Caught by Harlen Coben

I'm always excited when Harlan Coben comes out with a new stand along book! And Caught was no exception. I even pre-ordered it!

In Coben's latest novel, we meet Dan Mercer a social worker who unfortunately gets caught on television camera meeting up with an underage girl whom he had a relationship with through the internet. Wendy Tynes is a mercenary reporter dedicated to bringing criminals to justice. Though Mercer claims innocence his life is ruined. Turns out several of his college buddies have run into trouble as well. His friend Phil lost his job because of embezzlement charges, a doctor friend also finds himself in trouble, and a third friend is locked away in a mental institution for schizophrenia. As Wendy begins to doubt her claim that Mercer is a sexual predator, she investigates further to find the truth. A missing girl also falls into the story here adding more to the mystery.

I'm not sure if I have too high expectations for Coben's novels now having read and enjoyed The Woods, The Innocent and Hold Tight. Or if this was one was just sub-par for him. I was a little disappointed. The characters didn't engage me as much. And I found the story to be a tad bit boring. I had to force myself to read along and frankly, the reveal wasn't that interesting. It wasn't a horrible book, I just didn't think it was as good as some others I've read by him. This is a good one to bring along on vacation, but if you have other books in your queue, Caught could probably wait a bit.

Still Missing by Chevy Stevens

Chevy Stevens debut novel Still Missing is quite a ride. Annie O'Sullivan, an up and coming realtor, is abducted one evening after an open house. She is taken by a crazy guy she calls The Freak and locked away in a cabin in the mountains for a year before she is able to escape. She tries to get back into her old life but after living by The Freak's strange rules and enduring his daily abuse, she understandably doesn't quite know how to fit back into civilization.

I kept reading this book thinking to myself, "Why do I keep reading this?" The book is not divided into chapters, but rather Annie's therapy sessions. Each session flashes back to her life before the abduction as well as what happened to her while being held captive. We also see what her life is like after she returns home. It was very difficult to read what happened to her which is what made it so hard to continue reading. Once she makes it back home to her friends and family, it is much easier to read on. And this is where the mystery begins. Why was she chosen? Why did The Freak pick her and not some other realtor? Did he have a partner who was still out there somewhere?

This book had a few twists and turns and was not predictable at all. The ending was quite a surprise actually. I felt the book was well-written and interesting, but it is very difficult for me to say this is a must read. Should I say, "Hey, if you're in the mood for a book about a crazy man and how he abuses a kidnapped woman. This is your book!"? I guess more I'll say if you're interested in a suspenseful story with well-written characters and an interesting twist, check out Chevy Stevens' Still Missing. There is definitely something to said for a book that is so disturbing but continued to hold my interest and get me to make it to the end. This book will hit shelves July 6th! I would highly recommend this to readers who liked Chelsea Cain's Gretchen Lowell series.

Source Disclosure: Sent to me via the publisher after seeing an ad on Shelf Awareness.

Picture Book Thursday: Red Green Blue by Alison Jay

Alison Jay's new book Red Green Blue: A First Book of Colors is a refreshing take on both a color book and nursery rhymes. She combines the two into one book and in a very succinct and fun way.

Each page features a different color and two-sentence paraphrase of popular nursery rhymes. For example, "Little Boy Blue's asleep in the hay. His sheep and his cow have run away." or "This yellow teapot's short and stout. She is the best at pouring out."

The illustrations are the absolute best part of this book. If you look closely, just about each page has a story-within-a story. For example, on the teapot page, there is a framed portrait of Miss Muffet on the wall. The next page of the book features Miss Muffet and the spider. You can also see the Little Boy Blue (on the previous page) in the background outside the window on the teapot page. These continue throughout the book sometimes showing four or five nursery rhyme characters or locations (ie: the pumpkin from Peter, Peter pumpkin eater in the background) in one illustration.

I think a child who is well versed in nursery rhymes would LOVE this book! They would have a great time trying to spot all the different nursery rhymes on the pages. But really anyone can enjoy this one. This book is available on May 13, 2010.

