Category Archives: Mystery/Suspense/Thriller

Review: The Boy Who Met a Whale by Nizrana Farook

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The Boy Who Met a Whale by Nizrana Farook

The Boy Who Met a Whale
Nizrana Farook
Peachtree Publishing
Published on February 1, 2022

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About The Boy Who Met a Whale

From the author of THE GIRL WHO STOLE AN ELEPHANT comes another brilliant escapade. A thrilling adventure set in fictional Sri Lanka, jam-packed with peril and kidnap and a huge blue whale!

Razi, a local fisherboy, is watching turtle eggs hatch when he sees a boat bobbing into view. With a chill, he notices a small, still hand hanging over the side… Inside is Zheng, who’s escaped a shipwreck and is full of tales of sea monsters and missing treasure. But the villains who are after Zheng are soon after Razi and his sister, Shifa, too. And so begins an exhilarating adventure in the shadow of the biggest sea monster of them all…

My Review

I really enjoyed reading THE BOY WHO MET A WHALE. Razi and his sister are still grieving over their dad’s death when Zheng washes up on their beach. Zheng tells all kinds of wild stories, and at first Razi and Shifa aren’t sure what to believe about them. When two of Zheng’s former shipmates make it clear they intend to kill Zheng, though, Razi and Shifa decide they have to help him escape.

The three go on an adventure over the sea, following clues on a map Zheng’s captain left him. They’re determined to find an important treasure and return it to its rightful owner. Zheng’s two former shipmates, Marco and Cook, pursue them, making it clear they’ll stop at nothing to get the treasure.

I loved so many things about this book. The way they worked together to decode the treasure map. All their plans to outsmart the men chasing them. The way the three of them bonded and became close friends. I kind of wish there had been more scenes with Maalu the whale, though. She definitely played an important role, I think I just wanted more scenes with her or maybe something where the kids helped her, too?

On the whole, I loved this book, though, and I would love to read THE GIRL WHO STOLE AN ELEPHANT, which is also by the same author.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Razi and Shifa are Sri Lankan.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Two men chase and threaten to kill the kids. A boy hits a man in the face with a fish.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The Agathas by Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson

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The Agathas
Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson
Delacorte Press
Published May 3, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Agathas

Last summer, Alice Ogilve’s basketball-star boyfriend Steve dumped her. Then she disappeared for five days. Where she went and what happened to her is the biggest mystery in Castle Cove, because she’s not talking. Or it was, at least. But now, another one of Steve’s girlfriends has vanished: Brooke Donovan, Alice’s ex–best friend. And it doesn’t look like Brooke will be coming back. . .

Enter Iris Adams, Alice’s tutor. Iris has her own reasons for wanting to disappear, though unlike Alice, she doesn’t have the money or the means. That could be changed by the hefty reward Brooke’s grandmother is offering to anyone who can share information about her granddaughter’s whereabouts. The police are convinced Steve is the culprit, but Alice isn’t so sure, and with Iris on her side, she just might be able to prove her theory.

In order to get the reward and prove Steve’s innocence, they need to figure out who killed Brooke Donovan. And luckily Alice has exactly what they need—the complete works of Agatha Christie. If there’s anyone that can teach the girls how to solve a mystery it’s the master herself. But the town of Castle Cove holds many secrets, and Alice and Iris have no idea how much danger they’re about to walk into.

My Review

I really enjoyed that this book celebrated Agatha Christie as an author and celebrated her books in a very accessible way. I’m not very familiar with the books, though I’ve seen a movie version of MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS. I also watched this Drunk History video on The Mysterious Disappearance of Agatha Christie. That’s about the whole of my knowledge of Agatha Christie.

The book includes a lot of quotes from Christie’s books. I thought those were really well-placed, and they added a lot to my expectations of each chapter where they were used.

In terms of the characters, THE AGATHAS is told from Alice and Iris’s points of view. I liked both girls right away. I felt like it was a little harder to get to know Alice, since she keeps everyone at arm’s length. It was hard to tell how she truly felt about her ex-boyfriend, Steve, and Brooke, her former best friend. I liked how she always had a plan and was clever.

The plot kept a good pace, and I really enjoyed the read. Sometimes mysteries are so serious that reading them is kind of intense, but I didn’t get that feeling here. It was like reading a mystery that also celebrated the genre, if that makes sense? So there were lots of elements of fun.

