Mysteries Books

Creation in Death (In Death)

J.D. Robb

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 91 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Horrible, terrible dialogue, no clue for the futuristic 1 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Quite frankly, I'm embarrassed for JD Robb/Nora Roberts. This is quite possibly the most ridiculously written book posing as a suspense novel that I have ever read. Robb's "grasp" of the world in 2060 is laughable, and is limited to overuse of the word "e-(fill in the blank)", a 'link (which is basically a Blackberry, available in the early 2000s), running probabilities (haven't we been able to do this since statistics was discovered?), TUBES of soft drinks rather than cans/bottles, and an AutoChef. Oh, and a droid butler here and there.

Her dialogue is ludicrous. Roarke is presented as this silly fawning co-dependent relationship and Eve wears the pants.

I didn't care about any of the people because I couldn't get past the irritating and lame plot.

I will never read another one of her books. Do NOT waste your time on this series.

A gripping continuation of the series 5 out of 5 stars.
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It should first be said that this is part of a series about New York Police Lieutenant Eve Dallas, her friends and colleagues and her husband, multibillionaire Rourke. It makes sense on its own, but regarding the characters it's a lot better to have read the other titles in the series first. And they're definitely worth it.
'Creation in death' is about a serial killer who kidnaps young women with a specific look and age and then slowly tortures them to death. He then cuts the time they lasted under his torture into their chests, washes the bodies, and leaves them where they can be found. The case is particularly important to Eve Dallas because the killer was in New York when she had just become a policewoman. She and her instructor Feeney couldn't catch the killer back then. And the killer already has his next victim. So the police know that while they're desperately trying to find this killer, the next woman is already being tortured. A race against time begins. As always, Rourke helps his wife, so do her colleagues. But it soon becomes clear that the killer will come after Eve herself as his final victim. And she is more than willing to let him catch her in the hope that she can save his present victim.
This was one of the most intense books in the series when it comes to the crime story because it's not 'just' about catching a killer after the crime or before he / she can commit another, but about saving women who are being tortured to death as the police are investigating. I could imagine that this story may be hard to take for some readers, but I thought it was really well-done and gripping. As I like the characters and the series, it's always a pleasure to get another Eve Dallas novel. I would definitely recommend this book and the whole series if you like intelligent crime stories with well-developed characters.
Naked in Death (In Death)

Editorial Review:

The 25th In Death novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author

Point Blank (Alex Rider Adventures)

Anthony Horowitz

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 127 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Alex Rider 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

When i first read stormbreaker i read it in about half a day, i was addicted, i couldn't stop reading. When i finished i thought to myself that i probably wouldnt be gripped like that by a book in a long time to come. The next day, i bought Point Blanc and i found myself very mistaken. Point Blanc gripped me like a vice and i highly recommend it.
The book starts 2 weeks after Alex's first mission and to his surprise, M16 need him again, this time he is to go under cover to Point Blanc academy, an isolated bording school for rich rebel boys in the french Alps, to investigate two "accidental" deaths of rich men, both of whos son goes to Point Blanc academy. But can Alex figure out what's going on before it's too late?
Point Blanc is an excelent book that leaves you hanging and waiting for Alex's third adventure... it is a wonderful novel of action and suspense. Any reader waiting anxiously for the release of Vin Diesel's new movie, XXX, or the new James Bond film will definitely find a story in this book to meet the driving excitement in those properties.

Editorial Review:

When an investigation into a series of mysterious deaths leads agents to an elite prep school for rebellious kids, MI6 assigns Alex Rider to the case. Before he knows it, Alex is hanging out with the sons of the rich and powerful, and something feels wrong. These former juvenile delinquents have turned well-behaved, studious—and identical—overnight. It’s up to Alex to find out who is masterminding this nefarious plot, before they find him.

Kingdom Keepers, The: Disney After Dark

Ridley Pearson

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 59 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

In this fantastical thriller, five young teens tapped as models for theme park "guides" find themselves pitted against Disney villains and witches that threaten both the future of Walt Disney World and the stability of the world outside its walls. Using a cutting-edge technology called DHI--which stands for both Disney Host Interactive and Daylight Hologram Imaging--Finn Whitman, an Orlando teen, and four other kids are transformed into hologram projections that guide guests through the park. The new technology turns out, however, to have unexpected effects that are both thrilling and scary. Soon Finn finds himself transported in his DHI form into the Magic Kingdom at night. Is it real? Is he dreaming?

