Devi Nair
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Karrine is a 12 year old, very inquisitive girl, who has a knack of solving puzzles, and therefore, local mysteries. Teamed with her 8 year old cousin Jayden, Karrine goes around her neighbourhood solving all kinds of mysteries, whether she is hired to do it or not. The book is a compilation of number of stories. All the stories are light hearted and fun. However, the helpful mind of Karrine is something to be appreciated. Irrespective of whether someone asks her help or not, she is always ready to help and also to complete the task taken irrespective of the difficulty involved.
The book is for Young Adults. It is on the similar lines of Famous Five or Secret Seven by Enid Blyton, except those stories were a little bit more intense than this one. Crime Solver's Detective Agency is a light hearted novel with ample humour to keep the audience entertained. It should be read by all.
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The Case is legal detective story of a Divorced Legal Assistant who is hired to investigate the murder of a doctor. The case appears to be a simple matter of negligence.
The story was good. The mystery was a good old-school murder mystery with a variety of characters of different shade. The suspense was well hidden throughout the story and the author made a good effort to maintain the suspense throughout the book. The language of the book was also good enough with almost no obvious mistakes.
However, the characters were too shallow. Alice gave too much credit to her being beautiful and a woman. The author made it look like these characters are enough to gather evidence as apparently, people talk freely when a woman is beautiful or sexy or both. The flow of the story was also a bit flawed. A lot of times, the thoughts of the characters were explained out loud which, I felt, was needless and side tracking the issue. This was basically due to improper narration.
The story overall was very good. The concept was gripping. If the narration style and character depth was changed, the story will do really good.
2 out of 5 points
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Six Days is the book definition on Contemporary Romance. The story is so sweet and soft without any sexual scenes. It is about two friends who fall in love with each other. The way the couple bond over unique mini adventures and how the love blossoms between them is something wonderful to read. The characters are very believable and the flow of the story is really smooth. The entire book is like a soft lullaby. You feel really good after reading the story. It is a book to be definitely read for anyone who likes contemporary romance in soft settings. A feel good book, it can be read even in low phases of life, as a pick up for the mood.
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Romance is fun. Suspense is interesting. And when Romance and intense suspense come together, the fun just gets more interesting. With “I'll sing for my dinner” the story line basically starts with suspense. A super talented singer hitch hiking and agreeing to work for peanuts. There is bound to be a terrible past to it. An ex-military guy attempts to crack her and tries to get her to where she belongs. But if it were so easy, then there would have been no story. The intensity of the story and complexity of the characters are truly where the author deserves kudos. The flow is brilliant, the story is amazingly woven to cover so much in few words. The characters are a bit on a larger side but can be accepted without distracting from the story.
The suspense built throughout the story takes it to a different level. Narration is third person but from both the protagonists' POV. The depth of the characters are wonderful and resultant reactions feel believable, by looking at the larger picture. By the end of the story, you really feel like you have been through an amazing journey. Kingsolver has done magic with this one. Romantic Suspense has gone to a different level of admiration for me, with this book.
The book scores high in all the required categories, so a definite 5 star to it.
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Sam is a lovable dog who is playful and mischievous but has good observation. The story takes Sam through a Zoo and explains all the animals in it. For children who have just started learning animals, this is a good study book in an enjoyable manner. The language is sweet and easy for children to understand. The flow and explanation is precise. The colours and drawings in the animation are really catchy and will help keep the attention from wandering.
Overall, a very nice lesson book for kids about various types of animals in the zoo. Ideal to be read just before going to a zoo.
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The necessity of children to speak to adults about things they feel and people they encounter are very high today as compared to our previous generations. Technology has closed or restricted our mode of communication to people who matter. At such times, books like these play a very large role in children's' lives. In the story, Caitlin expresses various of her emotions to her diary. She also discusses them with her parents, as said in the book. This helps her gain better understanding of her feeling and also helps the parents to guide her in the right direction.
Using this book, children can be encouraged to write diaries and discuss random things with adults of their choice. Such books are a must to be read out to children today.
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Cozy Mysteries are always fun and interesting to read. They are light hearted, fun and non-intense, which helps unwind even with a murder mystery. Death of a Dapper Snowman is of the same type. The story is so smooth that you will get lost in it even without knowing it. Even for a cozy mystery, this one really takes the cake with having everything in the exact proper quantity. Unlike regular cozy mysteries, this one has good enough speed to keep the reader engrossed and not too much to make it fast paced and anxious to read.