At the end of the book, the girls talk about the other unsolved mysteries in their town. Could they solve them? It made me wonder if there’s the possibility that this book could become a series? I haven’t seen anything about that anywhere, but I’ll be watching for news just in case.

Content Notes for The Agathas

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Both main characters are white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Brief references to sex. No graphic descriptions. No sexual contact on scene.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content – Content Warning for domestic violence and murder.
Brief, graphic descriptions of murder. Some brief descriptions of a girl who was found after being in water for two days. Descriptions of and references to domestic violence.

Drug Content
In some scenes, teens drink alcohol. Twice, someone is drugged by a prescription pill in their beer.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of THE AGATHAS in exchange for my honest review.

Review and Blog Tour: A Forgery of Roses by Jessica S. Olson

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , ,

A Forgery of Roses
Jessica S. Olson
Inkyard Press
Published March 29, 2022

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About A Forgery of Roses

Myra Whitlock has a gift. One many would kill for.

She’s an artist whose portraits alter people’s real-life bodies, a talent she must hide from those who would kidnap, blackmail, and worse in order to control it. Guarding that secret is the only way to keep her younger sister safe now that their parents are gone.

But one frigid night, the governor’s wife discovers the truth and threatens to expose Myra if she does not complete a special portrait that would resurrect the governor’s dead son. Desperate, Myra ventures to his legendary stone mansion.

Once she arrives, however, it becomes clear the boy’s death was no accident. Someone dangerous lurks within these glittering halls. Someone harboring a disturbing obsession with portrait magic.

Myra cannot do the painting until she knows what really happened, so she turns to the governor’s older son, a captivating redheaded poet. Together, they delve into the family’s most shadowed affairs, racing to uncover the truth before the secret Myra spent her life concealing makes her the killer’s next victim.

From SING ME FORGOTTEN author Jessica S. Olson comes a gothic fantasy murder mystery perfect for fans of Kerri Maniscalco and Erin A. Craig.

My Review

Last year I read and loved DOWN COMES THE NIGHT, which also has a creepy, murder mystery in a mansion feel to it. I hoped to find a similar vibe in A FORGERY OF ROSES, and it definitely hit a lot of those notes for me, so I really enjoyed that.

I’m also a huge fan of sister books, so the fact that Myra’s driving goal is to save her sister was also something that drew me to this book. I liked that Lucy is portrayed with a chronic illness. I think she’s also sort of this angelic character– she’s super smart, incredibly supportive of her sister and rarely complains about her own discomfort. I think she would have read as a more real character if she’d at least been grouchy sometimes, or if there was something the sisters consistently argued about or disagreed on.

I liked the way Myra and August’s relationship developed. There were some really fun moments between them, like when they’re exploring a place they shouldn’t be and nearly get caught, so of course they have to cram themselves into a tiny closet together. Ha.

The only thing that I struggled with was that there are a couple moments where characters seemed to suddenly become different than they’d been all the way up to that point in the story. Those caught me by surprise (which is good) but also left me thinking, wait, where did this come from?

Despite that, I enjoyed seeing Myra figure out how to trust others and keep fighting for her family. I think readers who like slow burn romance and fast-paced mysteries in a fantasy world will enjoy this story.

Content Notes for A Forgery of Roses

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Myra’s sister is chronically ill. August has anxiety.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
Characters believe a great painter they call the Artist painted the world, and his Lady was so moved by it that he made the world real for her. Her tears upon first seeing the painting became a roses with special powers.

Violent Content
Someone attacks Myra. She also finds portraits that seem to indicate people were tortured.

Drug Content
Myra attends a party where guests drink champagne.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of A FORGERY OF ROSES in exchange for my honest review.

About the Author

Instagram | Twitter | Website

Jessica S. Olson claims New Hampshire as her home but has somehow found herself in Texas, where she spends most of her time singing praises to the inventor of the air conditioner. When she’s not hiding from the heat, she’s corralling her four wild—but adorable—children, dreaming up stories about kissing and murder and magic, and eating peanut butter by the spoonful straight from the jar. She earned a bachelor’s in English with minors in editing and French, which essentially means she spent all of her university time reading and eating French pastries. She is the author of SING ME FORGOTTEN (2021) and A FORGERY OF ROSES (2022).

