Showing posts with label mystery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mystery. Show all posts

Friday, March 12, 2010

The Mapping of Love and Death: A Maisie Dobbs Novel


By Jacqueline Winspear


Winspear Does It Again...

Once again Maisie Dobbs, Private Investigator in London, finds herself working on a complex case involving a death during The Great War. Of course this death doesn't come to light until 16 years later. The dead man was an American cartographer on the front lines during the war until he was reported missing in 1916, enduring all of the hardships and dangers of that time. As a young nurse working in field hospitals, Maisie learned first hand that war is hell, leaving men injured, maimed and dead on the muddy bomb-shelled fields of France.

The young man's remains are found in 1932 in an abandoned dugout, and Maisie discovers that he was murdered. Following a trail of letters written to a nurse he met when on leave in France, strange orders and harassment from his superiors, and family complications, Maisie must work her way to a solution that works for his American family, the English girl with whom he corresponded, and her own satisfaction that she has found the best solution for all concerned.

With The Mapping of Love and Death: A Maisie Dobbs Novel, as in the stream of Maisie Dobbs books, Winspear draws you in and takes you side by side with her through every facet of the story...she never disappoints!

Product Review from Amazon:
August 1914: California's Santa Ynez Valley. Michael Clifton, a 23-year-old Bostonian, is entranced by the beauty of the land he has purchased and is confident that oil lies beneath its surface. But Michael is the youngest son of an Englishman, and when war is declared in Europe, he feels the pull of the old country and sails for England to enlist as a cartographer. By 1917, Michael is listed among the missing.

April 1932: London Psychologist and Investigator Maisie Dobbs is retained by Edward and Martha Clifton, who have recently sailed from America upon receiving news that Michael's remains have been discovered in France. They want Maisie to find the unnamed nurse whose love letters were discovered among Michael's belongings. So begins a quest that takes Maisie back to her own bittersweet, wartime love.

Maisie's inquiries, and the discovery that Michael Clifton was murdered in his trench, unleash a web of intrigue and violence that threatens to engulf Michael's family, surviving comrades, and Maisie. While investigating both the love affair and the murder, Maisie must cope with the approaching loss of her mentor, Maurice Blanche, and her growing awareness that she, herself, is falling in love.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

The Amanda Project: invisible i


invisible i
The Amanda Project:
Book One
by Stella Lennon and Melissa Kantor


I gave this book four stars because that is my honest opinion of the book The Amanda Project: Book 1: invisible I.

It reads easily and rings true for it's depiction of high school and teen cliques. I remember being the creative, quirky, artistic "new girl" and so much of this book prompts flash backs of my high school days.

What I found interesting in The Amanda Project: Book 1: invisible I, the first of a series of eight books, is the way it looks at Amanda from the viewpoints of three different classmates. Of course, when Amanda disappears, they soon realize that none of them new much about their new friend.

If you want to make this a 5 star experience, you have to take it to the next level...the interactive website! The Amanda Project website http://theamandaproject.com/ - from the home page:

What Happened To Amanda?
AMANDA VALENTINO came to our high school on Halloween. She disappeared on the Ides of March. She left us some clues, but we're not sure what they mean. The only thing we know for sure is that she utterly, completely changed our lives.

Join in with hundreds of readers nationwide to try to solve the mystery, find the clues and the coolest...write your own story!

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Century Quartet: Ring of Fire (Book 1)





Good Opener - left me with lots of questions......but isn't that what the first book in a "series" should do?

What is up with all the "haters"? Why so many negative reviews on Amazon? How many of you are teens or young adults? or readers of YA literature? I think this was a fun set-up for what I am hoping will be a great series.

It left me with unanswered questions - what is Aunt Irene's story - really? I get that the parents weren't involved as much as they should have been in real life - but I also think there is a reason for that. An author who can create a hitman who kills with a violin, may have an explanation for that! The tops intrigue me...see what I mean? lots of questions!!!

