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Posts: 202
5/18/09 2:21 P

I just found this book, and thought it might be perfect for this group. Its called The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Allen Bradley. It is a mystery in the Agatha Christie vein, with an 11-year-old heroine, set in the time between the two world wars or at the end of WW1. I read it this past weekend and really enjoyed it.

Posts: 202
5/7/09 11:26 A

FYI - Janet Evanovich's Fearless Fourteen came out last year. The one that is coming out this summer is Finger-Lickin' Fifteen. I agree that we should put it on for the fall.

For now, I kinda like the idea of the sheep detective book. In the Woods also sounds intriguing. But I am game for whatever we decide upon. Finding new authors is always a challenge and an adventure.

Posts: 654
4/26/09 4:17 P

I really liked Tanya French's first book and would love to have the next book be her second "The Likeness"

Posts: 22
4/19/09 12:17 A

I just read (listened to) Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games. I highly recommend it. If you have read her Gregor the Overlander series, this one is for an older YA. The story is more complex and keeps you thinking about it long after your done with the book. The Rick Riordan mystery sounds really good to me.

Posts: 654
4/5/09 5:23 P

I noticed that someone mentioned Rick Riordan's series for young adults. He also has an excellent mystery series set in Texas (mainly San Antonio) featuring detective Tres Navarre.

Posts: 377
8/13/08 11:18 P

I think it is hard to find something in the YA nowadays without it becoming a series/trilogy. I pick up a book and think hey this looks great, then oh, its the sequel to, crap not available! Or Ok, I've read the first two now hurry up and give me the next one already. OR EVEN WORSE, when I can't tell what order they're in or how many there are/will be. Sorry about that. I really like to know what's going on.

Anyway, I haven't read anything by her but maybe Tamora Peirce? I did enjoy Garth Nix and Phillip Pullman. Doesn't matter, I'm game for any YA.

Posts: 5
8/6/08 1:08 A

I am new to this group so give me a little time to catch up. I would like to know if any of you have read the Fablehaven Series by Brandon Mull. It is the story of these two kids whose grandparents run a preserve for magical creatures like fairies, sagittarius, witches, and mermaids. I am not even scratching the surface there. I read the first two and I am dying to have someone to talk to about it. It is usually in the young readers section. It is extremely descriptive. There is talk of a movie, but I'm not that lucky. I hope some of you pick it up. (remember don't drink the milk.)

Posts: 1,790
8/4/08 5:05 P

I just started "THE LIKENESS" purchased it at Border's with a great discount coupon, think I'm becoming a fan of Tanya French!!! Will anyone else here read this one or look for it?

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Posts: 266
7/4/08 6:33 P

In answer to the YA question, I am reading Riordan's latest -- "The Battle of the Labyrinth", the fourth in his Percy Jackson series -- sort of like Harry Potter meets Greek Mythology. They're very popular with both youth and adults, and I am enjoying this one as much or more than the first three -- starting with "The Lightning Thief".

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7/2/08 1:09 P

Since I am reading Evanovich's High Five right now, I would prefer anything BUT Evanovich. Sorry!

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Posts: 1,790
6/28/08 5:05 P

Thanks for the update on our Janice!
I think I'd prefer the new Evanovich---am still reading Into The Woods and boy oh boy what a find, esp for a new writer (think this Tanya French's first)---it is taking me longer to read it than normal and i guess that is because now that the weather is warmer, i am not spending so much time reading.

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Posts: 860
6/24/08 7:57 P

I have been looking at the juveniles, and there is one that looks good. I have not read it yet, but it comes highly recommended. It is called Flora Segunda. Here is the link to the amazon review.

http://www.amazon.com/Flora-Segunda-Magi
ckal-Glass-Gazing-Sidekick/dp/0152054332

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6/23/08 9:56 P

I am slowly making my way through "In the Woods". It is really, really good and I am loving it.
However, I must confess I feel in the mood for one of the "Juvenile" selections next.
Any good YA or middle grade books people feel like exploring?

