Review: The Black Book of Buried Secrets

The Black Book of Buried Secrets by Mallory Kass

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



When I finished this book, all I could think was, "This is The 39 Clues version of The Demigod Files." And I say that as a good thing. It was a great way to reacquaint oneself with the major players before the Cahills vs Vespers series starts, plus is a great jumping off point for learning more about certain figures in history. Now, as far as I know, there is no great family of Cahills that have been maneuvering the world for 500 years (and if there was, since I'm not a Cahill, I wouldn't know, would I?). But it is interesting to think what various historical figures would have done in their search for the clues. (I don't think it's been addressed, but I could imagine Agatha Christie's disappearance would have been because of a clue hunt.)

It's a good book for when you have short bursts of time in which to read. Each part is only a few pages long, yet it still packs a ton of information into each bit without it feeling overwhelming. Like I've said in the past, I think the 39 Clues series is a great one for getting kids interested in history and historical figures. It tells just enough about them to whet the appetite and leave kids (and adults) anxious for more. I've got several people that I don't remember hearing about that I'm going to be reading up on thanks to this book.

There were two parts of this book that I enjoyed above all others - the introduction, written by Rick Riordan and telling the story of the first face to face meeting of the Cahills responsible for putting the story of the 39 Clues out there in the hopes of protecting Amy and Dan. It was a fun read and I loved having a different look at the authors.

The other were the agent reports. Written as short vignettes rather than factual information blurbs, it helped bring the reader back into the world of the 39 Clues very easily. But then again, I really like good fiction.

I would definitely suggest waiting until after you've read the first ten books before picking up The Black Book of Buried Secrets, unless you don't mind being spoiled. It doesn't give away every little bit but it does have some pretty major spoilers throughout. It's not a necessity to read before you start the Cahills vs Vespers series, but I do think you would thank yourself for reading it.



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Review: Poirot Investigates

Poirot Investigates by Agatha Christie

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I like to have something playing when I sleep. Whether it be a television show, a movie or an audio book, having something that can lull me into dreamland is a necessity for me to fall asleep. This week, I've put on the audio book version of this book. David Suchet is one of my favorite readers of Poirot stories, so that was a huge draw for me to have it for my bedtime listening.

Part of why I enjoyed this was because I was pretty familiar with all the stories. I'd watched several of them through the BBC version of Poirot. So it was a combination of new (since the TV version is rarely the same as the story itself) and old (since the basis is still the same). Between waking several times through the night and starting it at different points on different nights, I've been able to listen to them all and I don't think there's one that I haven't enjoyed.

This is a perfect book for quick moments. Times when you want a little mystery, a little Poirot, but don't have a lot of time. While still not my favorite (that still goes to Curtain), it is far and away one of the better ones.



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Review: The Brownie Scouts in the Cherry Festival

The Brownie Scouts in the Cherry Festival by Mildred A. Wirt

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I still remember finding these books on the bookshelf of my town library. I was a Brownie at the time and finding fiction about Brownies just excited me beyond belief. I took the entire series several times to read and reread. I've thought about the books many times over the years but couldn't remember the name of the author, nor find anything like them in the libraries I visited.

I decided to check my library's Interlibrary Loan to see if I could find them in the wider world. I was in luck! Two of the books were able to be found and sent from a library in Illinois here to mine in Tennessee. I started, last night, with this one and finished it up this morning.

The Brownie Scouts in Rosedale are trying to make money for their troop, starting with sewing a quilt to be auctioned off. One of the girls, Veve, doesn't care much for sewing and instead tries to find another way for their troop to earn money. She finds an ad wanting cherry pickers at the local orchard, so she and her friend Connie travel out to the orchard to see if their troop will be hired. While the man they traveled to speak to was a horrid man and refused to hire them, they were able to be hired at the orchard across the street. The gentleman there was in dire straights since he didn't have enough pickers to get his cherries in in time. The Brownie Scouts come to the rescue! And while they're there, they help to solve a little mystery as well.

Rereading this brought me back to my youth. While many things are dated (it was written in 1950), a lot more of it fits with any age. Only a few of the girls really have fleshed out characters - primarily Veve and Connie - but the small group is a lot of fun to read about regardless. Especially with all the trouble the Veve manages to get herself into!



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Review: Sleeping Murder

Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



This is a re-read for me. I wanted something familiar while I was sick. Sleeping Murder was Agatha Christie's last book and it's one of her best. The story itself is chilling in a way that Agatha Christie excels at. Since it was a re-read, I already knew who dun it, but following the path to the answer was once again thrilling. The truth unfolded perfectly and the characters were engaging. While I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as I had Curtain (Poirot's final foray), it was still a wonderfully told story with Miss Marple fleshing out the clues as only a nosy little old lady can.



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Review: Fallen

Fallen by Karin Slaughter

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I love Karin Slaughter's Georgia series of books. I never expected her to pull her Will Trent and Grant County series together, but her doing so works incredibly well. (This is the second such book that pulls the two series together, and I suspect they'll be staying here.)

Faith Mitchell, an agent for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, arrives at her mother's to pick up her baby daughter, only to find her mother missing and blood on the door. In the course of going through the house, she finds one dead body and a hostage situation. Within the next 5 minutes, both the hostage and the hostage taker are dead at Faith's hands. And the nightmare is just beginning. Faith, and her partner Will Trent, need to find out - unofficially, since the GBI isn't being allowed near the case - what from Faith's mother's past has come back to haunt them all.

I'd been anxiously awaiting this book because I wanted to see more of Will, Faith and Sarah (one of the main characters from the Grant County series). The mystery was very well written, going in places I hadn't been expecting yet, when I looked back, I knew I should have realized. Watching the exploration of Will and Sarah's relationship was a real heart-warmer for me. (For all that I loved her husband, Jeffery, it had been over 4 years since Jeffrey's death and both Will and Sarah deserved happiness.) I was glad to be able to settle in and read through this one. Unfortunately, I had to return it to the library, but I suspect that I'm going to be picking it up again soon for a re-read.



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