REVIEW | A Murder in Time by Julie McElwain

A Murder in Time by Julie McElwain

Publication Year: 2016

Genre: Historical Mystery (?) Science Fiction (?)
Series: Kendra Donovan #1

Awards: None
Format: Audio (from Audible)

Narrator: Lucy Rayner

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WHY?: Murder! Mystery! Time Travel! 

SYNOPSIS:  Kendra Donovan is a genius who was more experiment than daughter to her parents, so it's no surprise that she rebelled against them and is using all her inherited smarts as a profiler for the FBI.  After an operation goes terribly wrong she chases the perpetrator to a role-playing house party in the English countryside where, while in pursuit, she unceremoniously is transported back to 1815. While stumbling around trying to find her footing in this weird situation, one of the housemaids goes missing and she snaps into full-on FBI mode which, needless to say, is rather shocking for all the 1815ers.  

THOUGHTS

I liked this book.  I really, really did.  I'm putting this right up front because I suspect that contrary to that fact, my review is going to read like a litany of complaints.  There were a number of little things that bugged me and kept the book from being all it could be but even with all that I had an enjoyable time reading it.  So just keep that in mind while I fail to prevent myself from whining about what was and what could have been.

A Murder in Time's protagonist and main perspective character is Kendra Donovan.  When we meet her at the start of the novel she is a brainy FBI agent yearning to see a little field action.  She gets her wish but unfortunately it's in an operation that goes terribly wrong.  Afterwards, she gets really pissed off and goes rogue in order to get revenge on the big bad.  She's on the verge of getting said revenge when she walks down a hallway in a English country manor house, walks through a door and into the 19th Century.  There is very little explanation for this in this book though there are some hints that discovering why and how she went back in time will play a larger role in future books.

Once the book shifts in time, the story really begins.  A missing housemaid leads into a mystery and manhunt that is an interesting and fun whodunnit.  Kendra must figure out how to solve a crime without modern law enforcement technology and must rely more heavily on her profiling skills.  Needless to say, in a society that sees women as delicate, emotional flowers, she sticks out like a sore thumb. She makes little effort to blend in with the time period which in many ways bugged me (more on that later) but the author was clever to have her stick to being American so Kendra is able to pass off her eccentricities to her nationality. Because, obviously, Americans are crazy!  I may seem like I'm joking there but I'm not - we're nuts  - hopefully in a lovable way. 

There are a couple of other characters that help Kendra and are quite interesting as well. The first is the owner of the manor house, who is luckily for Kendra, a little scholarly and eccentric so he is very tolerant and open-minded about Kendra her behavior.  I can see him developing into a father figure for Kendra whose real family in the modern day is less than ideal.  The second is a noble spinster lady, about Kendra's own age, who is scarred by smallpox and who chafes against society's restrictions on women. In solidarity, she takes Kendra under her wing despite being rather shocked by her.  To be honest, and this is a big reason for mild dissatisfaction, I actually found both these two characters more interesting and likable than Kendra.  

Which leads nicely into the complaining portion of post. The book had so much potential and only partially lived up to it in my estimation.  The first issue I thought was with the beginning.  The book didn't really get interesting for me until the first murder is discovered in the historic time period and there is SO MUCH set up and dallying in the modern-day before that takes place.  I appreciate that the author really wanted to establish Kendra's life in contemporary times before shooting her into the past but I honestly didn't feel like I got to know her all that well in those first chapters and the modern day storyline was boring and pointless.  

And speaking of the modern day, one of my biggest complaints which has nothing to do with the book itself was with the audio version.  The narrator, Lucy Rayner, was all wrong for it in my opinion.  She has this very plummy, almost cartoonish British accent with a treacly sweet voice.  It's really jarring during the modern day section where the author is going for hard-boiled modern America with F bombs being dropped and an elaborate shoot out.  In the historic sections it fits a little better but she was still too sweet voiced for this.  I could see her reading the crap out of a Gail Carriger book or a particularly fluffy Regency romance but a mystery/thriller starring an American lead? Nope. 