About the Author/Illustrator:
Alison Jay is the celebrated illustrator of many books for children. She studied illustration at the London College of Printing and lives in London, England.

Source disclosure: This book was sent to me unsolicited by the Penguin Group.

YA Weekend: The Wake Trilogy Series

I don't think you can be a part of the book blogging community and NOT have heard of Lisa McMann's Wake Trilogy. After reading countless reviews of these books, I decided to purchase them last year. And I waited to read them until the last book came out because everyone kept saying that when they finished one book, they wanted to move on to the next one right away.

Because there are so many reviews/synopses of these books out there, I'll just summarize by saying that Janie realizes she's different at a very young age. She can jump into people's dreams. She doesn't seem to have a choice. If someone is sleeping around her, she's pulled into their dream. As she gets older, she starts to figure out how to avoid some dreams, but still finds herself in some interesting situations. When she gets pulled into a dream, she blacks out and usually ends up convulsing. This happens to her while driving and luckily, she only ends up in a ditch. She finds herself attracted to a fellow misfit classmate named Cabel. She soon learns he may not be who she thought he was. She also learns more about her dreaming and her destiny as a Dreamcatcher. She begins to learn how to control which dreams she enters and ends up using her ability to help people including the police.

Fade picks up not long after Wake ends with Cabel and Janie working together to help track down a teacher who may be a sexual predator in their school. Janie also learns even more about her ability and potentially what it holds with regard to her future.

The final book, Gone is a bit different from the first two in that it doesn't involve Janie working on a police case. In fact, she spends the book trying to decide if she should cut herself off from the world and just live a solitary life. Discovering who her father is helps her decide whether living alone or using her dreamcatching ability is her destiny.

Overall, I found this series intriguing and fresh. I was pulled in and couldn't wait to read each book to see how the story arc moved along. I don't know that I can think of any books with a similar concept. I feel like the characters were represented very realistically. My only concern is that these books are quite heavy. Alcoholism, sexual assault, profanity, sex, drugs, etc. abound. I would definitely rate these books as rated R and would hold off on recommending them to anyone younger than fifteen or sixteen or so.

Picture Book Thursday: Sleepover at Gramma's House

Yes, I am waaaaay behind on Picture Book Thursday posts! I can't believe how behind I am on those. At least 12 books in the queue to be reviewed. Instead of thinking about how behind I am, I'm just going to get caught up, yes I am! Okay, now that's the right attitude! I'm going to schedule these for every 2-3 weeks and then hopefully, that will help me get caught up and I won't have to remember that it's time for another PBTh book. :-)

So here goes...Book #1: Sleepover at Gramma's House by Barbara Joose, illustrated by Jan Jutte. This book's illustrations remind me a bit (just a bit) of the Babar books. The book starts with a little girl so excited to visit her Gramma's house. She runs around her house packing her "nighty trunk" and saying good-bye to everything and everyone. And then she's off to have fun adventures with Gramma: painting, having fun snacks, telling each other stories and finally good night.

This is a very sweet book that would be wonderful to give to preschoolers before a trip to Grandma's house, especially if they are going for their first overnight! The beginning of the book seems to be ode to Goodnight Moon. After the first few pages the text gets a little long and more sing songy. The illustrations are fun throughout!

This might make a fun book to give to Grandma for Mother's Day from the grandchildren. She could keep it at her house to read to them when they come over. (Edited to add: Just checked the publication date...May 13th. So just misses Mother's Day this year. Maybe for next year though!)
:-)

About the author:
Barbara Joosse is the author of more than thirty books for children, which include Mama, Do You Love Me?, Please Is a Good Word to Say, Love is a Good Thing to Feel and ROAWR!, her first collaboration with Jan Jutte. Sleepover at Gramma's House joins her other major titles as a book that can be, as she says, shared by parents and grandparents and their child inside a hug. Barbara Joosse lives with her husband, sculptor C. T. Whitehouse, and their two dogs in a little stone house in Cedarburg, Wisconsin.

About the Illustrator:
Jan Jutte is one of the Netherlands' most accomplished picture book artists. He has illustrated over one hundred titles and has won many of the country's highest awards, including the Golden Brush and the Golden Plaque. Jan and his wife, Nanouk, live in a very old town in the Netherlands called Zutphen with their son, Melle, and two dogs, Titus and Igor.

