Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz

Posted on by lynndellwatson
A great mix of mystery and historical fiction!

The setting is early 1800’s. Hazel is fascinated with science and specifically medical applications. She sneaks in to watch a medical lecture because women aren’t allowed to attend. Jack scrapes by with odd jobs, such as digging up recently buried bodies to sell for medical studies. Hazel and Jack meet when he helps her sneak into a medical presentation. Hazel later disguises herself as a young gentleman so she can attend classes to become a physician. She’s found out but the professor makes a deal with her and gives her some help to prepare for the physician’s exam. Her family is away so she can study as much as she wants. She also begins treating people that aren’t taken care of by the hospital. She ends up treating patients with Roman Fever; a plague that seems to be appearing again. Jack brings exhumed bodies to Hazel for studying and live patients for her to treat. Jack and Hazel become close, even though she’s been betrothed to a viscount’s son since she was a child. Jack and Hazel get involved in the horrible experimentation of an eccentric doctor and everything gets turned upside down for both of them. I love Jack and Hazel. They’re both strong and selfless and they have an adorable relationship. I would love a sequel to be written to continue the story but at this point, I can’t see any sign of that happening. A mix of mystery and historical fiction to be enjoyed, 5 stars!

One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus

Posted on by lynndellwatson
Interesting young adult mystery!

Five students get detention because of phones they didn’t know they had. Someone set them up. Cooper, Bronwyn, Simon, Addy and Nate arrive at detention but only four make it out alive. An allergy to peanuts kills Simon, who started and continuously posted to his online gossip site. Because of this site, many people have motive to want to hurt Simon and keep him quiet. The students in detention with Simon immediately become suspects. They’re interrogated several times but the mystery remains until one of them is arrested. The students have become somewhat tight knit after secrets about each of them are revealed. So, when one is arrested, they work together to figure out what really happened. No one is expecting the truth that they discover. An interesting young adult mystery, 4 stars!

You Will Be Mine by Natasha Preston

Posted on by lynndellwatson
Unexpected Twist!

Lylah attends college and lives off campus with her friends. One of her roommates, Sonny, goes missing and Lylah and Chace find his body when they go to study. His heart is missing. Someone is leaving notes written in cut out letters from magazines and the friends are terrified. One person at a time goes missing and is found murdered. There’s a little bit of redundancy with Lylah explaining her background but the last fifty pages amp up the intensity and suspense with an unexpected twist, 4 stars!

Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky

Posted on by lynndellwatson
Uniquely strange!

Seven-year-old Christopher is on the run with his mom. Her boyfriend Jerry was mean one too many times. They reach a new town and she finds a job cleaning at a nursing home. Christopher struggles with school until he reappears after missing in the woods for six days. He can’t remember anything about that time. Everything seems to get better for Christopher and his mom, Kate. Then Christopher sneaks out with his friends to build a treehouse in the forbidden woods. He gets sick and doesn’t sleep because of the nightmares he keeps having. His mother sees him falling apart and before she can fix anything their lives and whole world turn upside down. This story has an eerie, spooky feel. It’s part supernatural and part mystery with a Stephen King, albeit mellow, feel. Unique and strange, 4 stars!

Pony by R.J. Palacio

Posted on by lynndellwatson
A western adventure full of action and mystery!

Pony tells the story of a young boy who takes refuge in a tree during a violent storm and when the tree is struck by lightning, receives a burn on his back in the shape of that same tree. The burn heals into a very unique scar. His father revives the boy by using a fireplace bellows. This man is interested in photography but turned to boot making to support his family but the lightning incident stokes his love of art and photos. The young boy, Silas, was born the same day his mother died. So, Silas and his father are without her. Pa is kindhearted and loving and cares deeply about Silas. One night, three riders with pistols drawn, arrive at their home demanding that Pa and Silas go with them. They won’t say why other than their boss wants Pa to work for a week and then he’ll let him return to his home. The riders brought an extra horse and a white-faced pony with them so Pa and Silas could ride along. Pa makes Silas stay behind. The pony shows up soon after the riders leave with Pa. Silas is worried that Pa has been hurt so he rides Pony (Silas’ name for the small horse) and goes after Pa’s trail. He finds so much more than he expected and meets several different allies along the way. Pony is a western adventure full of action and mystery, told with a continuous sense of awe; I loved reading it, 5 stars!

