Tag Archives: Mystery

Review: Last One to Fall by Gabriella Lepore

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , ,
The Last One to Fall by Gabrielle Lepore

Last One to Fall
Gabriella Lepore
Inkyard Press
Published May 9, 2023

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About Last One to Fall

Six friends. Five suspects. One murder.

Savana Caruso and Jesse Melo have known each other since they were kids, so when Jesse texts Savana in the middle of the night and asks her to meet him at Cray’s Warehouse, she doesn’t hesitate. But before Savana can find Jesse, she bears witness to a horrifying murder, standing helpless on the ground as a mysterious figure is pushed out of the fourth floor of the warehouse. 

Six teens were there that night, and five of them are now potential suspects. With the police circling, Savana knows what will happen if the wrong person is charged, particularly once she starts getting threatening anonymous text messages.

As she attempts to uncover the truth, Savana learns that everyone is keeping secrets—and someone is willing to do whatever it takes to keep those secrets from coming to light.

My Review

I liked a lot of things about this book. First, I liked that the murder doesn’t happen until later in the story. This creates a lot of time for the reader to get to know the person who’s killed, and to get to see the dynamics in the friend group in action. I can’t remember if I’ve read another murder mystery like that before. I can really only think of stories in which the person is murdered either before the story begins or very near to the beginning. So I thought that was a cool, different way to tell this particular story.

The friend group also had some interesting dynamics. I guess the downside of telling a friend group story like this is that it makes for a large cast to introduce all at the beginning. Once I grasped the relationships between the characters, though, I felt like I was able to follow things pretty quickly.

In terms of the mystery– I can honestly say I kept thinking I had it figured out, and I definitely didn’t. I liked that there were clues I could look back at and recognize after I knew what to look for. So that was nicely done, I thought.

I liked the romantic moments, too. It made sense why the characters kind of danced around each other for so long, and I think it also added to my anticipation of seeing them finally work things out between them.

On the whole, I think fans of Diana Urban or Karen McManus will find a fast-paced mystery with a splash of romance in LAST ONE TO FALL.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Jesse’s friend Freddie is Black. Jesse’s dad is an alcoholic.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. Brief sexual assault in one scene when a boy forces himself on a girl, kissing her against her will.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
A girl witnesses a person’s fatal fall from a fourth story window. Boys get into a fist fight. In one scene, two boys attack another boy, beating him up. A boy and girl fight, and his behavior certainly has some red flags for abuse. He’s controlling, jealous, and grabs her arm at one point.

Drug Content
School officials find steroids in the locker of one of Jesse’s friends and expel him. Teens drink alcohol at a party.

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 LAST ONE TO FALL in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Betrayal by the Book by Michael D. Beil

Book Review and Content, Middle Grade 8-12, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, , , , , , , ,

Betrayal by the Book (The Swallowtail Legacy #2)
Michael D. Beil
Pixel+Ink
Published April 18, 2023

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About Betrayal by the Book

A writer’s conference brings twelve-year-old Lark’s favorite writer–and a suspicious death–to Swallowtail Island, in the second book in this middle grade mystery series by an Edgar Award-nominated author.

Swallowtail Island is hosting the Swallowtales Writer’s Conference. Lark’s ecstatic to be chosen as a “page” for her favorite author, Ann E. Keyhart.

But they say you should never meet your idols. When Keyhart arrives with her personal assistant in tow, she is nothing but a terror. And within a few hours, the assistant is dead! But the explanation isn’t sitting well. Not when lots of people had reasons to want to be rid of Keyhart, and especially not after it’s revealed the assistant recently completed a hot new novel and the file’s vanished from her computer.

Then Lark finds out the assistant had a bird–the match to the one she found hidden in her mom’s book–and she needs answers. It looks like Swallowtail Island still has secrets to reveal, and Lark’s going to uncover them.

A gripping new chapter in the Swallowtail Legacy series, Mike D. Beil spins another clever clue hunt that seamlessly slips in alongside the best classics of middle grade mystery.

My Review

I read the first book in this series, WRECK AT ATA’S REEF last year, and really enjoyed it. So, I was excited to see that this second book was coming out this year. Like the first, it’s set on a small island, and features some of Lark’s many family members.

