Quinnie Boyd is once again faced with the possibility of solving a mystery. Her friend, Ella, has just welcomed her long-time family friends, to whom she refers as aunt and uncle, to her Maiden Rock, Maine home. Aunt Ceil and Uncle Edgar Waterman are famous authors of the best seller Transylvanian Drip, the latest installment in their vampire novel series. This sleepy Maine town is excited to be hosting the famous vampire writers. Eccentric barely describes the looks and behaviors of the duo. Meanwhile another pair of odd individuals come to town for a fishing vacation and a new family with a teenage son relocates to Maiden Rock. Quinnie quickly makes friends with Dominic, the new kid, and the two of them become almost inseparable. They begin to notice mysterious occurrences that appear to be linked to Ella’s aunt and uncle. In an attempt to prove Ceil and Edgar are real vampires, Quinnie and her friends discover another secret that threatens the safety of the citizens and visitors of Maiden Rock. A quirky story, this book will leave readers looking forward to the next Quinnie Boyd Mystery release.
Tag Archives: mystery
Yours Truly
Truly Lovejoy is back in this second installment of the Pumpkin Falls Mystery series. Readers do not need to have read book one, Absolutely Truly, in order to follow the storyline of this book. The author references elements of book one, but provides context so book one details do not detract from this story. In the second book, Truly learns about her namesake and the history of the house she now calls home in Pumpkin Falls, New Hampshire. As the story develops, there are multiple mysteries that interconnect to reveal the rich history of the area and the founders of the town. Truly and her friends call themselves the Pumpkin Falls Private Eyes, and they work together to crack a maple syrup crime and settle a town feud. Along the way, Truly also investigates her family’s history, uncovering a local connection to the underground railroad and uses her quick wit to find her younger sister when she goes missing. With a complex mystery to solve, historically accurate details, and engaging and realistic family and friendship complications, this book will be a winner with mystery, historical, and realistic fiction readers.
First Class Murder
Journey back in time to Europe in the 1930’s and take a train ride on the Orient Express. Our heroines, Hazel Wong and Daisy Wells, just finished school term and are taking a journey with Hazel’s father. They have been given strict instructions to avoid detecting. This is something they cannot do when a mystery lands in their laps. In order to find a murderer and a spy, they must employ their deductive reasoning skills once again even at the risk of upsetting Hazel’s father and placing themselves in danger. The title can stand alone or may be read in order with the other books in the Wells and Wong Mystery series. A recommended read for who-done-it enthusiasts.
Wax by Gina Damico
Reviewed By: Shelley Walter, OHS Library Secretary
This is the story of a teenage girl, Poppy, who is an aspiring actress. She has a nightmare performance and is ridiculed by her peers, namely a boy name Blake. Blake bullies her and she seeks revenge and finds a secret studio inside the town’s famous candle factory.
The old woman in the secret studio, who crafts wax figures of various people including townspeople, warns Poppy of a plot to take over the town by replacing the humans with wax substitutes.
The book took time to get going and at times seemed to drag. It is a good story and did get my interest as it went along.
Poppy’s family did not quite develop into interesting characters. The wax teenage boy “Dud” plays a part, I found myself wishing he had a bigger part (he did in the end). Poppy has a somewhat sarcastic sense of life and I identified with that.
My first young adult novel to read in quite a while.
How To Disappear
How to Disappear is a thrilling mystery told in the dual narration of the hunter (Jack) and the hunted (Nicholette). Nicholette, a popular HS cheerleader who has never been in trouble, witnesses the murder of a young woman in the woods near her house. Jack, a straight-A student athlete about to graduate from HS, is from a family of criminals. In fact, his father was a hit man and his older brother is in jail for armed assault. But once the murder occurs, Nicholette goes on the run to get away from the murderer, and Jack’s brother forces him to do what he can’t do himself: track down Nicholette and kill her. If he doesn’t, Jack’s mother’s life is in danger, as is his own.
The rest of the book is a cat and mouse game between Nicholette and Jack. There is mystery, adventure, and forbidden love.
The Edge of the Light (Whidbey Island Saga # 4)
The Edge of the Light is the fourth and final (according to the jacket) book in the Whidbey Island Sage. If it is true that this is the last book in the series, then I encourage you NOT to read it, as it will leave you frustrated and feeling incomplete. The major plot threads are not resolved. The reader doesn’t have any inkling of what will happen to the main character, even though the author built intrigue with the storyline of an investigative journalist having tracked her down. The reader is left hanging, as if there were to be a fifth book. IF there is a fifth book, then I would encourage the reader to start with book one and continue through to the conclusion. It’s just that book four does not conclude the story.
