I Am Princess X

It's been three years since May's best friend died in a car accident, and she still misses Libby every day.  But even without Libby life has moved on.  May's parents are divorced now, so she only spends part of the year in Seattle with her dad.

One day when she visiting one of the places she used to go with Libby, she sees a Princess X sticker.  The blue haired princess is a shock since she was Libby and May's creation, and May hasn't seen her since Libby died.  Together they created hundreds of pages of comic books, but no one else ever really saw it.  They never published it or anything, so where did the sticker come from?

Is it possible that Libby is still alive?  It seems crazy, but May can't stop her mind from going there.  The more she investigates what has become a web comic, the more she starts to believe Libby is alive and reaching out to May for help.

Is the message really from Libby, and if it is, will May be able to help her friend in time?

This is a fun mystery with comic pages mixed into the story.  I recommend Cherie Priest's novel for mystery and graphic novel fans alike!

The Clockwork Scarab

Mina Holmes is the niece of the great detective, Sherlock, and she has done her best to be a great observer and detective like her famous uncle.  She may not be graceful or beautiful, but she is smart, scientific, and brave.

Evaline Stoker is beautiful, but she is also deadly.  She has inherited the vampire slaying gene of her family which give her incredible speed and agility.

These two young women have been recruited by Irene Adler to serve the royal family in investigating unusual crimes.

The first case is a series of dead girls who appear at first to have committed suicide, but they were really murdered.  A clockwork scarab beetle was found with each body.

This leads our two heroines down a twisting case involving Egyptian cults, street ruffians, opium, and a time traveling young man from the future.

Will our heroines be able to overcome their own weaknesses and prejudices against each other before another girl dies?  Read Colleen Gleason's series opener to find out.

There were a lot of things I really enjoyed about this books, but it wasn't quite perfect.  The time travelling alternate universe aspect seems a bit clumsy and doesn't have any kind of conclusion.  But this is still a fun read with strong female characters and a dash of steampunk thrown in.

Fuzzy Mud

When Tamaya and Marshall take a "shortcut" through the woods to avoid a bully on their way home from school one day, their lives are changed forever.  Soon they are hopelessly lost, and the bully, Chad, is closing in.  To defend herself and Marshall, Tamaya scoops up a handful of strange fuzzy mud and throws it in Chad's face.

It's only later when they are home that Tamaya realizes there is something strange going on.  Her hand feels tingly and is covered in a rash that is getting worse by the minute.

This story is inter-cut with excerpts from senate hearings on a new fuel source called bioline.  It's make of tiny microorganisms to double at an alarming rate.

Now it's a race against time to see if the characters realize the truth and get help before it's too late.

Read Louis Sachar's new book for a terrifying sci-fi mystery that seems all too plausible.

Serafina and the Black Cloak

Serafina has lived her life in secret.  She and her pa live in the basement of the massive Biltmore Estate which he helped build.  Now he works there as an electrician.  Serafina knows she must keep their secret or they will lose their home, but she isn't sure why they must live in secret in the basement.  Even though she loves her silent nighttime prowls around Biltmore, she longs for friendship.

One night she sees a terrifying man with a black cloak chasing a young girl through the house.  As she watches, the man throws the cloak over the girl and it seems to swallow her whole.  Serafina runs to tell her pa what happened, but he thinks it's just another one of her stories.

Then several more children go missing, and Serafina realizes she's the only one who knows the truth.  In the chaos of the staff and guests searching for the missing children, Serafina accidentally exposes herself to Braeden, the nephew of Biltmore's owners.

Serafina isn't sure if he will by an ally or an enemy, but it seems that Braeden is as much in need of friendship as Serafina, and he believes her story about the man in the black cloak.  Now they are on the hunt together to uncover the villain's identity before he takes any more children.  The more Serafina uncovers, the more she questions her own identity.  Is she a "creature of the night," too?  Is that why Pa keeps her a secret in the basement?

Read Robert Beatty's dark fantasy tale to find out!

Chasing Secrets

Lizzie Kennedy's life is by no means perfect.  Her mother died when she was little, so now she is in the clutches of her Aunt Prudence who only seemed concerned with making Lizzie into a proper young lady for Chicago society in 1900.  Lizzie secretly loves science and struggles to get along with the other girls at Miss Barstow's finishing school.