Kendra.  The reader is repeatedly told what a genius Kendra is, and not in a normal sort of way - she is supposed to be a brilliant, through-the-roof, graduated from college when she was 15 kind of smart. She's read Jane Austen and at times recalls dates in history for specific and often obscure inventions. From her actions, she's not great with people but she doesn't completely lack social skills.  Put all of that together and you'd think she'd be on the ball enough to at least try to be inconspicuous and fit into the time period she finds herself in, but nope.  She doesn't even really seem to try and it is only because she has the good fortune to find herself with the two champions I mention above that she is not carted off to a madhouse or tarred and feathered.  She's always bossing everyone about, finding herself alone with gentlemen and referring to modern day things carelessly.  It stressed me out!  Maybe I need to stop reading so much literature set in the Regency era,lol. Her fish out of water behavior definitely leads to a few interesting scenes but overall it just felt lazy that Kendra didn't even try to fit in.  The author, I think, was just really jazzed up about using modern forensic profiling in a historic setting so didn't fuss with the reality of the situation. Your mileage will vary on how much that bothers you.

There is some romance for our intrepid heroine but the love interest is basically "Generic Regency Dude" and the interactions between he and Kendra who is also a little flat, are  pretty lackluster.  The chemistry isn't absent but it's barely bubbling.  I was much more invested in headstrong spinster lady friend finding herself some lovin' but there isn't even a whisper in that direction.  

FINAL VERDICT:  I found this time-travel mystery thriller to be a mixed bag - it had a lot of potential but only got halfway there, at least for what I was looking for.  The mystery was pretty good and because of that and some of the side characters, I am definitely interested in checking out subsequent books in the series. 3 out of 5 stars.

OTHER OPINIONS ARE AVAILABLE: Smart Bitches, Trashy Books | The Lit Bitch

REVIEW | The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud

The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud

Publication Year: 2011

Genre: Middle-Grade, Paranormal Mystery (Urban Fantasy?)
Series: Lockwood & Co. #1

Awards: It did not win any but was nominated for a couple
Format: Audio (from Library)

Narrator: Miranda Raison

WHY?:  It's about kids who hunt ghosts.  Who doesn't want to read that?

SYNOPSIS: In an England that has been overtaken by spirits that only children can see, Lockwood & Co. is one of the many agencies that people can hire to rid themselves of ghostly problems.  When one of their cases goes spectacularly wrong, Lockwood, Lucy and George, who make up the agency, must take on an extremely deadly assignment; to quiet the spirits in the most haunted house in England.   

THOUGHTS:

I am fascinated by ghosts but, strangely, I haven't found many books featuring them that I really love.  I'm happy to say that the first book in the middle-grade Lockwood & Co. series is a book about ghosts that really worked for me.  It is exciting, has a multi-layered plot and a distinct take on ghosts and the hunting of them.

The story is told from the perspective of Lucy Carlyle.  In the England the book is set in, something has occurred that has caused spirits to manifest all over the country and these ghosts are not just a spooky nuisance.  If one touches you, you don't just feel a chill, you die.

Children under a certain age (15 or so) are the only people who can actually see the ghosts and some kids are more adept at it than others.  Lucy is one of the more talented ones so she is recruited at a young age to become a ghost hunter.  Ghost hunters usually work in a group supervised by an adult who can't see the ghost but takes feedback from the children and develops the plan of action.  When Lucy's handler loses his nerve and makes a bad call during an assignment, sending all but she to their deaths, Lucy decides to strike out on her own and heads to London to see if she can find a better situation.

She ends up being hired by Lockwood & Co. which is unique in that it employs no adult handlers.  In fact, it is just Lockwood and his confederate George.  Adding Lucy makes them a threesome working out of Lockwood's large house left to him by his parents who are mysteriously missing.  Each of them brings something different to the table.  Lockwood is very smart and bold, a good planner, strategist and leader and is also very good at seeing ghostly phenomena.  George is a science and research dork who spends his time tinkering with ghostly artifacts and doing background research for their cases.  Lucy is very talented at hearing ghostly phenomena and at getting emotional readings and flashbacks from the dead and objects associated with them.  All together they make a good team and they are all glad not to have the supervision of adults.

Normally, that whole idea of kids doing dangerous things and not involving adults, is a barrier when I reader literature aimed at a younger audience.  What for a younger reader is empowering, I find unrealistic and frustrating.  However, there was none of that in this story.  Lucy's experience with her adult mentor at the start of the story and the maturity of Lockwood and all of the gang really convinced me that they are better off taking care of themselves.  It's a fascinating power structure to explore, with kids having a useful and necessary skill that adults don't, and the story does a good job of imagining what this would mean  - it both empowers the kids as well as making them vulnerable for exploitation.

