Tag Archives: mystery

Review: Genuine Fraud

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Genuine Fraud
by E. Lockhart
4 stars

Teen author E. Lockhart is known for her suspenseful twists, thrilling plots, and often unreliable narrators.  I still get the feels when I think about her best-selling 2014 novel, We Were Liars. It was fast-paced, unpredictable, and heartbreaking.  Her newest teen novel, Genuine Fraud, is most of these things. The novel starts out with an obviously unreliable narrator, Jule, lounging in a Mexican resort. Unobservant readers might not realize that the story starts out with Chapter 18 as the plot moves backwards in time. Step by step you discover more about Jule, her seemingly glamorous life, her perfect best friend, and the boy she regrets leaving behind.

I had a little trouble connecting with Jule. Her character was a little lacking, and I’m still left wondering about her motivation and upbringing. Because of this I didn’t feel the heartbreak and grief I experienced when reading We Were Liars. However, I was still captivated by the story, pulled along by Lockhart’s twists and turns, and of course blown away by the mystery’s big reveal. I totally didn’t see that coming!

Read-alikes

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver

This is Where the World Ends by Amy Zhang

Review: Blue Shoes and Happiness

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Blue Shoes and Happiness
by Alexander McCall Smith
5 stars

Alexander McCall Smith has created, in his No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series, an intimate cast of delightful characters.  Mma Ramotswe, who loves to drink red bush tea, is the ‘traditionally built’ owner of the only ladies’ detective agency in Botswana.  She relies on Clovis Anderson’s The Principles of Private Detection, to guide her in her work. Her assistant and secretary is Mma Makutsi, an opinionated woman who scored a highly prized  97% from the Botswana Secretarial College.  She is partial to stylish shoes, which seem to have opinions of their own.  These two women work out of a back office at Tiokweng Road Speedy Motors, a garage owned by the kind and hardworking Mr J.L.B Matekoni.

Heartwarming stories unfold, introducing the reader to the culture of Mma Ramotswe’s beloved Botswana, as she works to resolve “everyday life” cases with great personal insight.  Her investigations lead her not only to resolve mysteries, but also to heal hurts and divisions by respecting the dignity of the brothers and sisters of her country.

In Blue Shoes and Happiness, the 7th book of this series, Mma Romatswe is faced with two cases: one of blackmail involving a cook who is feeding her husband stolen food, and another tracking a doctor who is profiting by selling generic drugs at high prices.

These stories are intertwined with Mma Ramotswe’s decision to go on a diet to reduce her “traditional build”, as well as Mma Makutsi’s dilemma of scaring off her fiancé with talk of being a feminist.

The deft touch of a master storyteller brings these plots and characters to life in a way that resonates long after you set down the book.  McCall Smith awakens the reader to consider the subject of our shared humanity, no matter where we live on this planet, or what circumstances arise.

Read-alikes

A Carrion Death by Michael Stanley

The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie

Friday the Rabbi Slept Late by Harry Kemelman

Review: Before the Fall

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Before the Fall
by Noah Hawley
4 stars

Painter Scott Burroughs barely makes a flight from Martha’s Vineyard bound to New York City on a luxurious private jet with ten other very rich and privileged individuals. He’s not rich and is hopping a free ride back home. Eighteen minutes later, the plane crashes into the water. The only survivors are four-year-old JJ and Scott. Scott courageously swims back to shore saving the life of JJ, who is now a very rich heir. There are lots of questions from the authorities on what caused the crash and Scott is thrust into the limelight by the media. As the backstories of all the people on the flight are told, it becomes evident that many of them had dangerous secrets which point to conspiracy. A vivid and compelling mystery with a great climax that left me shocked on the cause of the crash.

 

Read-alikes

The Murder House by James Patterson

Sex, Lies & Serious Money by Stuart Woods

Find Her by Lisa Gardner