Source disclosure: This book was sent to me unsolicited from the Penguin Group.

Teaser Tuesdays - Revenge of the Spellmans

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

I decided to re-read the first three Izzy Spellman books by Lisa Lutz after reading the fourth, The Spellmans Strike Again. The first is The Spellman Files, then Curse of the Spellmans, then Revenge of the Spellmans. My teaser is from Revenge of the Spellmans, page 71:

"It's my life. You're just a member of the audience," I said, getting up to leave.

"Well, I want my money back!" Mom shouted after me as I headed for the front door. "Because this show sucks!"

Teaser Tuesdays - The Vanishing of Katharina Linden

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Mine is from The Vanishing of Katharina Linden by Helen Grant:

'Herr Schiller? Are there really such things as ghosts?'
The old man did not even show surprise at the question. He heaved a sigh. 'Yes, Pia, there are. But never the ones you expect.' (p. 63)

Mystery Monday - G. M. Malliet

Death at the Alma Mater (St. Just mystery #3) by G. M. Malliet: The delightful Malliet turns her rapier wit to the university murder mystery in the third St. Just and Sgt. Fear mystery. St. Michael's College, the red-headed stepchild of Cambridge, is desperate for money. The college master invites rich alumni for a fundraising weekend. Both Lexy Laurant and her ex-husband, Sir James, are on the guest list, promising fireworks, but when Lexy turns up dead, the weekend becomes a bit too exciting. Detective Inspector St. Just and Sgt. Fear come to St. Michael's to sort through the array of suspects, including Lexy's Latin lover, a spoiled student, a dot-com millionaire, the shrewd college Bursar, and so many more. St. Just's girlfriend, Portia, is on the scene, as she is a student. To be honest, I'm a bit annoyed by the St. Just - Portia relationship. I just don't care too terribly much about it. But the good far outweighs the bad in this series, which is both an homage to classic mysteries and a gentle parody. The suspects are many, the investigator entertaining (he delights in the drawing-room scene with all suspects assembled), and the plot convoluted enough to keep the reader guessing. A really fun read in a delightful series.

My review of Death and the Lit Chick (#2)
My review of Death of a Cozy Writer (#1)

Source disclosure: I purchased this book.

Flashback Friday - Louise Penny

I received The Brutal Telling, the fifth in Louise Penny's Inspectpr Gamache mystery series, through LibraryThing's Early Review program. I was so utterly charmed that I ordered the first four books in the series. This series is a new favorite of mine. Chief Inspector Gamache, of the Surete in Quebec, investigates murders primarily in the tiny village of Three Pines. Penny has a gift for characterization and a flair for mystery.

Still Life by Louise Penny (#1): The body of eccentric artist Jane Neal is found outside the village of Three Pines, and Chief Inspector Gamache is called in to investigate what appears to be a hunting accident. But the plot quickly thickens with suspects as Jane's dreadful niece, Yolande, turns up to claim her inheritance and villagers' secrets are brought into the light. Penny is a master of both mystery and the village novel. Her characters are rich and vibrant, their relationships complex and satisfying, the mystery plausible yet not obvious. Chief Inspector Gamache and his team are smart and determined. Penny's prose is beautiful and the reader is drawn into Three Pines and its wonderful inhabitants.

A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny (#2): No one mourns when abrasive socialite (and self-made spiritual guide) CC dePoitiers is electrocuted during a curling match during the Christmas season. But Chief Inspector Gamache arrives to investigate. CC's lover, her abused daughter, and any number of villagers offended by her are all suspects. The mystery is involved, and while the method of murder seems overly complicated, Penny kept me guessing until the end.

The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny (#3): In this entry, the villagers of Three Pines hold a seance in the old Hadley house, and Madeleine Favreau collapses, apparently dead of fright. Naturally, there is more to the story, and Chief Inspector Gamache and his team arrive to investigate. A subplot involving Gamache's accusations about a superior has Gamache wondering if there is a mole on his team.