The characters are simple and easy to understand. The flow is smooth. The plot is brilliant, with surprise twists and intense suspense towards the end. The climax is something which could not have been guessed. The story is narrated in first person which gives a first hand experience kind of feeling throughout the story. Simple natured behaviour of country folks are nicely given.
Overall, there is no reason why “Death of a Dapper Snowman” should get anything less than 5 stars. The book ranks high in every possible category. The experience of reading was really amazing and unique.
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I am normally not a fan of Fantasy Fiction but the blurb of the book seemed different from the normal fantasy books that I come across. It is just because of the blurb that I tried the book. And the saying “do not judge a book by its cover (or even genre)” got reinforced in me all over again. Project Ark was an amazing adventure for me.
Mia's parents are very adventurous and having a child did not stop them from pursuing their dreams. Her dad had left for his own adventures long time back (although he always maintained contact with Mia) and when her mom got an opportunity, she also chose her work over Mia. That made Mia uproot herself and relocate to her great-grandfather, who was her next guardian, and that is where the adventure begins. Mia's great-grandfather is one of the founders of life in a new planet! So Mia is going to a new planet Usonia to live the rest of her life, if she chose so.
The concept of mankind uprooting and relocating to a new planet has been going on in our science world for a long time and we had always wondered how the life would be. Now Gibbons have given us a very optimistic view of how our future just might be in that new life, if the people let that happen. The story is very futuristic but believable because of the concept. It makes us hope for such a life in future, when the possibility is open.
The narration is first person from Mia's perspective and her curious mind makes us see so much in the black and white letters on paper. The only thing missing were pictures of the new planet. But part of that was already covered by graphic explanation of everything around Mia. The overall experience with the book was brilliant and in spite of being a non-fantasy reader, this one definitely made the reading worth the while till the very end. I sure hope there is more parts of the story coming up.
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After an action packed 1st book, Tara Ellis is back with Samantha Wolf on an other adventure. This time they are off to a Summer Camp. Sam and Ally end up together in a Summer Camp and find themselves suddenly in the middle of a strange adventure.
Unlike the first book, this one is cozy and slow-paced. The story focuses more on how the girls have fun and make new friends. The mystery is a bit on the back end part.
What I could not accept here is the reason why they were dragged into the adventure in the first place. The whole thing started when Sam was targeted by the Director of the Camp for minor issues. That forces them to look into the matter, which resulted in the start of an adventure. If the Director would not have done that, then the adventure would not have happened at all. Although I am glad the adventure happened, it would have been more interesting and believable if they had stumbled up on a mystery by accident and not targeted and forced to unravel the whole matter.
Other than that, the entire story is peaceful and quiet. The pace is more like an Enid Blyton story. More of friendship and bonding is focused and the target audience, therefore, is very clearly categorized. Overall a good read.
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Summer Confessions is about a couple of young girls who understand their orientation and come forth with it. The story does not go typically about the issues faced for couples of same-sex. It is more of a stalker kind of story.
The character building in the story is really nice. Macy is shown as a confused teenager who did not know she is a lesbian till she developed feelings for her then-boyfriend's sister, Rachel. Her boyfriend Jeb did not take this transition positively. The story is about how deranged Jeb gets and what all he does to try to win Macy back.
Although it is a love story between two girls, it is more of a coming-of-age kind of story. The innocence and simplicity of the two girls when they realize their feelings for each other is sweet.
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There are some murder mysteries which do not have a great story line but an interesting narration which makes the reading a pleasurable experience. And there are some with a wonderful story line but a narration that murders the story. Murder Times Nine falls in the latter category.
Right from the start of the novel, the reader is considered to be a child or an old person with a terrible memory. There are so many explanation, sometimes even repeated. Every thought by the characters are done out loud. Every process is explained in way too much detail than required every time it happens. Needless attention to details of every situation made the narration too boring to follow. Over explanations like “why is the killer so sick” and “going to puke in private” are used, which literally kills the mood. Every single character entered the book with a 5 page biography for themselves. This created so much confusion as to who is really important and who is not. Unrealistic ideologies like police being completely dependent on children to solve the murders makes the story line so weak that if the crime wasn't perfect, it would have been a torture to read the entire book.
The only thing that kept me on the book was the actual suspense. “Who did it and why” was amazing. With a completely different narration style, this book would have rocked. The concept was splendid, the mystery left me spell-bound, the last line of the novel was so chilling that I ended the book with goose bumps. But the narration killed the story completely. The way the writer linked Sudoku to killing was just brilliant. If not for the wonderful story, I would have stopped reading right after the first 5 pages.
Murder Times Nine is a murder mystery novel with a very interesting blurb and a wonderful story line but not a good enough narration flow to match.
