Friday, February 4, 2011

Blood Hollow

by William Krueger
2005 Pocket Star

Our library Mystery Book Club selection, March 2011
Setting: Rural Minnesota, present day

A teenage girl leaves a party and takes her snowmobile out for a drunken spin just as a blizzard blows in. Her body is not found until spring - and it wasn't the blizzard that killed her. Fingers point to her ex-boyfriend, Solemn Winter Moon. The feel of the land, small town dynamics, the interrelationships of the characters, and ex-sheriff Cork O'Connor add layers of texture to a mystery with enough turns to keep you guessing.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

by Alan Bradley
2009 Delacorte Press
Winner of the Crime Writers' Association Debut Dagger Award

Our library Mystery Book Club selection, February 2011
Setting:  1950, English countryside, small village

11-year-old Flavia de Luce finds a man gasping his last breath in the family cucumber patch. Flavia "is both appalled and delighted" by the discovery.  Later, she learns that he is someone from her father's past.

Mr. de Luce is eventually jailed and awaiting trial, charged with the man's murder. It is up to Flavia to sort things out.

Flavia is not your normal 11 year old. Her favorite room in the house is her ancient Chem Lab upstairs. Using ingenuity, cunning, deductive reasoning, and a lot of snooping around, Flavia begins to find a few answers...and a dangerous adversary.

This is an adult novel, although readers from Flavia's age on up will enjoy it. It has mystery, danger, an assortment of odd local characters, and a lot of chuckles, thanks to Flavia's precociousness and her mission to get revenge on her older sisters.

Not for those who like a fast-pace, modern settings, & graphic violence. This little gem is for readers who appreciate unique & interesting characters, very good writing and a mystery that is off the beaten path.