january reviews

# 1The Beekeepers Apprentice
by Laurie R King (Library book from Overdrive)

I've read a several of the Sherlock Holmes series written by King.  But I did not read the first two in the series.  This book brings me up to date in the Russell series as I read 2 other books in the  series  last month.  Chapter 8 "We Have a Case," has a quote at the beginning, "The ambushes laid by a hastening twilight...the cold menace of winter." 

There is another quote that makes me warm toward the author as she expresses herself in Mary Russell when Russell says,"I know I was filled with tremendous joy as I began seriously to flex my muscles in the realm of the mind".  In the story, Russell is working in studies in her major at Oxford.  There are strict rules about how women may study at Oxford and Russell follows in Holmes footsteps when she chooses chemistry. But, she stays true to her own needs by studying Jewish literature.

Russell's first case is here as well as her introduction to Mycroft and other of Holmes friends. The book also develops the feelings Holmes has for Mary.  The story has danger and the twists of more than one mystery. It is excellent entertainment for a cold winter like we are experiencing this year. 

#2  TheQuest  By Mark Mulle (an Amazon kindle book)

"The untold Story of Steve, book One."  This is an adventure story about Steve. Steve is a player of MineCraft.  In this book Steve tells us about his abilities in the game.  He plays a level that has many players.     

MineCraft is a game that can be played on many types of devices. When Steve enters the game, and as he plays, he begins to think someone is watching him and interfering with his game.  So the story unfolds with Steve telling the reader how he builds within the game and how he plays within the game.  Then, as he plays the watcher is revealed.

It becomes apparent that Steve is playing online.  The story is written as a mystery.  Who  is the watcher?  What does he want? How is he able to affect Steve's play.  How does he affect the game?  How can Steve get rid of Him?  These are some of the questions that come up.

Since the story is a series of stories  many questions are created and they will not all be answered in the first book. If you play MineCraft this is a fun little mystery. If you do not play MineCraft you may want to familiarize yourself with the game to understand some of the situations in which  Steve finds himself.

#3 Without a Trace  By Colleen Coble (A Kindle book)

The Story is" a Rock Harbor Mystery."  Without a Trace is a mystery story with a Christian Witness ingredient.  There is a poem by" Francis Thompson who lived from 1859-1907" called The Hound of Heaven.  It is in the introduction to the story and plays a part in the explanation of the plot. 

Bree is the main character.  She and her best friend, Naomi own search and rescue dogs.  Bree also is using her dog, Samson, to search for her son and and husband who went down in an airplane crash. 

The action starts with a search for two missing children.  It is a fast moving story with lots of twists about murder, search and rescue, peoples personalities and life's problems.

Bree is renovating an old lighthouse which adds to the charm of the area where she lives.

Rachel is another character in the story. She sometimes has good ideas and bad reasoning for accomplishing her goals. Each character is the story is a picture of how life draws out the best and worst in people.

#4  The anatomist's Apprentice  By Tessa Harris

A Dr. Thomas Silkstone Mystery (a library book)

The acknowledgments of this story are a big help in understanding the background for this story.  In a story like this the historical details help us understand the life style of the characters.  There is a glossary of words in each chapter at the end of the book that gives explanations and definitions of words that were used in this period of history.

Dr. Thomas Silkstone is from the Colonies and working in England as an apprentice in anatomy.  He gets mixed up in a trial attempting to discover how a man was murdered by using his skills as an anatomist. "Students would flock to his rooms to watch him work deftly on a corpse."

Because of the subject you can feel the chase of discovery, of new knowledge, that was a part of this time in history.  The author keeps you guessing about each character and their part as witnesses.

Murder, intrigue, science are all a part of the story.


#5 Concealed Power  By K.J.Colt
Amazon Kindle book 1 from the Epic fantasy collection

Adenine is this stories heroine.  It takes place in South Senya after they lost a war.  The mystery and suspense of the story draws the reader from the beginning page. 

The food they eat sounds delicious.  One day when Uncle Garrad is cooking Adenine requests "French toast and spiced custard with dates and raisins." They harvest strawberries and drink honeyed drinks. 

This is a fantasy tale so it brings up profuse mental images as you read.  Adenine's age is  one of the subjects  throughout.  From paragraph to paragraph you become acquainted with the social aspect of the cities subjects and class system. Adenine has been a prisoner and when she becomes free one of her problems becomes evident when the friends around her do not give her enough information with which to make decisions. 

Adenine starts out as an unknown person and becomes one of the most important of people before she has grown up.  She starts out without friends and makes many before the action resolves. And, one of her friends is a 4 legged canine. You can read this book and enjoy the story without reading the next book in the series but if you enjoy reading more about  characters you discover then you can continue Adenine's adventures in book 2 of this story.

#6  Moon Over Manifest  By Clare Vanderpool
(a library book from Overdrive on PDF)

The story starts in 1936.  A 12 year-old girl named Abilene Tucker is spending her summer with a new group of friends in Manifest.  All children have a story.  Abilene is discovering the past, present and future while she grows closer to a community.

This is 2 main stories grouped into one.  In 1918 a town called Manifest  "(look up the dictionary definition of the word)" has a group of characters with a lot of different backgrounds.  By 1936 world war 1, the economy and  just plain circumstances of living had changed Manifest by a few degrees.

Abilene's daddy tells her stories, "Abilene, did I ever tell you bout the time...?" Abilene narrates, "I'd get all quiet and listen real hard. Mostly he'd tell stories about Manifest, the town where he'd lived once upon a time."

How Abilene gets to Manifest, and the two other stories she learns about while she is there just keep the reader turning pages in this book.

#7  Honeymoons can be Murder By Connie Shelton
A kindle eBook - Charlie Parker mystery series Book 6

Connie Shelton continues to divert me on long cold winter days when the wild wind is blowing the snow into deep swirly drifts and I prefer to stay inside with a good mystery.This story is part of the seasonal gift set release by Connie Shelton. 

Charlie Parker gets tangled in a new detective scene during the Holiday season. Charlie recently married, is learning a new skill, and goes to Lake Tahoe for a combination Honeymoon and business trip. There are snow drifts, helicopters, skiers, murderous thieves, dogs and danger making the trip very busy.  Quote from Chapter one: "Engine failure!"

There are many Charlie Parker stories each one special in its own story. The series is  always well written and entertaining.