The idea of kids having this "superpower" denied to adults is only one of the very interesting things in the universe Stroud builds.  At first I thought the book was set in a historical setting, likely Victorian, as some of the trappings of the story and setting suggest but actually the book is set contemporarily or even slightly in the future.  There are television sets and other modern things but the phenomenon of the ghosts appearing has scrambled society in many ways.  And that's one layer of the story that will likely be a constant in the series; what happened to "awaken" the ghosts and how can it be stopped once and for all.

The specific plot of the book is also pretty great.  It is a little slow to get started but it builds to a really exciting and pretty scary climax.  Lockwood & Co. are trying to keep the agency open after a disastrous case and partially as a ploy to get positive publicity they are trying to track down who murdered a young socialite who has become a very restless and murderous ghost.  Their involvement in the cold case brings to them the business of an enigmatic millionaire who wishes them to "clean" out his house which is reputed to be the most haunted in a very haunted England.  The night they spend at the house is chilling and exciting!  My only complaint is that Lockwood has information/suspicions that he does not share with his colleagues and there doesn't seem to be any reason for him to do this except to build suspense and conflict in the story, but I'll let it slide because it leads to a great reveal in the end.

Finally, all three of the main characters are great.  George is the least developed of the three but his peculiarities and bickering with Lucy and Lockwood add much of the humor in the book which lightens up what would be a completely dark tale otherwise.  Lucy, as narrator is the one we get to know best and she's a great character, being both traumatised and extremely brave and empathetic.  She's got attitude and her narrative voice is engaging and provides interesting perspective.  Lockwood is charming and immediately likable but he is also a huge mystery and I expect that also to be one of the plot threads that carries throughout the series.

Taken as a whole this was a really good start to a series and I think it would go over really well with all age groups.  It doesn't shy away from the scary parts so if your young reader is on the easily frightened side I might be a little wary.  I listened to the audio and the narrator, who I think is new to me, was great.  She is essentially the voice of Lucy and I think she did a great job bringing her to life.

FINAL VERDICT:  A nicely creepy, complex and ultimately exciting ghost hunter story aimed at middle-grade readers though it als entertained my middle-aged brain. Will definitely be continuing the series.  4 out of 5 stars. 

OTHER OPINIONS ARE AVAILABLE: Star-Crossed Book Blog | A Thousand Lives of Frankie Lively

REVIEW | Lady Cop Makes Trouble by Amy Stewart

Lady Cop Makes Trouble by Amy Stewart

Publication Year: 2016

Genre: Historical Mystery, Crime
Series: Kopp Sisters #2

Awards: None
Format: eBook (from Library)

Narrator: NA

SPOILERS AHOY!  This is book two in a series so some spoilery type things about book one may be revealed. 

WHY?:  This is currently my favorite ongoing historical mystery series.  So glad that the first book, Girl Waits With Gun, wasn't the last!

SYNOPSIS: At the end of the first book, after Constance had thoroughly impressed Sheriff Heath with her fortitude, cleverness and practicality, he offered her a job as a deputy on his staff.  Constance enthusiastically accepts but as this book opens, it quickly becomes obvious that things have gone awry.  Sheriff Heath is catching heat for this controversial appointment and things get worse when an important prisoner escapes, and it is seemingly Constance's fault.  What's a woman to do?  Well, track down the prisoner and bring him back into detention single-handedly of course. 
  

THOUGHTS:

At the end of Girl Waits With Gun, things were looking up for Constance Kopp.  She'd been offered a job by the Sheriff which gave her a way to support herself and her two sisters and keep them independent.  As a bonus she discovers that she very much enjoys police work and or the first time in her life she feels like she has a purpose. Unfortunately, things pretty quickly lose their shine when Sheriff Heath's promises to get her sworn is as a Deputy don't seem to be coming to fruition.  She has mostly been relegated to being a matron for the female residents of the county jail and she longs to get out more doing real Sheriff Deputy's work.

Unfortunately the first time in a while she does get out, an important prisoner disappears, seemingly under her watch.  Though the prisoner likely would have disappeared under anyone's watch, the folks against Sheriff Heath's appointment of a lady to his staff are quick to blame it on the fact that she is a woman.  Constance must not only redeem herself in Sheriff Heath's eyes so she can get a chance to do what she loves but she must also do it to prove to his critics that he was not daft to hire a woman.  That she can do everything a male Deputy can do.  So she launches her own independent investigation, running afoul of Sheriff Heath and his wife while she does so.

