mystery Archives - Page 11 of 13

Yzabel / July 31, 2014

Review: Deadly Little Sins

Deadly Little Sins: A Prep School Confidential Novel by Kara Taylor

My rating: [rating=2]

Summary:

It’s August and Anne is back in New York City for the summer, but she can’t escape the memories of the terrible things that happened at the Wheatley School last spring— and the possibility of being expelled looming over her. When an unexpected— and suspicious— turn of events gets Anne sent back to Wheatley, she’s determined to figure out what happened to her favorite teacher and only adult ally at the school: Ms. Cross.

After a shocking, gruesome murder with connections to the Wheatley School occurs, Anne is convinced there’s more to Ms. Cross’s sudden disappearance, and that her favorite teacher is in danger. But after an ugly breakup with Brent and a new, inexplicable distance between her and Anthony, Anne isn’t sure who she can trust. And even worse, Anne discovers evidence that someone at Wheatley is covering up what really happened to Ms. Cross— someone who will stop at nothing to keep Anne from learning the truth in this engrossing, unputdownable read.

Review:

(I got an ARC from NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.)

Still a page-turner for me: there was something quite compelling to it no matter what. Unfortunately, I didn’t like it as much as I did the previous two books.

I felt Anne had lost some of her intensity, and that her needing to juggle with her school work, friends and investigation looked less like a conundrum, and more like her detaching herself from everything, not caring anymore. The daily scenes with friends, frenemies and people who didn’t like her at school were mostly gone. Her “love life” made me wonder what the point to the whole (slight) triangle was, after all. Of course her character couldn’t get unscathed from the previous series of events, but this wasn’t the Anne I knew and had grown to love.

The mystery this time also seemed less satisfying, perhaps because it was less tied to Wheatley’s daily life and occurrences than those in the other books? It answered some questions, which isn’t bad, yet it also left a few other strings hanging. For instance, what about Alexis’s part in here, what happened to her afterwards? She’s one of those unpleasant characters with a past that explains some of their reactions and attitude problems, and it would’ve been interesting to see her part of the story given an ending as well. However, it’s like her arc was just dropped and never picked up again. Same with Anthony’s[Anthony’s (hide spoiler)], who barely appears anyway. And some characters were clearly introduced for the sake of being plot devices, like the rio of boys and their freshman girl target. This could have developed into more, yet never did.

Speaking of the ending, the big reveal and how it unfolded was sort of rushed; and what happened after, the offer made to Ann, was rather unrealistic. It hints at a potential new series, one that would happen on a whole other level, but I’m not sure if I’d appreciate that or not. Part of my interest for the series was the boarding school setting, so with this potentially removed, I don’t know…

I’m torn, really. I liked this series a lot, and I sort of liked this third installment as well, but it left me terribly unsatisfied, compared to the others, and way too flat. 2 to 2.5 stars here.

Yzabel / June 20, 2014

Review: The Bone Church

The Bone Church: A Novel by Victoria Dougherty

My rating: [rating=3]

Summary:

In the surreal and paranoid underworld of wartime Prague, fugitive lovers Felix Andel and Magdalena Ruza make some dubious alliances – with a mysterious Roman Catholic cardinal, a reckless sculptor intent on making a big political statement, and a gypsy with a risky sex life. As one by one their chances for fleeing the country collapse, the two join a plot to assassinate Hitler’s nefarious Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, Josef Goebbels.

But the assassination attempt goes wildly wrong, propelling the lovers in separate directions.
Felix’s destiny is sealed at the Bone Church, a mystical pilgrimage site on the outskirts of Prague, while Magdalena is thrust even deeper into the bowels of a city that betrayed her and a homeland soon to be swallowed by the Soviets. As they emerge from the shadowy fog of World War II, and stagger into the foul haze of the Cold War, Felix and Magdalena must confront the past, and a dangerous, uncertain future.

Review:

(I got a copy through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.)

I wanted a change of pace with this book; I seldom read Cold War era fiction, which is definitely something I should remedy to. In a way, I got that, and something else, too.

The novel weaves two timelines, 1943-44 and 1956, that end up meeting each other, bringing loose threads together. The author always provided time and location, so keeping track of what happened when wasn’t too hard. I found the beginning of the story a little confusing, and still don’t know if it was because of the writing style, the changing timelines, or if it was just me; after a short while, things fell into place, and it was all right.

As for the historical context, I must admit I know next to nothing to Prague’s history, and I probably missed a few subtleties here when it came to the Infant of Prague and its importance in the plot. On the other hand, I had no problems piecing out those details, and I think the author provided enough information for me to enjoy it without having to stop reading, go learn a few things, and come back later.

Some scenes bordered on the “too much” at times; readers who don’t like that may be put off by those. For instance, Felix and Srut stealing a fire lorry to escape the Germans, then making their exit skating on the Vltava river. I quirked an eyebrow, while grinning at the same time. Part of me was “what the heck?”, and the other part went “nice one, guys!” It was a strange, somewhat elating feeling.