When a plague quarantine in Chinatown puts everyone on edge, Lizzie finds a secret in her own home.  Her family's beloved cook, Jing, has gone missing and Lizzie fears he is caught in the quarantine.  Her doctor father is away on a call and won't be back for days.  No one listens to Lizzie's pleas for help.  After Jing's disappearance Lizzie discovers his son Noah hiding in Jing's attic bedroom.  The two quickly become friends, and Lizzie's resolve to rescue Jing is strengthened.

All the important people are saying there is no plague in San Francisco, but if this is true, then why is there a quarantine?  And what does a monkey have to do with anything?  Lizzie has plenty of questions, but no one wants to listen to a girl.  At best they tell her not to "worry her pretty head" about these things.  Will Lizzie uncover the truth in time to save someone she loves?

Gennifer Choldenko's new book is a medical mystery inspired by the real life plague outbreak in 1900 in San Francisco.  It is a fascinating story with a great author's note about which parts of the story were based on real people and events.

Skink: No Surrender

Richard's cousin has done something stupid.  Malley met a guy online, and now she's run away with him.  Fourteen year old Malley insists she's fine, but Richard is worried.  The police are on the case, but Richard knows Malley better than anyone, so when a crazy looking guy he met on the beach wants to go find her, Richard decides to join him.

Skink may look like a crazy homeless guy with mismatched eyes, and there is the fact that Richard met him hiding on the beach to catch a turtle egg poacher, but there is something about Skink that makes Richard trust him.

Even though Skink seems like a crazy homeless guy, he has resources that can get him a car and money for the hunt.  Even though Skink doesn't know Malley, he's in it for the puzzle and to punish the loser who's kidnapped Malley.  His real love seems to be the environment though, and Richard isn't sure they will survive all the crazy things Skink does to protect animals or the roadkill dinners he serves up along the way.

This book is a great mystery with one crazy character and plenty of laughs!  Plus, this could be a series opener with more Skink stories to follow!  Read Carl Hiaasen's new book for action, mystery, comedy, and, of course, environmental awareness!

City of a Thousand Dolls

In a fantasy world reminiscent of ancient China, Nisha is one of my girls abandoned and raised in the City of a Thousand Dolls.  All families are limited to two children, and boys are considered more valuable than girls.  The City was created as a place where the girls could be trained in various pursuits and professions.

Nisha is just one of these girls, but she is different from the others.  Rather than being trained with one of the Houses, Nisha has been raised as Matron's assistant, a position that allows her to train with the other houses while she helps Matron keep the City running efficiently.  She is also Matron's secret spy, always keeping her eyes and ears open.

It is this special role that allows her to be of use when tragedy strikes.  When one of the girls is found dead, no one is completely sure if it was an accident, suicide, or even murder.  Nisha begins her own subtle investigation with the help of her friends, a group of spotted cats who've taken up residence in the city.  No one knows her secret; she and the cats can talk to each other, and they are her closest friends.

When another girl is found dead, it is clear there is a murderer in the City, and Nisha is determined to find out the killer's identity.  As she continues her investigation, political machinations put the whole City at risk.  The power hungry tar'Vey family is stepping into position to control the city and get rid of Matron.  All of this comes at a time when the city is on the cusp of what could be it's greatest triumph or its greatest disaster.  One of Nisha's closest friends has been selected by the prince to be his bride, and the day of the marriage is fast approaching.  Any misstep could spell disaster for the City and for Nisha as she closes in on the killer.  But there are more secrets than Nisha knows in the City of a Thousand Dolls.  There are some secrets everyone knows but no one admits, and there are some secrets to terrible to fathom.

Miriam Forster's novel is thrilling experience!  A fantasy murder mystery with a side of talking cats and a dash of female empowerment--it's like it was written just for me!  I absolutely loved it!

Forget Me

Since the night Morgan saw her boyfriend die in a hit and run accident, she hasn't been able to let go.  She may have only known Flynn for a few months, but he still has a hold on her.

But there are other reasons she's stuck.  Like everyone else in River's End, she is suffering from the downfall of Stell Pharmaceuticals.  When the news came out that a popular drug was actually killing some people, the company folded, and may people, like Morgan's parents, lost their jobs.  The closing rolled out into the rest of River's End with restaurants, stores, and pretty much everything else going out of business.  Everyone who's left is stuck.  They can't even sell their homes to move away.

When Morgan's best friend, Toni, encourages her to try to find closure by posting a picture of Flynn to a social networking site with a farewell message, things start to get strange.  The site wants to tag Flynn as someone else, Evan Murphy.  To make things weirder, Evan Murphy is identical to the mysterious Flynn.
This can't be a coincidence.  Morgan begins to investigate Flynn.  The more truth she uncovers, the more she realizes how little she knew about her boyfriend, and her investigation is leading her into danger.  Maybe Flynn's death wasn't an accident after all, and if Morgan doesn't stop snooping, maybe she will be next.