A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny (#4): Gamache and his wife are on holiday at Manoir Bellechasse, a lovely, peaceful resort. Vacationing with them are the Finney family, including Three Pines residents Peter and Clara Morrow. When a statue of the Finney pater crushes one of his daughters, Gamache's carefree holiday is at an end. Leaving Three Pines for a book was probably a good idea, since the village is tiny and would soon run out of residents. And the Manoir, with its intriguing staff and contentious guests, was a delightful setting.

Source disclosure: I purchased these books.

The Tale of Halcyon Crane by Wendy Webb

I love a good ghost story, and Wendy Webb's debut novel promises just that. Hallie James has lived in Washington with her father since her mother died during Hallie's childhood. As her father descends into Alzheimer's, Hallie receives a letter from Madlyn Crane, claiming she is Hallie's mother. The letter was sent by Madlyn's attorney on Grand Manitou Island in the Great Lakes after Madlyn died. Before he dies, Hallie's father confirms the story. Reeling from her father's death and the news about her mother, she goes to Grand Manitou to claim her inheritance. The island is an insular place, and its ban on cars adds to the creepy Gothic feel of the story, a step out of time. Hallie learns that her father faked their deaths after a young girl died in Hallie's home. Why? Could he have, as the islanders believe, caused the girl's death? And who is the ghost who sings childish songs that only Hallie hears?

This book actually didn't hook me immediately. The beginning, with Hallie in her run-of-the-mill Washington life, is not exactly atmospheric, and she seemed strangely detached from the life-changing news that her mother had been alive and her father had faked their deaths. She wasn't very fleshed out as a character. But once she reaches the island, the Gothic atmosphere creeps in. Her mother's elderly housekeeper begins to tell Hallie the story of her family's history, drawing her into the past in the midst of her adjustment to life on an island whose inhabitants had thought she'd died thirty years before. I actually had trouble falling asleep after reading a particularly eerie part of the book. There were two elements in particular that were supposed to surprise me at the end, so I was disappointed that I guessed them. One of them was obvious from the beginning. The book is saved by Webb's gift for atmospheric horror. I had genuine chills at parts of this book. The ghosts were creepy, if a bit on the cliche side. All in all, an uneven ghost story, but if you're looking for some delightfully Gothic chills, The Tale of Halcyon Crane will supply them.


Source disclosure: I received an advance copy from the publisher through LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program.

Fool by Christopher Moore

Ah, Christopher Moore. I can always count on you for both erudite wit and bawdy humor. Turning one of Shakespeare's tragedies into a comedy chock-full of shagging, groan-worthy puns, potty humor, and, of course, mocking the French, takes a special kind of writer. Fool is Moore's retelling of King Lear from the point-of-view of Pocket, the King's fool. And now, it's a comedy. A very bawdy one (not unlike the Bard's own humor, really - all Moore missed here was a spot of gender confusion). I'm familiar with Moore's work, so I was expecting smart and funny, but I wasn't expecting such a sweet, tender story in parts. His endearing Pocket is lewd, randy, and respects no one, but as he is caught up in the political machinations of the plot, his gentle, sympathetic side is drawn out further. He's a surprisingly likable hero. Regan and Goneril are delightfully wicked villains, Lear is infuriating as in the original, and Pocket's dimwitted and perpetually aroused apprentice, Drool, is oddly sweet. For those (like me) who have not read King Lear in some time, Pocket explains the main plot points clearly and with great humor.

As with all Moore books, this one goes well over the top with some of the bodily fluid-dependent humor. I always find myself wishing he hadn't gone quite so far, or that he would leave that joke well enough alone after the fourth time, but that's not hard to overlook. I found this to be a really enjoyable read, and despite knowing the plot in advance, I was swept up in the action, and completely enamored with Pocket.

If you take your Shakespeare very seriously or find raunchy humor offensive, steer clear. Otherwise, I thought this a cracking good read with surprising depth.


Source disclosure: I purchased this book.