The Opal Deception (Artemis Fowl, Book 4)

Eoin Colfer

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 200 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

After his last run-in with the faeries, Artemis Fowl had his mind wiped of his memories of the world belowground. Any goodness he had grudgingly learned is now gone, and the young genius has reverted to his criminal lifestyle.Artemis is in Berlin preparing to steal a famously well-guarded painting from a German bank. Little does he know that his every move is being watched by his cunning old rival, Opal Koboi. The evil pixie has spent the last year in a self-induced coma, plotting her revenge on all those who foiled her attempt to destroy the LEPrecon fairy police. And Artemis is at the top of her list. In a brilliant move, Opal escapes by cloning herself and masquerading as a human in order to carry out her schemes. Her first act is to lure Captain Holly Short and Commander Root into a deadly trap. Her next step is to destroy Artemis by turning his own genius against him.Once again, it’s up to Artemis Fowl to stop the human and fairy worlds from colliding—only this time, Artemis faces an enemy who may have finally outsmarted him….

Ninth Key (The Mediator, Book 2)

Meg Cabot

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 51 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A Good Sequel 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Book #2 in the Mediator series by Meg Cabot opens about a week after the first book ended. Suze, mediator at large, is suddenly visited in the middle of the night by a screaming ghost begging her to tell "Red" that she knows he didn't kill her. With a cryptic message like that, Suze checks around to find out who might be called Red, leading her to a prominent businessman and his hunky son, Tad. Delivering her message is easier said than done, and Suze becomes uneasy when she's rushed out of the strange home of Red Beaumont (even though she's definitely attracted to Tad). Imagine her surprise when the ghost reappears, accusing her of not delivering the message at all, and she runs into a second ghost who tells her Beaumont is responsible for HER death. What's going on? Does Suze have the right person? Is Red Beaumont a cold-blooded murderer? Is he a vampire? What about Jesse, the hot ghost living in her bedroom? Will Tad ask her out?

This is a very good sequel to the first book in this series. Suze is finding an ally in Father Dominic, a fellow mediator, and her circle of friends is growing in her new home. We also meet her father, a ghost who has traveled across the country to give his daughter advice. This story, while of course focusing on the mediator aspect, also brings Suze into a more complex mystery and shows us her survival skills outside of her ghostly talents. There's a pretty good twist towards the end, and the tension between Suze and Jesse is intensifying. This is a fun series, not meant to be taken too seriously, and I look forward to reading more. Surprisingly well done, if you enjoy paranormal romance and suspense, you'll definitely like this one.

Editorial Review:

Everything is going great for Suze. Her new life in California is a whirlwind of parties and excellent hair days. Tad Beaumont, the hottest boy in town, has even asked Suze out on her very first date. Suze is so excited that she's willing to ignore her misgivings about Tad... particularly the fact that he's not Jesse, whose ghostly status—not to mention apparent disinterest in her—make him unattainable.

What Suze can't ignore, however, is the ghost of a murdered woman whose death seems directly connected to dark secrets hidden in none other than Tad Beaumont's past.

A Northern Light

Jennifer Donnelly

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 142 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

It's 1906 and 16-year-old Mattie Gokey is at a crossroads in her life. She's escaped the overwhelming responsibilities of helping to run her father's brokedown farm in exchange for a paid summer job as a serving girl at a fancy hotel in the Adirondacks. She's saving as much of her salary as she can, but she's having trouble deciding how she's going to use the money at the end of the summer. Mattie's gift is for writing and she's been accepted to Barnard College in New York City, but she's held back by her sense of responsibility to her family--and by her budding romance with handsome-but-dull Royal Loomis. Royal awakens feelings in Mattie that she doesn't want to ignore, but she can't deny her passion for words and her desire to write.

At the hotel, Mattie gets caught up in the disappearance of a young couple who had gone out together in a rowboat. Mattie spoke with the young woman, Grace Brown, just before the fateful boating trip, when Grace gave her a packet of love letters and asked her to burn them. When Grace is found drowned, Mattie reads the letters and finds that she holds the key to unraveling the girl's death and her beau's mysterious disappearance. Grace Brown's story is a true one (it's the same story told in Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy and in the film adaptation, A Place in the Sun), and author Jennifer Donnelly masterfully interweaves the real-life story with Mattie's, making her seem even more real.