As with book one, this is not really a strict mystery.  There are mysterious elements, questions that need answering but it is probably more accurate to call it a historical crime novel.  The main action in the book is a manhunt with much of the investigation centering on figuring out where the prisoner might be hiding.  Constance is creative with her independent investigating and meets some other professional women and solidifies how much her job means to her

Meanwhile, she's somewhat neglecting her family.  She is struggling particularly with young Fleurette who is so different than she and Norma and has dreams that scare Constance.  It is also stressful to be so at odds with Sheriff Heath and especially for feeling like she's let him down and is causing him hardship.  He stuck his neck out for her and there is no way she is going to let him be punished for doing that.  And it's not just his bosses that are giving him a hard time but also his unhappy wife.  I am seemingly unable not to 'ship everyone, so I really like Constance and Sheriff Heath as a team.  They are very simpatico and work really well together...much better than he and his wife do.  However, I can't really tell if Stewart is heading that way or not?  If so it is a very slow burn which is fine by me.  I like Constance and Norma's independence so don't want to diminish that by implying that Constance needs a man.  She doesn't but it would be nice for her to be loved by someone who gets and respects her.

Regardless of all of that, there are a lot of complications and conflict in the characters' relationships in this volume but not in a melodramatic way.  As with Girl Waits With Gun, it feels very down to earth and authentic.  Also like the first book, I loved it!  The best thing of all about it, is that it is based on a true story!

FINAL VERDICT:  This historical mystery series is brimming full of period authenticity and wonderful characters. I recommend it to anyone who likes historical fiction and/or crime novels. 4 out of 5 stars.

Other Opinions are Available: The Washington Post | The Book Stop

REVIEW | Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger

Ordinary Grace by William Kent Kruger

Publication Year: 2013

Genre: Fiction, Mystery
Series: NA

Awards: Anthony Award for Best Novel (2014), Edgar Award for Best Novel (2014)
Format: Audio (from Audible)

Narrator: Rich Orlow

WHY?:  A work colleague recommended this author to me a few years ago, specifically for the Cork O'Connor mystery series which includes a lot of natural history. Plus, Krueger lives just to the north of me in Minnesota.  This book is a stand alone (not part of the Cork O'Connor series) but many think it is his best book. The fact that it won two of the most prestigious mystery novel awards supports that consensus!  I think I bought this during one of Audible's sales. 

SYNOPSIS:  The book takes place in a single summer during the 1950s in a small town in Minnesota.  The narrator is Frank, as a 40 year old, recounting the events of the summer he was 14 and his whole life changed. 

THOUGHTS:

How many books have I read that follow just this format?  Middle-aged man (or less often woman) looking back on a crucial, coming-of-age moment during their small town childhood?  Dozens at least during my reading life.  Despite that I almost always enjoy them and this is a particularly excellent example of this type of story.  It is written beautifully, has a perfectly imperfect narrator whose voice is just right, a cast of lovingly crafted characters, a mystery at its heart and plenty of ideas for the mind to wrestle with.  

As I started it I admit was a little nervous.  Frank's father, Nathan, is a minister and there are a lot of Christian overtones to the book.  I am not anti-religion but a book with  a strong religious message can sometimes go sideways with me.   Thankfully Krueger handles all with grace and kindness.  The Christianity presented here is the type that makes me think about going back to the church.  Frank's dad is one of the best characters in the book, an Atticus Finch type character, all about forgiveness and love for all despite, or maybe because of, being a veteran of World War II.  His sermon's are where some of the most beautiful prose appears in the book and they brought tears to my eyes.  Here are two of my favorites, both of them centered around death and mortality which is a major theme of the book (I apologize - they are long but I have to highlight them):

“God never promised us an easy life. He never promised that we wouldn’t suffer, that we wouldn’t feel despair and loneliness and confusion and desperation. What he did promise was that in our suffering we would never be alone. And though we may sometimes make ourselves blind and deaf to his presence he is beside us and around us and within us always. We are never separated from his love. And he promised us something else, the most important promise of all. That there would be surcease. That there would be an end to our pain and our suffering and our loneliness, that we would be with him and know him, and this would be heaven.”