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Posts: 27
5/31/08 7:43 P

Hey CountryChirper, I bought both but I let my granddaughter read "What's a Ghoul to Do" first, since I wanted to start "In the Woods". She is 16 and finished the book in one day{somewhat staying up half the night)and really loved the book. That's quite a recommend. In the Woods is a heavy read with a lot of verbose descriptions. I like strong detail writing but I have to be in the mood for that type of reading so it will probably take me much longer to read. I also am 1/3 through "True Betrayals" by Nora Roberts which is not her best but I am enjoying. Her best is "Montana Sky". I also started "When I Fall" by Barb McClatchy which is already showing signs of a book you can't easily put down and I have only read the first 6 pages. As you can see I am an avid reader. Do get "What's a Ghoul to Do".

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5/30/08 9:56 A

Oh, I'm liking all the suggestions but I think "What's a Ghoul to do" sounds great.
I was leaning toward "In the Woods" but not anymore.
Now I'm going on a hunt to see if I can find it.

Edited by: COUNTRYCHIRPER at: 5/30/2008 (09:57)

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Posts: 27
5/17/08 5:39 P

I still am not quite done with "Dead Until Dark" but I am loving it all the way. I will put in my 2¢'s worth and suggest a book of interest that I have not read but the reviews are good and it sounds fun. The book is "What's a Ghoul to Do" by Victoria Laurie. The review says it is charming, suspenseful, funny(including a talking parrot), witty, and of course Laurie's paranormal activities with ghost busting makes it a must read.

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5/15/08 2:14 P

I just got an e-newsletter from my public library that included a great review on a book we might want to put on the list or think about. I thought I'd copy that and throw it in here for consideration.

The Somnambulist
by Jonathan Barnes

I dare you to read the first two pages and not want to finish the rest of the book. Part Victorian murder mystery, part fantastical alternate history with a liberal dash of lexigraphical acrobatics, The Somnambulist combines a labyrinthine plot with haunting characters and an unreliable narrator that coalesces into an unexpected crescendo no one could anticipate. Essential for all you "word nerds" out there, as I learned 9 new words during the course of the book! A solid 4 and a half, with its only caveat being that the end leaves you thinking "What the Deuce?!"
-Review by Pterodactyl

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5/13/08 2:28 P

I'm interested in IN THE WOODS. I've read good reviews, although the other sounds OK too. Also anything of Janet Evanovich I love!

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5/13/08 1:19 P

OK - I goofed in giving a book title - it is actually IN THE WOODS and here is a bit about it:

There's a lot of talk about this debut book, and you should be listening, the positive talk is highly deserved.

In 1984, in Knocknaree, County Dublin, Ireland, three 12 year old children - Adam, Peter and Jamie (Germaine) are playing. They've been life long friends and they go everywhere together. They are seemingly leading an idyllic childhood, with the housing estate they live in filled with young families and other children, backing onto the wood in which they regularly explore, run and play. Until the day that Peter and Jamie disappear, leaving Adam, seemingly unharmed, but terrified into total and complete amnesia. Peter and Jamie are never found. Adam and his parents move away, Adam is sent to boarding school and over the years he morphs into Rob Ryan - returned to Ireland with a posh school British accent, a policeman, attached to the local murder squad.

Cassie Maddox is only the 4th woman to join the Murder Squad, and she's young, straight out of Undercover Drugs operations - she's not exactly conventional and she's regarded with immense suspicion by many of the longer term Murder Squad Members. Cassie and Rob end up as partners and close friends. Friends only, despite the rumours and innuendo flying around.

When the body of a young girl is found on the edges of Knockarnee and the wood, Cassie is the only person who knows about Rob's past. Cassie and Rob are joined by a third investigator - Sam - and the three of them try to discover the identity of the killer of young, promising ballerina Katie. Rob's past increasingly haunts him and it starts to affect his decisions and reactions to the current day.

