Unnatural Death (A Lord Peter Wimsey Novel) by Dorothy Sayers

Lord Peter takes on an opponent whose murders leave no evidence.

Recommended age: 16 – 18; Adult

Lord Peter believes a murder has been committed, even though there is no evidence.   He doesn’t give up; instead, he digs deeper and flushes the murderer out, forcing his foe to overplay his or her hand.

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 “The Berinfell Prophecies” by Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper

Book Titles:

1. Curse of the Spider King
2. Venom and Song
3. The Tide of the Unmaking

An entertaining series.

Recommended age:

• Curse of the Spider King and Venom and Song; 12 – 14; 14 – 16; 16 – 18; Adult
• The Tide of the Unmaking; 14 – 16; 16 – 18; Adult

In a world where the good Elves have been defeated and decimated by the evil Spider King and his villainous army, the only light of hope are the long lost Seven Elven Lords. But the Lords were snatched out of Allyra as toddlers long ago and never seen again. There are rumors that the Lords were taken to another world—a world called Earth—and they are now in danger.  If the Elves do not find them before they are exterminated, no hope will remain, and the Elves will be destroyed.  In addition, the Spider King has set his sights on conquering and ruling Earth—and it is totally unprepared.  In the second book, Venom and Song, the Elves take the battle to the Spider King.   In the third book, a new and more dangerous evil has arisen, and the battle plays out on Earth itself — while total destruction relentlessly advances on both worlds.

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The Shield Ring by Rosemary Sutcliff

Recommended: Yes; a story of the last remaining Danes after William the Conqueror takes over England, and their struggle to survive.

Recommended age: 14 – 16; 16 – 18; Adult.

Summary of Plot: Frytha was the daughter of a high-born Saxon. When she was five, they burned her parent’s home, and she fled with the shepherd to a secret place in the mountains, the Dale. There she met Bjorn, the young fosterling of Haethcyn the Bard. They grow up together, and when the time comes, Bjorn becomes a warrior. But a new danger is coming. The Dale has always been assaulted, but this time the enemy is bringing a greater host then ever seen before. Bjorn is sent out as a spy, hiding his greatest fear—that while being tortured, he would reveal the secret place of the Shield Ring, the ring of mountains that surround the Dale.

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Lupus Rex by John Carter Cash, (son of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash)

A story of courage and determination against great odds

Recommended age: 14 – 16; 16 – 18; Adult

The King of the Crows has died, and the process of choosing the new king results in great danger.   In the end a great wolf tries to take over the field where all the animals live.   Only the cooperation and sacrifice of many animals, and especially, the bravery and commitment of one small quail, Ysil, can overcome the ferocity of the wolf and his band of predators.

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Jeeves and Wooster: the Code of theWoosters and other Stories by P.G. Wodehouse

A fun, and, as always, funny book.

Recommended age: 14 – 16; 16 – 18; Adult

In the title story, Bertie is once again ensnared in a tangled plot where an aunt presses him to do one thing, a female friend presses him to do the opposite, and all the while, his own bad luck puts him in the sights of a suspicious Justice of the Peace and of a Nazi-wannabe who has the size and temperament of a gorilla.   As usual, Bertie’s main goal is to avoid getting married to Madeline Bassett.   The other stories are similarly complicated, fun and crazy.  And, as usual, Jeeves rescues Bertie and there is a happy ending for most everyone.

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Bamboo People by Mitali Perkins

What do you do when you are forced to fight and kill people who are not your enemies?

Recommended age: 10 – 12; 12 – 14; 14 – 16; 16 – 18; Adult

Burma is oppressed by its government, and it is at war with its ethnic minorities, among them, the Karenni people.  Chiko, who sympathizes with the Karenni, is kidnapped by the military and forced to train to fight the Karenni.  When Chiko steps on a mine, he is rescued by a Karenni young person who chooses to save him rather than kill him.   But bringing him home to the Karenni camp brings its own problems.

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“Young Sherlock Holmes” series by Andrew Lane

Book Titles:

1. Death Cloud
2. Rebel Fire
3. Black Ice
4. Fire Storm
5. Snake Bite
6. Knife Edge

The truth behind Sherlock Holmes’ origin.

Recommended age: 14 – 16; 16 – 18; Adult

We all know the stories about the adult Sherlock Holmes, such as The Hound of the Baskervilles or A Study in Scarlet, but how much do we really know about the famous detective? Where did he live as a child? What sort of life did he have when he was young? All these things Arthur Conan Doyle left unanswered in his famous stories of the first great private detective. Now, however, the truth about Sherlock Holmes’ origin is being answered.

In the first book, Sherlock is withdrawn from his private school and is sent to live with his aunt and uncle, who were estranged from the family as a result of an incident in the distant past. Life with his relatives is dull at first, but when a pair of murders happen, Sherlock suddenly finds himself plunged into the first adventure of his life.

