Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and it is now hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s theme is Book Covers with Fall Colours/Vibes. Here’s my list:
1. Fable by Adrienne Young
2. Iphigenia Murphy by Sara Hosey
3. Burn Our Bodies Down by Rory Power
4. Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell, Faith Erin Hicks
5. Lobizona by Romina Garber
6. Mayhem by Estelle Laure
7. The Unready Queen by William Ritter
8. The Lost Queen by Signe Pike
9. Hallowe’en Party by Agatha Christie
10. The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones
(All photos taken from Goodreads)
What’s your list of books on your Top Ten Tuesday?
Title: Premeditated Myrtle (Myrtle Hardcastle Mysteries #1) Author: Elizabeth C. Bunce Genre: Middle Grade, Mystery, Historical Fiction Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers Source: Publisher via NetGalley Format: Ebook Release Date: October 6, 2020 Rating: ★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
Twelve-year-old Myrtle Hardcastle has a passion for justice and a Highly Unconventional obsession with criminal science. Armed with her father’s law books and her mum’s microscope, Myrtle studies toxicology, keeps abreast of the latest developments in crime scene analysis, and Observes her neighbors in the quiet village of Swinburne, England.
When her next-door neighbor, a wealthy spinster and eccentric breeder of rare flowers, dies under Mysterious Circumstances, Myrtle seizes her chance. With her unflappable governess, Miss Ada Judson, by her side, Myrtle takes it upon herself to prove Miss Wodehouse was murdered and find the killer, even if nobody else believes her — not even her father, the town prosecutor.
Review:
In 1893, Myrtle Hardcastle is a twelve-year-old girl who loves to study crimes. Her father is a prosecutor and her mother studied medicine. One evening, she notices some strange activity at her neighbour’s house. She calls the police and they find that her elderly neighbour has died. They think it was natural causes but there are too many clues that suggest to Myrtle that this was murder. With the help of her governess, Miss Judson, Myrtle investigates the murder of her neighbour.
Myrtle is a clever young girl. She reminds me of Nancy Drew and Flavia de Luce. Her family life was also similar to those classic detectives, since she lived with her father and her mother died when she was a child.
This was a great mystery. It could be read by middle grade children or adults. It had some mature themes, with murder and poisoning, though nothing too graphic. One part that was disappointing was that one of the major clues was glossed over at the end. A character’s past wasn’t fully explained. I even went back to reread that section but I don’t think there was a clear answer to that clue.
This is a great start to a new mystery series!
Thank you Algonquin Young Readers for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Title: How to Get Away with Myrtle (Myrtle Hardcastle Mysteries #2) Author: Elizabeth C. Bunce Genre: Middle Grade, Mystery, Historical Fiction Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers Source: Publisher via NetGalley Format: Ebook Release Date: October 6, 2020 Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
Before the train has left the station, England’s most accomplished new detective already is on a suspect’s trail, and readers will be delighted to travel along.
Myrtle Hardcastle has no desire to go on a relaxing travel excursion with her aunt Helena when there are More Important things to be done at home, like keeping close tabs on criminals and murder trials. Unfortunately, she has no say in the matter. So off Myrtle goes—with her governess, Miss Judson, and cat, Peony, in tow—on a fabulous private railway coach headed for the English seaside.
Myrtle is thrilled to make the acquaintance of Mrs. Bloom, a professional insurance investigator aboard to protect the priceless Northern Lights tiara. But before the train reaches its destination, both the tiara and Mrs. Bloom vanish. When Myrtle arrives, she and Peony discover a dead body in the baggage car. Someone has been murdered—with Aunt Helena’s sewing shears.
The trip is derailed, the local police are inept, and Scotland Yard is in no rush to arrive. What’s a smart, bored Young Lady of Quality stranded in a washed-up carnival town to do but follow the evidence to find out which of her fellow travelers is a thief and a murderer?
Review:
Myrtle Hardcastle, her Aunt Helena, and her governess Miss Judson have been sent on a vacation in a seaside town. As soon as they board the train, Myrtle can sense a mystery coming. A priceless tiara is on display on the train, with an insurance investigator on board to protect it. However, the tiara is stolen during a power outage on the first night. Myrtle and the insurance investigator, Mrs. Bloom, search the train for clues. The next day, Mrs. Bloom can’t be found. Her body is eventually found in the luggage car when they arrive at their destination. The murder weapon points to Myrtle’s Aunt Helena. Myrtle doesn’t trust anyone else to investigate the connection between the robbery and Mrs. Bloom’s murder, so she takes the investigation into her own hands.
