Tag Archives: Murder

Review: Hazelthorn by C.G. Drews

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Hazelthorn by C. G. Drews

Hazelthorn
C.G. Drews
Feiwel & Friends
Published October 28, 2025

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About Hazelthorn

CG Drews, acclaimed author of Don’t Let the Forest In, returns with another deeply unsettling and yet hauntingly beautiful tale of murder and botanical body horror, perfect for fans of Andrew Joseph White and We Have Always Lived in the Castle.

Evander has lived like a ghost in the forgotten corners of the Hazelthorn estate ever since he was taken in by his reclusive billionaire guardian, Byron Lennox-Hall, when he was a child. For his safety, Evander has been given three ironclad rules to follow:

He can never leave the estate. He can never go into the gardens. And most importantly, he can never again be left alone with Byron’s charming, underachieving grandson, Laurie.

That last rule has been in place ever since Laurie tried to kill Evander seven years ago, and yet somehow Evander is still obsessed with him.

When Byron suddenly dies, Evander inherits Hazelthorn’s immense gothic mansion and acres of sprawling grounds, along with the entirety of the Lennox-Hall family’s vast wealth. But Evander’s sure his guardian was murdered, and Laurie may be the only one who can help him find the killer before they come for Evander next.

Perhaps even more concerning is how the overgrown garden is refusing to stay behind its walls, slipping its vines and spores deeper into the house with each passing day. As the family’s dark secrets unravel alongside the growing horror of their terribly alive, bloodthirsty garden, Evander needs to find out what he’s really inheriting before the garden demands to be fed once more.

My Review

If you wanted to read The Secret Garden as a horror novel, you need this book. It’s intense from the early pages. Events unfold so quickly and with so much suspense that there’s hardly a moment to catch your breath.

If you’ve read C.G. Drews work before, the loveable, tortured characters won’t surprise you at all. Evander is so eager to please and so desperate to see the good in others, even if he can’t imagine any good in himself. He believes some truly toxic things as the start of the story. As the plot unfolds, he begins unpacking some of those ideas and discarding the uglier ones.

From the beginning, he’s obsessed with Laurie, the boy who apparently tried to kill him years before the story begins. I was a little hedgy about the obsessive feelings because I struggle to get into a story where the enemies fall for one another too easily because *plot*.

However, by now I should know that I can trust the author to reveal reasons the obsession makes sense, and eventually, Evander’s feelings do make sense.

While this isn’t exactly a Halloween story, it’s got all the goopy, gory, darkness the genre promises, and Drews’ signature tortured, yearning romance. Reading this book was such a wild ride. Sometimes I wanted to look away, but more often, I wanted to know what happened. I’m already looking forward to what the author publishes next.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 15 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used pretty frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing. In one scene, the kissing leads to some violence.

Spiritual Content
Sentient or paranormally responsive plants.

Violent Content
Body horror, blood and gore. Some scenes show child abuse (locking a child in their room for extended time periods, physically harming them, forcing them to take medication), and disordered eating. One character feels intense shame about the way their mind works, which seems to result, at least in part, from ableist caretakers. Some scenes show a character eating or wanting to eat strange things.

Drug Content
Evander’s guardians force him to take a sedative, telling him it will help with his “episodes”.

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

Review: Through Our Teeth by Pamela N. Harris

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

Through Our Teeth
Pamela N. Harris
Quill Tree Books
Published September 16, 2025

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About Through Our Teeth

Three teens investigate a murder—while each tries to hide their own complicated history with the dead girl—in this thought-provoking novel from award-winning author Pamela N. Harris. Perfect for fans of Karen M. McManus and Tiffany D. Jackson!

Hope Jackson is dead. Everyone is convinced she took her own life, but Liv, one of Hope’s best friends, isn’t so sure. Hope’s boyfriend, Brendan, was always jealous and possessive, and his alibi doesn’t really check out. But in the town’s eyes, Hope was just some nobody who was going to drag down golden boy Brendan. 

So with the help of Hope’s other two best friends, Kizzie and Sherie, Liv is determined to bring Brendan’s actions to light. Together, they vow to make him pay.

But as their plans keep escalating, Liv begins to have second thoughts—especially as she’s realizing that Brendan may not be the only one with the motive or opportunity to kill Hope. Is Liv really getting justice for Hope, or is she just helping one of Hope’s so-called friends cover up their lies?

