A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

Summary from Goodreads:

The case is closed. Five years ago, schoolgirl Andie Bell was murdered by Sal Singh. The police know he did it. Everyone in town knows he did it.

But having grown up in the same small town that was consumed by the murder, Pippa Fitz-Amobi isn't so sure. When she chooses the case as the topic for her final year project, she starts to uncover secrets that someone in town desperately wants to stay hidden. And if the real killer is still out there, how far will they go to keep Pip from the truth?

Review:

This is one of the books I purchased in Paris (on my honeymoon in 2019), and it took me way too long to get to it! I’m kind of glad I read it now though because if I read it then, I would have had to wait forever for book 2. And now, it’s already out! Any way, I had a feeling I’d really like this one. I had no idea I’d become obsessed with it. I was up to 2am one night reading it….I haven’t done that in a while.

If you’re a fan of the series, Truly Devious or the murder mystery show, Broadchurch, this is the book for you. I could not put it down. I loved the main character. She’s a true detective in the making, though it doesn’t actually seem like that’s the career she’s leaning towards…It’s a YA murder mystery that will have you up late at night needing answers.

90% of the time in books, movies, and tv shows I will correctly guess who the murderer is. This is not because I’m a good detective. It’s because I’ve read so many books and watched so many TV shows. I only had part of it right in this book. This book’s mystery is layered, complex, and dark. Topics of rape, racism, drugs, murder (obviously), kidnapping, blackmail, and pornography come up.

In between solving this 5-year-old case, Pippa is also going to school and being a normal teenager. There’s humor, friendship stories, family noise, and a little bit of romance too to lighten it up a bit. I guess the romance was the one thing I wasn’t really feeling. It felt a little forced. I did like Pippa’s friend circle. It’s nice seeing a young detective not be a total loner. She has a core group of friends, and a supporting family. She goes on camping trips, binges movies with her friends, and studies for exams.

I was reading a British copy of the book, so it was also possibly a little different from the American version. But, it was interesting seeing how different the British school system works from the American one. Also, a little different was the formatting. Some of the book is made up of production logs, transcripts of interviews, and text conversations because Pippa is putting it all together for a report. This definitely speeds along the reading of it.

All in all, I could not stop reading this. I was up way too late with too many questions –the best kind of mystery. Pippa is a wonderful main character. I didn’t love the romance, but I loved the other side characters and elements to the story. The mystery is solved at the end. So, I’m curious as to what will happen in book 2, which I’ve of course already ordered….I give this a 9/10.

City of Secrets by Victoria Ying

Summary from Goodreads:

Ever Barnes is a shy orphan guarding a secret in an amazing puzzle box of a building.

Most of the young women who work at the building’s Switchboard Operating Facility, which connects the whole city of Oskar, look the other way as Ever roams around in the shadows. But one of them, Lisa, keeps an eye on the boy. So does the head of the Switchboard, Madame Alexander . . . a rather sharp eye.

Enter Hannah, the spunky daughter of the building’s owner. She thinks Ever needs a friend, even if he doesn’t know it yet.

Good thing she does!

Lisa and Madame Alexander are each clearly up to something.

Ever is beset by a menacing band of rogues looking to unlock the secret he holds–at any cost.

And whatever is hidden deep in the Switchboard building will determine all of their futures.

On a journey that twists and turns as much as the mechanical building Ever Barnes calls home, he and his new friend Hannah have to ­find out what’s really going on in this mysterious city of secrets . . . or else!

Review:

This was a treat. It’s one of those adventure graphic novels you sit down with for a few minutes, thinking you’re just going to get a taste for it before you go do some chores or other things you have to do, but you actually end up reading the whole thing in one sitting. The story is super fast paced, and full of adventure. There’s never really a good moment to put it down…

Also the artwork is beautiful! There’s not a lot of Steampunk out there any more, so it was fun to read about an orphan boy and his friend saving the city from within a clockwork building. The characters and setting were drawn very much like the people and background of a Studio Ghibli film. I literally couldn’t take my eyes away. I would watch this movie.

There were a few points where I don’t think the art adequately explained what the  author/artist wanted. I’m not sure I fully saw what I was meant to in the building mechanisms or some of the action shots. I know with graphic novels you have to let your mind fill in some of the gaps, and the panels can’t capture it all. But, the panels aren’t supposed to make you step back and scratch your head, wondering what you’re looking at either. This did that a few times. Where the artist excelled though was in the characters and the backgrounds/backdrops. Again, they looked like they belonged in motion pictures; they were just stunning.

I loved all the bits of the story that dealt with spies, secret societies, and secret codes. I can see kids eating this book up! The book does have a lot of violence in it, for such a short, otherwise cute graphic novel. But, I guess a lot of the fantasy/adventure ones do now. I was intrigued by the world, the politics, and the characters. I loved following along for the mystery and secrets. And the art was gorgeous. All in all, I give this one an 8/10.

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

Summary from Goodreads:

They say that the Thorn of Camorr can beat anyone in a fight. They say he steals from the rich and gives to the poor. They say he's part man, part myth, and mostly street-corner rumor. And they are wrong on every count.

Only averagely tall, slender, and god-awful with a sword, Locke Lamora is the fabled Thorn, and the greatest weapons at his disposal are his wit and cunning. He steals from the rich - they're the only ones worth stealing from - but the poor can go steal for themselves. What Locke cons, wheedles and tricks into his possession is strictly for him and his band of fellow con-artists and thieves: the Gentleman Bastards.

