by Curtis Parkinson
A old castle with a deep basement, a secret tunnel, a child’s skeleton, a woman’s mysterious disappearance, a ghost, an eccentric millionaire, a bizarre will and a curse born in local lore, are only some of the ingredients in a suspense-filled mystery novel featuring the same three friends (Neil, Graham and Crescent) who appeared in Curtis Parkinson’s previous children’s novel, Death in Kingsport.
Soon after the owner of the castle on Deadman’s Island in the St. Lawrence River dies, Graham’s aunt abruptly disappears. Graham is convinced that she hasn’t simply left on a sudden trip, as some think. His conviction grows as various clues begin to turn up, such as an abandoned pair of sensible walking shoes, similar to those that his Aunt Etta would often wear. The revelation that Graham’s aunt has been bequeathed a one-third ownership of the castle complicates the situation. Then Graham is attacked, tied up and gagged by two intruders. What is going on … and can he and his friends discover the truth before it’s too late?
This is another adventure / mystery story with plenty of suspense and action, almost certain to intrigue readers looking for some great fiction to read over the summer.
** Recommended for ages 10 to 14 years.
Find this book in the library catalogue.
by Elle Newmark
It is the height of the Renaissance and in Rome the Borgia family is in power, but in the Republic of Venice a crafty doge reigns supreme. Although renowned for its intrigues and scandals, the city is abuzz with news of a mysterious book, and no one is more curious about it than Luciano, a lively orphan who has been rescued from the street by the doge’s personal chef. Counting himself very fortunate for his improved circumstances, and anxious to prove himself a worthy culinary student to his Maestro, young Luciano cannot help but retain some of his street wiles, gleaning information about the book and the dangerous inner workings of Venetian politics. Who actually has the book? Luciano witnesses the doge commit murder, and then pours a golden elixir down the corpse’s throat - does the book contain magical spells and a cure for death? The chef’s friends have some strange ideas about the nature of the universe – does the book contain the heretical teachings of Copernicus? Is the book the long-searched-for solution for turning base metals into gold, as the city’s alchemist’s hope? The doge’s cold-blooded rival for power, Landucci, wants to destroy the seat of religious power in Rome – perhaps the book contains lost Gnostic gospels? Then again, the Maestro himself seems to be able to bend the doge’s will with his wondrous food, created from his varied and suspect ingredients (like the ‘poisonous’ tomato), grown in his own mysterious garden – perhaps the book is simply the best cookbook the world has ever known? Whatever the answer, Luciano’s own tale is as furtive as the winding canals of Venice, with as many twists and murky depths that will keep readers entranced. The author impressively evokes the atmosphere of day-to-day life in Renaissance Venice, its festivals, its food and its people, and although this might seem like another ‘artifact mystery’ in the vein of “The Da Vinci Code”, it is has a much richer feel. Click here to find The Book of Unholy Mischief in the SPL Catalogue.
Fans of Joanne Harris and Alice Hoffman delight, here is a new author who combines Hoffman’s gift for atmosphere with Harris’ talent for characters and storytelling. The Lace Reader is set in modern day New England and centres on an estranged group of women. Sophya “Towner” Whitney has a troubled past and family from which she has tried to escape by moving to California. When she receives word that her beloved aunt Eva is missing, she returns home to Salem, Massachusetts, and to the strange family circle that has long been the source of unfathomable secrets. There Towner’s severed ties are re-threaded and old webs of lies are untangled, including the mysterious disappearance of her twin sister so many years ago. Reader beware: in this mystery-that-isn’t-a-mystery, not everything is as it seems – even Towner will tell you that. This is a haunting, evocative novel that will perfectly suit a windswept dark night.
August 22, 2008
By Rhys Bowen
The author of the Molly Murphy and Constable Evan Evans mystery series presents her newest Royal Spyness novel. Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie of Glen Garry and Rannoch (Georgie for short) may be thirty-fourth in line for the British throne, but England is still in a depression following the Great War and she’s still stone broke. Learning to fend for herself is a new experience, but as Georgie learns to do without, she also learns to do for others – she hires herself out as a maid. Her cousin, Queen Mary, has no idea that Georgie must now work for a living (she would not be amused) and gives her a different kind of task – playing chaperone for a visiting princess of Bavaria in hopes that the young royal will lure her son, the Prince of Wales, away from that dreadful American woman, Mrs. Simpson. However, the lively young princess is a Royal Handful, and her unbridled enthusiasm soon lands both ladies in a pot of hot water when they are accidentally linked to a murder, then to the Communist Party and then to more murders - not to mention getting in between Georgie and the dashing Darcy O’Mara. With her dear ex-copper grandfather acting as her butler (so the princess doesn’t think she is the pauper that she is), Georgie tries to untangle the murderous mess before she and the princess inadvertently cause another world war. Written with an almost chick-lit tone but set in Interwar-period England, A Royal Pain is a fun-to-read mystery of the “cozy” genre.
