STACKED

books

Silent in the Sanctuary & Silent on the Moor by Deanna Raybourn

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I enjoyed Silent in the Grave so much, I promptly picked up its sequel, Silent in the Sanctuary, and devoured it within a couple of days. Lady Julia has taken a holiday with some of her family in Italy to recover from her husband’s murder, but she is called back to England early by her father. With her comes a young Italian man who seems to be quite taken with her. To Julia’s surprise, her father has invited Brisbane to stay at the family estate, and he has brought a fiancee.
The gathering at the estate is actually quite large, including several of Julia’s siblings, a couple cousins, a few friends, and a frightful aunt (of course). Several of the guests dislike one another (hilarious conversations are had due to this) and soon, a murder occurs. To everyone’s surprise, Julia’s cousin confesses, but Julia and Brisbane are unconvinced she is guilty. Naturally, they team up to uncover the truth.
I really enjoyed getting to know more of Julia’s immediate family. Their personalities are as colorful as their names (examples: Eglamore and Lysander), and they provide subplots that are nearly as interesting as the main mystery. Speaking of subplots, the best one here is Brisbane’s fiancee. Does he really love her? What about Julia? The explanation is interesting and surprising.
In Silent on the Moor, Brisbane has bought a property on the moor in Yorkshire and invited Julia’s sister, Portia, to stay to help him settle in. Despite the fact that he has explicitly told Julia not to come, she does, and there she finds that Brisbane is sharing the house with a strange family. The family has secrets to rival Brisbane’s, and Julia becomes caught up in both.
Silent on the Moor was a bit of a disappointment. In this third installment, Raybourn makes a pretty big shift in tone as well as plot. While the first two books had juicy, interesting mysteries as their centerpieces, Silent on the Moor forgoes a strong mystery entirely. In its place is a spooky tone and a few strange happenings that never add up to a true whodunnit. I read page after page, waiting for the mystery to present itself, and it never did.
Instead, Raybourn focuses on Brisbane’s tortured past and Lady Julia’s attempts to figure out if he wants her or not (and if she wants him or not), all set on the moody moor that Brisbane calls home. Those parts are interesting, but they’re not enough to sustain an entire novel. The style is very reminiscent of Wuthering Heights, a classic novel I don’t particularly care for. The main reason I dislike it is because the characters are so unlikeable, and Raybourn comes dangerously close to doing the same thing with Brisbane here. Raybourn’s trademark humor is also almost entirely missing, including the witty repartee between the two leads. Instead, they mope.
Will this less than stellar installment prevent me from reading the rest of the series? Probably not. I fell in love with the characters in the first two novels, and the end of the third seems to indicate a shift back to what I loved there. I can’t really fault an author for trying something a little different, maybe a little ambitious. It certainly worked for other readers. As for me, I’ll be glad to get back to Lady Julia and Brisbane exchanging barbs while getting into far too much trouble solving crimes.

I Am Half Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley

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In order to save Buckshaw, the de Luce family home, Flavia de Luce’s father, the perennially broke Haviland de Luce, has agreed to host a movie filming. The production company was looking for a grand but somewhat gloomy home, and Buckshaw fit the bill. The film crew arrives for the holidays, and with it comes Phyllis Wyvern, the beautiful star of stage and screen. Flavia is at once enchanted, but it quickly becomes clear that the other members of the crew may not be so taken with the famous diva. Naturally, Phyllis winds up dead, and Flavia takes it upon herself to determine the culprit.
I’m a big fan of the Flavia de Luce novels. She’s got one of the best voices I’ve read in a protagonist lately, and the ancillary characters are well drawn. Flavia’s relationships with her family members (both immediate and extended) are written particularly well, and they’re expanded upon with each novel, which gives the series a cohesive feel. While each mystery can stand alone, the relationships build upon each other.
The mysteries themselves are generally good, but I was a bit let down by this most recent one. Firstly, it seems pretty similar in concept to one of its predecessors, The Weed that Strings the Hangman’s Bag. In both, a famous entertainer comes to stay at Bishop’s Lacey and ends up murdered. But while the mystery in Hangman’s Bag is multi-layered with interesting subplots and red herrings, the mystery in Flavia’s most recent adventure is pretty simplistic with almost no subplots and a solution that’s puzzling due to the lack of clues.
This is not to say the book is bad. I certainly enjoyed it quite a lot, but it seemed a bit like Bradley chopped out about 75 pages somewhere 2/3 of the way through. In that missing section, he would have included more clues that eventually led the reader to the culprit as well as explanations of the red herrings he introduced and then dropped.
I get so frustrated when an author seems to just drop a storyline, however small, with no explanation. There’s nothing wrong with a continuing arc for series books, but when the mystery is supposed to be wrapped up in a single installment, I expect all clues to be explained. I also expect to be able to re-read the book and pick up on clues I may have missed before. That’s almost impossible here – I’m still a bit befuddled at how Flavia figured it all out.
Flavia’s voice is as good as ever, of course, and the family drama aspect continues to shine. I still motored through the book in under 24 hours and I’ll be eagerly awaiting the next. Part of the problem is I have rather high expectations, so when they aren’t met, it’s more disappointing.
Book borrowed from my local library. I Am Half Sick of Shadows is available now.