The atmosphere was permeated with a heavy sense of foreboding, with distrust, danger, suspicion, featuring potential traitors, unsuspected allies, and half-hatched plans thwarted at the last moment, always forcing the characters to get back on their feet, to react to the unexpected. However careful their plans, it was obvious they wouldn’t be able to go through them seamlessly, and this added to the paranoia and tension. Sometimes, too, surrealistic descriptions gave an extra edge to the action, especially when Felix was concerned: you never know at first if the people he sees are friends or enemies, real or only in his mind. It reinforced the feeling of something not right going on.

My main gripes with this story:

1) Some of the plot twists rested on characters that are seldom seen or, worse, appear once only. For instance, the nun, or the bishop, who’re mentioned once: when they do their particular deed. Such things don’t sit well with me in general. Here, they made the twists feel contrived, and I think the latter would’ve had more of an impact on me if said characters had been introduced beforehand, even in a couple of scenes only (like Andrea). As a result, those threads confused me, and threw me out of the story a few times.

2) Magdalena’s involvement, compared to Felix’s, felt like a secondary role. I would’ve enjoyed seeing more of her, more of the path she had to walk alone. She seemed to stand in the background, more spectator than actor, and this made her character less “real” in my eyes.

An interesting story all in all, but not exactly an easy read, and one that might have benefitted from a little more development when it came to some of the secondary characters.

Yzabel / June 8, 2014

Review: The Lost

The Lost by Sarah Beth Durst

My rating: [rating=3]

(I received an ARC of this novel through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.)

I tend to have a strong liking to such stories: mysterious little towns hiding all sorts of secrets; characters lost in them and trying to find their way, only to find out that something dark is lurking behind; and so on. I must say I was enthralled by the atmosphere in “The Lost”. The aforementioned small town felt creepy as hell, and its inhabitants’ reactions didn’t do anything to shake off that feeling, for sure. The mob that thinks Lauren is responsible for their new woes. The underlying desire to make her run away from the town, with the intent of resorting to more if this doesn’t work. Women planting dead flowers; characters going from cheerful and welcoming to crazy and threatening; a kid in a faded princess dress, cuteness all over her, a teddy bear under her arm, and a knife in her hand; the mysterious tenant of room 12 (will we ever know who he was?). Roads that lead to nowhere, or rather, always lead back to the same place. The desert and dust stormes encroaching more and more on Lost, giving a sense of mortality to a place that at first appears to be eternal. There’s something fascinating in such people and surroundings in my eyes, and I can never get tired of those.

As far as characters go, I especially liked Peter and Claire. Peter’s quotes weren’t innocent, and his antics could never completely hide the fact he was tired of his duties, and probably going half-crazy (if this fate of his wasn’t already achieved). Claire was both frightening and cute, a little girl wandering a decaying place in search for the family she had lost.

Other, more secondary characters’ stories also lent themselves to speculation. Considering what happened to Tiffany, did something similar happen to Victoria? Even when they realise what they’ve lost, can those people really come back to their older lives, or will the latter make them feel just as much at a loss in the end?

The novel also left me with theories that, though never debunked of confirmed, are however strongly hinted at. The ties between Lauren and the Missing Man, for instance. The lie Lauren cooked about his daughter might hit closer to home than she thinks…

However, I didn’t love this novel. I enjoyed reading it, and… that was all. I think I can chalk this off to three things:

1) The writing. For starters, first person present tense does it less and less for me, after having read so many books that use such narratives, and here, I really don’t think it fit that much, probably because of the “tense + short sentences” combination. Sometimes, it worked, but when descriptions were involved, it threw me out of my little bubble of creepy atmosphere:

I step over a soiled sweatshirt. There’s a wallet lying on the curb. I pick it up and flip it open to see a driver’s license and an array of credit cards. I’ll hand it in at the lobby.

I’m not asking for long, convoluted sentences; but while I got used to those after a while, it wasn’t enough for me to deem them enjoyable.

2) Lauren, in some ways. I just couldn’t warm up to this character. I understand her being disoriented and wanting to find a way home, but I wish she had stopped being a whiner much sooner.

3) The romance, which is somewhat part of point 2), felt weird and displaced. Lauren struck me as acting and reacting more like a teenager than an adult woman. I don’t know if I’m just a cold-hearted person, but poring over how beautiful the guy is when lost in a place where almost everyone wants you dead isn’t exactly my idea of “doing something constructive to get the hell out of here.”

In the shadows, he looks mysterious and perfect, also dangerous.
[…]
I look at him, his perfect chiseled face and his beautiful black eyes.