I enjoyed this story more than the first Myrtle Hardcastle mystery. The first one was a good introduction to the characters. This one had a clear, straight forward mystery to solve.
I loved the classic setting of a train. It is an enclosed setting that limits the people who can be involved. The murderer has to be on the train with everyone else because there isn’t any way to escape the train without getting hurt. This is a great classic setting.
I’m looking forward to reading more Myrtle Hardcastle books in the future!
Thank you Algonquin Young Readers for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What to read next:
The Body Under the Piano (Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen #1) by Marthe Jocelyn
As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust (Flavia de Luce #7) by Alan Bradley
About the author:
Elizabeth C. Bunce grew up on a steady diet of Sherlock Holmes, Trixie Belden, and Quincy, M.E., and always played the lead prosecutor in mock trial. She has never had a governess, and no one has ever accused her of being irrepressible, but a teacher did once call her “argumentative”—which was entirely untrue, and she can prove it. She lives in Kansas City with her husband and their cats. Premeditated Myrtle is her first book for middle-grade readers. You can find her online at elizabethcbunce.com.
Have you read Premeditated Myrtle or How to Get Away with Myrtle? What did you think of it?
This blog meme is hosted by Book Date. It is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organize yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment, and er… add to that ever growing TBR pile!
What I just finished:
This weekend I finished How to Get Away with Myrtle by Elizabeth C. Bunce.
What I’m currently reading:
I’m currently reading Kingdom of Sea and Stone by Mara Rutherford.
What I’m reading next:
Next I will be reading Ghost Squad by Claribel A. Ortega.
What are you guys reading this week? Have you read any of these books?
The meme that dares to ask what book has been in your bed this morning? Come share what book you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed, or which book you wish you had time to read today! This meme is hosted by Midnight Book Girl.
This Sunday I’m reading How to Get Away with Myrtle by Elizabeth C. Bunce.
Goodreads Synopsis:
Before the train has left the station, England’s most accomplished new detective already is on a suspect’s trail, and readers will be delighted to travel along.
Myrtle Hardcastle has no desire to go on a relaxing travel excursion with her aunt Helena when there are More Important things to be done at home, like keeping close tabs on criminals and murder trials. Unfortunately, she has no say in the matter. So off Myrtle goes—with her governess, Miss Judson, and cat, Peony, in tow—on a fabulous private railway coach headed for the English seaside.
Myrtle is thrilled to make the acquaintance of Mrs. Bloom, a professional insurance investigator aboard to protect the priceless Northern Lights tiara. But before the train reaches its destination, both the tiara and Mrs. Bloom vanish. When Myrtle arrives, she and Peony discover a dead body in the baggage car. Someone has been murdered—with Aunt Helena’s sewing shears.
The trip is derailed, the local police are inept, and Scotland Yard is in no rush to arrive. What’s a smart, bored Young Lady of Quality stranded in a washed-up carnival town to do but follow the evidence to find out which of her fellow travelers is a thief and a murderer?
Title: The Shadows Author: Alex North Genre: Thriller Publisher: Macmillan Audio Source: Publisher via NetGalley Format: Audiobook Release Date: July 7, 2020 Rating: ★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
You knew a teenager like Charlie Crabtree. A dark imagination, a sinister smile–always on the outside of the group. Some part of you suspected he might be capable of doing something awful. Twenty-five years ago, Crabtree did just that, committing a murder so shocking that it’s attracted that strange kind of infamy that only exists on the darkest corners of the internet–and inspired more than one copycat.
Paul Adams remembers the case all too well: Crabtree–and his victim–were Paul’s friends. Paul has slowly put his life back together. But now his mother, old and senile, has taken a turn for the worse. Though every inch of him resists, it is time to come home.
It’s not long before things start to go wrong. Reading the news, Paul learns another copycat has struck. His mother is distressed, insistent that there’s something in the house. And someone is following him. Which reminds him of the most unsettling thing about that awful day twenty-five years ago.
It wasn’t just the murder.
It was the fact that afterward, Charlie Crabtree was never seen again…
The haunting new thriller from Alex North, author of the New York Times bestseller The Whisper Man.