Find it here in the SPL catalogue.
Reviewed September 8, 2008
Meet Josey Cirrini, only daughter of Marco Cirrini, who rebuilt and brought prosperity to the North Carolinian town of Bald Slope. Being a quasi-royal has never fit Josey though – she quietly looks after her dominating, widowed mother and escapes by hiding in a secret closet, eating sweets and reveling in travel magazines or romance novels. To her dismay however, her private paradise is invaded by the brash Della Lee Baker, a woman as far removed from the society of the Cirrini’s as chocolate is from cheese. Hiding from a secret of her own, Della takes up residence in Josey’s closet, forcing her out into the world she dreams of but in which she never lives. In the real world Josey discovers Chloe Finley who makes the world’s best sandwiches, and is in dire need of a good friend. Through Chloe she also meets her not-so-secret crush Adam, the mailman and ex-extreme sporting participant. While Della pushes her to get closer to Adam, Josey tries to push Della away – or at least out of her closet. But Della’s presence harbingers a far greater mystery than any of them can at first intuit. From the author of Garden Spells, The Sugar Queen is a magical gem of a novel for a balmy summer evening.
Find this book in the library catalogue.
Seduction of the Crimson Rose, by Lauren Willig
0 comments Posted by Stratford Public Library at 2:37 PM
Newest in her ‘Napoleonic Spy’ series, Lauren Willig turns her attention to the arch-villain of her previous novels, the roguish Lord Vaughn. Lord Vaughn has, until now, been something of an enigma. He is one of the aristocratic set, but not particularly caught up in the national fervour that has everyone wondering the secret identities of the Scarlet Pimpernel, the Pink Carnation and the Black Tulip. However, this may be because he actually knows the identities behind these shadowy figures – all except for the nefarious Black Tulip. The Pink Carnation seeks Lord Vaughn’s help in drawing out the Black Tulip, and he in turn ropes in a young acquaintance to help him. Mary Alsworthy (she whose sister accidentally made off with her fiancée in Willig’s last novel The Deception of the Emerald Ring), is more than happy to do a little spying, for the right price. Could it be that Lord Vaughn has met his match in the black-haired beauty? For those interested in the high romantic adventure of the Georgian period, this series is a delight.
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An Incomplete Revenge: A Maisie Dobbs Novel, by Jacqueline Winspear
0 comments Posted by Stratford Public Library at 11:57 AM
Jacqueline Winspear returns with a fifth novel starring the introspective heroine, Maisie Dobbs. Set in England in the years following the Great War, Maisie is a rarity. A former servant whose thirst and capacity for knowledge garnered the respect of her employers, Maisie rose above her station, studied with one of the finest minds in England, served as a nurse on the front lines in France, and survived the war, but not without scars both internal and external. Putting her studies to good use, Maisie opened her own investigative service, and uses her skills of perception and detection to solve some unusually complex problems. With each passing novel a little more of Maisie’s character is tantalizingly revealed, and in An Incomplete Revenge, we learn that Maisie’s powers of observation may have much deeper roots than were developed in her studies. As she investigates some petty crimes and arson in picturesque Kent, she discovers that a profound shadow of the Great War hangs over one village in particular, and Maisie acquires some unusual allies - with similar powers of observation – while attempting to solve their malaise. The Maisie Dobbs series will be enjoyed by those who like a great deal of atmosphere and reflection in their mysteries.
Peril at the World’s Biggest Hockey Tournament, by Roy MacGregor
0 comments Posted by Stratford Public Library at 11:52 AM
In the latest title of Roy MacGregor’s best-selling Screech Owls series, the hockey team from the small town of Tamarack is visiting Ottawa to participate in the world’s largest minor league hockey tournament, involving more than 500 teams from around the world. The Screech Owls will be playing in the very arena where Wayne Gretzky played his last game in Canada, and the Canadian Prime Minister and a number of other world leaders plan to attend.
However, the Screech Owls encounter much more than hockey in Ottawa. They become involved in some serious mystery and even some terrorism when a diabolical mastermind, calling himself “1 / 1”, has a goal of his own in mind for the Bell Capital Cup Tournament!
The 21 titles of the Screech Owls Series, which combine lots of fast-paced hockey action with mystery, danger and suspense, continue to be popular with boys. Canadian author Roy MacGregor is the author of many hockey books and is also a columnist for the Toronto Globe and Mail.
** Recommended for ages 9 to 13 years of age.
Find this item in the Library Catalogue
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