I’m still holding mixed feelings about the somewhat predictable development, because I find “this was just a dream/coma” tropes overdone. On the other hand, maybe this is more linked to my growing ability to spot tropes and imagine what the next step will be (I read a lot and have a paranoid imagination, too). Ambiguity permeates this new setting, sowing doubt in the character’s as well as the reader’s mind:

He’s perfect. Almost too perfect. He could be the fantasy man in a coma-induced world, and Peter could be real and waiting for me to wake up in Lost.

And the ending being left open as to Lauren’s fate puts the story back on its creepy, somewhat “magical” tracks.

I’d probably pick the next book in this series, to see what happens to Lauren.

Yzabel / May 26, 2014

Review: The Butcher

The Butcher by Jennifer Hillier

My rating: [rating=3]

Summary:

A rash of grisly serial murders plagued Seattle until the infamous “Beacon Hill Butcher” was finally hunted down and killed by police chief Edward Shank in 1985. Now, some thirty years later, Shank, retired and widowed, is giving up his large rambling Victorian house to his grandson Matt, whom he helped raise.

Settling back into his childhood home and doing some renovations in the backyard to make the house feel like his own, Matt, a young up-and-coming chef and restaurateur, stumbles upon a locked crate he’s never seen before. Curious, he picks the padlock and makes a discovery so gruesome it will forever haunt him… Faced with this deep dark family secret, Matt must decide whether to keep what he knows buried in the past, go to the police, or take matters into his own hands.

Meanwhile Matt’s girlfriend, Sam, has always suspected that her mother was murdered by the Beacon Hill Butcher—two years after the supposed Butcher was gunned down. As she pursues leads that will prove her right, Sam heads right into the path of Matt’s terrible secret.

A thriller with taut, fast-paced suspense, and twists around every corner, The Butcher will keep you guessing until the bitter, bloody end.

Review:

(I got an ARC through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. Quotes liable to change upon publishing.)

From now on, I’m going to maintain that this book was classified in the wrong genre.

Let’s be upfront: as a thriller, I’m giving it 2 stars, and that’s being kind. It didn’t keep me on the seat of my edge. It didn’t give me, well, the thrills. The mystery wasn’t so well-done, and rested upon a lot of coincidences, such as people stumbling upon others in the middle of a conversation. I see what the author did here: revealing who the killer is in the beginning (seriously, you know who it is in chapter 1), and stressing the “why”, “how” and “will they take the fallout” aspects, rather than the “whodunnit” one; I’m not sure it worked properly, though. It may have worked better for me if the characters had been deeper, psychologically-speaking; their psyches were touched upon, sure, but not enough to offset the fact that without a whodunnit, it wasn’t exactly the same. Readers looking for that may not find this book to their liking.

But as a work of dark, dark humour? As a dark, twisted comedy? 4 stars.

This novel took whatever disgusting things were in me and brought them to the light. At least, I think it did, since I found myself snickering and even laughing more than once. It’s like watching a trainwreck: you’re feeling horrible for doing so, but you can’t help keep staring. It was the same thing here.

Graphic, violent, sexualised killings. The male protagonist is a sociopath. The world revolves around himsel, and it’s the most natural thing, and don’t you dare act otherwise. He feels bad about someone dying, but not because the person died: because it might impact his success as a restaurateur and chef. The male deuteragonist is a psychopath with a steely, condescending opinion on people on general and women in particular. The girl tries to make sense of it all, the cops try to make sense of it all, to no avail. Other women get killed. And yet. Yet, it’s funny. If it was made into a movie, I’d place it along “Burn After Reading” on my shelf. Think “what the hell just happened here, and why are all those guys dead?” funny. Or: “Oh, so they found the corpses of the Bay Harbour Butcher’s victims… Wait, I’m the Butcher!” funny. If you snickered at Dexter trying to help the police catch the aforementioned Bay Harbour Butcher, fully knowing he’s trying to catch himself, and has to sabotage the whole thing so that he can escape—cue in mistakes he barely manages to cover—then, yes, this novel may be for you.

It was the same here.

In fact, “The Clusterfuck” would make a perfect alternate title for this novel.

What happens when you accidentally kill a guy, ask help from the one person whom you know is worse than you, and that person tells you to take the body out of the dumpster?

“Okay, I’ll try.” He took a deep breath and tried not to think about his aching back. “But my back really hurts—”
“Fuck your back,” Edward barked. “If you’re standing, it’s not broken. This is your ass on the line and right now tipping the goddamned dumpster is the only option we got. You want to get the body out or not?”
“Yes, Chief.”
“Then do what the fuck I say.”

Indeed, son. The garbage men will be here in four hours, so stuff cut the I-hurt-my-back whining. This is Bumbling Serial Killer 101 for you.

He knew they wouldn’t be able to save him. One hundred milligrams of Viagra combined with all the medications for his heart and blood pressure that he was already taking… the old guy didn’t stand a chance.

Retirement communities for active seniors? Oh, gee, everybody knows those are places where residents keep humping each other, and the nurses really aren’t surprised to find old guys overdosing on Viagra. Poisoned? The third death in two weeks? A killer? Here? Nah. It’s all Viagra’s fault.

