Mystery

Well that escalated quickly.

Here we are just floating along fly fishing with our main characters, when BAMMM - some bat-* crazy stuff goes down in the last 15-20% of this book. Sure, we’re given warnings along the way that something sinister is afoot, but there’s sinister and then there’s… whatever this is.

If you haven’t read Peter Heller before, The Guide does have the stylistic hallmarks of his novels. Restrained length, staccato sentences, and a slight dystopian undercurrent. It’s the not-too-distant future, and strains of the coronavirus are still part of everyday life. Much like there are flu seasons, now there are COVID seasons. (Talk about a bleak bummer!)

The titular guide of The Guide is Jack, a semi-tragic character who appeared in Heller’s 2019 book, The River. There’s enough of that backstory sprinkled throughout this follow up that it can be read as a standalone should you choose. Jack is now 25 and working at a chichi lodge in Colorado teaching fly fishing to rich peeps. He and the woman (young and beautiful, of course) he’s guiding sense that something is strange about the place and begin to investigate. Heller must have watched a Scooby-Doo marathon during lockdown in 2020. Meddling kids can always save the day, amiright?

Even if the resolution of the novel gave me whiplash, The Guide still managed to be my favorite so far from this author. Outdoorsy types will enjoy the setting and poetic language about fishing, and thrill seekers will get their payoff with the bonkers ending. I guess you could say Heller reeled me in with this one. (I'm here all week, folks!)

"Garden of Sins” is a thoroughly enjoyable, gripping read that keeps one at the edge of one's seat! It is a delightful escape into a Victorian world, and one which shows that we all face challenges with which we must deal; some more so than others. The characters are so modernly relatable and display such basic human emotions, that one can easily empathize, especially with the protagonists, Sarah Bain Barrett. Although it is set in Victorian times, Sarah doesn’t discriminate against others for their differences. She is a strong woman of character, yet torn between her love for her “collective” family, her father's trial and her husband. Sarah's intelligence, instincts and the factual information she discovers creates doubts, yet her love for her "family" is never in question. Her strength combined with her human, fragile side paint her as a highly compelling protagonist. As for Inspector Reed, although depicted in other well-acted mystery series which portray him as upstanding, honest and fair, in " Garden of Sins" he is portrayed as the villain and a dark character who is corrupt in violating the law by harshly and relentlessly threatening Sarah and her family in his quest to discover the identity of Jack the Ripper. It is refreshing that Rowland's writing doesn’t mask, nor romanticize the conditions of late 1800’s London, particularly in depicting the people and poorer, more dangerous suburbs. "Garden of Sins" is well written, thoroughly engaging and highly entertaining. The characters are complex as are the twists and turns of this Novel. This is a brilliantly written series!

I would suggest this book for middle schoolers, has a great plot and teaches good lessons.

Donna Tartt and her debut novel The Secret History is one that will stick with me for quite a long time.
The Secret History follows insecure Richard Papen, a somewhat timid boy from Plano California. Richard, desperate to leave Plano and his unattentive parents, decides to go to college at Hampden, a school in Vermont, specializing in Humanities. Of course, when Richard arrives, he completely falls in love with Hampden and its very "Dead Poets Society" vibe to the school. Previously wanting to be in the medical field, but soon after developing a distaste for the field, Richard promptly decides to turn to studying the classics. We discover Julian, the only teacher of Greek in the college, who only takes five students a year in his class. Somehow, Richard makes it into this selective course, becoming the sixth member. We as readers are introduced to the slightly odd and quirky members of the Greek class, and come along with Richard as he slowly develops a friendship with each of them. However, Richard deduces that something is off about his new friends, and with this, dark secrets are unraveled, and we watch as each of the classmates descend into madness.
The Secret History touches upon the study of human morality, and the concept that terrible things hold a kind of beauty to them. I really enjoyed reading this novel and being forced to face psychological dilemmas. What is good? What is evil? What makes someone good or evil? The Secret History really led me around by the nose, and I enjoyed the twists and turns I experienced because of this novel. There were many influential quotes in this story and the writing was beautiful. Even though the novel might have a darker mood, I couldn't help but be enraptured by every word Tartt set out for me.
Overall, if you enjoy a "dark academia" style of book, and is willing to read this novel with an open mindset, The Secret History is definitely for you.

Reviewer Grade: 11

The Inheritance Games is about a 17 year old named Avery who mysteriously is put into someones will and inherits billions of dollars. But, she has to live in the owner of the will's house for a year with his four grandsons. Within the year, Avery goes through a series of riddles to figure out why she was the random person chosen to inherit this mans fortunes. He could have chosen any of his family members, but he chose her. Battling some hate and jealousy, Avery works with the boys to figure why it was Avery and not the family.

I loved this book! It was such an amazing book! The mystery of what would happen next kept me intrigued the whole time. I could not put down the book! I reccomend this book to anyone and everyone who can read!

