Book Review: Aunt Dimity and the Wishing Well

Title: Aunt Dimity and the Wishing Well
Author: Nancy Atherton
Publisher: Viking, 2014.  278 pages.
Source: Library

Summary:
When the village recluse dies and his nephew shows up from Australia to settle the estate, strange things begin happening in Finch.  Naturally, it's up to Lori Shepherd and the dead but not departed Aunt Dimity to sort it all out.

Review:
As with the last couple of Aunt Dimity books, this is a very mild mystery with no corpse, no danger, and minimal sense of any urgency to deal with the problem.  The result is a sweet story, but not one that I would call a mystery.  I assume that this has been a deliberate move on the part of the author, after venturing into some more dramatic territory a few books back.

I prefer my mysteries to have a little more mystery to them, and it is conventional to provide a corpse.  So although the story is a fun, quick read, and I'm hooked enough on Lori and the rest of the denizens of Finch to keep reading, I'm not entirely happy, either.  Not many of the books have actually involved corpses, but most manage to muster up a bit more peril than this one, and more of a puzzle to solve.  I also found most of the resolutions ion this book a bit too predictable, including the "big surprise" at the end.

Recommendation:
For those who are hooked on the series.

Addendum, Jan. 3, 2015: I have just listened to the audio book narrated by Teri Clark Linden, and I have to say that I found the narration irritating. Several women were given rather puny voices that I didn't think went with them at all (especially Emma), and there was a curious hesitation in the speeches of characters that I disliked. I'd say to give this one a miss.

Full Disclosure: I checked  Aunt Dimity and the Wishing Well  out of my library, and received nothing from the writer or publisher in exchange for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Middle Grade/YA Review: Traveler in Black and White

 

Title: The Traveler in Black and White (Princelings of the East Book 4)

Author: Jemima Pett

Publisher: Princeling's Publications, 2012.  190 pages.

Sourece: ebook won in giveaway

Summary:

Publisher's summary: "In the fourth book in the Princelings of the East series, Lord Mariusz of Hattan narrates, in his own Chandler-esque style, how he came to explore the world on the end of the time tunnel, and why he adopted the pseudonym Hugo in the first place."

Review:

The comment about "Chandler-esque" is spot on.  This book is for older kids, more of a PG-13 sort of thing, though references to sex are pretty oblique and will go over the heads of younger kids.  The level of violence is a bit higher than in the first three Princelings books, too.  That warning out of the way, this is a very engaging story, told by a rather American Hugo, a.k.a. Mariusz of Hattan (Manhattan, anyone?  Just guessing. . . .), who is trying to learn his way around a strange world and make a buck.

The story takes us back ten years in the world of the Princelings, so that the characters from the other books are much younger (a very young Victor is a total charmer), and some we have grown to love don't show up at all (like Fred and George).  The story is fast-paced, adventurous, and has just a touch of the supernatural.  I wasn't sure at first I liked that (just a taste thing), but Ms. Pett handles it with her usual skill, and there is nothing in the story that isn't necessary.

In a departure from the earlier books, Hugo tells his own story in the the first person, and his hard-boiled attitude lends to the fun.  This is definitely not a series that is giving us cookie-cutter books, but each addition has been my new favorite, and this one was no exception.

Recommendation: 

For any readers old enough to cope with some violence and not to be put off by the implication that Hugo philanders a bit.  Tweens up, with, as usual, as much or more appeal to adults as to the children.

Full Disclosure: I won The Traveler in Black and White in a giveaway, with no expectation from the writer or publisher for anything.  I offer here my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."  

Mystery Review: Ash Child, by Peter Bowen

For today's review, I bring you a very fast-moving mystery from an author I really enjoy (even though hints of his politics make me suspect that if we were locked in a room together I'd be tearing his hair out and kicking him in the shins).  So. . .

Title: Ash Child

Author: Peter Bowen

Publisher: St. Martin's Press, 2002.  256 pages.

Source: Library

Summary:

It's fire season in the Wolf Mountains of Montana, and Gabriel Du Pre is worried.  As if the high fire danger weren't enough, some people start turning up dead.  And then the mountains catch on fire.  Du Pre and the rest of the cast of colorful and unique characters have their work cut out for them.

Review:

Peter Bowen's Gabriel Du Pre mysteries are fast-moving, with a touch of humor that keeps the grimness from ever getting out of hand.  Bowen paints a vivid picture of Metis culture (I'm not competent to judge how accurate that picture is), and the linguistic quirks permeate the story.  The patios that Du Pre speaks is almost telegraphic, and that brevity and understatement carries over even into the narration.  It's contagious, too--I find myself imitating the style after I've been reading for a while.

The writing style makes this a much shorter book and faster read than the 256 pages would suggest, and the plot moves along and a brisk pace from crisis to crisis.  The insights and revelations about who did what and why are never overly explained, and there is a certain air of mysticism emanating from the shaman Benetsee and spreading to the whole narrative.

Bowen's work isn't to everyone's taste, I know.  But if you like mysteries that strongly evoke a western setting and have fully realized characters with unique lives, a touch of humor, and well-plotted puzzles, you may well enjoy Gabriel Du Pre.

Full Disclosure: I checked  Ash Child  out of my library, and received nothing from the writer or publisher in exchange for my honest review.  The opinions expressed are my own and those of no one else.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."