My Review

This book definitely kept me on the edge of my seat. Wow.

One thing that stands out to me about this book is the way that the author uses references to Wuthering Heights. I know to a lot of people, it’s a romantic story, but I can’t help thinking of it as the story of a family who abuse one another through multiple generations. Through Our Teeth had some of the same kinds of toxic relationships throughout.

On the surface, Liv’s friend group seems closeknit, if bent on vengeance– understandable when they believe their friend’s death wasn’t truly a suicide, and no one will listen to them. As the story peels back those surface layers, it’s clear that many relationships bear deep, unresolved wounds. Those hurts drive the characters to hurt back.

Liv isn’t an easy narrator to pin down for most of the story. She has her own secrets, and I found myself vacillating wildly between belief and blame as each new bit of information unfolded. I love that Harris writes complex characters like this. It feels realistic, and it compels readers to remember that people aren’t only their best or worst choices.

If you liked You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron, add this one to your reading list.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing. References to sex. A boy shares photos of a topless girl online.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
References to an apparent death by suicide. Situations of peril. Reference to police brutality/death. A small group kidnap and drug someone. Someone intends to use a tattoo gun to hurt another person by tattooing harmful messages without consent. Descriptions of hitting someone. Descriptions of self-harm. Characters discover the bodies of murdered teens.

Drug Content
Teens attend a bonfire party where some drink alcohol. A teen drugs someone’s drink.

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

Review: The Sherlock Society: Hurricane Heist by James Ponti

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The Sherlock Society: Hurricane Heist (The Sherlock Society #2)
James Ponti
Aladdin
Published September 2, 2025

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About The Sherlock Society: Hurricane Heist

When a hurricane uncovers new information in a cold case, the Sherlock Society investigates a decades-old heist in this second book in the action-packed and funny New York Times bestselling Sherlock Society middle grade series from Edgar Award–winning author James Ponti!

When a category three hurricane hits Miami Beach, it uncovers a body buried at the renowned Moroccan Hotel. The body is identified as the man who served as the hotel’s bell captain sixty years ago…and the presumed culprit of the million-dollar jewel heist that took place just before his disappearance.

Since the bell captain clearly didn’t take off with the goods as had been long believed, the Sherlock Society sets their sights on uncovering the real culprit of the theft. But when the thief may also be implicated in the bell captain’s murder, even sixty years later, there are people who want the truth to stay buried.

My Review

I read the first book in the “City Spies” series earlier this year, and I enjoyed it. Going from that book to this one, I couldn’t help noticing how much tighter the writing is in Hurricane Heist. Like, City Spies was good. Hurricane Heist was so smooth. The pacing is quick, the shifts between timelines are well-managed, the characters are consistent and engaging. I probably could have read the whole book in a single sitting without even noticing the passing of time. (I got interrupted and had to stop.)

As a Floridian myself, I’m always a little nervous about books that include hurricanes. I’ve read some hurricane descriptions that truly made no sense in other books, but Hurricane Heist seemed pretty accurate. I think the author also lives in Florida, so I’m not surprised. It was also interesting that the hurricane doesn’t happen at the most intense parts of the story (in terms of plot). I like that Ponti did that– I think a lot of authors would have tried to orient the whole story around the storm, which gets tricky when you’re talking about a mystery that requires people, especially kids, to be out investigating.

The story handles the mystery elements and young characters really nicely, too. They’re involved in the actual investigation, and things get a little tense a few times, but it stays very appropriate to the middle grade audience.

I like that the characters of the Sherlock Society each have specific talents and niche interests, too. That makes them each valuable to the story in a different way.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book. I loved the first one, too, and I’m already eager to read the next installment in the series.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. References to murder and theft.

Drug Content
None.

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

Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday

I’m sharing this post as a part of a weekly round-up of middle-grade posts called Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday. Check out other blogs with posts about middle-grade books today on Marvelous Middle-Grade Mondays at Always in the Middle.

Review: The Notorious Virtues by Alwyn Hamilton

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The Notorious Virtues (The Notorious Virtues #1)
Alwyn Hamilton
Viking Books for Young Readers
Published April 1, 2025

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About The Notorious Virtues

A glamorous media darling, a surprise heiress, and the magical competition of a lifetime.

