Review: The Case of the Deadly Desperados

The Case of the Deadly Desperados
by Caroline Lawrence
Western Mysteries, book one

Book Description:
When twelve-year-old P.K. (Pinky) Pinkerton's foster parents are murdered by Whittlin' Walt and his gang of ruthless desperados, Pinky goes on the run and is forced into hiding with Ma's priceless last possession: the deed to a large amount of land and silver mines in the Nevada Mountains. But relying on disguises will only keep Pinky hidden for so long, and the desperados are quickly closing in . . .

Review:
I loved this book SO much more than I ever thought I would. 

 P.K. is a spunky, interesting (maybe autistic) main character that I had no trouble rooting for... I loved all of the side characters. There were mean desperados, and helpful townsfolk, a new "foster" parent to look up to, and even an appearance by Samuel Clemens himself! The mystery was great and the setting was way more interesting than I'd thought it would be. 

 I found myself smiling as I read along and hope to read the follow-up soon!

Review: The Dark Between

The Dark Between
by Sonia Gensler

Book Description: 

At the turn of the twentieth century, Spiritualism and séances are all the rage—even in the scholarly town of Cambridge, England. While mediums dupe the grief-stricken, a group of local fringe scientists seeks to bridge the gap to the spirit world by investigating the dark corners of the human mind.

Each running from a shadowed past, Kate, Asher, and Elsie take refuge within the walls of Summerfield College. But their peace is soon shattered by the discovery of a dead body nearby. Is this the work of a flesh-and-blood villain, or is something otherworldly at play? This unlikely trio must illuminate what the scientists have not, and open a window to secrets taken to the grave—or risk joining the spirit world themselves.

Review:
I loved the atmosphere of this book. Set in the early 1900's in England, spiritualism is all the rage. Combined with the development of early sciences, the three teens find themselves caught in a mystery that finds at its heart the question...are there really ghosts or is everything just an illusion of the otherworld? The pseudo-sciences explored were fascinating and the way that Gensler ties everything together totally sucked me in to the story.

While I had my suspicions about who was really involved with what and why, I found myself absolutely captivated watching the characters figure it all out. A great supernatural mystery for historical fans.

Review: Confessions of a Murder Suspect

Confessions of a Murder Suspect

by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

 

Book Description:

On the night Malcolm and Maud Angel are murdered, Tandy Angel knows just three things: 1) She was the last person to see her parents alive. 2) The police have no suspects besides Tandy and her three siblings. 3) She can't trust anyone--maybe not even herself. Having grown up under Malcolm and Maud's intense perfectionist demands, no child comes away undamaged. Tandy decides that she will have to clear the family name, but digging deeper into her powerful parents' affairs is a dangerous-and revealing-game. Who knows what the Angels are truly capable of? 

Review:

Okay, so I'm going to be brutally honest here. I kind of hated this book. All around. Yup.

Although I thought this was a clever premise and I went into reading with sort of high hopes, from about three chapters in I just wanted this book to be done already. Tandy is supposed to be cold and emotionless and yes, that comes across just fine. It made me not connect with her or the other characters at all and then, then... then there were the moments when she obnoxiously addressed the reader directly.

I suppose I was struggling my way through the book, hating the voice, but still persisting until the big reveal. I won't ruin it for any of you that may want to read this book, but I will tell you that I basically ranted to my husband for like 45 minutes about what a cop-out it was. What a waste of time it was for me to read the book only to find out...

So... well, there it is. I didn't like it and I won't be reading the other books in the series. I hope that you Patterson fans out there don't let me influence you, but...