I’ll let you imagine what happens when the girl, convinced that her boyfriend’s cheating on her, tries to catch him in the act.

So I laughed. And it was horrible, because people were dying in this novel, and the killer remained on the loose, unsuspected. Worse, everybody and their dog came to him for advice. Cosmic irony to the power of ten. Since the characters were not developed deep enough, it paradoxically put them in the roles of unwilling puppets, thrown into a series of coincidences, fuck-ups, and situations that make you facepalm because you just know how it’s going to end, and it’s going to suck for them, but you’re going to chuckle anyway. Horrible, horrible readers that we are.

As a real, serious thriller, I think this novel fails flat.

As dark, partly slapstick half-comedy, it works. I liked it. I did.

And I still think it should be marketed as so.

Yzabel / May 18, 2014

Review: Dollhouse

Dollhouse by Anya Allyn

My rating: [rating=3]

Summary:

Dress-up turns deadly. . .

When Cassie’s best friend, Aisha, disappears during a school hike, Cassie sets off with Aisha’s boyfriend Ethan and their best friend Lacey, determined to find her. But the mist-enshrouded mountains hold many secrets, and what the three teens discover is far more disturbing than any of them imagined: beneath a rundown mansion in the woods lies an underground cavern full of life-size toys and kidnapped girls forced to dress as dolls.

Even as Cassie desperately tries to escape the Dollhouse, she finds herself torn between her forbidden feelings for Ethan, and her intense, instinctive attraction to The Provider, a man Cassie swears she has known before…

Because Cassie’s capture wasn’t accidental, and the Dollhouse is more than just a prison where her deepest fears come true—it’s a portal for the powers of darkness. And Cassie may be the only one who can stop it.

Review:

(I got a copy of this book through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.)

A likeable story—on the creepy side, that is, but if I didn’t want creepy, I wouldn’t have applied for this book, right? I liked the atmosphere conveyed through the book, at least when it came to the house itself and its inhabitants (this isn’t a spoiler; the title gives it away, after all). It was oppressive, left little doubt as to the stifling nature of the place, and the toys as well as Jessamine’s behaviour were definitely elements of unease. I was never scared, to be honest, but this doesn’t necessarily means “Dollhouse” won’t be scary to other other people. In any case, in terms of imagery, those were themes I could relate to.

The plot is kind of strange. It’s both a good and a bad thing in my opinion. On the one hand, it fits the overall atmosphere; on the other, sometimes things were a little confusing. At first I thought it may be a purely horror/mystery story, then different supernatural elements creepeed in. I was all right with that, though: it may be part of what the book was meant to achieve, depending on how one considers it, and it also contributed to the characters’ confusion. So, for me, it worked.

I found the pacing somewhat uneven. The first chapter pulled me in, then the next ones were slower, and I think some of the scenes in the dollhouse itself dragged a little. Again, this is one of those double-edged aspects in my opinion: slowing down the story, yet also reflecting the bleak existence of the “dolls”, the day-to-day routine under Jessamine’s guidance (if one can call that guidance…), the world being narrowed down to a few rooms only, with few activities available. So, slow in pacing, but fitting in theme.

I didn’t find the characters really memorable, and was mostly interested in the atmosphere and in looking for hints about the bigger picture, I admit. Cassie was kind of bland, Ethan and Aisha as well, and Lacey was easily forgotten. This is probably one of the weakest points in this book: I kept feeling that those friends didn’t really care about each other. That they went looking for Aisha not in the hopes of finding her alive, but of removing suspicion from Ethan. That they didn’t have much in common, and didn’t look like a strong enough group to go through the hassle of camping in the mountains at night to search for the missing girl. Cassie leaves Lacey[Lacey (hide spoiler)] alone in a creepy place, then oh, surprise, she’s missing as well. Rule number one: you never, ever leave someone alone. Not in such a setting.

The romance… Meh. I wasn’t convinced. But then, I seldom am.

The book ends on a cliffhanger that may very well be quite annoying. You can somewhat imagine what will happen, but if it’s still rather abrupt, and felt more like a chapter was missing, rather than a real ending.

I’m giving it 3 stars because I really enjoyed the theme, the atmosphere, the imagery it all evoked. I found it easy to picture the rooms, the clothing, to imagine what the dolls’ life was like. If one is looking for strong characters, though, perhaps this isn’t the right book.

Yzabel / May 13, 2014

Review: The Diamond Thief

The Diamond Thief by Sharon Gosling

My rating: [rating=1]

Summary:

By day Rémy Brunel is a daring circus acrobat, by night she is an equally talented jewel thief currently assigned to steal a famous diamond in Victorian London–but when the theft goes wrong she finds herself allied with a young policeman as they try to find the elusive gem.

Review:

(I got a copy through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.)

