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  June 2012 Reviews

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  Hi everyone! This is the spot to put any reviews of mysteries you read during the month of June!

  KimBear started this discussion 12 months ago. ( reply | permalink )

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  KimBear 

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  My first mystery of the month...

  - Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris. (4 stars)

  I'll admit that these books are like candy for me...want to stay away from them but just can't. I found this one to be a tad better than the last one, but a far cry from the first books in the series. Oh, and there was not nearly enough Eric in this book for my taste.

  (from book jacket)

  "Growing up with telepathic ablilities, Sookie Stackhouse realized early on that there are things she'd rather no know. And now that she's an adult, she also realizes that some things she knows about, she'd rather not see--like Eric Northman feeding off another woman. A younger one.

  There's a thing or two she'd like to say about that, but she has to keep quiet---Felipe de Castro, the Vampire King of Louisiana (and Arkansas and Nevada), in town, it’s the worst possible time for a body to show up in Eric Northman’s front yard — especially the body of a woman whose blood he just drank.

  Now, it’s up to Sookie and Bill, the official Area Five investigator, to solve the murder. Sookie thinks that, at least this time, the dead girl’s fate has nothing to do with her. But she is wrong. She has an enemy, one far more devious than she would ever suspect, who’s out to make Sookie’s world come crashing down."

  posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

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  jan w 

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  SPY SCHOOL by Stuart Gibbs

  Lots of fun....the American answer to Harry Potter. Ben Ripley is a 12 year old Math whiz. His hum-drum life is about to change when he finds a James Bond type CIA spy sitting in his living room, and he's there to recruit Ben into the secret CIA Academy of Espionage. With classes like 'Self-Preservation', Psychological Warfare, and Arms and Armaments and with bullies just like in his old school, Ben tries to be a spy, save the day (along with the help of a beautiful girl classmate) and stay alive!

  posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

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  Debbie O 

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  I just finished reading "The Redbreast" by Jo Nesbo. I liked the suspensful plot, but found the characters and their roles a bit difficult to follow from time to time. Has anyone else read other books by this author - and if so your thoughts?

  posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

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    Maria Schneider 

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    Nope haven't read those yet!

    posted 11 months ago. ( permalink )

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    Christine H 

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    I really like Nesbo. I think the best is The Snowman. Will never look at a snowman the same again ! Creepy.....

    posted 11 months ago. ( permalink )

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    Teresa H 

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    I also read The Snowman and loved it. I plan to read more of this author's work.

    posted 11 months ago. ( permalink )

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  jan w (edited)

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  MISSION UNSTOPPABLE by Dan Gutman 3*

  Cute and funny children's book by Dan Gutman with some mystery and adventure. The first in The Genius Files series featuring 12 year old twins, Coke and Pepsi who get recruited into the secret government Genius Files and given a mission to 'save the day' while traveling cross-country in a RV with their parents. I was intrigued by Gutman's use of the place, The House on the Rock, in the story, so I also got the paperback brochure book that is filled with photos and factual information on this place built by Alex Jordan, sculptor - very interesting and weird - I loved the Infinity Room. This book could be read by all ages, but I think it will hold the interest best for grades 4-6.

  posted 11 months ago. ( permalink )

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  JudithG 

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  Cards on the Table – Agatha Christie
  4 stars
  Audio performance by H. Fraser

  I wonder if this Poirot mystery might be called And Then There Were None –Light.
  Something of the underlying premise seems similar to me, but of course there is a creative Agatha Christie twist.

  The strange, Mephistophelian, Mr. Shaitana invites eight guests to a dinner and bridge party. Four of the guests are imminent investigators and four are unexposed murderers. Mr. Shaitana expects to be entertained by this combination of guests. Agatha Christie intends him to be the victim. No one has seen the murder. Any one of four people could be guilty. Christie is once again playing with the theme that ‘murder will out’. As each guilty past is revealed the body count increases.

  There are four investigators; Poirot, Inspector Battle, Colonel Race of the Serect Service and mystery novelist Ariadne Oliver. Unlike earlier novels, Christie actually allows the other investigators to participate on an intelligent level. Ultimately, it is Poirot who untangles the last surprising plot twist. (Naturellement.)

  This is the first time I’ve read a book with Ariadne Oliver. What a great character! I think Christie had fun with writing her. There were plenty of opportunities in this book to try to outguess the detectives, but I never manage to completely unravel a Christie plot until Poirot explains the process of his little grey cells. Agatha Christie could certainly write a good puzzle, but I’ve yet to find a believable romance in any of her books. This story would have been just fine without the unlikely instant love story.

  posted 11 months ago. ( permalink )

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  Christine H 

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  I have read mysteries and detective novels set all over the world - from Alaska to Zimbabwe but Finding Nouf by Zoe Ferraris is the first I've read which is set in modern day Saudi Arabia. Katya Hijazi is an unlikely detective. She wears a burqa and outwardly follows all the religious rules but really desires a life of more freedeom. She works in a coroner's office (unusual for a woman to be working at all) and becomes involved in the mystery surrounding the death of a 16 year old girl who is about to be married. Although there were some holes in the plot, I found this book to be a fairly good mystery. Even more interesting was the look into Saudi society and the lives of women. This is the first of a series so I will probably give book 2 a try!

  posted 11 months ago. ( permalink )

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  Teresa G 

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  Homicide in Hardcover by Kate Carlisle 289 pages

  Brooklyn is an expect in rare and collectible book restoration. Her friend and mentor is murdered during his restoration of an original Faust. She is offered the job to complete the restoration. With one murder already and mysterious events piling up, Brook must determine if the renowned curse of the Faust is real or find the killer before she is the next victim.

  This was the first Kate Carlisle book I have read. I have found with some cozy mystery books I get frustrated by the author making the police investigators seem incompetent, and therefore, the protagonist needs to solve the mystery on his/her own. I never got that feeling with this book. Although Brooklyn (Brook) did take sleuthing upon herself, she actually involves the investigators, like a young Jessica Fletcher might have.

  This was a great first book to a series. I will be reading more of this author.

  posted 11 months ago. ( permalink )

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