This series will appeal to those who are familiar with western Washington state and the Puget Sound area. Set on Whidbey Island, the story centers on a group of teenaged friends facing a number of issues: A grandmother with nice real estate that is being exploited by her daughter while the grandson, Seth, tries to protect her; Seth’s girlfriend, Prynne, who he wants to stay with but is worried about her drug use; Derrick, a refugee from the war in Uganda who is trying to locate his sister, Rejoice; Jenn, who is experiencing romantic feelings towards her teammate Cynthia, but worrying how her Christian conservative mother will respond; and then there is a Becca. Becca can read people’s thoughts and tries to make sense of what they think and say. She tries to solve their problems without letting them know how much she actually knows.
The plot is full of the issues and challenges these teen friends experience: elder abuse, Alzheimer’s disease, drug use, lesbian relationships, and, of course, the paranormal abilities of Becca and her quest to keep this secret.
If a satisfactory conclusion wasn’t absent, this would be a fun read for YA mystery fans.
Mind Games (Lock & Mori # 2)
Mind Games is book two of the Lock & Mori series, and it is anticipated that a third book will soon be published. For those unfamiliar with Lock & Mori, this is a modern day adaptation of the characters of Sherlock Holmes and Professor James Moriarty, although in these stories, Mori is a teenaged girl.
In Lock & Mori we see Mori’s father tried and convicted as a serial killer, and Mori and her brothers rescued from a domestic violence situation. Mind Games picks up two weeks after the father’s arrest. But even though her father is in prison, Mori doesn’t feel safe. Letters of a threatening nature are arriving, and police are receiving anonymous tips that lead them to believe that it is Mori, not her father, who has committed the murders. Lock sticks by Mori and together they search for who is framing her.
This is an action packed mystery that can be read as a stand alone, although the enjoyment is enhanced by having read the first book.
Three Truths and a Lie
A game of Three Truths and a Lie, played by four teenagers on a weekend getaway to a cabin in a remote area of Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, reveals a terrible truth. This truth, where the sole female character, Mia, says she killed someone when she was 13, sets the reader on the path of suspense and horror.
The story is told in the first person perspective by Rob to an unknown person. Rob reflects on all that had happened. We know he survived, as he tells the story. Who else survived? Who was the killer? The reader may have many theories, but it isn’t until the final chapter, where there is a big and unexpected plot twist, that the real truth is revealed.
There is gore, sex, and a gay couple, so this book is best suited for high school aged readers.
The House of Months and Years
Ten year old Amelia is forced to move to a new home with her parents. She was an only child until now. Now she has to share her life and her parents with her two orphaned cousins, Owen and Matthew. The boys lost their parents as a result of a car crash and now they are part of Amelia’s immediate family. To save Owen and Matthew from further upheaval, Amelia’s parents decide it is best to move into the boys’ home to start their new life together.
From the moment Amelia sets foot on the property, she feels as if she is being watched. Actually, she feels as if it is the house watching her. As fitful sleep and many days of adjustment drone on Amelia begins to discover secrets about and in her new home. She discovers that this house is a rare architectural design known as a calendar house. It is designed on the principal and numbers associated with time. Four floors represent the four seasons. Fifty-two windows represent the fifty-two weeks in a year. Most design items in the house represent some aspect of time.
Amelia soon discovers that her dreams are being stolen by a mysterious old man who can change into a shadow and simply disappear. He promises her magic, immortality and a chance to escape the life that she no longer wants. She longs for the change but feels reluctant. When she realizes that the change will come at a huge price to her family and herself she knows that she must figure out a way to stop the old man. To do this she will need help from her cousins. The same cousins that she can’t even stand to be with in the same room. If they don’t find a way to work together, life as they know it will be forever changed.
Many students will enjoy reading this book. It is just a bit spooky and tense but not too much. I feel Amelia was a bit too defiant given her circumstances; however, much of the dialog was very real. I would recommend this book for high third grade and up.
Mischief at Midnight
This is a story of mystery and friendship, old and new. Loyalties are tested when Edie Wilson returns to the boarding school, Knight’s Haddon, and has to bunk with new girl, Janet. Edie’s best friend, Anastasia Stolonov, is moved to a different room. Anastasia is jealous of Janet’s burgeoning friendship with Edie and the time Edie spends with Janet. Meanwhile, tension erupts at Knight’s Haddon and in the local town due to the sale of a piece of property that is adjacent to the school grounds. Locals are leading a political activism campaign to save the trees from being bulldozed. As Janet secretly becomes involved in the campaign, Edie and Anastasia spy on her to try and figure out why she is behaving so mysteriously. Anastasia has a secret of her own and hopes to keep her family’s role in the sale of the land under wraps for fear of being treated badly by the other students at Knight’s Hadden. Schoolgirl antics, jealousy, and mysterious behavior fill the pages as the girls’ lives intersect.
This book is a companion to The Girl with the Glass Bird. It can stand alone, but reading the books in order would help frame the setting and provide background information on characters and relationships. Additional purchase, especially if the library already contains the first book.