At sixteen, Honora “Nora” Holtzfall is the daughter of the most powerful heiress in all of Walstad. Her family controls all the money–and all the magic–in the entire country. But despite being the center of attention, Nora has always felt like an outsider. When her mother is found dead in an alley, the family throne and fortune are suddenly up for grabs, and Nora will be pitted against her cousins in the Veritaz, the ultimate magical competition for power that determines the one family heir.

But there’s a surprise contestant this time: Lotte, the illegitimate daughter of Nora’s aunt. When Lotte’s absent mother retrieves her from the rural convent she’d abandoned her to, Lotte goes from being an orphan to surrounded by family. Unfortunately, most of them want her dead.

And soon, Nora discovers that her mother’s death wasn’t random–it was murder. And the only person she can trust to uncover the truth of what happened is a rakish young reporter who despises everything Nora and her family stand for.

With everyone against her, Lotte’s last hope is hunting for the identity of her father. But the dangerous competition–and her feelings for Theo, one of the Holtzfalls’ sworn protectors–turns her world upside down.

My Review

The story world in this book feels a little bit like “The Gilded Wolves” series. It’s fancy, and the magic feels high-tech. There’s a lot of classism happening in the story. There’s not exactly a heist, but there is a contest and a powerful magical object up for grabs.

The story follows the point of view of several characters. First, there’s Nora, who was the default Holtzfall family heir until her mother (the actual heir) was murdered. That murder set off a new magical contest among Nora and her cousins to see who the rightful heir would be.

The narrative also follows Lotte, a girl raised in a small town convent with the ability to read minds. Her ability becomes a pretty powerful asset in the attempt to solve a notorious murder and stop a vigilante group from dismantling the Holtzfall legacy.

We also meet August, a young journalist who desperately needs a big story in order to break into the business and provide for his mother, and Theo, a young knight sworn to serve the Holtzfall family.

Primarily, those voices tell the story, but there are a few scenes from other points of view spliced in here and there. I enjoyed all three main points of view, though. Nora is very analytical and figures things out quickly. Lotte is more of an intuitive person. August and Nora have great banter back and forth.

At first, I was nervous about reading this 500+ page book, but the complexity of the plot really demanded that many pages. The story is pretty tightly wound, packing in a lot of drama and intrigue in those pages. The ending left me desperate for more of the story.

I think readers who enjoy books like Six of Crows or Gilded Wolves will want to check out this book. I think it’ll also appeal to readers who enjoyed Lies We Conjure by Sarah Henning will love the family intrigue and magic in The Notorious Virtues.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing.

Spiritual Content
One character was raised in a convent and told that she steals people’s thoughts because she’s a sinner. One family holds a magical contest based on demonstrating virtues to determine the family heir. Some characters have magical abilities or use devices that contain magic.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Mechanical creatures kill and injure people in a couple of scenes. Brief battle scenes include fatalities. References to torture. One family is bound by an oath to serve another family. If they try to disobey direct orders, they’ll die.

Drug Content
Characters drink alcohol.

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

Review: How to Survive a Slasher by Justine Pucella Winans

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

How to Survive a Slasher
Justine Pucella Winans
Bloomsbury
Published March 11, 2025

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About How to Survive a Slasher

You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight meets Scream in this YA slasher that turns classic horror tropes on their heads.

Few people can say they faced the infamous Satterville Wolf Man and lived. But CJ Smith can.

She doesn’t talk about that, though.

CJ has survived the horror movie that is her life by following one rule: blend in and stay out of it. But that’s hard to do when your trauma gets turned into a bestselling book series. The Slasherville books are a true crime phenomenon, documenting the Wolf Man massacres that changed CJ’s life forever. CJ hates everything about the books and their fans, but at this point she’s just grateful there aren’t any more murders to write about.

Until one day when an unpublished Slasherville book shows up on her doorstep predicting new Wolf Man killings. CJ is sure it’s a bad prank. But then the events in the book start coming true, and when CJ breaks her one rule, the Final Girl-the person who, according to the book, was supposed to stop the Wolf Man-ends up dead. Suddenly, blending in and staying out of it is not an option, and CJ will have to use everything she knows about the rules of horror to make it out alive.