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So much suspense in a book gets unbearable. Paper Doll starts with a suspense. The very first line, first page of the book starts with the question “Who did it?”. The story is about a child actor who quits show business after something happens which terrifies the girl out of the show business altogether.
The character building right from the first page has been heavy and strong. Every single character has given an individuality which is very strong. The story was unraveled like a Christmas gift with multiple layers. And the ending was amazing too, totally unpredicted. The life of a child star was shown with the depth and complexity required for it. The husband from non - glamor background, the power-hungry parent, the jealous counterparts, jealous and/or confused siblings, crazy fans, dark secret in the past, the child star wanting just a normal life with no shenanigans - it was a complete package. The characters and the story was totally relatable with the ideas we have of the stars and their lives.
A suspense packed novel.
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Philosophy has always been my favorite topic. So when I came across this book, there was no second thought. And it was absolutely worth it. Renee has written a beautiful book with so much points to think and ponder about our own life. After reading the book, you really feel like going back and analyzing your life. Renee has given so many points to think of and improve our lives. The book is more of a self help kind of book in a very different.
There are so many self help books available in the market? So what is different about this one? All the other books give us answers to questions which may not be even relevant to us. Renee with her book “Just around the bend” gives us only questions, but those questions are more useful and beneficial than all the other irrelevant answers. These questions make us think and find answers tailor made for ourselves. These answers which we find out ourselves help us so much better than all the ready made answers we get through other self help books
The way she has explained to find happiness within and not to search for someone else to make you happy is something really amazing. Chapters like emotion being energy in motion, or perception, really makes you wonder at things you would never have thought about. The question “Would you be your own friend if you were to meet yourself someday?” is a well known question to check if you find yourself interesting. And Renee has put it up wonderfully in the book.
The book is deeply philosophical and insightful. The entire journey with the book had been beautiful and really knowledgeable. Unfortunately I read the second book first and now going to the first book. But after this, I am sure I will love the first book just as much, if not more.
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It has been ages since I have read the stories of Enid Blyton. Secret Seven and Famous Five were some of my favorite stories while growing up. Now Tara Ellis has recreated that magic with her book “The Mystery of Hollow Inn” with Samantha Wolf and her best friend Ally.
The story setting is just perfect with its little dark but mysterious setting and two very curious girls who want to help their uncle and aunt with their Inn. The language is simple and wonderful. It appears dark but not at all. Enid Blyton feel comes alive so wonderfully that I almost felt nostalgic after finishing the story. The mystery is juicy enough to keep you engrossed but yet soft enough for Young Adults to enjoy them as well. There was nothing I could find fault in with the entire story. It is absolutely lovable and Samantha Wolf is an awesome character – strong and clear minded.
Looking forward to the next book in the series.
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Although this is the 2nd book in the series, the story basically goes back to the time before the first book. So the book is a prequel to The Good Day. In the first book, we see Lucy Collins as an already perfect detective. In this book, we get to know the training she undergoes to become that perfect detective. The book starts with Lucy being a uniformed police officer. But very soon into the book, she becomes Detective and the fun begins.
The story is about a psychologically deranged serial killer who targets women. Lucy coincidentally comes across the first victim and soon takes up the case as her own. The way a lady detective is portrayed is, although stereotypical in a way, but still inspiring and fun to read. Lucy is shown as a bold character who is not scared of anyone or anything. The way she goes over to an isolated house and looks around with a colleague is truly inspiring and interesting to read. The killer is also a creation, which again although is expected, but the details and reasoning for the way of the state of mind is wonderful and gives a lot of insight into psychology.
The only thing that put me off was the way the story ended. Since the focus was on Lucy and how strong she is, the story could have followed the trend right till the end and showcased her to be inferior to none. But other than that, Lucy Collins is an amazing detective and truly one to be followed for all the upcoming books in the series.
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It has always managed to surprise me how very few words manage to make, not just a story, but a super thriller, edge-of-your-seat murder mystery while at it. A Good Day is just 70 odd pages long, but it feels so much longer at the same time, too short while you are reading it. Francis has created a super charged atmosphere in the book with just few words.
This is the first book of Lucy Collins series, where we are introduced to an intuitive, talented and bold Detective Office Lucy Collins, who resigned her post from the city and shifted to the police force in a country side, so that she can be nearer to her ailing mother. The story starts with the day 1 where she is joining the police force. The day is expected to be boring and really slow, but suddenly a murder comes up, after 15 long years, and there starts Lucy Collins' career as Detective Officer. Because no one else on the force has experience with murder, it is all on Lucy and her intuitions to solve the case and catch the murderer.