I really liked that the story takes place during a writer’s conference at which Lark is a volunteer helper to her favorite author. Though the conference itself stays more in the background, it still managed to hit a lot of key moments from a conference: panels, hurt feelings over harsh feedback, encouraging words from a beloved author, and disorganized statements from someone clearly underprepared.

I had very strong suspicions about who was responsible for the assistant’s death even before I read the first page of the story, and I was right. So, that made it a little difficult for me to enjoy Lark’s journey unraveling the clues.

I also expected the bird figurine to tie into the mystery somehow? It remained pretty separate, though. Because that thread began in the first book, I kind of wonder if it’s something that will be the center of a mystery in the next book in the series? I haven’t heard anything, so I don’t know.

All in all, I think I’d have enjoyed this one a bit more if I hadn’t figured out the mystery so quickly. I still enjoyed the island community and Lark’s role as a conference volunteer. I’m not sorry I read the book. The series still makes me think of the Northwoods Mysteries by Margi Preus.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Major characters are white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Lark wonders whether she’s attracted to a boy on the island.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Lark responds to a scream and sees the dead body of a woman who has apparently died of an allergic reaction. (No blood, just open blank eyes, clearly not breathing, cold to the touch.)

Drug Content
Ann Keyheart gets drunk in several scenes and slurs her words or behaves rudely.

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 BETRAYAL BY THE BOOK in exchange for my honest review.

Middle Grade Mondays!

Greg at Always in the Middle does a Monday roundup of posts about middle grade books and news. Check out today’s Marvelous Middle Grade Mondays!

Review: Last Sunrise in Eterna by Amparo Ortiz

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , ,

Last Sunrise in Eterna
Amparo Ortiz
Page Street Press
Published March 28, 2023

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About Last Sunrise in Eterna

Three teenagers are invited to spend seven days on the secluded island floating off the coast of Puerto Rico to learn the magic of the elves.

All they have to do is give up their dreams.

Seventeen-year-old goth Sevim Burgos hates elves. Everyone else on earth loves the elves (especially their handsome princes) and would give anything to participate in Eterna’s annual Exchange, where three teens can trade their dreams for a week of elven magic.

But Sevim knows things most people don’t. She can see through the illusions the elves use to conceal their crimes. Ever since elves killed her father, Sevim has longed for revenge. So to help support her single mother, she has been selling abandoned elf corpses on the black market.

But it turns out that the elf prince Aro has noticed Sevim bodysnatching, so he kidnaps her mother in retaliation. To get her mother back, Sevim must participate in the Exchange.

In the home of the elves, Sevim will have to surrender her dreams and put her trust in the charming prince who took the last family member she has in order to master the art of elf magic. And in working with him, she will discover how the royal elves might be more tied to her own history than she ever suspected.

My Review

I liked several things about LAST SUNRISE IN ETERNA. First, I loved the setting. The story takes place in Puerto Rico, and all the characters have brown skin. I loved that we got to see elves reimagined as Puerto Rican and anchored to the island and language. I’ve never read anything like this, so it felt very fresh and pulled me in.

Second, I liked the characters, especially Sevim, Aro, and his brother, Feyn. Sevim goes full speed ahead, even when she knows she’s outmatched. Her determination and her loyalty to her mom along with her refusal to believe things just because someone told her they were so made me a big fan from the early chapters of the book.

The plot also goes some interesting places, some that I really didn’t expect. That plus the Puerto Rican elves element gave the whole book a totally unique vibe for me. I really enjoyed reading something so different and with such high stakes.

I struggled a bit with the writing at times. It seemed to jump around a bit, so that sometimes I had to reread things before I could figure out what was going on. I read an ARC, a pre-release version, of the book, so it’s possible that the final version reads more smoothly. Or it could just be me– I was reading pretty fast because I wanted to know what happened next.

All in all, I think fans of this author’s earlier books will not be disappointed in this one. I think fans of TOGETHER WE BURN by Isabel Ibañez will love the magic and high-stakes adventure of LAST SUNRISE IN ETERNA.

Content Notes for Last Sunrise in Eterna

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Major characters have brown skin. Sevim is Puerto Rican.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. Brief mentions of attraction between two boys.

Spiritual Content
Elves have magic and the ability to create illusions that affect how humans see them. Other characters have the opportunity to gain magic through challenges and other rituals.