Read K. A. Harrington's tale of mystery, suspense, and romance to find out the truth!  This one was hard to put down!

All Fall Down

Grace's mother died in an accident.  That's what everyone keeps telling her.  The only problem is Grace was there that night.  She remembers the man who killed her mother.  Despite all the therapists and treatments and entreaties from her family, she knows her mother was murdered.

With her older brother in college and her father deployed to a war zone, Grace has been sent to live with her grandfather, the U.S. ambassador to Adria, a small but important European nation.  She does not want to be there.  Her grandfather hasn't spoken to her in three years, not since the night her mother died.  Every corner of the house reminds Grace of her mother and the painful loss she still suffers.

Now that she's back on Embassy Row, she reconnects with some old friends and meets some new faces.  Embassy Row is an international crossroads where every home is a sovereign country and every neighbor speaks a different language.

Grace really is trying to make things work until she sees him, the man who killed her mother.  No one will believe her, so Grace starts her own investigation to find out the truth.  But every secret revealed leads to more lies, and soon Grace isn't even sure she can trust herself anymore.

Ally Carter's new series is set in the high stakes world of international relations where every careless word can cause an international incident.  I love Carter's other books, and I look forward to more in this series!

The Great Greene Heist

Jackson Greene is trying to live the clean life after getting caught trying to break into the principal's office and not exactly kissing a girl to annoy a rival.  He knows he's out if he commits one more infraction.

The problem is his former best friend and girl of his dreams Gaby de la Cruz is running for student council president against slime-ball Keith Sinclair.  Jackson tries to stay out of it, but once he discovers that Keith is plotting to win no matter what, he has to involved.

It's bad enough that Keith wants to strip all the clubs in school of funding (except of course for his clubs), but Jackson can't let Keith do this to Gaby.  She deserves to win.

Jackson puts together a team to steal the election.  There's Charlie, his best friend and Gaby's twin brother; Bradley, the inside man; Hashemi, tech support; and Victor, the money man.  Can this team of cons pull off the biggest heist of Jackson's career to win the election for Gaby and maybe the girl of his dreams for Jackson?  Read Varian Johnson's debut book to find out!  I definitely recommend this one for fans of heist stories with a touch of romance and humor.

Space Case

The year is 2040, and Dash and his family are part of the team on Moon Base Alpha.  They are the first humans to live on the moon.  Sounds awesome, right?

It is...except for the incredible small size of the base, the horror of rehydrated food, and the toilets that just insist on breaking.  The only other kid his age is addicted to video games, and spends all his time in the virtual world.  Life is pretty boring for a kid in space, but everything changes when Dr. Holtz dies.  Everyone insists it was an accident, but Dash believes there is something more sinister going on.

When he insists Dr. Holtz's death was murder, he's ordered to be quiet and stay in his apartment, so Dash decides to do some secret investigating on his own.  He has help from Kira, a new arrival on MBA and a normal kid he can finally talk to, and Zan Perfonic, another new arrival who knew Dr. Holtz.

Will Dash and Kira discover the truth, or will they become victims themselves?  Read Stuart Gibbs's new book to find out!  This is another great book, by a fun author.  It has all the things that make the FunJungle books except we are in space instead of at a zoo.  Highly recommended for mystery fans!

Buzz Kill

When the universally disliked football coach of the Honeywell Stingers is murdered, there is no shortage of suspects.  It seems like everyone had a reason to kill Hollerin' Hank Killdare.  From the much abused members of the team to the long time assistant coach who's now been promoted to the cheerleader he humiliated in an infamous You Tube clip, everyone had a reason to hate him.  But who killed him?

Millie Ostermeyer is not usually a "joiner." She is content to read her books and skate by on the edge in her classes.  The one thing she does take seriously is writing for the school paper even if the student editor is her arch nemesis, Vivienne.  When Millie discovers Coach Killdare's body while writing what should have been a boring story about the new stadium, she thinks she should have first dibs on reporting.  Vivienne, of course, disagrees.  Things heat up when the local police seem to be focusing their investigation on the assistant coach/local mayor who just happens to be Millie's father.

