolving around the public’s fascination with graphic crimes against women serves as a chilling reminder that such violence continues to occur in many forms." --Library Journal
*"No doubt comparisons to Raymond Chandler’s best work will rain down upon Still Lives, dotted as it is with trenchant observations of LA and the human condition. Like Chandler, Hummel is capable of limning out a ripping yarn replete with high fashion, high finance and high society." --BookPage
*"[STILL LIVES] is both murder mystery and social commentary, and likely to resonate with anyone who has tried to redefine themselves in a new city far from home." --Seven Days
Re MOTHERLAND(Counterpoint Press):
- Motherland is voted a Best Book of 2014 in San Francisco Chronicle
- Click here for video: UC-Berkeley reading on Feb 12, 2015
- "Hummel’s haunting novel is set in the ravaged landscape of German just before the country’s collapse at the end of World War II…Searing and honest, her book illuminates the reality of war away from the front lines —betrayal and compromise, neighbor turning on neighbor, the unexpected heroism of ordinary people — with a compassion and depth of understanding that will touch your heart. --People, ****
- Motherland is "…deeply researched, painstakingly written, and, above all, heartfelt.” --New York Times
- "In Motherland, Maria Hummel imagined the difficulties of an ordinary middle-class German family in the last days of the Reich, a brave if unsettling project." --Newsday
- Motherland is a January Editor's Choice, Bookbrowse.com
- "Hummel's focus on the concrete, physical experiences of one family is a fine, brave antidote to abstraction, and does what good historical fiction does best: explores what has passed in those undocumented rests between the things we know to be true." --San Francisco Chronicle
- Motherland is "... a moving story of love and privation, sacrifice and survival."--San Jose Mercury News
- "Motherland is ... larger than its historical context; it’s a moving tale of hope, compassion and the lengths we go to for the ones we love. Petition your book club to add it to the roster." --PureWowBooks
- Motherland gets a starred review in Publishers's Weekly: "Fear, grief, and the will to survive fuse in this beautiful novel about the inner life of a German family in the final months of World War II... While stunningly intimate, Motherland is expansive in feeling and scope. Extending beyond a simple historical drama, this book is a reminder of the reach of love, how it can blind, and how it can heal."
- And a starred review in Kirkus: "Heart-rending and chilling."
- Radio interview with Liz Saint John at 97.3 Alice
Re HOUSE AND FIRE:
- "Lyrical and elegant, simple and deep, brimming with love and pain, House and Fire is a gorgeous book that holds the dualities it explores in a tender, careful embrace." --The Rumpus
- "...House and Fire exhibits the achievement of a gymnast after years of training, routine and repetition so fully mastered that they result in seemingly effortless, beautiful motion."--Literary Mama
- "These are poems of such caliber, resonance, and staying power. In House and Fire, Maria Hummel has claimed her place among our most significant and promising young poets." --storySouth