In a dream, Sevim encounters a character who talks about feeding on the magic of others.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Some descriptions of battle violence. In a couple scenes, Sevim encounters the bodies of elf children who’ve been mutilated. The person responsible for the mutilation talks about enjoying harming them.

Drug Content
Sevim takes an elixir that is meant to allow her to see through the elves’ illusions.

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 LAST SUNRISE IN ETERNA in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Stateless by Elizabeth Wein

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Historical, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Stateless
Elizabeth Wein
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published March 14, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Stateless

When Stella North is chosen to represent Britain in Europe’s first air race for young people, she knows all too well how high the stakes are. As the only participating female pilot, it’ll be a constant challenge to prove she’s a worthy competitor. But promoting peace in Europe feels empty to Stella when civil war is raging in Spain and the Nazis are gaining power—and when, right from the start, someone resorts to cutthroat sabotage to get ahead of the competition.

The world is looking for inspiration in what’s meant to be a friendly sporting event. But each of the racers is hiding a turbulent and violent past, and any one of them might be capable of murder…including Stella herself.

My Review

I’ve been a fan of Elizabeth Wein’s books since first reading CODE NAME VERITY. I missed a few of her books since then, but when I saw that STATELESS was coming out this spring, and that it was about a lady pilot, I had to read it!

This book delivers a rich historical setting in a 1937 Europe still reeling from the first World War. Already, the tension is building toward World War II. The whole story is from Stella’s point-of-view, which I loved.

Stella has both a sharpness and a softness that I really liked. She’s a woman, a rarity in the world of aeroplanes and pilots of her day. She’s aware that everyone from her colleagues to the press to her own family members will treat her differently because of her gender. Sometimes she second-guesses herself. Sometimes she worries about being too emotional. But she also recognizes her strengths and finds ways to create space for herself.

When Stella witnesses one of her fellow race participants attacked by an unidentified plane, she realizes reporting everything she saw may place her own life at risk. Instead, she begins to quietly investigate the other racers and support staff, trying to identify the murderer before he or she has a chance to strike again. That part of the story had me turning pages as quickly as I could. The tension ratchets up so quickly in some scenes. I held my breath as all the pilots gathered, ready to take off from one of their stops. I felt like I couldn’t breathe until I knew they would all escape.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was a little bit less violent than CODE NAME VERITY, but still delivered that same rich historical setting and unforgettable characters. I think Elizabeth Wein’s fans and fans of historical fiction will be absolutely delighted with this one.

Content Notes for Stateless

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Characters are from different countries in Europe. One of the pilots is Jewish.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently. A couple instances of British swear words.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
The pilots attend a vigil for a missing comrade. One, a young Jewish man, does not attend the church service as entering a Christian church isn’t permitted per his family/faith.

Violent Content
Pilots discuss battles and a murder case that were recently in the news. Stella sees what appears to be one pilot sabotaging another, causing a fatal crash. Other pilots experience evidence of sabotage in their aircraft. A man shoots multiple people. Multiple planes crash.

At one point, Stella listens to a soldier recount being shot down and gravely injured in an attack.

Drug Content
Characters smoke cigarettes.

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 STATELESS in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The Pledge by Cale Dietrich

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

The Pledge
Cale Dietrich
Feiwel & Friends
February 14, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Pledge

Scream meets Clown in a Cornfield in this young adult horror novel by bestselling Cale Dietrich featuring a masked killer who targets frat boys.

Freshman Sam believes that joining a fraternity is the best way to form a friend group as he begins his college journey – and his best chance of moving on from his past. He is the survivor of a horrific, and world-famous, murder spree, where a masked killer hunted down Sam and his friends.

Sam had to do the unthinkable to survive that night, and it completely derailed his life. He sees college, and his new identity as a frat boy, as his best shot at living a life not defined by the killings. He starts to flirt with one of the brothers, who Sam finds is surprisingly accepting of Sam’s past, and begins to think a fresh start truly is possible.

And then… one of his new frat brothers is found dead. A new masked murderer, one clearly inspired by the original, emerges, and starts stalking, and slaying, the frat boys of Munroe University. Now Sam will have to race against the clock to figure out who the new killer is – and why they are killing – before Sam loses his second chance – or the lives of any more of his friends.