A fast read, and one of those books I wish I had liked more (Victorian London + circus + thief + mechanical inventions: what’s not to like in there, really?), but also one that didn’t convince me in the end, unfortunately.

Things I liked: the steampunk side, light enough to be understandable by basically everyone, younger readers included. It has a touch of Fushigi no Umi no Nadia (in that stones/jewels play an important part), though it doesn’t go further than that, and makes use of machinery whose concepts are easy to grasp, such as experimental night-vision goggles. Not the most creative I’ve ever seen, but a nice introduction nonetheless.

On the other hand, I found the backdrop fairly light, too—not a good thing. I never really got the feeling of a real circus, nor of Victorian mores. I think this could apply to several other aspects of the novel, in fact: it brushed against them, without ever diving deep enough for me to feel immersed. I could sense this most specifically with the characters. At first, I found them interesting, but they were never developed enough to hold my attention until the end, nor make me care about them. (And there definitely were interesting ideas in here, such as the unlikely trapeze artist/thief + young cop duo, the Professor with his inventions, the mysterious Lord…) Also, I didn’t like the romance at all. I couldn’t feel any chemistry within this couple, it seemed like a plot device to add some drama, and there were a few very melodramatic scenes that made me roll my eyes and want to slap those characters. Somehow, it moved too quickly, too superficially.

The plot itself seemed to rest on a lof of deus ex machina, predictable twists, and events inserted for convenience. I would’ve been more enthralled if Rémy and Thaddeus had had to really investigate, which in turn would have given them time to talk, get to know each other better; I guess this would have made the romance more palatable for me, as well as enhanced the strong points of their pairing, in terms of skills. Another thing I had a hard time with were a couple of plot points. First, the opal’s role. One of the characters says that it would allow Rémy to hear other people’s thoughts, yet I never got the purpose of that specific thread. Is there a second book in the writing? If there isn’t, then I don’t see the point. Same with the curse[the curse (hide spoiler)]: couldn’t Gustave tell Rémy about it way earlier than that, considering how involved she was, and how she was the one tasked with stealing the stone?

I suppose it could work as a very light read, or for really young readers (things never go further than a brief kiss in the romance department), but for me it didn’t.

Yzabel / May 3, 2014

Review: Prep School Confidential

Prep School Confidential by Kara Taylor

My rating: [rating=4]

Summary:

In this breathtaking debut that reads like Gossip Girl crossed with Twin Peaks, a Queen Bee at a blue-blooded New England prep school stumbles into a murder mystery.

Anne Dowling practically runs her exclusive academy on New York’s Upper East Side—that is, until she accidentally burns part of it down and gets sent to a prestigious boarding school outside of Boston. Determined to make it back to New York, Anne could care less about making friends at the preppy Wheatley School. That is, until her roommate Isabella’s body is found in the woods behind the school.

When everyone else is oddly silent, Anne becomes determined to uncover the truth no matter how many rules she has to break to do it. With the help of Isabella’s twin brother Anthony, and a cute classmate named Brent, Anne discovers that Isabella wasn’t quite the innocent nerdy girl she pretended to be. But someone will do anything to stop Anne’s snooping in this fast-paced, unputdownable read—even if it means framing her for Isabella’s murder.

Review:

A fast and fun read, and also one that kept me on the edge of my seat—the mystery part was well-done in my opinion, enough that I had my suspicions about a potential culprit, but without seeing it coming too easily.

I have a soft spot for boarding schools. I don’t know why. Perhaps because I’ve always wondered in hindsight if I wouldn’t have felt better in such a school as a teen? (Not necessarily a posh prep school. Just a school where I could be away from my family and experience things in a different way. As a university student, anyway, I was the kind of person who loved eating breakfast with others, spending time in each other’s rooms, and various dorm activities.) So, boarding schools often tend to grab my interest for their closed community aspect, and for the closed setting they provide, too. You can’t just walk away and ignore whatever problem happens there: you have to face it, whether the problem is gossip or a murder.

I didn’t really like Anne in the very first chapters. She came off as a snotty brat, the kind of girl who knew she’d get away with everything just by batting her eyelashes, twirling a lock of hair between her fingers, and by basically “being her”. Then she grew on me (and not like mildew). All in all, she was likeable. She had that ability to make people gravitate around her, but not in a condescending, Mean Girl way, which I something I can appreciate. No slut-shaming here, no attempts to make others look bad; when she refused to take crap, she did it in a direct, not a passive-aggressive way (often involving snark and sarcasm, but not underhanded). She wasn’t perfect, and just like so many people, she tended to judge others on first impressions—yet she also did it on actions, and was able to revise her judgment when it appeared she was wrong. The potential for snotty, woe-is-me attitude went away quickly enough to my liking. Although Anne didn’t want to stay at Wheatley, she acknowledged she hadn’t much choice in the matter, so might as well do with it in the meantime.