In the second book, Sherlock is out in the country when he stumbles across the secret hiding place of some Confederate leaders, who are making a plan that will change the world. Sherlock manages to escape from them, but soon he is heading to America to rescue his friend, who was kidnapped by the Confederates, never realizing the danger awaiting him in that nation.

In the third book, Sherlock’s older brother Mycroft is wrongfully accused of murder. Sherlock attempts to get him acquitted, but at the same time is pulled into an international conspiracy that will make England an outcast forever, and only Sherlock can stop it.

In the fourth book of the series, Sherlock’s friends Amyus and Virginia Crowe suddenly disappear, apparently leaving no trace of where they’ve gone. Sherlock is suspicious, however, and soon he finds a clue leading him to Edinburgh, where he is soon plunged into his most dangerous adventure yet.  

In the fifth book, Snake Bite, Sherlock Holmes finds himself unexpectedly on a boat trip to China, where he thwarts a mass murder planned by a shady business organization. 

In the sixth book, Knife Edge, Sherlock investigates the claims of a spiritualist who is trying to auction his abilities to the country who will pay the most.

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The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien

The perfect book for anyone who’s ever wondered about Middle-Earth’s legendary past, it has a near-perfect blend of mystery and adventure, romance and tragedy, victory and defeat. In magnificent language, Tolkien gives us a display of the epic eternal battle of light versus dark and good versus evil.

Recommended age: 14 – 16; 16 – 18; Adult

The book is divided into five parts: The Ainulindalë (the tale of the song of the Ainur), the Valaquenta (the tale of the Valar), the Quenta Silmarillion (the tale of the Silmarilli), the Akallabêth (the tale of the downfall of Númenor), and a small section entitled “Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age”. The first two are mainly concerned with the creation of the world and descriptions of the Valar (powerful angels that were charged with the care of Middle-Earth).

But it’s in the Quenta Silmarillion that the real action start. The story traces the battle between good and evil, starting at the Beginning of Days. The good guys are the Valar, the Elves, and Men, but the Elves and Men make mistakes along the way. The bad guys are Morgoth (also known as Melkor; Tolkien’s version of Satan) and his various malevolent minions: Balrogs, Orcs, Trolls, Dragons, Evil Men, and a rather familiar nasty dude named Sauron (ring any bells?). In Quenta, each chapter contains a different tale or legend, but each story is connected to the whole. The tales mainly deal with the three Silmarilli (jewels of light and power) and the war over them. The fourth part, “Akallabêth,” is about the ancient island of Númenor (which some of you may remember) and its downfall. The fifth and last talks about Sauron’s rise after Morgoth’s defeat and the forging of the rings of power, and the strife that resulted, ending in the famous War of the Ring.

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 “Scottish Bookshop Mystery” series by Paige Shelton

1. The Cracked Spine

1.5 A Christmas Tartan (Short story e-book; Not Reviewed)

2. Of Bags and Bagpipes

Recommended age: The Cracked Spine: 16 – 18; Adult

                                    Of Bags and Bagpipes: Adult

In The Cracked Spine, Delaney Nichols surprises herself by responding to an ad for a job at a bookshop in Edinburgh after she is unexpectedly laid-off from her Natural History Museum job at a university in Kansas.  She gets the job and meets many interesting people, most of whom seem very friendly and welcoming: her employer and co-workers, her employer’s business associates, her first taxi-driver, and the owner of the pub across the street from her job.  But before she can settle into her new life, her employer’s sister is brutally murdered and a precious artifact goes missing.  Can she sort out whom she can trust and solve the mystery without getting any of her new friends (or herself) killed?  

            Delaney’s story continues in Of Bags and Bagpipes.  She is confronted by another tragic death connected to her work and her employer and once again gets caught up in solving the mystery.

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 “Interworld” Series by Neil Gaiman and Michael Reaves

1. Interworld
2. The Silver Dream
3. Eternity’s Wheel

Yes; a fast-moving imaginative story about fighting evil.

Recommended age: 12 – 14; 14 – 16; 16 – 18; Adult

Joey is walking around town on a school assignment when he walks through a fog and finds himself in a world very much like his world, but somehow different.   Suddenly attacked by futuristic raiders, he escapes with the aid of an unusual-looking man wearing a mask.   However, his escape brings him to a world where he is already dead.  Then, before he can process this, he is captured by pirates who take him up to space.   Rescued again, he finds out that he is a Walker—a person capable of passing through dimensions.  He joins Interworld in their battle against the futuristic Binary and the evil, magical HEX pirates.  In the second book, Joey meets a Time Traveler from the Time Watch organization who intervenes in Joey’s time frustrating the plans of Binary and HEX.   In the third book, Joey leads the fight to stop Binary and HEX’s universe-destroying plans.

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