“It isn’t Easter,” he said, “but this week has caused me to think a lot about the Easter story. Not the glorious resurrection that we celebrate on Easter Sunday but the darkness that came before. I know of no darker moment in the Bible than the moment Jesus in his agony on the cross cries out, ‘Father, why have you forsaken me?’ Darker even than his death not long after because in death Jesus at last gave himself over fully to the divine will of God. But in that moment of his bitter railing he must have felt betrayed and completely abandoned by his father, a father he’d always believed loved him deeply and absolutely. How terrible that must have been and how alone he must have felt. In dying all was revealed to him, but alive Jesus like us saw with mortal eyes, felt the pain of mortal flesh, and knew the confusion of imperfect mortal understanding. “I see with mortal eyes. My mortal heart this morning is breaking. And I do not understand. “I confess that I have cried out to God, ‘Why have you forsaken me?’ ” Here my father paused and I thought he could not continue. But after a long moment he seemed to gather himself and went on. “When we feel abandoned, alone, and lost, what’s left to us? What do I have, what do you have, what do any of us have left except the overpowering temptation to rail against God and to blame him for the dark night into which he’s led us, to blame him for our misery, to blame him and cry out against him for not caring? What’s left to us when that which we love most has been taken? “I will tell you what’s left, three profound blessings. In his first letter to the Corinthians, Saint Paul tells us exactly what they are: faith, hope, and love. These gifts, which are the foundation of eternity, God has given to us and he’s given us complete control over them. Even in the darkest night it’s still within our power to hold to faith. We can still embrace hope. And although we may ourselves feel unloved we can still stand steadfast in our love for others and for God. All this is in our control. God gave us these gifts and he does not take them back. It is we who choose to discard them. “In your dark night, I urge you to hold to your faith, to embrace hope, and to bear your love before you like a burning candle, for I promise that it will light your way. “And whether you believe in miracles or not, I can guarantee that you will experience one. It may not be the miracle you’ve prayed for. God probably won’t undo what’s been done. The miracle is this: that you will rise in the morning and be able to see again the startling beauty of the day. “Jesus suffered the dark night and death and on the third day he rose again through the grace of his loving father. For each of us, the sun sets and the sun also rises and through the grace of our Lord we can endure our own dark night and rise to the dawning of a new day and rejoice. “I invite you, my brothers and sisters, to rejoice with me in the divine grace of the Lord and in the beauty of this morning, which he has given us.” 

The second quote in particular made me completely fall apart in public.  I've lost people close to me and this spoke to my heart so forcefully.  It's an incredible moment and it is one of the clearest points which illuminates Nathan's character.  The entire secondary cast, particularly Frank's mother, his little brother Jake, and his big sister Ariel are also fleshed out and interesting, their relationships with each other forming the foundation of the book's story.  Frank himself is a great narrator - a blend of his very different parents he represents the innocence of a boy as well as childishness which slowly gets stripped away as the events force him to grow up. 

I hope that the quotes make clear as well that despite death being a major theme of the book, it is mostly infused with hope and is not overly dark or depressing.  In fact, it is a very propulsive read  - the mystery at its heart did not overwhelm the coming of age story but definitely made the book a page-turner (or a can't stop listening-er).  

The depiction of small town Minnesota in the 1950s felt very authentic.  Idyllic in ways but not at all viewed through rose-tinted glasses.  I especially appreciated that the book showed the lingering effects of World War II on the population.  I've read a lot of books set in England that have dealt with this but few set in the U.S. 

In short the book combines the best elements of a page-turning mystery with beautiful prose and a contemplation of growing up and losing loved ones and seeing the world with love, forgiveness and hope.  Really well done.  

I listened to the audio book and Rich Orlow, the reader, was great.  His voice fit the tone of the book well and I enjoyed listening to him.

FINAL VERDICT:  A lovely coming of age story with a mystery at its heart that will entertain and inspire thought. 4 out of 5 Stars

 OTHER OPINIONS ARE AVAILABLE: Huffington Post | A Musing Reviews

BRIEF THOUGHTS | The Enola Holmes Series by Nancy Springer

Several years ago (okay, so apparently it was 2014 which wasn't that long ago), I read the first in Nancy Springer's Enola Holmes series, The Case of the Missing Marquess.  This is (ostensibly) a middle-grade series featuring Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes' heretofore unknown 14 year old sister Enola Holmes.  Every bit as brilliant as her sleuth brother and not inclined to life as a proper young lady in Victorian England, when Ma Holmes disappears, Enola chooses to strike out on her own.  Along the way of course she solves some mysteries.  

Sounds fun, right?  Well it is and it isn't but more on that in a sec.  I am a bit of a Sherlock Holmes fan fiction junkie and will read anything that has that Holmesian flavor.  Picking up this series was a no brainer and with the set up I was ready to be delighted.  After recently reading the second and third books in the series, The Case of the Left-handed Lady and The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets, I instead found myself mildly depressed, stressed and a little confused. 