Through a series of coincidences - four children (Harvey from New York, Mistral from Paris, and Sheng from Shanghai) find themselves sharing a room with Elettra the daughter of their hotel owner.

...and while chatting they start to discover the other things that connect them...

From the Publisher's description: "Every hundred years, four kids from four cities must save the world."

After reading just back cover, the reader realizes that there are no coincidences in Century #1: Ring of Fire...but instead a carefully planned event that has happened before.

I always love books that open historical worlds that intersperses bits from ancient Rome, Nero, buried churches and basilcas between the adventures of these four children in the libraries, cafes and catacombs of modern day Rome.

Though translated from the Italian, this book keeps its edge and poses question after question...and with the following promise from the Publisher:

"In the first book of the Century quartet, Italian author P. D. Baccalario begins a mystery that will take four cities and four extraordinary kids to solve."

...OK, Senore Baccalario - where do we go next?

Product Description from Amazon
Every hundred years, four kids from four cities must save the world.

Rome, December 29. A mix-up with their reservations forces Harvey from New York, Mistral from Paris, and Sheng from Shanghai to share a room with the hotel owner’s daughter, Elettra. The four kids discover an amazing coincidence—they all have birthdays on February 29, Leap Day. That night, a strange man gives them a briefcase and asks them to take care of it until he returns. Soon afterward, the man is murdered.

The kids open the briefcase. In it they find a series of clues that take them all over Rome, through dusty libraries and dark catacombs, in search of the elusive Ring of Fire, an ancient object so powerful that legend says even a Roman emperor couldn’t control it.

In the first book of the Century quartet, Italian author P. D. Baccalario begins a mystery that will take four cities and four extraordinary kids to solve.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Blood Game - vampires for adults....



Iris Johansen has done it again...

I made the mistake of opening this book when I knew I was working under a project deadline...it sucked me right in!

I was already a Johansen fan and especially an Eve Duncan (forensic sculptor) fan. What really interested me about this book was the more adult treatment of the "vampire" and "paranormal" phenomenon. Between the Twilight series and the new "True Blood" TV series it appears the paranormal is here to stay.

I like the concept of a mortal to vampire resurrection...and I especially like the thought out means to this end that Johansen devises.

Joe Quinn (long time boyfriend) the hard boiled detective is the perfect person to bestow with psychic abilities as he is the first to scoff at them and their use in police work.

The pace is good - the characters well developed (I have to say I loved the old world charm of Seth Caleb) - the paranormal scenes well done and not tied into teen angst and romance.

Overall - it is nice to see the genre aimed at a mature audience.

Product Description from Amazon:
First comes darkness, then comes fear
Eve Duncan is back! Blockbuster
New York Times bestselling author Iris Johansen’s latest thriller brings Eve closer to discovering her daughter’s killer…and into a web of danger from which she may not be able to escape…

Eve Duncan returns in a thriller that pits her against the most evil mind she has ever encountered: a ruthless killer who taunts her with his every move…and who has a special affinity for blood. When a Georgia senator’s daughter is found murdered, and her body drained of blood, Eve Duncan is drawn into the web of Kevin Jelak—a serial murderer who is on Eve’s short list of killers who might know something about her missing daughter Bonnie. When a goblet of blood is found in Eve’s refrigerator, she knows the taunting is over…and the games have begun. As Eve and Jelak engage in a dance of death, Eve must call upon those she loves and trusts the most…even if it means bringing them into the game as well.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Give this to Musicians from 8 to 80!



While children could read this book (especially the kids that loved the Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate... books) it also includes content directed more to adults.

If you have a child or an adult in your life that is involved in music - this is THE gift!

The Composer has been murdered!!!The investigator has been called in. In the course of the investigation the detective runs through the various instruments in the orchestra in a thoroughly charming manner. Extolling the virtues of each and the reasons why they couldn't possibly have been the culprit!

So - the verdict? Charming with some humor directed at the adults...I gave it as a Birthday gift to a 66 year old Diva who LOVED IT!






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