In addition, Janet Evanovich's next book, Fearless Fourteen, is due out in mid-June in hard cover. Shall we aim for that for August, perhaps? Additionally, Gabriella Herkert's next book, DOGGONE, is going to be released, in paperback, on August 5th. Another good one to look forward to.

I've reserved Three Bags Full from my library. I don't know exactly why, since I have a pile of books waiting for me to get to them at home, but it just sounded too much fun. I'll let you know what it was like - hopefully won't take too long to finish.
Ciao,
Debi

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5/12/08 9:05 P

I also vote for "Into the Woods". I have also read a really funny mystery recently set at a science fiction convention called "Bimbos of the Death Sun".

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5/12/08 6:15 P

I think it sounds like great fun! Of course, I grew up raising sheep... and I loved the movie Babe, so...

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5/12/08 6:06 P

They both sound interesting to me. Just for our edification, here's what I found when I looked up Three Bags Full on-line. It does sound really marvelous and quite a bit of fun. The Denver, Colorado library system has 6 copies of the book, so I suspect it may be easy to obtain from the library. I'm not sure Into The Woods is even released yet, now that I think of it, so we may have to put that off until fall.

A witty philosophical murder mystery with a charming twist: the crack detectives are sheep determined to discover who killed their beloved shepherd.

On a hillside near the cozy Irish village of Glennkill, the members of the flock gather around their shepherd, George, whose body lies pinned to the ground with a spade. George has cared for the sheep, reading them a plethora of books every night. The daily exposure to literature has made them far savvier about the workings of the human mind than your average sheep. Led by Miss Maple, the smartest sheep in Glennkill (and possibly the world), they set out to find George’s killer.

The A-team of investigators includes Othello, the “bad-boy” black ram; Mopple the Whale, a merino who eats a lot and remembers everything; and Zora, a pensive black-faced ewe with a weakness for abysses. Joined by other members of the richly talented flock, they engage in nightlong discussions about the crime and wild metaphysical speculations, and they embark on reconnaissance missions into the village, where they encounter some likely suspects. There’s Ham, the terrifying butcher; Rebecca, a village newcomer with a secret and a scheme; Gabriel, the shady shepherd of a very odd flock; and Father Will, a sinister priest. Along the way, the sheep confront their own all-too-human struggles with guilt, misdeeds, and unrequited love.

Three Bags Full is already an international hit. “It’s rather as if Agatha Christie had re-written The Wind in the Willows, and I ended by loving it, ”Jane Jakeman wrote in The Independent. Funny, fresh, and endearing, it introduces a wonderful breed of detectives to American readers.

Edited by: GRACEOMALLEY at: 5/12/2008 (18:44)

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5/12/08 5:52 P

I think my vote goes for 'Into The Woods', since it is a first novel--there is something special about reading a really nicely written first book; but I'm sure i'd enjoy almost any good read set in Ireland:

www.eurocrime.co.uk/reviews/In_the_Woods.h
tml

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5/12/08 5:09 P

I've never heard of a sheep detective story. Sounds like fun.

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5/12/08 4:37 P

Let's pick a book to obtain in June and discuss in July - since summer may make time on the computer and time to read a little tighter for many of us. For exam[ple, Marlo suggested:

THREE BAGS FULL: A SHEEP DETECTIVE STORY
By Leonie Swann
On a hillside near the cozy Irish village of Glennkill, the members of the flock gather around their shepherd, George, whose body lies pinned to the ground with a spade. George had always cared for the sheep, and now they set out to find his killer.

There's a new book out, Edgar Award Winner and first novel of Tana French entitled: In The Woods. That one is set in Ireland and I suspect it wouldn't qualify as cozy, but the reviews are rather good.

Who recommended the mysteries set in Ireland? I've misplaced the name of the author, but I'm interested in reading those. So - put in your thoughts and ideas here.

Edited by: GRACEOMALLEY at: 5/12/2008 (16:55)

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