Together their domain is the city of Camorr. Built of Elderglass by a race no-one remembers, it's a city of shifting revels, filthy canals, baroque palaces and crowded cemeteries. Home to Dons, merchants, soldiers, beggars, cripples, and feral children. And to Capa Barsavi, the criminal mastermind who runs the city.

But there are whispers of a challenge to the Capa's power. A challenge from a man no one has ever seen, a man no blade can touch. The Grey King is coming.

A man would be well advised not to be caught between Capa Barsavi and The Grey King. Even such a master of the sword as the Thorn of Camorr. As for Locke Lamora ...

Review:

As I mentioned on Goodreads, it's not often my husband recommends a book that I 100% love, but this qualifies. Excellent characters, laugh out loud humor, well-developed world building in fantasy version of Venice Italy, and I was hooked from the beginning. Then add high stakes heists, gang rivalries, multi-layered disguises, robbing the wealthy, the best of friendships, ultimate revenge stories, battles, sword fights, escapes, explosions, and even a little bit of magic. This was a fun book that surprised me.

Technically, it’s an adult fantasy book. There is certainly a plethora of adult language. The gentleman bastards do not hold back on swearing. However, The timelines go back and forth a lot between when Locke is a child and when he an adult. Speaking as an avid YA/Kids book reader, I definitely enjoyed the childhood timeline more (at least at first). Locke is an orphan that outsmarts the worst adults. He also gets into one hilarious problem after another. He’s like Matilda, mixed with America’s Funniest Home Videos. Eventually, he’s sent to the “right” place, aka: his home for life, and his remarkable brain is put to use. Then, there’s almost this Hogwarts kind of story for master thieves. What about any of this sounds bad?

However, I got sucked into the adult timeline eventually too. It’s pretty much Ocean’s 11, mixed with Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows, mixed with Robinhood: Men in Tights, and I mean all these things in the highest of respect. It’s basically one insane heist, filled with disguises, sub-plots, back tracking twists, and tons of action, after another. To add to this, the author isn’t afraid to kill off beloved characters and shock you at a moment’s notice, so readers truly never know what to expect. By the midway point, it didn’t matter which timeline I was in; they were all good. I loved the mischievous young Locke, and I loved the revenge-driven adult one too. And I would hand this book to the right young person too; just know there’s a lot of swearing.

I guess the one thing I can say against this book is there are a lot of holes in the story. There are characters that are alluded to, but not really talked about, and stories briefly mentioned, but then never exaggerated on. I have a feeling they will come up later in the sequels, which I now definitely want to read. This is a massive book (530 tiny pages/tiny font), so I get not being to include it all in book 1, but I wanted it all!

I do have to say the other thing this author excelled at beyond belief was world building. The setting for this book was crazy. The city divided by gangs was so real. I definitely think it was loosely based off of Venice, but it wasn’t just an afterthought. The world leaked off the pages. Lynch even creates his own slang, his own calendar for the year, and his own religions. This is a well developed world.

The story was fast-paced, action packed, and filled with suspense and surprises. I loved the characters. The world building was unbelievable. I’m excited to read book 2. I give this a 10/10.

Skyhunter by Marie Lu

Summary from Goodreads:

In a world broken by war, a team of young warriors is willing to sacrifice everything to save what they love.

The Karensa Federation has conquered a dozen countries, leaving Mara as one of the last free nations in the world. Refugees flee to its borders to escape a fate worse than death—transformation into mutant war beasts known as Ghosts, creatures the Federation then sends to attack Mara.

The legendary Strikers, Mara's elite fighting force, are trained to stop them. But as the number of Ghosts grows and Karensa closes in, defeat seems inevitable.

Still, one Striker refuses to give up hope.

Robbed of her voice and home, Talin Kanami knows firsthand the brutality of the Federation. Their cruelty forced her and her mother to seek asylum in a country that considers their people repugnant. She finds comfort only with a handful of fellow Strikers who have pledged their lives to one another and who are determined to push Karensa back at all costs.

When a mysterious prisoner is brought from the front, Talin senses there’s more to him than meets the eye. Is he a spy from the Federation? Or could he be the weapon that will save them all?

Review:

As I mentioned on Goodreads, this is my favorite Marie Lu book cover, but my least favorite Marie Lu book....It wasn't bad. The story just wasn't as suspenseful as her others. It had a rather typical YA plot with not a lot of new ideas....I loved the characters and the concept. It was just missing the fast-paced, on the edge of your seat story-line I come to expect from this author, and was a little too easy to put down.

The war-torn world was a world I’ve read about many times before. And I guess with such a cool looking cover and such a past of writing unique worlds, I was expecting more from this author. That being said, Marie Lu writes the story really well. She develops this war-driven world well. And I definitely connected with the characters. You can certainly connect the refugee experience of our own current society with that of this fantasy one.

I also kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. Like I almost didn’t think this could be the whole story. What was the twist? Maybe I’ve just been reading a ton of other suspense books lately. I don’t know…I didn’t hate this book. I enjoyed it enough to finish the whole thing. I wanted to see if the character would succeed. I enjoyed the side characters too. It just didn’t live up to my high expectations. If it was my first Marie Lu book I’d probably enjoy it more.

All in all, the world building is great, the characters are good, and the refugee story rings true. There’s just nothing super new about the story that makes it stand out against other YA books. And it doesn’t live up to the author’s other books. I give it a 7/10.