When All the Girls Are Sleeping by Emily Arsenault

Posted on by lynndellwatson
A wonderfully spooky read!

The spookiness starts immediately with the opening of the book. The font in chapter one is perfectly ghostly! Haley’s best friend, Taylor, fell to her death last year. Haley receives an email with an attached video from Taylor’s oldest sibling. He asks Haley if she knows anything about the video and as she starts to watch it, she realizes she doesn’t know what’s happening in it and she’s never seen it before. It gives her the creeps. Haley wants to figure out the truth of what really happened to Taylor and she begins researching hauntings and school history to see if there’s anything that will help her. A paranormal investigator is mentioned in an alumni Facebook group and Haley finds his picture as a dorm supervisor from years earlier. Haley keeps reaching out to alumni and searching the school archives in hopes of digging up more information. She finds letters and interviews from decades ago describing the same thing Taylor experienced in the video. What Haley discovers is so unpredictable and complex that I would have never figured it out on my own and the answer is unexpected! A wonderfully spooky read, 5 stars!

All These Bodies by Kendare Blake

Posted on by lynndellwatson
Not what I was expecting!

This is a historical fiction book about a serial killer in 1958 that’s committing the Bloodless Murders. Police find a fifteen year old girl among the latest victims and she’s unharmed but drenched in blood. This is a story told from an observer’s point of view and the observer becomes friends with one of the accused murderers. At the latest victims’ home, Marie is captured by police when she’s found standing by the bodies. Once she’s in custody, she’ll only talk to the sheriff’s son Michael. Michael tells this story that really leaves more questions than answers. I wanted the mystery to be solidly solved and to know if Marie committed these murders on her own or if she really was being trained by an older man. I can see her being delusional and thinking there’s someone with her or being vague to throw suspicion off of herself. Then the ending…? 3.5 stars for a truly atmospheric experience that made me feel like I had been transported to the late 1950’s and the characters that pulled the tale along!

Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco

Posted on by lynndellwatson
Supernatural mystery and the beginning of an awesome new series!

Twin sisters grow up hearing tales of the Wicked princes of Hell and heeding the warnings that go hand in hand with the stories. Eventually the warnings of danger wear off since they haven’t seen any real evidence of the Wicked until tragedy strikes when they’re eighteen. Emilia is desperate to find whoever is responsible for Vittoria’s death so she summons a demon but ends up with one of the Wicked, Prince Wrath. His disdain for humans is immense but Emilia wears him down and surprises him with her abilities and intellect. When she’s attacked by a large viper shaped demon, Wrath saves her. He also pulls her out of despair after she’s attacked by Lust. Their relationship fluctuates between understanding each other and despising each other. They’re both trying to stop evil so they decide to work together until tragedy strikes again. This supernatural mystery held my complete attention and I’m excited for the sequel, 5 stars!

The Photographer by Mary Dixie Carter

Posted on by lynndellwatson
Disturbingly creepy!

Delta is a professional photographer who assimilates quickly to her surroundings, especially when she decides she wants to be part of the group. She meets Natalie at her eleventh birthday party and meets her parents also. Delta decides she wants to befriend them. Little by little, she inserts herself into their lives, to the point of moving in. The problem with Delta is that she’s delusional and no one knows how far she’s going to go to belong. This mystery is tamer than I was expecting but still enough to be disturbingly creepy, 3 stars!

Wish You Were Gone by Kieran Scott

Posted on by lynndellwatson

Told in several points of view by Emma and her friends. The story opens with a crash in her home, late at night. Her son, Hunter, rushes into Emma’s room to ask her about the noise. The two venture through the house and find her husband and Hunter’s father dead in his car, that’s been crashed through the garage. James had been known to drink and drive, so that’s what everyone assumes happened to cause the crash. Little things come to Emma’s attention that don’t add up to James causing the crash on his own. The landscaper finds James’ necktie in the bushes and Emma finds his briefcase behind baskets of fruit from well-wishers. He would have had his tie on and his briefcase in the car with him. His phone is also missing and when Emma calls it, a young woman answers. The story grows more complex as it is told, with more variables coming to light. This was truly an unpredictable story for me and a very satisfying mystery! 5 stars!