Brown, Rita Mae. A Nose For Justice
Ballantine see Random 2010 267p 25.00
978-0-345-51181-2 jr./sr Mystery/Detective VG-BN
Mags Rogers escapes the debacle of Wall Street and heads west with her wire-haired dachshund, Baxter. Her arrival coincides with mysterious explosions and the discovery of a 100 year old skeleton. Mystery and intrigue run rampant in this novel.
Mags’ job as a Wall Street broker came to a quick end with the crash of the economy. After tying up loose ends she heads West with Baxter to her aunt’s ranch (Wings Ranch) to regroup and find another career.
Life on Jeep’s ranch is very orderly and calm until someone discovers a 100 year old skeleton in the floor of a barn being renovated. Almost simultaneously a pipe bomb explodes a local water pumping station. Local Deputy Pete Meadows and his partner are left to deal with both situations. Since the explosion took immediate precedent, Mags and her aunt try to delve into the historical details surrounding the skeleton, who turned out to be an elite Russian military officer. The water pumping station also involved Mags and Jeep because of of Jeep’s strict beliefs about the water ecology of the area and the preservation of the water supply in a mostly arid area (Nevada) who is having the water supply impacted by larger urban areas.
The novel is a great read for animal lovers, ecology advocates, and mystery lovers. There is also a touch of romance to liven up the story line as Mags starts to date the deputy.
All in all, this is a great read for anyone who wants to sit down and escape to the rural landscape of Nevada to be entertained by the antics of Baxter and King (Jeep’s dog), the historical intricacies of researching what happened on the ranch 100 years ago, and the developing romance of Mags and Pete. This is a very well written book that will relate well to many young readers. It is recommended as a basic book for any upper middle/high school library. It would make an excellent selection for a basic books list for school libraries. McNeil(3), Linda Country life
Showing posts with label intrigue. Show all posts
Showing posts with label intrigue. Show all posts
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Finn, Daniel She Thief
Finn, Daniel She Thief
Feiwel&Friends/Macmillan 2010 295p 16.99
978-0-312-56330-1 jr/sr VG
Thieving is a precarious existence. It is imperative to have someone you trust at your back. When Baz and Demi steal a valuable ring, it becomes apparent that they have been set-up and betrayed.
Demi and Baz have been a team ever since Demi found young Baz abandoned in the Barrio of a gritty Latin American city. Demi brings Baz to Fay, an adult who shelters and trains a gang of child thieves. Eventually Baz become the lookout for Demi, a master pickpocket. A lucky theft of a valuable ring becomes the catalyst for a power struggle between the barrio’s crime lord and a newcomer who plots a barrio takeover. In a setting where it is imperative to have someone you trust at your back, it soon becomes apparent to Baz that she and Demi have been betrayed.
The plot is promising, but readers may experience some disappointment when no romance develops between Baz and Demi. The author dances around this situation, but nothing develops. Also, the use of dialect may detract from some readers’ enjoyment of the dialogue. The action sequences are the best parts of the book -- although the all-important ring theft does not take place until the reader has worked through several chapters.
This book appears to be a re-issue of “Two Good Thieves” the debut novel by the same author. The new title, “She Thief,” is misleading, as Baz is the lookout, not the thief (more of an accessory to the crime). The new cover is intended to appeal to an older teen audience than the original book.
Readers enjoying fights and chases will enjoy the gritty back street barrio action of this South American urban fiction. Welliver, Hilary
Barrio; Crime - fiction
Feiwel&Friends/Macmillan 2010 295p 16.99
978-0-312-56330-1 jr/sr VG
Thieving is a precarious existence. It is imperative to have someone you trust at your back. When Baz and Demi steal a valuable ring, it becomes apparent that they have been set-up and betrayed.
Demi and Baz have been a team ever since Demi found young Baz abandoned in the Barrio of a gritty Latin American city. Demi brings Baz to Fay, an adult who shelters and trains a gang of child thieves. Eventually Baz become the lookout for Demi, a master pickpocket. A lucky theft of a valuable ring becomes the catalyst for a power struggle between the barrio’s crime lord and a newcomer who plots a barrio takeover. In a setting where it is imperative to have someone you trust at your back, it soon becomes apparent to Baz that she and Demi have been betrayed.