The Lawyer's Secret by M. E. Braddon

The Lawyer's Secret by M. E. Braddon was originally published in 1862, and was recently reprinted by Hesperus Press with a foreword by Matthew Sweet and the addition of the shorter work "The Mystery at Fernwood." Braddon was a master of "sensation fiction," "a species of writing...'aimed at electrifying the nerves of the reader.'" The genre flourished in the 1860s as part of a larger cultural trend. Braddon's focus was on domestic strife with a mysterious edge; rather than in exotic mansions or haunted houses, her heroines find terror in seemingly ordinary lives. In The Lawyer's Secret, Ellinor inherits her uncle's estate on the condition that she marry his protege. It's fairly obvious that the lawyer is hiding something (not least from the title) and to a modern reader, the secret is easy to guess. Because the genre is driven by plot rather than character development, the lack of surprise squelches the "electrified nerves" experienced by Victorian readers. As mysteries, these stories really do not stand the test of time to be engaging to the modern reader, in the way that, say, Jane Austen or Charlotte Bronte continue to inspire readers. However, the Hesperus Press reissue puts these works into their historical context with a foreword, biographical note, and footnotes, making it a worthwhile read for anyone with an interest in Victorian fiction.

Source disclosure: I received this book from the publisher through LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program.

The Weed That Strings The Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley

The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag is Alan Bradley's second Flavia deLuce mystery. The precocious eleven-year-old practicing chemistry out of sight of her father and horrid sisters in 1950s rural England was introduced in The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, one of my favorite reads from 2009. The second book does not disappoint. A traveling puppet show is the definition of excitement in Bishops Lacey, but when he dies during the show, that's the definition of excitement for Flavia deLuce. She digs into the mystery, using her knowledge of the village and chemistry knowledge to eliminate suspects and determine how the puppeteer's death could be connected to the hanging of a young boy five years before. Meanwhile, she cleverly concocts poisons to gain revenge on her older sisters, diagnoses pregnancy with a handkerchief, and stumbles upon a hemp field. We see more of the Bishops Lacey residents in this installment, and the rural village setting continues to delight. Flavia's odd Aunt Felicity is in for a visit, which adds an interesting dimension. Flavia is simply fun to read. My husband heard me cracking up while I was reading this book and asked what was so funny. "Flavia's trying to poison her sisters again!" I told him. I think he's reevaluating my sense of humor. Flavia is smart, witty, and resourceful, and her investigation is brilliant.

This is a fantastic entry in one of my absolute favorite mystery series. Fans of cozies or historical mysteries will love Flavia.


Source disclosure: I received this book from the publisher through LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program.

Mystery Monday: The Chet & Bernie Series

If you're looking for a fun mystery that has a bit of a different twist, Spencer Quinn's Chet and Bernie series may be just what you're looking for.

Chet and Bernie are in charge of the Little Detective Agency. Bernie Little is a private investigator based in Arizona who is not very good with money, tends to drink a little too much, can be a brute when need be, but is ever loyal to his good buddy, Chet. Chet is a dog. He and Bernie are equal partners in the detective agency and what truly sets these mysteries apart is that they are written from CHET'S point of view! Yes, you read that right. The DOG is telling the story.

It took me a chapter or two to get used to Chet's point of view. But after that, I got into it. It was sort of fun to read the story from his vantage point. And it actually added a bit of suspense to the book. At times Chet knew answers to the mystery that Bernie didn't and being a dog, Chet couldn't communicate this information to Bernie. It kept you reading to find out how Bernie was eventually going to figure everything out.

In the first book Dog On It, Chet and Bernie are in search of a missing teenage girl. Chet is dognapped and happens to discover where the girl is being kept. He just has to figure out how to lead Bernie to her.

In the second installment, Thereby Hangs a Tail, Chet and Bernie are charged with guarding a prissy show dog named Princess. But Princess, her owner, and roving reporter Suzie Sanchez go missing. Chet and Bernie are on the case!

I will fully admit I am NOT a dog person at all. I have always been a bit tentative around them. But I have become a fan of these books centering around Chet. And I HIGHLY recommend them to any dog-loving mystery fans out there. I think you will really get a kick out of them. It was amusing to me how well Quinn seemed to capture the personality of a dog and the observations Chet made about humans. I'll be sure to continue reading this series!