My memories of the first book were vague but I feel like Enola interacted with a few other children her age and I went into these two books expecting those characters to be recurring and to play a part in Enola's adventures.  Springer makes the bold and unusual choice of not going that direction and keeping Enola completely alone.  It is obviously what she intended for the character from the beginning judging by the fact that Enola's named spelled backwards is 'alone'.  It's an interesting choice and unfortunately it doesn't really work for me.  

First of all it stresses me out.  Enola is 14 and while in my head I know that girls of that time matured faster or at least more mature things were expected from them at that age and that Enola in particular is especially smart, my heart was not okay with this situation.  How dare Enola's mother purposefully abandon her child to the mercy of her chauvinist brothers and an even crueler world. In books two and three, Enola has accepted her mother's leaving her but spends most of the time in her head, where the reader resides, pining for her mother and feeling desperately lonely. It was distressing in the extreme to me.  As such, I also thought the books read older than middle-grade and are more properly young adult.

Enola being always alone poses a narrative problem as well.  Enola has no one to talk to or interact with  - the reader is stuck in her head as she talks to herself and follows logic trains.  I found it rather tedious and boring.  Even the notoriously odd and anti-social Sherlock has a companion, because hanging around in his head might be an interesting story but not perhaps a very gripping one.  Relationships and their evolution are interesting to me so to give Enola none, even with her brothers, is kind of a bummer.  I respect that Springer avoided the ubiquitous romance found in female character led YA and middle-grade lit but a friend or two would have really made these books work so much better for me.

There are positives of course.  The mysteries are interesting and involve a lot of secret codes.  The secret language of flowers is used frequently particularly in Bizarre Bouquets.  The series is also unapologetically feminist and Enola is an independent girl rebelling against society's sexist expectations.  I just wish the the books weren't so darn grim and melancholy. I listened to the audio of Bizarre Bouquets and it is read by one of my favorite narrators, Katherine Kellgren but unfortunately the rather sober tone of the book is much suited to Kellgren's enthusiastic and vocally acrobatic style.

Okay, so maybe my thoughts weren't all that brief. Anyway, I'm left feeling a little unsure about whether I will continue with the series. I suspect that much of my negative reaction to the books is really just disappointment of my expectations of zany and charming Holmes stories. Has anyone else read this series? What are your thoughts about it?  Am I being overly sensitive and critical?

REVIEW | A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro

A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro

Publication Year: 2016

Genre: Mystery, YA
Series: Charlotte Holmes (#1)

Awards: NA
Format: Hardback from Library

Narrator: NA

WHY?: I'm a Sherlock Holmes fan in a really odd way.  I have only read maybe two of the original stories - pretty recently  - and I found them rather dull.  I found them dull because I have consumed so much other ancillary Sherlock Holmes storytelling that by the time I got to the originals they felt derivative - Ha!  I have watched most if not all of the TV adaptations more than once, all the movies and I've read dozens of books and short stories based on the Sherlock Holmes mythos.  I am a Sherlock Holmes fan fiction junkie. I am a little ashamed of this but not so much that when I heard about this book I didn't immediately say to myself "I'm gonna read the crap out of that."  

“I was maybe the only person to ever have his imaginary friend made real.”

SYNOPSIS:  Jamie Watson is shocked and unhappy to find that he has secured a Rugby scholarship at a posh boarding school in Connecticut.  Shocked because he's not that great at Rugby, unhappy because it means he'll have to move across the ocean from his London home.  The one bright spot is that one of the other students at his new school happens to be Charlotte Holmes.  Jamie and Charlotte are descendants of that Holmes and Watson and Jamie has always cherished a fantasy of meeting Charlotte who has already made a name for herself by solving various crimes.  Jamie wonders if they might connect like their famous ancestors.  They do and it's more wonderful and terrible than Jamie ever imagined especially since their first case is to save themselves from a murder charge.

“When I saw a story about a stolen painting on the front page of the newaspaper, I told my mother that Charlotte Holmes and I were going to solve the case. My mother cut me off saying, "Jamie, if you try to do anything like that before you turn eighteen, I will sell every last one of your books in the night, starting with your autographed Neil Gaiman.” 

THOUGHTS:

This is a book that met all my expectations which is not something I get to say too often! I love when books with a great premise are matched with equally great writing and storytelling.  Cavallaro did a fantastic job writing a modern-day YA version of a Sherlock Holmes story and managed to capture that elusive quality of the original stories - light but not without substance.  