The plot is promising, but readers may experience some disappointment when no romance develops between Baz and Demi. The author dances around this situation, but nothing develops. Also, the use of dialect may detract from some readers’ enjoyment of the dialogue. The action sequences are the best parts of the book -- although the all-important ring theft does not take place until the reader has worked through several chapters.
This book appears to be a re-issue of “Two Good Thieves” the debut novel by the same author. The new title, “She Thief,” is misleading, as Baz is the lookout, not the thief (more of an accessory to the crime). The new cover is intended to appeal to an older teen audience than the original book.
Readers enjoying fights and chases will enjoy the gritty back street barrio action of this South American urban fiction. Welliver, Hilary
Barrio; Crime - fiction
Bodeen, S.A. The Gardener
Bodeen, S.A. The Gardener
Feiwel&Friends/Macmillan Child Pub Gr 2010 280p 16.99
978-0-312-37016-9 ms/hs Science fiction E-BN
Mason uncovers a bizarre experiment called the Greenhouse. In which he tries to help a beautiful girl who doesn’t need food and water to live. Mason, a sophomore, lives with his mother as they struggle to survive. His father is no longer in their life. His mother works in a nursing home attached to TroDyn Scientific facility to provide food and shelter. She is unhappy with her job but continues to work. Mason visits her at work one day only to discover a beautiful comatose girl (Eve) who wakes up when Mason plays his father’s last recording to him as a child.
Mason kidnaps the girl because he wants to help her. His friend, Jack, has a family home in the mountains. They are pursued almost immediately by some very unsavory characters that mean business. Readers will sit on the edges of their seats as pursuers break into the home, ski mobiles go sliding off the mountainside, and Jack breaks his arm.
The ending of the fast paced intrigue finish up at the TroDyn Scientific facility.
Mason is refused help by Dr Kelly Emerson, a former researcher at the facility. However, he enters the facility to find some answers.
Answers are sometimes a hard to swallow. In this suspenseful nerve wrenching ending, Mason has to come face to face with some very surprising events and people.
Readers will see that there are some rays of sunlight even in the worst situations.
I would so love to reveal the ending. Let me just say that readers will find the story suspenseful, surprising, and uplifting at the end.
Readers should think about the definition of a greenhouse. What could the scientific company be growing and why?
This is a well written book that is recommended as a Books of Note. It would be an excellent addition to any secondary school library. McNeil, Linda
Feiwel&Friends/Macmillan Child Pub Gr 2010 280p 16.99
978-0-312-37016-9 ms/hs Science fiction E-BN
Mason uncovers a bizarre experiment called the Greenhouse. In which he tries to help a beautiful girl who doesn’t need food and water to live. Mason, a sophomore, lives with his mother as they struggle to survive. His father is no longer in their life. His mother works in a nursing home attached to TroDyn Scientific facility to provide food and shelter. She is unhappy with her job but continues to work. Mason visits her at work one day only to discover a beautiful comatose girl (Eve) who wakes up when Mason plays his father’s last recording to him as a child.
Mason kidnaps the girl because he wants to help her. His friend, Jack, has a family home in the mountains. They are pursued almost immediately by some very unsavory characters that mean business. Readers will sit on the edges of their seats as pursuers break into the home, ski mobiles go sliding off the mountainside, and Jack breaks his arm.
The ending of the fast paced intrigue finish up at the TroDyn Scientific facility.
Mason is refused help by Dr Kelly Emerson, a former researcher at the facility. However, he enters the facility to find some answers.
Answers are sometimes a hard to swallow. In this suspenseful nerve wrenching ending, Mason has to come face to face with some very surprising events and people.
Readers will see that there are some rays of sunlight even in the worst situations.
I would so love to reveal the ending. Let me just say that readers will find the story suspenseful, surprising, and uplifting at the end.
Readers should think about the definition of a greenhouse. What could the scientific company be growing and why?
