Joyce's mystery and fiction book reviews with some non-fiction too!

I was not aware of this publication until I saw it on NetGalley. It is definitely worth a look and I would read this magazine again in the future. This publication is about reading and children; the target audience is probably parents, school and public librarians and teachers. There was an interesting mix of articles including one about a teen in Florida who is legally blind, advocating for better services who has written a book and one by James Patterson about a new series featuring heroine, Max Einstein, a girl who will have adventures while making science interesting. There are also reviews, suggestions of books for holiday gifts and some articles on other media like TV, music and movies. A good publication if you are its target audience.
Thanks NetGalley and Story Monsters Ink.

#StoryMonstersInkNovember2018 #NetGalley

This is a standalone novel by a favorite author of mine.  Earlier this month, I posted on her latest Karen Pirie novel.  The Vanishing Poing is an earlier book.  It was a suspenseful, involving read and I highly recommend it!

From Goodreads:

Young Jimmy Higgins is snatched from an airport security checkpoint while his guardian watches helplessly from the glass inspection box. But this is no ordinary abduction, as Jimmy is no ordinary child. His mother was Scarlett, a reality TV star who, dying of cancer and alienated from her unreliable family, entrusted the boy to the person she believed best able to give him a happy, stable life: her ghost writer, Stephanie Harker. Assisting the FBI in their attempt to recover the missing boy, Stephanie reaches into the past to uncover the motive for the abduction. Has Jimmy been taken by his own relatives? Is Stephanie’s obsessive ex-lover trying to teach her a lesson? Has one of Scarlett’s stalkers come back to haunt them all?

A powerful, grippingly-plotted thriller that will keep readers on the edge of their seats until the end, The Vanishing Point showcases McDermid at the height of her talent.

 

In my opinion, Mutts is one of the best comic strips around.  Mooch and Earl are animal friends who experience life with wonder, joy and sometimes bafflement.  They can bring a smile to even the grumpiest face.  This is the newest compilation and I highly recommend it.

Some examples…

Finding an excellent bedtime story to calm a child at the end of the day is not easy; there are many but they are not all good. This one is! With whimsical illustrations and a peaceful refrain of Shhh!, a child watches as night falls, the moon rises, an animal brushes their teeth, etc. It is time to go to sleep.

This book is lovely and would be a perfect end of the day read. Thanks to NetGalley and Quarto for this wonderful picture book.

My children’s lit professor asked each student to bring in a picture book today and tell what made it meaningful.  This led me to think about some of my favorites.  I hope that you will enjoy seeing them!

Student favorites also included

The Giving Tree

Iggy Peck Architect

Just Go to Bed

Bad Girls Throughout History

Cat in the Hat

Good Night Darth Vader

Junie B Jones

The Little Red Hen

What Do You Do with a Problem

Pout Pout Fish

Very Hungry Caterpillar

Balloons over Manhattan

C is for City

The Amazing Bone

What would you add to this list?  Are some of your favorites here?  Do you recall favorite moments being read to or reading picture books to children you know?

 

This is both a very charming and a very instructive book.  If you want to learn to draw and paint adorable animals, you can learn how here.  There are detailed instructions on supplies and steps in creating the animals shown.  There is also support for the need to learn and acceptance at not being perfect.  However…If you don’t want to draw, you might enjoy just looking.  The illustrations are adorable!

Thank you NetGalley and Quarto!

#DrawAndPaintSuperCuteAnimals #NetGalley

The Great Go-Kart Race is a story in a new series of picture books that feature STEAM concepts. Each entry will highlight Science, Technology, Engineering, Art or Math. This one is about science.

The book has lovely, appealing illustrations. We watch as the young protagonists. Max and Suzy try to win their go-kart race while encountering some obstacles along the way. For example, they get stuck in the mud. How will Max and Suzy manage their challenges? They succeed by using what they know and observe.

Young listeners will get an easy to understand yet genuine exposure to some scientific principles as try to figure out what will happen next. Concepts covered include forces, energy and materials. The back of the book has questions and additional resources.

This looks like it will be a great way to introduce concepts to children. I look forward to reading more in the series.

#BrokenGround #NetGalley

Val McDermid writes a number of series; of them all, the Karen Pirie novels are my favorites. Broken Ground is the newest of these.
I enjoy Karen. She is a quirky woman who has faced a significant loss and is still recovering. In this novel, she gingerly considers a new relationship. She is an old fashioned copper who cares about justice and what is right. She is loyal to those on her team who are still learners.
Karen is the head of the Historical Cases Unit in Scotland. Spending time with her, the members of her team (including her adversaries) and her cases is always time well-spent. In this novel, there are several stories; one relates to events of WWII, another to a serial rapist, and there is also a present day murder. Each of these plots is explored satisfactorily.
I finished this book today and am already looking forward to what happens next in the series. I highly recommend both this book and the series.

Many (!) thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this satisfying read.

Others in the series:

This is a fictional story about Victoria’s early years and relationships, written by the author of the PBS series. I just purchased this, even though I read a long biography about Victoria last year. I think that it will be a fun read. I enjoyed the author’s earlier novel, The American Heiress.

 

This is the first novel in the Maggie Hope mystery series which takes place during WWII.  I have enjoyed the entire series and recommend it.  If you enjoy historical mysteries with an appealing protagonist, you might like to try this one.

From Goodreads:

London, 1940. Winston Churchill has just been sworn in, war rages across the Channel, and the threat of a Blitz looms larger by the day. But none of this deters Maggie Hope. She graduated at the top of her college class and possesses all the skills of the finest minds in British intelligence, but her gender qualifies her only to be the newest typist at No. 10 Downing Street. Her indefatigable spirit and remarkable gifts for codebreaking, though, rival those of even the highest men in government, and Maggie finds that working for the prime minister affords her a level of clearance she could never have imagined—and opportunities she will not let pass. In troubled, deadly times, with air-raid sirens sending multitudes underground, access to the War Rooms also exposes Maggie to the machinations of a menacing faction determined to do whatever it takes to change the course of history.

Ensnared in a web of spies, murder, and intrigue, Maggie must work quickly to balance her duty to King and Country with her chances for survival. And when she unravels a mystery that points toward her own family’s hidden secrets, she’ll discover that her quick wits are all that stand between an assassin’s murderous plan and Churchill himself.

In this daring debut, Susan Elia MacNeal blends meticulous research on the era, psychological insight into Winston Churchill, and the creation of a riveting main character,  Maggie Hope, into a spectacularly crafted novel.