Review: These Deadly Games by Diana Urban

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , ,

These Deadly Games
Diana Urban
Wednesday Books
Published February 1, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About These Deadly Games

Let’s play a game.

You have 24 hours to win. If you break my rules, she dies. If you call the police, she dies. And if you tell your parents or anyone else, she dies.

Are you ready?

When Crystal Donavan gets a message on a mysterious app with a video of her little sister gagged and bound, she agrees to play the kidnapper’s game. At first, they make her complete bizarre tasks: steal a test and stuff it in a locker, bake brownies, make a prank call.

But then Crystal realizes each task is meant to hurt—and kill—her friends, one by one. But if she refuses to play, the kidnapper will kill her sister. Is someone trying to take her team out of the running for a gaming tournament? Or have they uncovered a secret from their past, and wants them to pay for what they did…

As Crystal makes the impossible choices between her friends and her sister, she must uncover the truth and find a way to outplay the kidnapper… before it’s too late.

Author of ALL YOUR TWISTED SECRETS, Diana Urban’s explosive sophomore novel, THESE DEADLY GAMES, will keep you riveted until the final twist is revealed.

My Review

I knew as soon as I started reading this book that it was going to be a tough one for me. It moves really quickly, and has a fairly large cast. Crystal and five of her close friends are on an esports team together preparing for a tournament game. Her mom and sister are important characters, plus a few other rivals and side characters. So there are a lot of moving parts to the story. I liked that.

What I found challenging, though, was connecting with Crystal. She seemed to have a lot of emotional contradictions. Sometimes conflicted characters– where they feel two opposing things simultaneously– are really gripping, but something about Crystal’s character just didn’t click with me. She blamed her mom for not getting help when her dad was abusing her, but blamed herself for her dad leaving.

Crystal had a conflict with one of her team members that didn’t really make sense to me, either. I didn’t really understand the stakes of the secret that Crystal and her friends kept from the past. I don’t know. The story didn’t hook me in the way that I wanted to.

I don’t know. Other than the character disconnect, I thought it was a pretty intense read, definitely something readers who like Karen McManus or R. L. Stine would like. THESE DEADLY GAMES reminded me a little bit of HOW WE FALL APART by Katie Zhao, so I think readers who enjoy those kinds of driven, fast-paced suspenseful stories will probably like this one a lot more than I did.

Content Notes for These Deadly Games

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Major characters are white. Crystal has panic attacks. One of her best friends is Asian American.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used pretty frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between a boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Some scenes reference Crystal’s dad beating her mom. More often they show Crystal noticing bruises on her mom’s body after a fight between her parents. Some video footage shows a girl tied up and being threatened or cut with a knife. Other situations of peril and serious accidents.

Drug Content
Crystal’s dad was an alcoholic, but he no longer lives with her family.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of THESE DEADLY GAMES in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The Swallowtail Legacy: Wreck at Ada’s Reef by Michael D. Beil

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The Swallowtail Legacy: Wreck at Ada’s Reef
Michael D. Beil
Pixel + Ink
Published February 1, 2022

Amazon  | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Wreck at Ada’s Reef

Twelve-year-old Lark Heron-Finch is steeling herself to spend the summer on Swallowtail Island off the shores of Lake Erie. It’s the first time that she and her sister will have seen the old house since their mom passed away. And while her stepfather and his boys are okay, the island’s always been full of happy memories–and now everything is different.

When Nadine, a close family friend, tells Lark about a tragic boat accident that happened off the coast many years before, Lark’s enthralled with the story. Nadine’s working on a book about Dinah Purdy, Swallowtails’s oldest resident who had a connection to the crash, and she’s sure that the accident was not as it appeared. Impressed by Lark’s keen eye, she hires her as her research assistant for the summer.

And then Lark discovers something amazing. Something that could change Dinah’s life. Something linked to the crash and even to her own family’s history with Swallowtail. But there are others on the island who would do anything to keep the truth buried in the watery depths of the past.

A compelling and complex mystery with a classic feel, WRECK AT ADA’S REEF is perfect for fans of THE PARKER INHERITANCE, HOLES, THE WESTING GAME, and anyone looking for a satisfying puzzle that stretches across decades.