This is a well written book that is recommended as a Books of Note. It would be an excellent addition to any secondary school library. McNeil, Linda
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Aw, Tash. Map of the Invisible World
Aw, Tash Map of the Invisible World
Spiegel&Grav see Random 2009 317p 25.00
978-0-385-52796-5 hs/adult E
This award winning author’s second novel is set in Indonesia. Intrigue, suspense and interpersonal relationships build the story of sixteen year old Adam who is caught in the political turmoil of postcolonial Indonesia and family upheaval . This award winning author’s second novel is set in Indonesia. Intrigue, suspense and interpersonal relationships build the story of sixteen year old Adam who is caught in the political turmoil of postcolonial Indonesia and revolves upon the upheaval it presents in his life. Adam had been abandoned by his mother as a child. His brother was adopted by another family and his voice is part of the story, too. Adam is being raised by Karl, a man of Dutch descent. When Sukarno, the leader of Indonesia, wants to rid the country of any remnants of its colonial past,Karl is arrested and taken away. Adam tries to find Karl and goes to the city of Jakarta with little to go on. He has some letters and photos. One contact, an American woman, Margaret, who has had a past with Karl, enters the picture. The characters are fully delineated and the plot moves along at a pace that will keep the reader turning pages to find out what will happen next. Lives are changed by politics, betrayal, and love in this title with a surprising ending. Both poignant and thrilling, this book will be of interest to mature readers in high school and above. It could have been a Tristate Book of Note, but it has a 2009 copyright date and now we are reading for the 2010/2011 list. Recommended for high school libraries and above. Weinraub, Tina
Spiegel&Grav see Random 2009 317p 25.00
978-0-385-52796-5 hs/adult E
This award winning author’s second novel is set in Indonesia. Intrigue, suspense and interpersonal relationships build the story of sixteen year old Adam who is caught in the political turmoil of postcolonial Indonesia and family upheaval . This award winning author’s second novel is set in Indonesia. Intrigue, suspense and interpersonal relationships build the story of sixteen year old Adam who is caught in the political turmoil of postcolonial Indonesia and revolves upon the upheaval it presents in his life. Adam had been abandoned by his mother as a child. His brother was adopted by another family and his voice is part of the story, too. Adam is being raised by Karl, a man of Dutch descent. When Sukarno, the leader of Indonesia, wants to rid the country of any remnants of its colonial past,Karl is arrested and taken away. Adam tries to find Karl and goes to the city of Jakarta with little to go on. He has some letters and photos. One contact, an American woman, Margaret, who has had a past with Karl, enters the picture. The characters are fully delineated and the plot moves along at a pace that will keep the reader turning pages to find out what will happen next. Lives are changed by politics, betrayal, and love in this title with a surprising ending. Both poignant and thrilling, this book will be of interest to mature readers in high school and above. It could have been a Tristate Book of Note, but it has a 2009 copyright date and now we are reading for the 2010/2011 list. Recommended for high school libraries and above. Weinraub, Tina
Sunday, August 16, 2009
The Parliament of Blood
Richards, Justin. Parliament of Blood, The
Bloomsbury see St. Martins, 2008, 358p 16.99 978-1-59990-140-4 ms/hs
Vampires in London! Are you sure? George Archer, Liz Oldfield, and Eddie Hopkins (coconspirators from The Death Collector) join forces with George’s mentor at the British Museum to foil the overtaking of the British Parliament by Vampires. Oddly enough it all started with the disclosure of a mummy from the Department of Unclassified Artifacts.
This is a second book from the author of The Death Collector. In this book, the same cast of characters commences upon another adventure in Victorian London. Generally, one would assume that working in the antiquities section of the British Museum would present a mundane working environment. This does not seem to be the case when a mummy from Saqqara is unwrapped in the Egyptian Room.
The drama immediately starts to unfold on page 22+ as Sir Harrison Judd stumbles while helping to uncover the mummy causing blood to drip on the mummy. Immediately, the wrappings seem to dissolve and a weathered parchment like face appears. Then the wrappings tremble and emaciated a hand appears from under the fabric. At this point chaos ensues and George is off on a whirlwind adventure that is both mysterious, intriguing, and heart stopping at times.