The way the story goes is thrilling and full of suspense. In just a few words, an amazing murder mystery has come up. From the time you start reading, it is near impossible to stop. Somewhere throughout the book, Francis has left clues for the reader to identify who the murderer could be. So that makes it a game as well, while enjoying a suspenseful half hour. The character building is impeccable. For a small town, the ambiance and people's mind-set was properly matched. The simple-minded trusting people such as these are only ever found in country sides. But like Miss Marple says, sometimes it is the simplest of place that holds the deadliest of secrets. I could not find any fault in the book. For a short murder story, this is as perfect as it can get.
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Little Sparrow is a love story between a woman and somewhat older man. The setting is a typical Native American story.
Karen is a workaholic and does not think she will be comfortable in a relationship. Richard is still recovering from the death of his wife and has immersed himself in work. Richard's dad is dating Karen's mom and both of them set their children up as they feel they are perfect for each other. Soon sparks fly between the young couple. However before Richard can be a part of Karen's life, there are some tests he should pass. And even if he passes those tests, does Karen want him in his life?
The story is a typical love story. Man and woman meet and fall in love. What felt off with the story was the tests. The way these tests were designed in the book was kind of a bit strange to be conducted. That felt out of place for the story. Other than that, it was a cozy reading atmosphere. Nothing spectacular. Just regular
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“Tales of 23rd precinct” is a very interesting type of story. It takes us through the life of three detectives related to each other. All the stories start from where the previous one has ended. So that gives a continuation but in a different way. The story starts with Deborah Lane, a police detective. First story leaves at a decisive point and the next story takes up the thread from there with the story of Lane's partner, Luke Fisher. The second story ends in the same cliff hanger point manner and the last story takes up with the narration of Luke's nemesis, Frank Matthews.
The story is well written and gives a feel of reading three different thriller with a continuing under-tone. It gives a true cop life feel with the factual status of what truly happens in a cop's life.
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Kendall Family is back again with another brother in love. But just like the first one, this love is also tough to get. Randi Everheart had me captured with Tristan. With such an engrossing story, when it came to an end, the curiosity to read the next in the series was too much to handle. So when Connor came out, I was on the book like cat on milk. And it definitely made me happy.
Connor is 4th in the 5 sibling family of Kendall. But love seems to be targeting in descending order for them. Soon after the youngest got hitched, it is Connor's turn to find true love. But with Sophia, true love comes with a price – a deadly stalker-ish price. There are some points in the story where I felt the concept of true love is taken literally and very much like a fairy tale. But that gave a very uber-romantic ambiance to the story.
Connor is very much like any olden fairy tale minus the frills and royal kingdom. That gives a very lovable feel to the entire story. It is very easy to imagine the flow of the story as it goes and the feel-good factor at the end is just another amazing thing about it. With the novels of today which gives a hard-hitting reality, stories like Connor helps you believe that knight-in-shining-armor do exist and true love, although hard to find, is definitely there.
Waiting for Riley to get shot by Cupid's arrow now :)
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And Sandra Baublitz is back again with another Clarissa and Paw adventure. Before I start the review, let me tell you that it is going to be completely biased. I am a huge fan of Sandra and her books and can never find any fault in it. Volume 4 of the book totally lives up to the expectations once again. It shows the talent of an author when they are able to provide a complete package with adventure, mystery, and thrill in 5000 words and less. Be it this or any of the other 3 books of Sandra, the way a complete detective story is said in just 5000 words really gets to you and amazes you in multiple ways.
On that note, let us go to the book. In this volume, Clarissa and Paw encounter a smuggling racket right next door to their friend, Mrs. Booksteen. There is also a slight romance budding for Clarissa in this book. I hope it catches up in the next book (wink). The mystery brings out yet another way in which Paw shows how clever he is and Clarissa shows how much faith she has in her knight i.e. Paw.
There is a nice humor touch in the writing which makes reading very enjoyable. With Clarissa and Paw, of course, you cannot help but love them for their kindness to others, protective nature and love for each other. The bond between them is truly amazing. Sandra created yet another magic with Volume 4. I am always looking forward to Sandra's next magical adventure.
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After Mac Coalson's story “Whistlin' Dixie”, I was really looking forward to the next in the Coalson brother series. Now Maggie Adams is back with Sam Coalson's love story. After reading the story, I really felt that the wait was worth every anxious second spent. The book not only lives up to the expectations, but also goes beyond it.