Source disclosure: I purchased both of these books.

The Reason I'm Behind on Things...

Hee hee....I just couldn't help posting this one. ;-) Little Kellan is the reason it's been forever since I've had time to get reviews up here. He's two months old today! And it's funny, I thought having a new baby would cut down on my reading time, but in fact, I've been keeping up pretty well. I actually have reading time carved out in my day because I read while I'm nursing him. It's fantastic! I squirrel away in the nursery with him and my book and I have a good 20-25 minutes to myself in silence. I love it! However, I haven't been able to read anything too difficult, so much of my reading has been lighter fare. It's just too hard to focus on a more literate book in short increments. At any rate, I just had to share a photo of our newest little reader!

The House at Sugar Beach by Helene Cooper

The House at Sugar Beach is Helene Cooper's memoir of her childhood in Liberia, Africa and continues through her college years in America and eventual American citizenship.

For whatever reason, I continue to be drawn to books with African cultures at the center. And this was no exception. I had absolutely no knowledge of Liberia going into this book. I found its history very interesting. Freed slaves from America were shipped back to this country to settle and start life again causing dissension between the people already inhabiting the area and the new settlers. The tension appeared to escalate in the late 1980's and 1990's causing great violence and civil war in the area.

Helene Cooper's family dates back to the original ship arriving with freed slaves. She grew up living in a mansion and having a grand life compared to people in the area. Often the wealthier families in Liberia would accept children from the "country" people or the native cultures into their homes and raise them as their own. This gave the children a better life than they would have otherwise. This is how Eunice came to live with the Coopers. She and Helene became sisters almost as if they were blood.

As the violence grew and her family was no longer safe (in fact her mother was raped), they moved to America and settled in the south. Unfortunately, Eunice was sent back to her family and did not travel to America. While Helene finished out her high school years and then college she would write letters to Eunice until they just lost touch. Helene went on to become a journalist working for the Wall Street Journal and other papers.

The House at Sugar Beach recounts all of these events in great detail. I found the book to be interesting, but to a point. I felt the first half about her childhood dragged a bit. I admit I skipped 100 pages (102-202) in the middle. And I don't feel like I really missed out on much except reading about the violence against her family. I actually prefer not to read that and was happy I could gleam what happened from tidbits later in the book. I enjoyed reading the second half more than the first. Overall, a mediocre read. Not sure what my book club will think about it. I anticipate it will be a DNF for many. Although, not the greatest book ever, I don't think it was a waste of my time. I did learn about a country and its history that I knew nothing about before. And that's never a waste of time! :-) And it was also interesting to read about a woman as strong as Helene Cooper.

Source disclosure: I borrowed this book from the library.

YA Weekend: the ghostgirl series

I'm not sure what drew me to Tonya Hurley's ghostgirl series. I think I read some reviews on various book blogs and thought the concept sounded interesting.

In the first book ghostgirl, Charlotte finds herself starting her junior year of high school. She has vowed to do anything she can this year to become part of the popular crowd. She spent all summer planning her return to school and how she was going to reinvent herself. And on the very first day of school, she is lucky enough to get paired up with her dream guy in Physics class. Then she just so happens to choke to death....on a gummy bear. From there she is whisked away to the Afterlife or actually somewhere in between. She (as a ghost) now must attend Dead Ed in the same high school she attended while living. She learns she can pop in on her living classmates and see what they are up to. While doing so, she realizes that Scarlet, the sister of Queen Bee Petula, can see her. The two embark on a strange friendship. Throughout the course of the book, Charlotte refuses to accept her death and still tries to get the guy and be popular by living vicariously through her "living" classmates. By continuing to deal with the living, she alienates herself from her fellow dead students.

The second book Homecoming finds Charlotte now moved on to the other side, though she's not quite sure if this is heaven or some place in between. She and the other Dead Ed students are working in a phone bank answering calls from teenagers who can use their help. Day in and day out Charlotte's phone never rings, frustrating her to no end. Back at her old high school, Queen Bee Petula has contracted a deadly staph infection from a botched pedicure. It seems the only way to help her out of her coma is for her sister Scarlet to go to the other side to find Charlotte to help her.