The story will appeal to readers of the occult genre. The characters in the story are very believable and will have the readers identifying with their struggles. L. McNeil
Bloomsbury see St. Martins, 2008, 358p 16.99 978-1-59990-140-4 ms/hs
Vampires in London! Are you sure? George Archer, Liz Oldfield, and Eddie Hopkins (coconspirators from The Death Collector) join forces with George’s mentor at the British Museum to foil the overtaking of the British Parliament by Vampires. Oddly enough it all started with the disclosure of a mummy from the Department of Unclassified Artifacts.
This is a second book from the author of The Death Collector. In this book, the same cast of characters commences upon another adventure in Victorian London. Generally, one would assume that working in the antiquities section of the British Museum would present a mundane working environment. This does not seem to be the case when a mummy from Saqqara is unwrapped in the Egyptian Room.
The drama immediately starts to unfold on page 22+ as Sir Harrison Judd stumbles while helping to uncover the mummy causing blood to drip on the mummy. Immediately, the wrappings seem to dissolve and a weathered parchment like face appears. Then the wrappings tremble and emaciated a hand appears from under the fabric. At this point chaos ensues and George is off on a whirlwind adventure that is both mysterious, intriguing, and heart stopping at times.
The story will appeal to readers of the occult genre. The characters in the story are very believable and will have the readers identifying with their struggles. L. McNeil
Monday, January 19, 2009
The invasion of Sandy Bay. by Anita Sanchez
Sanchez, Anita. The invasion of Sandy Bay.
Calkins Creek (Boyd's Mill), 2008, 147p, $16.95, 978-1-59078-560-7.
In 1814, as the War of 1812 rages, twelve-year-old Lemuel Brooks tries to save the sleepy fishing village of Sandy Bay, Massachusetts, where he, himself, is an outsider, from bumbling British invaders.
The War of 1812 caused economic hardship for the inhabitants of Sandy Bay, Mass. However, because the men of the town were “mariners”, or fishermen, they had a special exemption from military service. Nonetheless, a British privateer who fired a cannon at the town in 1813 caused the citizens of Sandy Bay to muster a militia for their defense. But the militia was no match for the British frigate Nymph, who paid a visit to the seaside town in 1814. Lemuel Brooks, a young boy learning the fishing trade, is captured by the British, along with Bill Tar, an elderly fisherman while they are out to sea. The British force Lemuel and Bill to pilot the Nymph through the shoals and into a hidden cove, at which point Lemuel and Bill escape to raise the alarm. The British invasion destroys the fort and the church steeple, but ends in a draw: nine marines are captured when their cannon backfires and the British capture nine of the local militia. The captured British marines are jailed in the tavern owned by Lemuel’s mother, and it is from this vantage point that Lemuel witnesses a most unusual, and illegal and traitorous prisoner exchange, accomplished with subterfuge right under the nose of the officious Colonel Appleton from Gloucester. When Appleton becomes suspicious, Lemuel, who first saw the British as the enemy, now sees them as ordinary people like the citizens of Sandy Bay, does his part to create a diversion to aid in the prisoner exchange. The writing is engaging; the characters are secondary to the plot, which is based on historical events. The author details the events in the Afterword and she provides additional background information that fleshes out the action and the characters in the book. This lively, entertaining story of a young boy is framed against a little known period in American history and provides a detailed account of the lives of citizens who didn’t get a notation in Social Studies texts.
Recommended for libraries needing historical fiction with the War of 1812 setting. RZ
Calkins Creek (Boyd's Mill), 2008, 147p, $16.95, 978-1-59078-560-7.
In 1814, as the War of 1812 rages, twelve-year-old Lemuel Brooks tries to save the sleepy fishing village of Sandy Bay, Massachusetts, where he, himself, is an outsider, from bumbling British invaders.