Elements of horror, mystery, and a gay romance make this a story readers won’t want to miss.

My Review

I received this book as part of a package of books from the publisher, and I was the most nervous about it of all the others in the set. I’m still pretty touch and go with horror, so it’s always hard to tell from the cover or cover copy whether something is going to be a good pick or end up being too much.

Ultimately, I didn’t think the horror elements were too much for me. In some ways, THE PLEDGE reminded me of some of the R. L. Stine or Christopher Pike stories that I used to read. I also enjoyed that it was a story centered around a gay character– something different from the romance or contemporary stories I often read with LGBTQ+ protagonists.

It’s definitely a slasher story– so expect lots of scenes showing a masked assailant with a knife overpowering their victims and stabbing them. I’m a bit of a wimp about that stuff, but I didn’t find the descriptions overly graphic or gross.

The part of the story that really hooked me, though was the mystery element. Some people suspect Sam of being the killer, and he ends up getting involved in trying to figure out who is hurting people. He works with the police, trying to stop the killer before they strike again. I definitely got wrapped up in trying to guess who it was and what their motive was. I didn’t guess either one.

The story also includes Sam’s relationships with his family, which drew me in. He has issues with his mom, and he has a younger brother he loves a lot. I liked both those relationships and the way they impacted the story.

All in all, a slasher book is never going to be my go-to, but I enjoyed checking this one out. I think fans of THE WHITE RABBIT by Caleb Roehrig will like the mystery elements and romance of THE PLEDGE.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Sam and some other characters are gay.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to Sam’s past relationship with Eli. He’s attracted to a new guy at college. In one scene, they kiss and retreat to a bedroom to have sex. The scene shows them naked together and vaguely describes that they have sex.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
It’s a slasher, so there’s a bad guy with a knife who stabs some people in some scenes.

Drug Content
Sam attends parties with the fraternity brothers and drinks alcohol. One of the boys in the process of joining the fraternity smells like pot.

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 PLEDGE in exchange for my honest review.


Review: Finally Something Dangerous by Doug Cornett

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Middle Grade 8-12, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, , , , ,

Finally Something Dangerous
Doug Cornett
Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
Published November 22, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Finally, Something Dangerous

The mystery-solving trio, the One and Onlys, from Finally, Something Mysterious is back with another whodunit. Robot crows, a poetry-slash-wrestling Club, and a hamster infestation? This looks like another case to tackle!

As the excitement from the last mystery the One and Onlys solved is starting to dwindle, Shanks, Peephole, and Paul worry that their town is back to being boring old Bellwood. But as plans for a shiny town makeover get underway, they realize that the old Bellwood is anything but.

The glee over New Bellwood is palpable, and it’s hard not to get swept away by the flashy new milkshake joint and other developments that are quickly making their small town unrecognizable. But the One and Onlys can’t deny that something nefarious seems to be afoot–especially if the robot crow they stumbled upon is any indication.

Strange? Yes. Dangerous? Hopefully! Shanks doesn’t know how these things are connected, but she’s determined to find out–with the help of the One and Onlys.

My Review

I had a lot of fun reading the first book in this series, FINALLY SOMETHING MYSTERIOUS, so when I saw that the One and Onlys were back with a new sleuthing adventure, I knew I had to check it out.

FINALLY SOMETHING DANGEROUS is packed with the same goofy humor and absurdity that the first book has. As the team chases down a new mystery, they encounter more odd small town personalities and off-the-wall situations.

I feel like the first book make me literally laugh out loud, and I didn’t get that this time, but I did find myself smiling a lot at the antics and circumstances. This is the perfect mystery book for readers who love the storytelling of mystery but aren’t ready for darker or uncomfortable themes sometimes explored in that genre.

The small town setting is packed with both new and familiar characters. It captures that everybody-knows-everybody vibe for sure.

If you haven’t read the first book, I think you could still read and follow this story without any issues. Readers who enjoyed DOUBLE THE DANGER AND ZERO ZUCCHINI by Betsy Uhrig will not want to miss this one.

Content Notes for Finally, Something Dangerous

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Main characters are white kids.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
A couple instances of cartoonish violence in which a character tackles another character who is trying to escape or something equivalent.

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 FINALLY, SOMETHING DANGEROUS in exchange for my honest review.