Review:
Twenty-five years ago, Charlie Crabtree murdered his friends. Crabtree inspired copycat murders years later. Paul Adams was one of his friends, who left after the murder. Now, Paul’s mother is sick and he’s had to return to his hometown. Another copycat murder has just occurred, and it has distressed his ill mother. Everyone suspects there may be a connection between this recent murder and Crabtree because he was never seen again after killing his friend twenty-five years ago. The police have to look into this possible connection.
This audiobook switched between two narrators, Detective Amanda Beck and Paul Adams. Paul’s narrative switched between the present and his experience with Crabtree as a teenager twenty-five years ago. Since the current murder and the past one were so similar, I kept getting the two situations mixed up. It was difficult to differentiate between the two murders while listening, but it probably would have made more sense if I was reading it.
I didn’t really understand the ending. Everything happened quite quickly. There were a bunch of quick explanations, including introducing some characters who played an important part in the solution, but weren’t in most of the book. The whole story talked about the murder from twenty-give years ago, yet they were trying to solve the current one. This ending wasn’t as clear and concise as I expect for a thriller.
This thriller audiobook didn’t work for me.
Thank you Macmillan Audio for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What to read next:
The Whisper Man by Alex North
Have you read The Shadows? What did you think of it?
Title: Confessions on the 7:45 Author: Lisa Unger Genre: Thriller Publisher: Park Row Source: Publisher via NetGalley Format: Ebook Release Date: October 6, 2020 Rating: ★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
From master of suspense Lisa Unger comes a riveting thriller about a chance encounter that unravels a stunning web of lies and deceit.
Everyone has a secret… Now she knows yours.
Selena Murphy is commuting home from her job in the city when the train stalls out on the tracks. She strikes up a conversation with a beautiful stranger in the next seat, and their connection is fast and easy. The woman introduces herself as Martha and confesses that she’s been stuck in an affair with her boss. Selena, in turn, confesses that she suspects her husband is sleeping with the nanny. When the train arrives at Selena’s station, the two women part ways, presumably never to meet again.
But days later, Selena’s nanny disappears.
Soon Selena finds her once-perfect life upended. As she is pulled into the mystery of the missing nanny, and as the fractures in her marriage grow deeper, Selena begins to wonder, who was Martha really? But she is hardly prepared for what she’ll discover.
Expertly plotted and reminiscent of the timeless classic Strangers on a Train, Confessions on the 7:45 is a gripping thriller about the delicate facades we create around our lives.
Review:
When Selena Murphy is riding the train home one evening, she tells a woman that her husband is having an affair with their nanny. A few days later, the nanny, Geneva, disappears. Her disappearance is suspicious, and Selena worries about the stranger on the train who knows about Selena’s husband’s affair. Selena hopes that the police won’t make a connection between her husband’s affair and Geneva’s disappearance. When the stranger starts texting Selena out of the blue, she has to wonder if that woman is connected to Geneva.
This story was told from multiple perspectives. It was confusing at the beginning because the first few chapters each had a different perspective. The stranger that Selena met on the train even gave a fake name, which was confusing since it happened right when the characters were being introduced. Some of the chapters only used a character’s perspective once or twice, which I think could have been removed or changed to a main character to make it a little simpler to follow.
The characters did a lot of reflecting on what was going on in the story. Since the characters spent a lot of time thinking about the events, the twists were easy to figure out before they happened. There was also a lot of unnecessary background on the characters. They had detailed life histories, which were thought out and provided motive and connections, but they didn’t really progress the story.
This was a good crime story, but not as suspenseful as I expected.
Thank you HarperCollins for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
What to read next:
Someone’s Listening by Seraphina Nova Glass
When I Was You by Amber Garza
About the author:
Lisa Unger is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of eighteen novels, including CONFESSIONS ON THE 7:45 (Oct. 2020). With millions of readers worldwide and books published in twenty-six languages, Unger is widely regarded as a master of suspense. Her critically acclaimed books have been voted “Best of the Year” or top picks by the Today show, Good Morning America, Entertainment Weekly, Amazon, IndieBound and others. Her essays have appeared in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, NPR, and Travel+Leisure. She lives on the west coast of Florida with her family.
Have you read Confessions on the 7:45? What did you think of it?
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