State of terror was was a great read. Multiple terrorist attacks take place across the world, which causes turmoil. Can the US Secretary of State find out who’s behind these attacks before it’s too late? Can she help prevent the next attack? I liked the plot twists in this book. State of Terror was unpredictable and keeps readers engaged throughout the book. I would definitely recommend reading State of Terror.

There's Someone Inside Your House follows Makani Young as she tries to escape her past and create a new life in small-town Nebraska with her grandma and two best friends. She also is developing a crush on town outcast, Ollie. Suddenly, members of her small high school are found viciously murdered, one after another, and her and her friends will have to scramble to find the killer before they become their next victim.
I originally read this book because of the movie coming out under the same name, based on the book. In the trailer, the story seems to follow a serial killer who kills his high school victims while wearing a mask of the victims face, while seemingly holding them accountable for their past digressions. Obviously, this sounds amazing to read, so I read this book. The result was somewhat disappointing. For one, the actual murder mystery at the center of the story is no where near as interesting as the one the film outlines. In fact, despite the pretty good terror the book can get across, its pretty typical. When the murderer is revealed, both them and their motive are pretty disappointing. Other mysteries also turn out to be pretty disappointing, like some of the characters pasts or motives. Furthermore, the murder mystery isn't really the center of the story. More time seems to be devoted to what is meant to be a romantic subplot, but quickly becomes the main plot, leaving the vicious massacres on the side. Now, on the good side, the romantic subplot is pretty good, even if it takes up way too much time. As I said, the murder scenes have a lot of good tension and gore, all told from the victims perspective. The trauma the characters go through is pretty well explored, and the characters themselves are pretty well rounded, well characterized, and pretty funny. And even if the story was basic murder mystery, it was still a fun murder mystery.
All in all, while I found this book pretty disappointing, I do think its a fun ride. This would be a great read for fans of mystery, thrillers, pretty cool gore, and emotional love stories!

All These Bodies follows the country wide mystery of the Bloodless Murders, murders that leave every victim sucked dry without signs of struggle or bloodstains. Michael Jensen, the son of the sheriff who has followed the mystery as a hopeful journalist, one day witnesses the aftermath of the final murder in his hometown: the Carleson's family is found dead, with every ounce of their blood found drenched on one Marie Catherine Hale. As the nations whips itself into a frenzy over a fifteen-year-old murderess, Michael scrambles to, with Marie's help, solve the mystery of the Bloodless Murders, no matter how fantastical the answer may be.
I really wanted to like this book. See, I bought it impulsively about a month ago, hoping for a classic "How evil is the child that has done evil things?" that has been done so well in the past (None Shall Sleep, House on the Cerulean Sea, Good Omens, etc.). I was looking for some fun prose, debates on nature versus nurture, and a good thriller mystery. This book, sadly, did not live up to my expectations. For one, the writing is surprisingly prosaic for Kendare Blake, who's written other books I love. One could see this as an attempt to show that a teenager is telling the story, as the jist is that Michael is writing this story, so it makes sense that the writing is very to the point. However, even if this was intentional, it doesn't change the fact that the writing isn't very fun to read. There are some well written scenes that get across the small town vibe and deep horror of the book, but most of it was very simple. For another thing, I don't really like the way Marie was characterized. She's introduced as this worldly, weary teenager that has seen and committed many horrors. But despite this powerful image, for most of this book Marie seems very powerless and apathetic. This could be seen as accurate regarding her trauma, but it makes her much less of her own character and more a thing for Michael to protect and the world to judge. Finally, while some scenes were very scary, many of them simply described a maybe scary thing and didn't drive home the terror of the moment. Again, this could be accurate since many of these moments weren't necessarily scary out of context, but again, less interesting. The general theme of this book seems to prioritize the realistic over the dramatic, which is to be commended, but does decrease certain people's, including my, general enjoyment. Still, this book had a good ending, solid characterization, some good discussions on the public court, and accurately depicting the suffocating small town aesthetic.
All in all, this book could still be enjoyed in someone likes realistic writing, the 1900s aesthetic, discussions on justice, and nebulous mysteries, and I recommend anyone to read Kendare Blake's other works!

Mercy is the name of Agent Pine’s long lost sister. When the Pine sisters were very young, someone kidnapped Mercy. It has been 20 years since Mercy went missing, but suddenly her trail becomes hot. Agent Pine is determined to find her sister and find out her captors. I really liked how certain emotions were displayed by the main characters. I disliked the descriptions of the violence. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves reading thrillers and mysteries. Mercy is action packed, suspenseful, and has a feel good ending.

A Slow Fire Burning is a great book which the reader won’t put down. A gruesome murder takes place, and the police swiftly need to find who was responsible. The three main characters all seem guilty and are unwilling to cooperate with the investigation. They personally knew the victim but withhold any information about the murder. Which can only mean one thing. That the murderer is among the three characters! I enjoyed the plot and suspense. A Slow Fire Burning is a thriller that has an unpredictable but a wholesome ending. This was an excellent read and I strongly recommend it.