The War of 1812 caused economic hardship for the inhabitants of Sandy Bay, Mass. However, because the men of the town were “mariners”, or fishermen, they had a special exemption from military service. Nonetheless, a British privateer who fired a cannon at the town in 1813 caused the citizens of Sandy Bay to muster a militia for their defense. But the militia was no match for the British frigate Nymph, who paid a visit to the seaside town in 1814. Lemuel Brooks, a young boy learning the fishing trade, is captured by the British, along with Bill Tar, an elderly fisherman while they are out to sea. The British force Lemuel and Bill to pilot the Nymph through the shoals and into a hidden cove, at which point Lemuel and Bill escape to raise the alarm. The British invasion destroys the fort and the church steeple, but ends in a draw: nine marines are captured when their cannon backfires and the British capture nine of the local militia. The captured British marines are jailed in the tavern owned by Lemuel’s mother, and it is from this vantage point that Lemuel witnesses a most unusual, and illegal and traitorous prisoner exchange, accomplished with subterfuge right under the nose of the officious Colonel Appleton from Gloucester. When Appleton becomes suspicious, Lemuel, who first saw the British as the enemy, now sees them as ordinary people like the citizens of Sandy Bay, does his part to create a diversion to aid in the prisoner exchange. The writing is engaging; the characters are secondary to the plot, which is based on historical events. The author details the events in the Afterword and she provides additional background information that fleshes out the action and the characters in the book. This lively, entertaining story of a young boy is framed against a little known period in American history and provides a detailed account of the lives of citizens who didn’t get a notation in Social Studies texts.
Recommended for libraries needing historical fiction with the War of 1812 setting. RZ
Acacia by David Durham
Durham, David. Acacia.
Anchor (Random), 2008, 755p, $7.99, 978-0-385-72252-0
Four children are scattered to the corners of the earth in an attempt to keep them from harm after their father, the King, is killed by rival clans. The chancellor, a treacherous man who undercut his king, does follow the one wish of his king - to keep his children safe. Each child has a different existence, one becomes a female warrior, one lives on the water, the youngest is sheltered by a friend of the family and one lives as a captive of her father’s killer. Legend says the Giver will provide sacred information to whoever can read his book, a book kept secret by the children’s father. After nine years, the chancellor has a hand in reuniting the four siblings. A major battle ensues with ferocious beasts, magic spells and the older brother is killed. The remaining two siblings go to their older sister who is now Queen of Acacia having brought about the death of her lover and King. An uneasy trust exists between the sisters as the Queen reveals her true intent for the future of Acacia. Undoubtedly, the rivalry of the sisters will become the focus of the second in the planned trilogy. Outstanding descriptions of trees, flowers, and landscape as well as buildings and character’s personalities pull the reader into this lengthy yet taut struggle for power and superiority.
For fantasy lovers, this book will entrance and for epic war lovers, this book contains all the excitement and passion needed to keep the reader’s attention through the 700+ pages. Excellent descriptions of landscape and personalities. Grades 8 through adult. LMN
Anchor (Random), 2008, 755p, $7.99, 978-0-385-72252-0
Four children are scattered to the corners of the earth in an attempt to keep them from harm after their father, the King, is killed by rival clans. The chancellor, a treacherous man who undercut his king, does follow the one wish of his king - to keep his children safe. Each child has a different existence, one becomes a female warrior, one lives on the water, the youngest is sheltered by a friend of the family and one lives as a captive of her father’s killer. Legend says the Giver will provide sacred information to whoever can read his book, a book kept secret by the children’s father. After nine years, the chancellor has a hand in reuniting the four siblings. A major battle ensues with ferocious beasts, magic spells and the older brother is killed. The remaining two siblings go to their older sister who is now Queen of Acacia having brought about the death of her lover and King. An uneasy trust exists between the sisters as the Queen reveals her true intent for the future of Acacia. Undoubtedly, the rivalry of the sisters will become the focus of the second in the planned trilogy. Outstanding descriptions of trees, flowers, and landscape as well as buildings and character’s personalities pull the reader into this lengthy yet taut struggle for power and superiority.
For fantasy lovers, this book will entrance and for epic war lovers, this book contains all the excitement and passion needed to keep the reader’s attention through the 700+ pages. Excellent descriptions of landscape and personalities. Grades 8 through adult. LMN
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