The Girl is Murder by Kathryn Miller Haines

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The Girl is Murder is being marketed as a book for people who enjoyed Veronica Mars. It does have a lot of similarities with the quirky tv series: a plucky teenage girl assists her private investigator father with cases and ends up in scrapes of her own. It does have one marked difference, of course – The Girl is Murder is set in 1942.

Fifteen year old Iris Anderson has had it rough. Her father returned from World War II missing a leg and her mother recently committed suicide. Her father’s injury, which requires him to use a prosthetic, makes it difficult for him to work as a private investigator, but he continues to try. Money is tight, so they’ve moved from the Upper East Side to the Lower East Side, a decided social step down.

Iris used to attend a fancy all-girls private school, but now that her father can’t afford it, she attends the local public school. Right away, she has trouble fitting in, although she does become friendly with a few students, including a girl named Pearl.

Iris would love to help her father with his cases, but he’s firmly against it. In true Veronica Mars style, that doesn’t stop Iris, particularly when she discovers that one of his cases involves a boy who goes to school with her – a boy who is now missing.

In order to determine what happened to the boy, Iris begins cozying up to his friends, a group of kids who go to Harlem on the weekends to dance. These kids are the ones who gave Iris’ new friend Pearl her nickname – Pearl Harbor – so there’s some serious conflict there. What’s more, Iris’ father does not approve of her venturing into Harlem, which puts further strain on their relationship.

I know I’m buying into the marketing machine a little by comparing the book to Veronica Mars, as the book’s blurb does, but it’s an apt comparison. It’s not as witty or entertaining as the tv series, Iris isn’t as clever as Veronica, and the relationship between Iris and her father isn’t as endearing, but it is a solid read with good atmosphere. Readers who enjoy historical fiction will be pleased by the details – pop culture references, a subplot involving zoot suits, information about the war being fought overseas, a fair amount of slang (although Iris’ overuse of the phrase “boy howdy” was grating).

Unfortunately, the mystery was a bit of a letdown. Iris uncovers plenty of secrets in her sleuthing – and makes enemies of friends and vice-versa while doing it – but ultimately, it is her father who hands her the solution to the case of the missing boy. And the solution is underwhelming. This is not to say that I didn’t enjoy Iris’ journey, but it would have made a stronger impact if Iris had discovered the solution herself and if the solution hadn’t been, for lack of a better word, boring. 

 
I feel like comparisons to What I Saw and How I Lied are inevitable here, particularly since the covers do resemble each other. Obviously, I think Blundell’s book is far stronger, but Haines has written a fun debut novel that should satisfy readers looking for a light mystery with some period detail.

Shelter by Harlan Coben

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There are so many adult authors who have decided the YA market is where they should apply their less than considerable talents these days, most notably __________ (fill in the blank with the author of your choice). It’s gotten a little tiresome. We know that writing for children and teens is not the same as writing for adults, and it’s frustrating when adult authors don’t know this and then fail miserably (or even fail in just a mediocre way).

Harlan Coben is not one of these authors. In Shelter, he’s created the sort of YA mystery I love: a fast-paced story with plenty of twists and turns and lots to think about. It’s a thrilling story, but it’s not a straight-up thriller. Too often I find that books described as thrillers don’t have much of a mystery to them – they’re all action – but that’s not the case with Shelter.

Mickey Bolitar’s dad has just died and his mom is in rehab for drug addiction, so he’s come to live with his uncle Myron, whom he’s not particularly fond of. (Myron Bolitar stars in his own series of books for adults.) The move necessitates a switch in high schools, something Mickey dreads, but he’s able to quickly carve out his own group of people: best friend Ema, quirky to the point of embarrassment Spoon, and pretty girlfriend Ashley.

Then Ashley goes missing. Of course, he sets out to find her, and it takes him places he never would have expected (including a strip club). The plot is twisty and surprising, but Coben doesn’t throw in anything that is completely out of left field. I wasn’t able to guess what was coming, but when it did, I believed it. That’s the hallmark of a good mystery.