Other characters were handled in believable ways. I wondered sometimes why the arson story wasn’t thrown in her face more often, because it definitely could’ve been, especially by the characters who didn’t like Anne; on the other hand, I also didn’t find it too surprising that, considering her way of handling things, such a “rumour” wouldn’t have looked like what would hurt her the most, and made her appear like the mysterious, dangerous, yet oddly attractive kid. The main Mean Girl character wasn’t as cliché as I thought at first; even though I couldn’t bring myself to like her, at least she had circumstances of her own. As for other high school clichés, they were nicely toyed with, and I didn’t feel them as heavy as they did in other similar works I read in the past.

The romance part didn’t really work for me. Fortunately, it never detracted from the story, never took precedence over the actual plot (investigation/murder), and I was very grateful for that. Only I just didn’t care much for it.

I also questioned some choices on Anne’s part at times. Mostly she came off as sensible, knowing she could end up in dangerous situations and preparing herself in case of. However, there were a few moments when I wondered if she wasn’t too trusting of some people, in a setting where “trust no one” should’ve been a definite rule. I found this a little jarring, especially considering how she used people in general. (I don’t mind the “use others” attitude in a place where everyone could potentially be a murderer, or at least someone with dirty secrets and a tendency to use their parents’ money to become a problem to you; that was sort of logical. But if you do that, don’t tell all your plans to some of those people either. Even though Anne investigating completely on her own wouldn’t have been too interesting, I suppose.)

This set aside, I really liked this story, and will likely pick the next book… because we’re clearly not done yet with the many skeletons in Wheatley’s many closets.

Yzabel / April 11, 2014

Review: With Zombies (Assured Destruction 3)

With Zombies by Michael F. Stewart

My rating: [rating=4]

Summary:

The final book in the Assured Destruction series!

Jan Rose may already be expunged from the police department’s High Tech Crime Unit. Her mother’s hospitalized, and Assured Destruction’s on the cusp of bankruptcy. But Jan doesn’t wait on anything, she seeks out the customers who used to keep the family business afloat. That’s when everything starts to go wrong.

A computer virus–aka the Zombie Worm–threatens not only her school and Shadownet, but the entire city. A skull with a chain running through its socket links a powerful gang to her former customers, and holds the secrets to why her father left and the identity of her mother’s boyfriend.

To save her family and the business, Jan must determine who is friend and who is foe. And decide what type of hacker she wishes to become: Gray, white, or black. Not only her life hangs in the balance.

Review:

[I received a copy of this book through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.]

This third installment in the “Assured Destruction” series was a little different from the previous ones, in that it didn’t follow their format; on the other hand, it tied a lot of things together, and I’d definitely advise reading all books close to each other, otherwise you may miss a few relevant details. In any case, I appreciated the care put into giving answers to several questions (what happened to Jan’s father, who’s actually Peter)… as well as to others I hadn’t envisioned at first.

I enjoyed the trilogy as a whole, and I enjoyed this last novel, too. Once again, it managed to deal with technical and computer-related aspects in such a way that even a layman would easily understand what was going on. I know “techno-babble” can rebuke people, but here, even if internet and networks aren’t their forte, as a reader, they won’t be lost. Jan’s uses of her favourite tools are always explained in a short, efficient manner. Don’t know what a DDoS attack is? Now you’ll know.

I admit I was slightly tempted to call a “too stupid to live” on Janus a couple of times, because some of her decisions were rash and not that well-informed. I would’ve done it if she had been any other teen, with a regular family life and not that many struggles. However, it was also clear that she was at the end of her rope, what with her mother being sicker, having to find more customers, juggling work and school with the spectre of failing her semester looming close, trying to find her father, trying to find money to pay for the mortgage, wondering about Peter’s motives, not to mention the Zombie virus and the problems she got because of that… Since people in general aren’t known for making the best decisions in such cases, her overall attitude was easily explained. (There was a specific turning point in the story, where her behaviour made me frown and wonder if maybe something fishy was going on; that, too, was explained later. Actually, it’s a wonder it didn’t happen sooner.)

Jan’s friends were also wonderful, for sticking with her, devising the Kickstarter[Kickstarter (hide spoiler)] plan, and helping her the way they did at the end. Her being struggling so much, she probably wasn’t there for them as much as one would expect—but everytime I thought that, I also found myself thinking, “Well, would I be a good friend if I had to tread in her shoes? Not so sure.” (I guess this is one of the reasons why I like this character. In a lot of ways, she reminded me of who I am, with all my shortcomings, and this prompted me to question a few things as well.) Janus can be a really good friend, too—e.g. what she did for Hannah in book 2—but there’s also so much you can do for others when you’re overwhelmed. Can she be blamed for sometimes being oblivious? Perhaps, perhaps not.