These books are very light fare and perfect for the 13-15 year old set. For me, Charlotte gets a bit annoying with her whiny attitude toward the injustice of her death. It also bugs me how much she wants to be one of the popular girls. I love the character of Scarlet. I was glad that the football jock dreamboat seemed to have more depth to him than what you would expect. These are somewhat fun, but a bit mediocre overall. They are very quick reads. The books themselves are gorgeous with a die-cut cover, color and decorative embellishments on every page and silver trimmed pages. HOWEVER, the extra height of the book (and perhaps the silver trim) make the book very heavy and awkward to hold for long periods of time.

These are very good for escapist reading. A third installment ghostgirl: Lovesick is due out this July.

Source disclosure: I borrowed these books from the library.

St. Patrick's Day Murder

Holiday reading can be fun, so I picked up the 14th installment of Leslie Meier's Lucy Stone series in anticipation of St. Patrick's Day. I've read a few books in this series and knew it wasn't a "must read in order" series. Lucy is a reporter for the Pennysaver in Tinker's Cover, Maine. Her pregnant daughter-in-law is in the hospital with toxemia and her daughter is under the influence of a fanciful child convinced that fairies are real. But she finds time to investigate when local pub owner Old Dan is found, without his head. Old Dan's estranged brother arrives from Ireland with his abrasive wife, with plans to produce Finnegan's Wake with the local church. Lucy ends up in the chorus, despite a lack of singing talent, giving her a window into the drama behind the scenes. The ending will surprise no one. This isn't on my A list of mystery series, but Lucy is usually a fun diversion. I expected a blarney-infused installment to be highly entertaining, but the plot was dull and plodding. One victim's death is so far-fetched as to be laughable. Celtic/Irish lore is thrown in for effect, but nothing really sticks. The attitudes of the Tinker's Cove residents changing toward the newcomer is implausible, and the "surprise" toxemia grated on my nerves, since that's the sort of thing that's closely monitored. All in all, an installment you could skip, and not recommended for your St. Patrick's Day fix.

Mystery Monday - Sequels Edition

The Seventh Witch by Shirley Damsgaard is the seventh in the Abby and Ophelia series about a psychic librarian coming to terms with her heritage as a witch. For the first time, we get to see the full array of powerful women in Ophelia's family, as she and Abby travel to the North Carolina mountains for Great Aunt Mary's 100th birthday. While I missed Darci, I really enjoyed meeting the family, and a chance encounter with Cobra was also fun. Great Aunt Dot, who sees fairies, was a hoot, and the rivalry with another clan was interesting. All in all, a worthy installment. The first in the series is Witch Way to Murder, and they're probably best read in order, given the ongoing character development. These are the best paranormal mysteries I've come across.

Bridezilla by Laura Levine: The Jaine Austen mysteries are fun and quirky, but insubstantial, like popcorn. Jaine is a writer for hire who runs into a disproportionate number of dead bodies. Killing Bridezilla was a lot of fun. Jaine's former high school classmate (and Queen Bitch) Patti hires Jaine to write her wedding vows. She wants Romeo and Juliet...but snappier. The money is too good for Jaine to pass up (someone has to keep Prozac supplied with Yummy Fish Guts cat food), and she finds herself sucked back into Hermosa High history as she continually rewrites to meet Patti's demands. Patti had stolen her groom from another classmate, kicks a bridesmaid out of the party for being too fat, and generally offends everyone she meets. So it's not that surprising when she turns up dead, having plunged from the very balcony that was to serve as her stage, landing on the point of an arrow brandished by a tacky cherub statue. Jaine investigates to clear another classmate. This installment in the series was hilarious and non-stop entertainment. The high school nostalgia brings a surprisingly thoughtful element to balance the hilarity. A very cute, funny mystery. The first in the series is This Pen for Hire.

