Daughter of Sparta by Claire M. Andrews

I don’t read nearly as much YA as I used to, but this book – a reimagining of the myth of Daphne and Apollo – is right up my alley, and would have been a big hit with teenage me too. In Andrews’ story, Daphne is a warrior of Sparta, trapped by Artemis into retrieving certain items that have been stolen from Olympus and need to be returned, otherwise the gods’ powers will fade and disappear entirely. Apollo accompanies Daphne on her quest, of course, and I’m curious to see what parts of the original myth (where Daphne is turned into a tree in order to escape the amorous advances of Apollo) Andrews keeps and how she manipulates them. I’m only a few chapters in and I’m finding the writing a bit clunky so far, but it’s plenty exciting and has a great hook.

 

Nefertiti by Nick Drake

The premise of this historical mystery for adults is that the great queen of ancient Egypt, Nefertiti, has disappeared, and her husband, the pharaoh Akhenaten, has commanded a detective named Rahotep to find out what has happened to her. It’s based on what was once thought to be a real event: Nefertiti, queen of the pharaoh Akhenaten – credited as the first known monotheist in history – died or disappeared during the 12th year of her husband’s reign. Prior to 2012, Egyptologists were unable to find any reference to her after this time, leading them to conclude that something had happened to her. In 2012, however, after the publication of Drake’s book, an inscription referring to Nefertiti as present alongside her husband was found from the 16th year of Akhenaten’s reign, ruling out this idea. Still, it’s a good jumping-off point for a story, and I’m enjoying Drake’s historical details. This is a much more immersive ancient Egyptian historical fiction than Agatha Christie’s take, though the characters come across as a bit stiff, and so far I’m not fully invested in them as a result.

 

Girl, 11 by Amy Suiter Clarke

I read a ton of mysteries and thrillers, which can include some pretty gruesome plot points, but I’ve never gotten behind the true crime trend. I like my murders fictional, preferably with justice visited upon the perpetrator at the end. When the crimes are real, they stop being entertainment. So this novel is an interesting pick for me: a true crime podcaster who specializes in cold cases gets wrapped up in an active case, one where it seems like the current subject of her podcast – a serial killer whom most believe is dead, but was never caught – is the culprit. The mystery is compelling, though hard to read: the serial killer abducted young women and girls, poisoned them over days, physically abused them, then murdered them and left them to be found by the public.

Despite the well-written story and audio production (there are excerpts of the podcast, which include ringing phones, background noise during public meetings in restaurants, and so on), my main feeling as I read this book is of annoyance: I’m annoyed by the main character’s insistence that she be taken seriously as an investigator because of her podcast. Furthermore, I’m annoyed by her insistence that her podcast is a way to close cold cases instead of just stoke the lurid imaginations of thousands of internet strangers, particularly when it concerns a serial killer who murders children. If you like true crime, to each their own, but let’s be honest about why you’re creating or listening to this podcast: it’s entertainment, not a public service. The current fascination with real-life murders and serial killers is really distasteful to me, and the idea of a podcaster as an amateur sleuth rubs me the wrong way. I recognize this is a bias of mine and at least partially undeserved, but there it is.