One thing wasn’t too clear for me, though, and that was Shadownet’s role, especially at the end. Considering who the “villain” was, and that said “villain” would’ve known about it by now, I was a little surprised the Twitter accounts weren’t monitored at the end, when all hell was breaking lose at the mansion, and it was clear Janus might have had a hand in that. Or is this my paranoid self talking? Because monitoring it would definitely have been on my list.

To conclude on this review (and this trilogy): really enjoyable—and, for once, with a female protagonist who is quite tech-savvy and doesn’t spend her time pining after boys. (Did I say we share a few common points? Yes? Thought so.)

Yzabel / April 7, 2014

Review: The Astounding Adventure of the Ancient Dragon

The Astounding Adventure of the Ancient Dragon by Jose Prendes

My rating: [rating=3]

Summary:

When 12-year-old John Watson is sent to Candlewood boarding school, he makes quick friends with a boy named Sherlock Holmes, a universally disliked know-it-all and amateur sleuth. Before long, Sherlock embroils his new friend in a covert investigation of the mysterious disappearances blamed on a vengeful ghost. Dodging the meaty fists of the bully Moriarty, and aided by bumbling patrolman Lestrade, they uncover a deadly secret hidden deep underneath Candlewood. But does the duo have the brains–and the brawn–to crack this dangerous case?

Review:

[I was sent a copy of this book by the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.]

Strong points:

The Astounding Adventure of the Ancient Dragon caught my eyes because of its premise: an alternate retelling of Holmes’s and Watson’s adventures, in a “what if those two had been children at a boarding school, instead of adults in London?” As a long-time avid reader of Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories, I couldn’t pass up on that, although any potential reader has to be aware that these new adventures are, of course, not canon. (The original Holmes and Watson didn’t meet before they were adults.)

This novel will likely provide an amusing and refreshing read to middle-grade children: boys going on exploring an old school, hidden corridors, mysterious kidnappings, peppered with a dose of humour and “old chap” banter. Some quips made me chuckle more than once:

“I ask you to come up with a distraction and you decide to set the boat on fire? Is that best you could come up with?”

And were even reminiscent of a Princess Bride kind of humour:

“I must warn you, I am a fencing champion,” Holmes replied, taking a defensive posture.
“And I must warn you,” Royston said, yanking out another sword. “I have two swords.”

Honestly, I laughed out loud at those ones.

I like boarding schools for a setting, and the latter had the makings for an interesting place, complete with a gang of local bullies and a head mistress who expresses her dislike for the heroes. Those are typical tropes, but I thought they worked well enough here, because they, too, were presented in a humorous way. The investigation and action are nicely balanced, the latter taking the main characters into fights that were easy to picture in my mind (though the former was a bit simple… but then, they’re twelve). Sherlock was true enough to his original self to my liking: oblivious to girls, possessed of a lot of knowledge, able to notice small details (and with a bonus way of talking his way out of the teachers’ wrath in an elegant and funny manner).

Last but not least, I found it easy enough to get into the concept of Holmes and Watson as children—which I wasn’t sure would happen at first. As with every retelling or alternate setting, this is, in my opinion, a matter of either love or hate. A reader who wants to see Holmes act exactly as he does in Doyle’s novels may not be completely satisfied; what worked for me here won’t work for everyone.

Problematic aspects:

I thought at times that the characters were able to do too many things (taking on opponents with a spear, firing a gun…): I can imagine how it fits an adventure-focused story, but the fact is, they’re only twelve. Sometimes I also found them a little callous, dismissing the death of a goon as if it was nothing, or Watson not seeming to care that much about the sick mother her had left behind him. Again, adventure is a distraction for the mind… but they’re still twelve.

I’m torn about the writing style. As an adult reader, I enjoyed it; the novel is well-written, and I could sense the same kind of vibes I’d get from the original stories, with the narrator (Watson) seeming to hit close enough a mark. It has a “gentlemen’s banter” quality that is exquisite to me. However, I’m not sure a 12-year-old narrator, even a precocious one, would master language to such an extent. In other words: I liked it, but I’m torn about how to judge it in an unbiased way. One thing’s for sure, though: the language wasn’t dumbed down “just because it’s for kids”, and this in itself has to be commended.

You may also want to enact suspension of disbelief regarding the school itself: the action is set in 1865, and I highly doubt there were any mixed-sex schools in Great Britain at the time, lest boarding schools. If you’re willing to overlook that in favour of focusing on the adventure, it’ll probably be all right, otherwise it might keep nagging you.

(NB. I wasn’t too keen on the illustrations, which weren’t necessary in my opinion, and seemed to hesitate between looking like a child’s drawing and “real” illustrations. This is a very minor quibble, though, that has nothing to do with the writing itself.)

I realise this review seems to contain a lot of criticism, and more flaws than merits. I’ve tried to write what I enjoyed, and what I found as being or not problems, in terms of intended audience especially. All in all, I enjoyed this novel, and think younger readers would also like it; but it definitely retains some aspects that could make it or break it for others.