She starts with two great characters.  Jamie is a great narrator who is pretty immediately likeable.  He's down to earth, quick-witted and extremely funny.  He's perhaps a tad to emo and thoughtful about his feelings than I imagine would be the case for an average teenage boy but otherwise he's totally believable as a slightly geeky, mostly cool guy.  

Charlotte is just as neurotic and complicated as her famous ancestor.  She has a drug problem, her relationship with her family is complex, she mostly doesn't know how to interact with other people but those that get past the prickly demeanor, end up mostly liking her and are loyal. She returns that loyalty fiercely.  And she is of course brilliant and equally as close-mouthed about her plans and theories as the original Holmes.  Few can keep up with her but thankfully, Jamie enjoys trying.

Cavallaro creates some really strong and believable chemistry between the partners which mirrors John and Sherlock's but at the same time has it's own flair.  Setting the story at a boarding school was a stroke of genius because a) stories at boarding schools are always fascinating to me and b) it allowed Holmes and Watson to "live together" without living together. Basically, it was an excellent facsimile of 221B Baker Street. 

“We weren't Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. I was ok with that, I thought. We had things they didn't, too. Like electricity, and refrigerators. And Mario Kart.” 

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE MYSTERY, you say?  It's fine.  I liked that this first case has their own heads on the chopping block.  It was a good way of throwing them together and solidifying their alliance.  It perhaps did not have the flair of Conan-Doyle's mysteries but I was content enough and happily occupied by the witty banter and the character development.  The book is really delightfully funny and has enough teenage angst to warm YA-loving hearts.

FINAL VERDICT:  A delightfully, entertaining entry into the Holmes and Watson mythos that did not disappoint.  I can't wait for book two!  4 out of 5 stars.

Other Opinions Are Available: Cuddlebuggery | Storybook Slayers

REVIEW | MYSTERY | Still Life With Murder by P.B. Ryan

Still Life With Murder by P.B. Ryan

Publication Year: 2010

Genre: Historical Mystery, 1870s Boston

Series: Nell Sweeney Mysteries, #1

Awards: NA

Format: eBook (bought)

Narrator: NA

WHY?:  I really like books that are primarily X (whatever X may be - in this case a mystery) but that have a long simmering romance that bubbles along in the background.  Book 6 in this series was mentioned in a Book Riot post about best literary love declarations which got me intrigued.  The fact that historical mysteries are my jam, sealed the deal.  

NOTE:  There will be some mild spoilers in this review.  I won't reveal the murderer or anything but the identity of the main suspect's identity is up for question during the first couple chapters. 

SYNOPSIS:  The murder of a sailor in an opium den unexpectedly intrudes into the well-ordered life of one of the most prominent families in Boston, the Hewitts.  The matriarch, Viola is particularly concerned and she enlists the help of Nell Sweeney, her adopted daughter's governess, to dig into the case and find out what she can.  What connects this lowly sea man to the wealthy and prominent Hewitt's?  Why does the main suspect refuse to admit or deny his guilt?  

The subtitle for this book could have been - Everything you ever wanted to know about smoking opium and being an opium addict.  Another subtitle could have been Man, the Civil War really sucked.

The book begins in 1863 but the majority of the story takes place a couple years after the U.S. Civil War has ended.  It wastes no time throwing curve balls at the readers and it's got a couple of killer twists/hooks right off the bat that served to suck me into the mystery.  It is a fantastic beginning! However, that level of eventfulness and action is not sustained and in fact the book dragged a little from time to time but for the most part I was engaged with the mystery.

The historical aspect of the book is handled okay though I didn't think, besides the Civil War aftermath, it was too important to the plot. Some of the conventions and restrictions of the time come into play but we are introduced to many characters who flout these conventions and don't seem to be negatively impacted in any way, which ends up feeling a little anachronistic.

Ryan takes great pains, more pains than the average historical mystery, to flesh out her main characters and give them some depth.  Nell is not entirely what she at first appears and her motivations throughout for sticking her nose into the mystery are pretty solid.  First, she has great affection and gratitude for her mistress and wishes to be loyal, then her reasons become more personal when she develops an attachment to the murder suspect. I really liked Nell even though she is described as being very attractive to men. Why can't we ever have heroines, even in mysteries that are just fine looking but have kick-ass personalities? *shrugs*  At least in this book, Ryan uses Nell's attractiveness as a means to open up otherwise closed doors as Nell investigates (a little bit ala the episode The Bubble on 30 Rock).  The murder suspect William Hewitt, Viola's thought-to-be-lost son, has a very interesting history which has served to wreck him pretty thoroughly.