Giving away any more of the plot would ruin the story a bit, so I won’t say any more, but what I can say is that Coben is clearly a pro at what he does. He is able to juggle so many different elements without dropping a single one, and it’s impressive.

Along with the complex mystery, he gives us a little insight into the relationship between Mickey and Myron, develops some intriguing characters in Ema and Spoon, and tackles the heartbreaking effects of drug addiction in Mickey’s mother. In other words, it’s a fully developed story that doesn’t write down to its audience or attempt to make its youthful characters into something other than youths. __________ (The author you used to fill in the blank above) should take a page from Coben’s book.

Of course, Shelter isn’t perfect. Some of the aspects of “teen culture” that Coben created seemed a bit too cliche. Ema and Spoon are fun to read about, but sometimes Spoon’s quirks strain credulity. It also strains credulity that Mickey, who is a self-deprecating but obviously pretty outgoing and good-looking guy, would choose Ema and Spoon – two of the school’s biggest outcasts – for his companions.

Those minor reservations aside, Shelter is a terrifically fun, edge-of-your-seat read. I read it in a single day and hardly even noticed the time pass. I hope Coben writes more about Mickey. The YA field could use more well-written mysteries that provide more than just thrills. I can’t really think of another author who currently provides this level of quality in their mysteries for teens. (I was a Joan Lowery Nixon addict as a teenager and those were some awesome mysteries, but seriously dated now.) Coben knows how to do it right.

Review copy provided by the publisher. Shelter is available now.

Wrapped by Jennifer Bradbury

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The year is 1815, and Agnes Wilkins, a young woman about to make her debut in high-class London society, is attending an unwrapping party. She’s not there to unwrap presents. Rather, she and the other attendees are there to witness – and participate in – the unwrapping of an Egyptian mummy, purchased by a moneyed aristocrat in Egypt and brought back to England to entertain guests.

Agnes is more than a little horrified at the prospect of viewing this, but her mother insists that she attend, since it’s hosted by the season’s most eligible bachelor, Lord Showalter, and she hopes Agnes will catch his eye. She assures her daughter that she need not actually participate in the unwrapping itself, but of course Agnes is forced to when Lord Showalter asks her to be among the first to do so.

Agnes complies, and she discovers an Egyptian artifact hidden within the wrappings. While no one is looking, she secrets the artifact in her dress – Lord Showalter had told her the artifacts found within the mummy could be kept, after all. But when Showalter tells everyone that they got the wrong mummy by mistake, that this one was actually supposed to go to the British Museum and therefore all artifacts needed to be returned, Agnes keeps the trinket.

This sets in a motion a dangerous adventure, since the artifact is not truly an artifact – it’s a false modern-day item made to look as if it were ancient Egyptian. It’s inscribed with French words that indicate it’s a message for a spy – a spy working for Napoleon. Agnes, working with a young employee of the British Museum named Caedmon (whom she quickly falls for, despite being courted by Showalter), deciphers the message and attempts to thwart the spy’s actions – actions that, if successful, could enable Napoleon to conquer all of Europe.

Wrapped is best likened to an adult historical romance/mystery, of which there are legions. In fact, it’s a great teen readalike for the Lady Julia Grey mystery series, which I’m working my way through right now. I had just finished Silent on the Moor before picking up Wrapped, and both coincidentally involve mummies and references to unwrappings as major plot points. I believe Lady Julia would have approved wholeheartedly of Agnes’ adventures.

Wrapped is also a good readalike for Y. S. Lee’s The Agency series (which I love and hope the next volume will be out soon). They’ve both got an intelligent teenage heroine, a well-realized historical setting (although Wrapped takes place mostly in rich London while The Agency delves into the seedier side), a fair amount of danger, and some exciting espionage. They also both require a similar level of suspension of disbelief.

The end of Wrapped indicates that there may be sequels forthcoming, which I would welcome. Agnes is a great character (she taught herself how to speak ten languages), with real faults that complement her almost unbelievable talents (she’s more than a little naïve, which gets her into trouble).

Unfortunately, Wrapped succumbs to the failing of many adult historical mystery/romances: the culprit is a foregone conclusion. It’s such a foregone conclusion that Bradbury doesn’t really bother presenting the reader with more than one possibility in the first place. While detrimental, this doesn’t kill the book. The focus is much more on adventure and the budding romance between Agnes and Caedmon, as well as some fascinating history. Because of this, it’s weaker as a mystery than I would have liked, but enjoyable nonetheless.