The Boy with 17 Senses by Sheila Grau

If it isn't bad enough to live in a world where he sees colors, tastes letters, emotions have shapes and there are a lot more senses, then living next door to a bully whose father bought their farm out from under them is worse.  He also has animal pests in his garden that bite him.  You'd think things couldn't get worse, but the the nasty neighbor changes the river channel and they have no water for their crops...

Amulet Books sent me an ARC of this story to read for review (thank you).  It is being published today.

Yipsmix is one of the many worlds in this story.  When Jaq gets the runt of the litter of a pet he wanted, he works hard to keep it alive and it becomes his best friend.  When the crops fail because of lack of water, his mother tells him he must sell it.  He trades it for a key that opens a door that has lots of food behind it and it's always restocked.  Only people with the key can get in.  He knows she'll be happy about that.  The problem is that he was conned.  And now his pet belongs to the bully next door.  He's very unhappy.

Then he finds out that the key opens and there is a message in it.  That message is dangerous.  It's from a man wanting to be rescued and he is stuck on earth!  Jaq takes the portal to earth and finds out it's full of giants.  How will he find the man and get back home again safely?  It's good that Jaq has a couple of friends help him.

There's lots of action, odd animals and bullies on both worlds but Jaq won't give up.  Middle school students will enjoy this read.  I wonder if there will be more visits on these strange worlds?  I'll just have to wait and see.

The Book Club Murders: The Oakwood Mystery Series by Leslie Nagel

Charley sells vintage clothing in her store.  She's doing all she can to be successful and keep the money flow even so she joins the local bookclub.  They call themselves the Agatha's and they are the monied folks of town.  Maybe she can drum up some business by socializing with them.  She sure never expected to get involved in murder.

Alibi and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published September 27th.

Charley and Frankie are the best of friends, so they decide to do some looking into the first murder.  After all, it happened not too far from her shop.  When they find a witness the cops haven't, Charley is even more determined to find out what happened.  Of course, the police department isn't fond of that idea.  Especially since the lead detective is Marcus.  He and she had a very bad fight right before his mother's death and they don't like each other.  But they are forced to work together anyway.  She's even good help in insider information about the community and the Agatha Bookclub.  She's also the one that puts the murders in perspective.  They are being staged just like the murders in the books they've been reading in the club...

There are more murders and Charley gets drawn in deeper and deeper.  She finds her friends from Agatha's have more problems than you see in social gatherings.  One's an alcoholic on drugs.  One has a philandering husband.  One has a OCD and a controlling husband.  How do you pick a killer when everybody is a bit odd?

As it goes along Charley and Marc find themselves developing a romantic relationship.  They had to go through a truth-telling session to get things out in the air and then dismiss them but they lived through it.  Now romance is in the air.

Charley needs to be careful, though.  She's getting too close to the murderer.

Gracie Meets a Ghost By Keiko Sena

Gracie can't see as well as she should so she has to get glasses.  I had to get glasses in grade school, too.  Did you?  Both Gracie and I could see much better with glasses.  So you don't want to lose them...

Museyon allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published October 1st.

This is the cutest book.  Gracie is white and fluffy and well dressed.  Her glasses are black and stand out against her white.  She has good friends and they all go play on the mountain together and have a great time.  It's not until Gracie goes to bed that she realizes her glasses aren't with her.  

She wants and needs her glasses, so off she goes to retrieve them.  What she doesn't know is that there is a ghost waiting for her.  It's waiting for anyone but she'll fit the bill.  The ghost wants to scare her!  There's a problem, though.  Gracie just sees a white blob and isn't scared.

The ghost is frustrated and offers to find her glasses for her.  It hunts and hunts and finally finds them.  Then it races back to Gracie who has been sleeping under a tree.  But sunrise beats it and all Gracie sees are the glasses falling in front of her.

I feel sorry for the poor ghost.  All that work and no reward...

The Heavens May Fall by Allen Eskins

It was just a routine murder case when a body was found near a dumpster wrapped in child's blanket.  Then they turned the victim over and they recognized her...

Seventh Street Books sent me an ARC of this book to read for review (thank you).  It will be published October 4th.

She's the beautiful wife of an important local attorney.  He's out of town, they aren't sure how or where she was killed, and they don't know why.  The hardest part of this case is the "why".

A good portion of this story is played out in court.  The cop just knows the husband killed his wife but he can find no proof.  The attorney for the husband is called back out of retirement for this case.  He knows Ben is innocent.  There's a rabid sister who wants Ben found guilty.  It appears this wonderful envious life wasn't all it seemed to be...