Apple Turnover Murder by Joanne Fluke: Something about the Hannah Swensen mysteries keeps me coming back again and again, now for the thirteenth time. Is it the small-town charm of Lake Eden, Minnesota? Or Hannah's array of cookie recipes (it's definitely not the hotdish recipes...)? Or the delightfully quirky cast of characters who surround her? I think it's all of these. What it's not is that love triangle with Norman the dentist and Mike the cop, which got tired several books ago. Still, it's not intrusive enough to ruin the fun for me. The twelfth book (Plum Pudding Murder), ended with the arrival of an old flame of Hannah's, promising more in this line. And the despicable Bradford Ramsay is indeed key to the mystery, having been murdered right after Hannah threatens him. Oops. You'd think in a town with a body count like Lake Eden's, people would learn to stop saying incriminating things like "You'll be sorry!" At any rate, Hannah investigates while she tries not to obsess over why Norman has been so distant since returning from a visit to dental school buddies. The usual small-town Minnesota charm ensues, and I enjoyed reading this installment. A cliffhanger ending promises that the love triangle nonsense isn't over, but I'll put up with it to visit Lake Eden again next year. The first in this series is Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder.

Scone Cold Dead by Kaitlyn Dunnett: I enjoyed Kilt Dead, the first Liss MacCrimmon mystery, and was looking forward to the second. Really, this series should be perfect for me, as it engages me on several levels: my inexplicable fondness for Maine, my love of small-town cozies, my interest in dancing and Scottish history/culture. Liss moves back to Moosetookalook, Maine, after a knee injury ends her career as a Scottish dancer, to run her aunt's Scottish Emporium. The Highland Games setting in Kilt Dead was more fun, I think, but really, this is a case of early promise not panning out. In Scone Cold Dead, Liss's old dance troupe is coming to town and her former manager is murdered. He was so thoroughly unlikeable that I didn't particularly care who killed him, but there were more problems in this cozy. The pseudonymous Dunnett seems to have adopted the obligatory love triangle of recent cozies, and Liss's boyfriend is grumpy about one of Liss's friends, who turns out to be male. I really can't see why she likes the boyfriend. He was thoroughly unlikeable throughout the book, and Liss was insensitive. I don't buy the law enforcement professional asking for Liss's help "because she knows the dance world." Sure, interviewing her makes sense, but asking an amateur to assist in an investigation? The reasoning seemed thin - it's not like they speak a different language and he needs an interpreter. The murder method is ridiculously complex and fraught with potential for error. I plowed through to the end, hoping it would live up to the promise of Kilt Dead, but no luck. In a fit of optimism, I picked up the third book in the series, A Wee Christmas Homicide, and didn't even finish it. This is extremely rare for me. I usually at least skim to the end to find out who did it, but I couldn't be bothered. In this holiday mystery, Liss discovers she's sitting on a gold mine: the cute little kilted bears she thought brightened up the Scottish Emporium are Tiny Teddies, the must-have toy of the season. Two other Moosetookalook businesses also have supplies. Instead of just chucking them on eBay, Liss comes up with a convoluted plan to celebrate Twelve Days of Christmas and bring tourists to benefit ALL Moosetookalook businesses. The obnoxious Gavin, who had tried to fleece Liss by purchasing all her Tiny Teddies, is murdered, and good riddance I say. Why Liss investigates is beyond me, and I didn't care in the least who killed Gavin. I'm sadly giving up on this series.

Source disclosure: I purchased all these books.

YA Weekend

Enola Holmes and the Cryptic Crinoline by Nancy Springer: I like Enola Holmes. She's spunky, resourceful, and bright. While her life would be much easier if she would just trust her brother Sherlock, it's understandable why she doesn't, and chooses instead to rely on her own instincts and deductive reasoning skills. In this, the fifth in the series, Enola's landlady, Mrs. Tupper, goes missing. Enola unravels the mystery, which leads to Mrs. Tupper's past during the Crimean War and to a meeting with Florence Nightingale. The historical setting is believable, Enola's cat-and-mouse game with her brother balanced nicely against the central mystery, and the mystery and codes compelling. A really fun series. The first is Enola Holmes and the Case of the Missing Marquess.

Source disclosure: I purchased this book.