Now, with so much at stake, Millie is determined to find the real killer and rescue her father from the evil editorial clutches of Vivienne and the all but useless local police.  Her investigation leads her to Chase, gorgeous, new in town and a complete mystery.  The more time she spends with Chase investigating the murder, the more she sees that there was another side to Hollerin' Hank.  She also realizes Chase is more than just a pretty face.

Will Millie discover the truth in time to save her father's career and catch the killer before he/she strikes again?  Read Beth Fantaskey's new book to find out!  This was a fun mystery with a dose of romance thrown in.

A Hitch at the Fairmont

Jack's world collapses when his mother dies.  It was just the two of them, and now it feels like he is completely alone.  Then his horrible aunt shows up after the funeral to pack him up and take him away from all his friends to live with him at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco.

Aunt Edith is cruel and demanding, and Jack's existence is miserable.  Just a few weeks after moving in with her, she is kidnapped.  He doesn't miss his aunt, but he doesn't want to live in foster care either, so he goes looking for help to find her.

Who better to help solve a mystery than the famous movie director, Alfred Hitchcock, the master of suspense himself.  At first Hitchcock is reluctant to get involved, but it doesn't take long for the director to get wrapped up in the mystery and to appreciate Jack's artistic talent and quick intelligence.

There is something more going on here than a simple kidnapping, but Jack and Hitchcock will have to plunge headfirst into danger to figure it out.  With a hotel full of characters and potential suspects, it will not be an easy job.

I love Alfred Hitchcock movies, so I was excited to read Jim Averbeck's book.  What a fun read!  This book is filled with mysteries and clues.  Each chapter title is the name of one of Hitchcock's films, and each chapter begins storyboard drawings like Hitchcock used to block out his movies.  You don't have to be familiar with Hitchcock to enjoy this mystery, but that will make it more fun!  Maybe this book will get you interested in some of these classic suspense films.

Jackaby

Abigail Rook has just arrived in 1892 New England.  She ran away from a life of conformity and finds herself penniless, jobless, and homeless.  That is how she finds herself of the doorstep of R.F. Jackaby, detective.

He is unusual to say the least, but Abigail immediately feels comfortable as his assistant, despite the fact that she is skeptical of his claims that he can see the supernatural.

The scene of the first crime is a grisly murder that has the police stumped, but Jackaby sees a paranormal hand at work.  As they settle into the investigation, they grow closer to danger.

This is a fun if not wholly original story with a Sherlock Holmes-esque detective with the Doctor/Companion relationship dynamic and a paranormal twist.  I hope William Ritter continues this series!

The Great Touble

Eel was earning his living as a mudlark gathering scraps and debris from the filthy water of the Thames in 1854.  A change of fortune got him room, board, fresh water, and enough money to support himself.  This is a vast improvement over his previous life.

Everything changes one August day when a rival accuses him of stealing jeopardizing his job.  When he tries to get support from one of his other employers, he makes a horrifying discovery.  The blue death has arrived, and it quickly spreads.  Eel knows there is only one person Eel can think of to help.

Eel has been feeding animals and cleaning cages for Dr. Snow who uses the animals in his medical inquiries.  Dr. Snow is more interested than Eel thought, but not for the reasons Eel had hoped for.  Most people believe the blue death, or Cholera, is caused by the foul smelling air coming off the polluted Thames, but Dr. Snow believes there is a more direct cause, and he intends to prove it.

With Eel's help, Dr. Snow races to discover the true cause of the Cholera outbreak and stop the spread before more people die.

I really enjoyed this book more than I thought I would.  It's a true medical mystery based on the real cholera outbreak of 1854.  Be sure to read the author's note at the end to find out more about cholera and its spread as well as the real people Deborah Hopkinson used as characters in the book.  Highly recommended!

Liv Forever

Wickham Hall is full of snotty rich kids as far as Liv is concerned, but the promise of her own art studio is enough to lure her from Las Vegas to the lush grounds and historic buildings of Virginia.  Liv grew up as a foster child, and she guards her heart closely, but deep down she is a true romantic with a real appreciation of art and poetry.

Soon after arriving she meets Malcolm.  They shouldn't have anything in common.  Malcolm is one of the elite, but the more time they spend together, the more Liv comes to know Malcolm as true romantic, just like she is.

Most of the other kids at Wickham Hall ignore her at best.  She is a scholarship kid after all.  Her only friend other than Malcolm is Gabe, another scholarship kid with a huge chip on his shoulder who believes he can see and hear ghosts at Wickham Hall.  Liv doesn't believe him--at least not until she becomes one of those ghosts herself.