My Review

Confession: I haven’t read any of the books that the blurb compares this one to, so I had no idea whether I would like it going in. I tend to enjoy mysteries with a young narrator (see my reviews of THE SWEETNESS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PIE or THREE TIMES LUCKY), so I figured this was a pretty good gamble.

And, you know what? It totally was. It takes place on this small island. The residents we meet are all really distinct characters who bring a lot to the story. I loved the relationships Lark develops between the other islanders. I also loved watching her connections with her family members change and grow, too.

Lark is a no-nonsense girl who doesn’t back down from a fight, ever, so when she stumbles onto an unsolved mystery that might have hurt the people she’s coming to care about, she’s ready to put the full force of her personality behind uncovering the truth.

I thought the pacing of the story was great, too. There’s a lot of tension as we begin to put the pieces together about what happened at Ada’s Reef that long ago night. Interspersed with the tension are sweet moments with Lark and her stepdad as well as silly moments with her and her siblings or other characters.

All together, I’m pretty hooked on this series so far. I loved this book and would absolutely read more about Swallowtail Island and its inhabitants. I think fans of middle grade mysteries like the books I mentioned above or the Northwoods mystery books by Margi Preus would really enjoy WRECK AT ADA’S REEF.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Lark is white and an orphan. A couple minor characters are gay.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
At one desperate point, Lark states that she’s not religious, but offers a prayer to whatever gods are listening.

Violent Content
Situations of peril.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of WRECK AT ADA’S REEF in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The Marvelous by Claire Kann

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The Marvelous
Claire Kann
Swoon Reads
Published June 8, 2021

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Marvelous

Everyone thinks they know Jewel Van Hanen. Heiress turned actress turned social media darling who created the massively popular video-sharing app, Golden Rule.

After mysteriously disappearing for a year, Jewel makes her dramatic return with an announcement: she has chosen a few lucky Golden Rule users to spend an unforgettable weekend at her private estate. But once they arrive, Jewel ingeniously flips the script: the guests are now players in an elaborate estate-wide game. And she’s tailored every challenge and obstacle to test whether they have what it takes to win–at any cost.

Told from the perspective of three dazzling players–Nicole: the new queen of Golden Rule; Luna: Jewel’s biggest fan; and Stella: a brilliant outsider–this novel will charm its way into your heart and keep you guessing how it all ends because money isn’t the only thing at stake.

My Review

The concept of this book had pretty much already hooked me before I ever opened the first page. And then, the writing hit me. Wowza. I am a huge fan of Kann’s style in this book. It’s smart, a little bit sharp, and just never stops delivering great moments.

I’ve read some solve-the-riddle type stories before that, when I got to the finish of the riddle, left me feeling like, wait that was it? THE MARVELOUS absolutely delivered on an ending as fabulous as its setup.

So that’s the plot in all it’s amazing, twisty, high-stakes glory. I need to talk about the characters. At first I think I had a tendency to mix up Luna and Nicole. Maybe because of the similarity in them both not living with parents? I’m not sure. Once I was a few chapters in and knew them both better, I was mystified at myself for ever having confused them.

I loved Luna’s exuberance and her easy friendship with Alex. Nicole’s more self-contained nature and her compassion totally won me over. And then there’s Stella At All Times. At first I wasn’t sure what to make of her. Once she found her feet in the game and once I felt like I really got into her head, I couldn’t wait for the chapters from her point-of-view.

THE MARVELOUS is one of those books that I thought I’d enjoy but not rave about, and I was so wrong. There’s SO MUCH about this book that I loved. If you like twisty, mystery-slash-riddle stories with strong characters, you have to check this one out. I think fans of ONE OF US IS LYING will love THE MARVELOUS.

Check Out Twinkl’s 2021 TBR List

My review of THE MARVELOUS is featured on a book resource site called Twinkl in their 2021 TBR List! You can see it and a whole bunch of other great reading recommendations in that list. It’s totally worth checking out.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Major characters are Black. A couple characters are LGBT+

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to attraction, some hand holding. A girl falls asleep with a boy.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Some dangerous situations. No blood and gore.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of The Marvelous in exchange for my honest review.