Finally, I have to talk about the romance since that is what initially drew me to pick up the series.  Unfortunately, I found it decidedly meh because I thought Viola's love interest was pretty insufferable.  He's arrogant, rebellious, impossibly handsome and has a serious case of the poor little rich kid blues.  Ryan does her best to give him a tragic enough back story to explain why he is troubled and, of course, at heart he is solid gold but I just didn't like him.  As soon as I detected the way the wind was blowing, I think I may have emitted an audible groan.  I personally preferred the police detective, who is not nearly so handsome but is hard working and a lot smarter than the average Joe.  He sadly has a loving wife. Sigh......  I am willing to see how things develop in the next book but based on this first installment the romantic elements will not be what draws me on in the series.

FINAL VERDICT:  A mostly engaging historical mystery series with an interesting female protagonist.  I recommend as long as you are not a stickler for historical accuracy or mind learning A LOT about smoking Opium.  3 out of 5 stars.

Other Opinions are Available:  Dear Author 

What are your thoughts about this book?  What about the wealth of female protagonists who are devastatingly good-looking?  Is it a detraction?

REVIEW | Middle-Grade Mystery | The Unmapped Sea by Maryrose Wood

The Unmapped Sea by Maryrose Wood

Publication Year: 2015

Genre: Middle Grade, Historical Mystery
Series: The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place #5

Awards: NA

Format: Audio (from Library)

Narrator: Katherine Kellgren

WHY?:  I discovered this series in 2015 and absolutely adore it, especially the audio.  Probably my favorite middle-grade find of recent times.

SYNOPSIS: In this installment, Penelope Lumley and her three charges, Alexander, Beowulf and Cassiopeia Incorrigible, travel to Brighton along with all the other denizens of Ashton Place. While in Brighton, Penelope hopes to convince Simon's Uncle Pudge, former cabin boy to Admiral Ashton, to reveal the exact wording of the curse placed on the Ashton family.  Along the way, the Incorrigible's learn about hermit crabs and dinosaurs and become fast friends with the children of a Russian family who are the only other folks vacationing in Brighton in January.

This series just keeps getting better and better.  Book 4, The Interrupted Tale was my favorite and The Unmapped Sea surpassed it.  This is the second to last book in the series so many of the mysteries about the origin of the Incorrigible children and the enigmatic Judge Quinsy, come to a head and many secrets are revealed.  However, all that has been accomplished by uncovering the mystery is being able to define exactly what the problem is and it is not resolved. The books ends with all of our beloved characters in some form of peril. Another of my favorite developments of the book is that Penelope finally embraces her romantic feelings for Simon Harley-Dickinson, her loyal friend of the last 4 books. It set things up for book 6 to be a very exciting conclusion!

All the books in the series are very cleverly written from a third person omniscient narrator with a modern sensibility who not only reveals the character's motivations but also comments rather humorously and educationally on the customs of the Victorian era.  It highly entertains me and seems like it would make a great entry point for the intended audience of 8-12 year olds.

“Hard-hearted people may be no fun to sit next to at parties, but they are just as entitled to earn a living as the rest of us. Fortunately-for them, at least-the need for insurance adjusters, tax collectors, theater critics, and the like continues to this very day.” 

One of my only complaints about listening to the book rather than reading it, is that there are so many great and funny passages and plays on words that I don't get a chance to capture on the audio.  I especially love all of Agatha Swanburne's sayings (the founder of Penelope's school) which range from the silly to the profoundly wise and are often a bit of both.

The whole tone of the series is silly and delightful and Katherine Kellgren, the narrator of the audiobooks captures this perfectly!  She once again is amazing in her reading of this book where she has to voice 10 year old Russian twin boys, an ancient mariner and also howl with enthusiasm.  Her range is amazing and she completely commits to all the goofiness.  If you want to read this series, I highly recommend the audio!

FINAL VERDICT:  This series just keeps getting better! This installment is extremely satisfying because it provides so many answers to the nagging questions of the series but ends in such a way that promises book 6 will be exciting. My favorite words to describe this series?  Charming and Delightful. 4 out of 5 stars.

Other Opinions Are Available: Leaf's Reviews | Good Books and Good Wine