Sam and Angel feel perfect for each other right from the word ‘go'. They were childhood sweethearts and it could have been a perfect happily ever after. However unforeseen circumstances and difficult choices from both ends separate them from each other and thus put an end to a perfect love story. But two people who are meant to be together, always do end up together. That is how the Universe conspires. And that is how it happens here as well.
The thing to look out for in this book is not the romance. The romance is typical and anyone who reads Romance novels know that the protagonists always end up together. The factor that is a USP here is the way the story goes. The flow of the story, the suspense in between and the perseverance of Sam and Angel at various points of the story is catching factor here. It is said that a healthy relationship does not consist of two strong people; it consists of two people who take turns to be strong when the other one is weak. Maggie brings this line perfectly into use with the story and that holds the crux of Sam and Angel's relationship. The story feels as real as any true love story. Coalson brothers do have a knack of nailing the lessons of relationship deep into the readers' mind. Read it to know how a relationship truly is, with all of its ups and downs.
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The OMG Test is a very different kind of love story. The focus is less on romance and more on actual relationships. The plethora of relationships shown are so beautiful and heart warming that there appears no way to not absolutely love the book at all.
We are taken on a beautiful journey with Olivia Daly – a soft hearted person who loves everyone she comes across. She does not just merely love her friends and family, she loves them with a passion. She would give up anything for their happiness. And these people also love her back with am equal passion. Olivia has a group of friends who has learning disabilities. These special people and Olivia make up “Olivia's Misunderstood Gang” which is abbreviated as OMG Gang. They all want Olivia to be happily settled and that is how they come up with “The OMG Test” which rates men on various qualities and decides of they are suitable for a particular someone. Soon comes Connor and The OMG Test is put up to use. Will Connor pass or fail the test?
The story is truly touching in many different ways. The relationship Olivia has with her sister Melissa, her best friends Jasmine, Sebastian and Finley and the chemistry with Connor – all are wonderful to read. There are very less cliches in the story, which makes it refreshing and amazing. Normally with love stories, you know where you are heading. But here, because of the multiple focus on various people and situations, there is always something different coming up at every turn of the page, which makes the book really exciting.
Since I am saying about the book, I must mention that the quality of the book and the pages are truly amazing. There is only one negative thing here, which is the cover photo. The picture does not give out the essence of the story. The scene is definitely one from the book, but it does not show what the story is actually about. A different picture of maybe a checklist or a group of friends could have done better justice to the wonderful story.
Anyway, I am sure glad I read the book because I totally loved it. The OMG Test is an absolute must read book
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“I Want It!!” is a lovely story as a lesson for selfish kids. The moral of the story is given right from the title of the book. The story is about a kid who wants everything he sees around him, whether it is his or not.
For a children's book, the illustration and colour are very catchy. The drawings are done properly showing the exact message as to be absorbed by the kids. The story is short and captivating. It is a good lesson to be given to kids at a young age to prevent them being selfish and showing the repercussions properly in a non – frightening manner.
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“Marie and Reilly goes on a beach” is a beautiful illustrated Children's book, which gives a sweet story of two sisters out on a beach on a beautiful summer day.
The story itself is very sweet and simple. The trip to beach is explained with all the enthusiasm and joy which children feel for such trips. The focal point which I felt for this book is the illustrations. The illustrations are not like the usual ones which are graphically prepared using technology (at least, that is what I felt). These drawings are manually prepared using regular crayons on paper. Those drawings create a beautiful authenticity to the story and makes it so much more endearing than it would have been if it was a graphical picture.
The story is really short but very sweet. I absolutely loved the family, the sisters, their curiosity and their love for each other. But I loved the drawings best. That was unparalleled.
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This is one interesting story with a very different concept taken to narrate. Santa Clause is always a difficult topic for kids. In childhood, they are encouraged to believe in Santa and are given ample proof to state that Santa Clause exists. They are then made to behave properly throughout the year by giving the scare of naughty kids. Then later on, they are said that it is all a lie and Santa Clause never existed. It is always a huge shock when the reality hits and that turns out to be a very disheartening experience.
Cat Blount has handled the issue very beautifully. The way she has explained how Santa Clause does not exist but there is still something better to look out for, gives a very encouraging message out to the younger generation. The fact, although is painful in itself, still gives hope to the kids that, even though the person they had believed to be true does not exist, the love that person was said to be giving is still there. And not only that, instead of having that love and affection only once a year, the kids know that now they can get it all the time, anytime they want.
The story really brought me to tears with the way it was handled. I am proud of having gotten a chance to read such a beautiful book. This book must be read by every kid who is old enough to accept the truth of Santa Clause. No one can break the truth better than “There IS a Santa! There's Gotta Be...”