My Review

I’m generally not a huge fan of slasher books, but I enjoyed You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight (Kalynn Bayron… is there anything she can’t write?!?!) and the description of turning tropes on their heads had me intrigued. I’ve also read a couple of middle grade horror novels by Winans, and the first one in particular (The Otherwoods) is still a favorite. So with all that in mind, I wanted to check out this book.

One thing How to Survive a Slasher does well is acknowledge the slasher story tropes right out of the gate. It adds to the fun and genre-celebrating element of the book and relieves whatever tension might gather between readers and their willingness to suspend disbelief. It also made it feel like readers and characters were in on some of the same jokes, which was fun. There’s a line in the book that’s something like, “We’re not all characters in books!” Which was funny, too.

I like CJ as a character and found it easy to root for her throughout the story. CJ identifies as genderqueer and explains what that means to her, which I thought was cool. It’s nice to see characters represented in fiction that explore different ways to identify. CJ also discusses what her identity means to her and how it feels to try to describe her identity to others.

The story moves quickly, and at less than 300 pages, it’s a pretty quick read. If you’re a fan of the slasher tropes, or just want to read something that walks the line between celebrating them and poking fun at them, I think you’ll have fun with this book.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 15 up.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity throughout.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing.

Spiritual Content
Characters have some discussions about spirituality in a more general sense. One character is an atheist. Others talk about the parallel between life and stories and whether we have assigned roles to play or are in charge of our own fates. Some characters act in service to a higher power, while others spurn that idea.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Brief graphic violence. Scenes show murders and accidental death.

Drug Content
In one scene, a teenager wishes for alcohol but doesn’t drink any.

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

Review: In Want of a Suspect by Tirzah Price

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In Want of a Suspect (A Lizzie and Darcy Mystery #1)
Tirzah Price
HarperTeen
Published November 12, 2024

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About In Want of a Suspect

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that London’s first female solicitor in possession of the details of a deadly crime, must be in want of a suspect.

The tenacious Lizzie Bennet has earned her place at Longbourn, her father’s law firm. Her work keeps her busy, but luckily she often has help from (and steals occasional kisses with) Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, a stern but secretly soft-hearted solicitor at Pemberley.

Lizzie is hired to investigate a deadly warehouse fire, and to find the mysterious woman who was spotted at the scene moments before the flames took hold. But when the case leads her to the sitting room of a woman Darcy once proposed marriage to, the delicate balance between personal and professional in their relationship is threatened.

Questions of the future are cast aside when the prime suspect is murdered and Lizzie’s own life is threatened. As the body count rises, and their suspicions about what was really going on in the warehouse grow, the pressure is on for Lizzie and Darcy to uncover the truth.

Lizzie and Darcy are back for more suspense, danger, and romance in this first in a duology spinoff of the Jane Austen Murder Mysteries!

My Review

It turns out that a cozy mystery was a great pick for me to read this month. I enjoyed the early 19th-century London setting and the investigatory prowess of Lizzie and Darcy. The murder mystery had just the right number of twists and turns for me.

Also– if you asked me before I read this book whether I needed a book in my life in which multiple heroines of Jane Austen novels appeared, I probably wouldn’t have had an answer. Now, I realize it’s something I absolutely needed in my life. My favorite scenes from the book were the ones in which characters from other Austen novels appeared. Lizzie, Elinor, and Marianne solving a mystery together?! YES!! With my whole heart, yes.

As with Pride and Premeditation, I struggled when the two main characters did something that seemed decidedly different than something either would do in the original story. Once I invested in this mystery enough to imagine these as different versions of Lizzie and Darcy (more a multiverse representation than a reimagining, if that makes sense?) then I deeply enjoyed my reading of the book.

If you like a good, cozy mystery set in London during the Napoleonic Wars (I love that Price included this detail), I recommend this one. If you’re new to Tirzah Price’s reimaginings of Jane Austen novels, Sense and Second-degree Murder is my favorite.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Lizzie and Darcy are white. The story delves into prejudice against the French, with whom England is at war during the story. There is some xenophobia and anti-French comments and behavior.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
References to murder. Lizzie and Darcy see a warehouse on fire from a distance and learn that someone perished in the blaze. They see the body of a murdered woman in a park.

Drug Content
References to alcohol.

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