Yzabel / April 3, 2014

Review: Script Kiddie

Script Kiddie by Michael F. Stewart

My rating: [rating=4]

Summary:

Jan Rose no longer steals data from the old computers she recycles. She doesn’t need to. As the newest member of the police department’s High Tech Crime Unit, the laptop of a murderer has landed on her desk. Her job: to profile and expose a killer.

But that’s not all.

A creep lurks in the shadows, stalking a friend, and Jan must stop him before the hunt turns deadly. The clock counts down for Jan to save her friend, her job, her boyfriend–maybe even her life.

Review:

[I was sent a copy by the author, as part of my being approved by NetGalley to review book #3, in exchange for an honest opinion. While there was no condition involving writing a review for this one, I still decided to do it.]

I read Assured Destruction in 2013, and really liked it, though much to my shame, I failed to keep track of when the next installments were published. This second volume I found just as enjoyable as the first one, mainly for similar reasons. With each chapter, I wanted to know what was coming next.

After her stint in book 1, Jan, the main character, is still in dire straits, having to balance school, the store, her mother’s illness, Peter’s arrival in their lives, her new relationship with Jonny, and the many hours of community service she owes to the police. Sure, she can stil somewhat rely on Shadownet to vent out, but mostly she’s now confronted to more than she can chew, and frustration’s building up.

Characters & plot:

I like Jan. As a character, she has a lot of potential, some of which she lives up to, and some that still leaves room for improvement. She’s far from perfect; she commits mistakes; sometimes she’s too proud for her own good and doesn’t realise what she’s getting herself into until it’s too late. I guess her fatal flaw would be hubris, combined to her problems to cope with the more social aspects of life. She fancies herself a hacker, but is soon brought back to reality. She imagines her community service as an open door to be acknowledged as part of the police, but of course reality is harsher, and soon she’s reminded she’s still just a kid in many ways (don’t expect cop drama here, and a teenager being propelled as star of the detective show—which wouldn’t be too believable anyway). Her eagerness and overconfidence when it comes to computers/networks land her in trouble.

However, she also tries to fix things and help. When she’s humbled by people who know more than her (and who knows everything at 16!), she accepts her shortcomings and strive to get better. She also shows a lot of courage, involving herself in person—not because she’s too stupid to live (although her mistakes could get her killed), but because she genuinely wants to save other people, while knowing that waiting isn’t an option.

I also appreciated how her relationship with Jonny was portrayed, because it’s light on the romance part. The events of the book unfold on roughly one week, and Jan is very busy… so busy that she can’t keep up with having a boyfriend and doing “what it takes” to keep him. Now, considering what happens, I found this understandable. She’s worried about her role regarding the police, about missing school, about being wrongly accused of hacking, about her mother whose health isn’t great… I can understand that. I can understand a person being unable to keep up, and I think I would have held it against Jan if she had put everything to the back of her mind to be with Jonny all the time and play lovey-dovey, the way it happens too often. I can’t say she always knows how to keep her priorities straight (the carding case is a good example), but that part fits with her personality.

Last but not least, what’s going on with Peter is intriguing. On the one hand, I can understand Jan’s wariness when it comes to this man: he’s new in their lives, and with all the problems the store is facing, of course Jan is going to think he’s up to something. Overall, he’s sweet, caring, understanding, he tries to help her, as if he was doing his best to get her to accept him… Too good to be true? Perhaps he’s just that: a man who loves her mother and wants to earn his place in the daughter’s life as well (fast, considering how bad Tina’s health is). Or perhaps he’s something else. Or more than simply that.

The tech:

I already liked the computer/tech aspect in the previous book, and I still like it here. What happens in Script Kiddy is actually good lessons for teenagers (and for anyone not internet-savvy, for that matter), but not presented as such. They’re integrated within the flow of the story, while dealing with real problems: phishing, how wireless devices can be a downfall, internet predators, and so on.

The way procedures and technology in general are described is also easy to understand. Well, it’s easy for me, as I know enough (though I’m certainly not a specialist), but I think anyone would understand what’s going on. Some things made me frown at first, and think “why is this explained?”; but not everyone knows what IRC is, after all.

Problem?:

A few things bothered me; not enough to prevent me from enjoying the story, but I still feel I should mention them. The murderer’s laptop was one of them: would the police really hand evidence to Jan, let her take it out of the precinct? This I found unbelievable (and considering what happens with it next, it should’ve tipped her off). Also, at times Jan felt just a tad bit immature when it came to the problems in her life, mainly her mother. On the other hand, I can also envision her as the kind of girl who would cope by shutting off and/or focusing on different things for a while, so I’m not completely sure I can chalk that to sheer immaturity, or to the kind of slightly neurotic persona she seems to be developing. There’s just so much going on that at some point, the girl’s doomed to break.

Those put aside, this second novel in the series was really a page-turner, and a good read for me.