There are cat and mouse games all the way through the story and the more that is found the more confusing it gets.  They do identify the murder weapon, they find the bloody sheets and they find a used condom.  She was having an affair.  She's not the only one.

The motive was greed and the belief that the killer was smart enough to get away with it.  It was seeing something the attorney wasn't meant to see that turned the tide.  And he almost died for it.

Ethical questions can be hard to deal with but lying directly or just not saying anything is not the way to do it.  Relationships were frayed, lives were broken and two people ended up dead.  Was it worth it?

Maggie McGillicuddy's Eye for Trouble by Susan Hughes, Brooke Kerrigan (Illustrated by)

Maggie is older and alone in her home so she's excited to see new neighbors moving in.  They have a small dog and a little boy.  It doesn't take long for her to see dangers from her porch...

Kids Can Press and Edelweiss gave me the opportunity to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published October 4th.

Maggie has a good imagination and sees a tiger in her yard (cat's shadow on a fence).  She also sees a big snake (tree root) and even an eagle.  So she watches out for the young one.  She does warn him not to go out in the street after his ball when there is a car going by, but that one was a real danger.

When she invites him to visit, he sees other animals in her yard.  And as they get more visits in it looks like they could be living in Jurassic Park instead of small neighborhood in a small town.  

This is wonderful way to view things with an imagination.  It's almost like finding shape in the clouds.  Have you looked around carefully lately?

Hercufleas by Sam Gayton

When you open the pages of this book you are entering another world.  It's a world where the giant comes once a month to fill his stomach.  They have to find a giant killer!

Clarion Books and Edelweiss gave me the opportunity to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published October 4th.  

Greta lost her parents to the giant and she's determined to find a hero to help the village.  She steals the last gold and heads to a new shop to negotiate for a hero.  When she tells him all the heroes that have died fighting the giant, the owner tells her he won't sell her any.  When she insists, he sells her two.  But when they show up, they aren't going after her giant; they're going after her!

A freshly hatched little flea wants to go on an adventure and he's hitched a ride with her.  Between the two of them, they manage to escape.  But now she has no money and no hero.  How can she vanquish the giant?

The old woman in the village gives her an assignment that will bring the Black Death to the giant.  They go to wicked Czar's castle determined to get it.  The flea can drink it and not die; he's immune.  Then they can kill the giant.  But when they get there, they find that their quest is not as cut and dried as it seemed.

It's long journey there and back and the final fight with the giant is amazing.  Despite his size, Hercufleas manages to become a hero.  He even saves his family.  What more could you ask for? 

Dead or Alive: A new contemporary thriller series set in the north of England by Ken McCoy

It all started when Sep was trying to subdue a drunk pedophile.  He was being obnoxious, trying to throw his political clout around, and trying to hit the officers.  Sep stepped in, held him in place and was ready to head back to the cells with him when he collapsed.  Turns out he had epilepsy and no one knew it.  When he dies, it's worst thing that could happen for Sep.

Severn House and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published October 1st.

Sep tells his side of the story but none of the cops will support him.  He eventually is asked to leave the force or he will face jail time.  Bad enough that he and his wife have separated, now he's lost his job.  Before he even gets over that, his wife comes in all beat up and claims he did it.  He didn't, but no one believes him again.  He also finds out she has taken almost all the money in their checking account, even what they were saving.  How can life get worse?

Sep knows there's a bad cop in the group but he can't prove it. That's how he got set up for a fall.  The cop is even living with his wife and they're not divorced yet.  The worst part is the guy the cop is working for.  He's a gangster who kills whenever he feels like it.  You disappoint him, you're dead.  If he thinks you might talk, you're dead.  I sure wouldn't work for him.

Now this monster has kidnapped two young children and is using them to get land from their father.  He doesn't intend to return the children but he's keeping them alive during negotiations.  The father begs Sep to find his children.  This is where it gets really intense.

Sep decides to operate undercover.  He assumes the identity of a man he jailed in the past who is now in the states.  He does it so well the people who know him don't see him.  Then he sets out to find out what he can about the children.  Along the way he helps shut down a big brothel ring.  He has a friend that I think will become his next romantic interest. She's walked on the other side of the law and is a lot of help in this plot he's creating to capture both the bad cop and the gangster.

There are a lot of cat and mouse situations, dead men are falling everywhere, and the "informant" manages to get the information he needs from the cop.  He outcharmed the charmer.

It's an exciting busy read with lots going on.  Grab a copy, sit down, and take a walk on the dark side of crime.