Now she, Malcolm, and Gabe form an unlikely trio determined to uncover the truth behind Liv's death and the history of suicides at Wickham Hall before it's too late for all of them.

Romance, suspense, grisly murders, creep ghosts, secret societies.  This is a good Gothic lite read.  My only real issue with the story is Liv and Malcolm's instant and all consuming love for each other.  It's a little far-fetched, but if you can let that go, you'll get a good thrill from Amy Talkington's paranormal love story.

Colin Fischer

Colin Fischer has Asberger's Syndrome.  That means social interactions are sometimes difficult for him, so starting his first year in high school will be interesting.  This will be the first time he's gone to school without his aid to help him decode situations, so he'll have to really on his homework facial expression cheat sheet.

Things are not off to a great start, but they go from bad to crazy when a gun goes off in the cafeteria.  Everyone else panics and flees, but Colin's analytic mind is drawn to the situation, and he quickly begins trying to figure out the complex social web of his high school in order to identify the culprit.

Everyone assumes it the school's biggest bully and miscreant, Wayne, but Colin isn't concerned with Wayne's reputation or even his past cruelty to Colin.  Colin is only interested in the truth.

Read this new mystery by Ashley Edward Miller and Zack Stentz to meet a different kind of detective.

Lincoln's Grave Robbers

This is the true story of a gang of counterfeiters plotted to steal the body of Abraham Lincoln.  That's right.  I said TRUE!

In 1875 counterfeiting was a major problem in the US, but no one was more talented than Benjamin Boyd.  He could make coney (counterfeit money) so good it would fool the experts.  His arrest caused a stir in the counterfeiting rings of Chicago, and members of his gang come together in a smokey saloon to plot a way to get him out.

They figured they could steal Abraham Lincoln's body and hold it ransom for $200,000 that they would use to get Boyd out of prison.  Thus begins a tale of thieves, undercover informers, and secret service operations.

Read Steve Sheinkin's account of this true story including a special "Body Snatcher Bonus Section" that is pretty gross!

Here are some photos of Lincoln's tomb from my trip to Springfield a couple of years ago.

The cemetery is still fairly isolated like it was in 1875.

Lincoln's remains are sealed inside this marble box.

This is a back window to the monument, now barred to keep potential thieves and vandals away.  

Hold Fast

Early's family is close.  They don't have much money, but they have love for each other and love for learning.  Her dad, Dash, is working as a library page at the Chicago Public Library and hoping for the day when he can become a full-time librarian.

The family lives in a tiny one room apartment, but they have dreams of owning a real home with a kitchen and bedrooms and maybe even a cat.  For now they have each other, their dreams, and rich world of reading and words, including their favorite poet Langston Hughes.

Dash is not the kind of man who would ever abandon his family, so when he disappears one day, his wife and children are afraid something terrible has happened.  But the police are accustomed to a different kind of man from a poor neighborhood.  They don't put much effort into finding Dash telling his family that this kind of thing happens all the time.

Things go from bad to worse as the little family quickly runs out of money and is harassed by violent criminals.  When they find themselves in a homeless shelter, Early mother begins to lose hope.  It's up to Early to hold fast to her dreams and her quest to find out the truth about what happened to Dash.

Blue Balliett wrote this book after learning that at least thirty thousand school children in Chicago are homeless.  This lovingly written story reveals some of the pain, fear, and hopelessness of those homeless children, but it is also a tale of hope and encouragement.

Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library

When Kyle Keeley learns that the new public library was designed by his favorite game maker, Mr. Lemoncello, he knows he has to be there.  There is an essay contest for twelve twelve-year-olds to win a spot in a library lock in to try out all the awesome library features before anyone else.

What starts out as a normal lock in turns into the ultimate live action game with a fabulous prize.  The contestants have just 24 hours to solve a series of clues, be the first to escape the library, and become the spokesperson for Lemoncello's Games.

Using the library resources, Kyle quickly begins forming alliances and solving the clues.  He was born for this!  He's Mr. Lemoncello's biggest fan, and there's no way he's going to lose even with the annoying and entitled Charles Chiltington working against him.

With enough literary name dropping to stir the heart of any determined bibliophile, this puzzle mystery will keep readers on their toes as they work to solve the puzzles with Kyle and his friends.  It has a bit of a slow start, but once it gets going it's a fun mix of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Wesitng Game!  Will Kyle and his friends solve the clues and learn to love the library in the process?  Read Chris Grabenstein's new book to find out!