Mattie's frank voice reveals much about poverty, racism, and feminism at the turn of the twentieth century. She witnesses illness and death at a range far closer than most teens do today, and she's there when her best friend Minnie gives birth to twins. Mattie describes Minnie's harrowing labor with gut-wrenching clarity, and a visit with Minnie and the twins a few weeks later dispels any romance from the reality of young motherhood (and marriage). Overall, readers will get a taste of how bitter--and how sweet--ordinary life in the early 1900s could be. Despite the wide variety of troubles Mattie describes, the book never feels melodramatic, just heartbreakingly real. (14 and older) --Jennifer Lindsay

The Ruby in the Smoke (Sally Lockhart Trilogy, Book 1)

Philip Pullman

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 157 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

"Her name was Sally Lockhart; and within fifteen minutes, she was going to kill a man." Philip Pullman begins his Sally Lockhart trilogy with a bang in The Ruby in the Smoke--a fast-paced, finely crafted thriller set in a rogue- and scalawag-ridden Victorian London. His 16-year-old heroine has no time for the usual trials of adolescence: her father has been murdered, and she needs to find out how and why. But everywhere she turns, she encounters new scoundrels and secrets. Why do the mere words "seven blessings" cause one man to keel over and die at their utterance? Who has possession of the rare, stolen ruby? And what does the opium trade have to do with it?

As our determined and intelligent sleuth sets her mind to unraveling these dark mysteries, she learns how embroiled she is in the whole affair. As riveting and witty as the sensational "penny dreadfuls" of Victorian England (but thousands of times better written), Pullman's trilogy (including The Shadow in the North and The Tiger in the Well) will have readers on the edges of their seats. Ruby is an ALA Best Book for Young Adults. (Ages 12 and older) --Karin Snelson

Deathwatch

Robb White

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 125 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Deathwatch, another must read! 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Ben, is a student who needs money to go to collage. He is hired by Madec, to guide him to the wild Big Horn. Ben does not like Madec but needs the money for school. After a few days of hunting they finally find a Big Horn. Madec aims, but before he can shoot Ben asks him if he has seen any horns. Madec says yes. He aims again and this time shoots. Something behind a cactus falls dead to the ground. Something that should never have been killed. Now Madec decides to play the game of death with Ben, only Ben is the only one who can die. Ben must find a way to escape being killed by Madec, starvation,dehydration, and the intense heat of the Arizona desert. This is one of the best books I have ever read! A cliffhanger until the last page!

Editorial Review:

"An exciting novel of suspense, based on a fight to the finish between an honest and courageous young man and a cynical business tycoon who believes that anything can be had for a price."--Horn Book. An ALA Best of the Best Books for Young Adults, Edgar Allan Poe Mystery Writers Award, A New York Times Outstanding Book of the Year, New York Public Library--Books for the Teen Age.

What Janie Found

Caroline B. Cooney

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Total reviews: 81 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

The story began when teenage Janie Johnson recognized her younger self as The Face on the Milk Carton. It continued when she tried to fit in with her birth family, leaving her "real" parents grieving about Whatever Happened to Janie. The complicated saga took a vicious turn when Janie's boyfriend Reeve betrayed her, broadcasting her troubles as The Voice on the Radio. Finally, we are provided with a suspenseful, satisfying conclusion as Caroline B. Cooney reveals What Janie Found.

The discovery that her adoptive father has been secretly supporting Janie's kidnapper, Hannah, fills Janie with anger and loathing. True, Hannah is his daughter, but long ago she abandoned her parents for a cult, coming back only for a few hours to leave a 3-year-old child with them she claimed was their granddaughter. Janie grew up thinking they were her parents--until that day when her own face looked back at her from the milk carton. Now her father lies unconscious in the hospital, and Janie has found an address in his files that will lead her to the woman who decimated two families. With the reluctant help of Reeve and her brother Brian, Janie sets out to find the enigmatic Hannah and face her down with questions, even though she knows the answers may destroy them all.

Caroline Cooney is a master of the psychological page-turner, and here she pulls together all the threads of this emotionally complex story for a rousing finale to her most popular series. (Ages 10 to 14) --Patty Campbell

What Happened to Cass McBride?

Gail Giles

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 15 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Another suspenseful HIT for Gail Gillies 4 out of 5 stars.
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What Happened to Cassie McBride is a suspenseful, page-turner which will not disappoint Young Adult readers. Gail Gillies has a intriguing way of making her characters come alive as well as encouraging teenagers to keep reading. Her creative characterization and foreshadowing motivate the reader.
I have read four of Gail Gillies's novels for reluctant readers, and everyone of her books is powerful, suspenseful and thought-provoking. I encourage all teenagers, even those who would rather be on the internet, to read one of her novels; you won't be disappointed!

Editorial Review:

"The setting is claustrophobic, the characters are complex and the story will keep readers on the edge of their seats," KLIATT raved of this vivid, fast-paced psychological thriller in a starred review. Kyle Kirby has planned a cruel and unusual revenge on Cass McBride, the most popular girl in school, for the death of his brother David. He digs a hole. Kidnaps Cass. Puts her in a box--underground. He buries her alive. But lying in the deepest dark, Cass finds a weapon: she uses the power of words to keep her nemesis talking--and herself breathing--during the most harrowing 48 hours of her life.