Death in Provence by Serena Kent

Penelope is a dead body magnet.  She doesn't want to be but she seems to find them wherever she goes...

Harper and Edelweiss gave me the opportunity to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published February 19th. 

She's divorced now, her children are driving her nuts and her grandchildren aren't disciplined.  She's ready for a new start so she goes to an area she really likes and starts looking for a house.  She finds the perfect one but it needs a lot of work.  She loves the location, the views, and the acreage that goes with it.  So she buys it.  And one of the first days she lives there, she finds a dead body in the pool.

They identify the dead man but she knows it either isn't him or the man she spoke to on her property who said he was him was lying.  She doesn't have the best time here because she's an English woman moving into France and knows no one there.  But she's determined to find out who put him in her pool.

If that wasn't enough, she has someone shooting at her.  And when she hides from that, she finds another dead body.  The original feud was years ago and then the war came and nothing got resolved.  She knows nothing about it but she learns.

There are kind people and some not so kind.  She doesn't like the police chief who doesn't listen to her and tells her to get off the case. But the killer is someone fairly close who I didn't suspect at all.

I found this to be an interesting look at a small community in France with a good mystery woven through it.  I would have loved to see the house she bought...

The Owls Have Come to Take Us Away by Ronald L. Smith

Simon believes in aliens.  There's Roswell, Area 51 and more facts that help support his theory.  But does anyone else agree with him?

Clarion Books and Edelweiss allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published February 19th.

Since Simon reads a lot of fantasy and plays video games in the same field, his military father thinks it's his imagination.  But one day in the woods, he braced by an owl who looked him in the eyes and forced him unconscious.  When he awakens, he finds a hole in his stomach and he believes the aliens have implanted something there.  It's when he tries to dig out the implant that things get real serious for Simon.  He ends up in the hospital.  And then in psychiatric care.

This was an interesting story.  He knows the aliens have visited him and no one else believes it.  He also knows the government hides things.  He finds a group of people who support his beliefs and think the aliens will be coming soon to take earth over.  Simon gets pills to take but still gets visited by the aliens.

I didn't see this ending coming but it was quite appropriate.  It makes for a very fascinating sci/fi tale for middle graders.
 

A Case of Bier by Mary Daheim

Judith and her husband run a bed and breakfast.  When Joe offers to take her on vacation for a few days, she's thrilled.  It gets even better when Renie(her cousin) and her husband Bill join them.  She didn't envision being a fishing widow but they need a guide to get more fish and go out in the field with him.  The two women plan to shop, see the sights and relax.  It'd be a lot more relaxing if she didn't find a dead body on almost the first day there...

William Morrow and Edelweiss let me read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published February 12th.

She had been told he went there to die but he was stabbed.  Then his body disappears.  So does the bier he wanted to be sent down the river on.  She thinks the relatives did it and then got rid of the body.  That's partly true but there's a lot more to it.

They find the body in the woods in another day or so but when they try to show the cops, it's missing again.

In time, they begin to wonder if it was really that older brother as they were told.  But if it wasn't, who was it?

The fun part is that they make up stories as they go along.  One time Judith is a journalist, the next time she's acting like part of the family.  She does what it takes to sort out the facts.  She's also surprised by the killer...

The Lost Girl by Anne Ursu

They are twins and have done everything together.  However, it will different this year.  They have been separated and are in different classes.  Iris worries about Lark; she's not a strong person and embarrasses easily.  She doesn't want to be separated but she can't change her parent's minds.  What will happen this year?

Walden Pond Press and Edelweiss allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published February 12th.

As each girl makes their own way, they become more less dependent on each other and Iris begins to realize she was protecting Lark too much.

They have an elective class at the end of the day and Lark takes an art class.  Iris joins a "camp" at the library where Iris finds she's not very creative on her own.  But there's an antique shop across the street and that fascinates her.  It's not a good place to be but she doesn't know that.  The man who runs it uses magic and he's interested in her.  Once he locks her in, can she get away?  And what happened to his sister who disappeared?

Keep reading the tale.  You'll find out the answers to these questions.

Death by Airship by Arthur Slade

Prince Conn is a pirate.  So are his mom and dad and all his siblings.  Since his assigned area has almost no traffic, he doesn't get to act like a pirate very often but he's ready for when they show up.  When one of his sisters tries to set his airship on fire, he goes after her.  That's when he finds out his siblings are being killed off.  And he's being framed for it...

Orca Book Publishers and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published January 9th.

Mr. Slade writes busy stories that hold your attention.  I really enjoyed watching Conn trying to save his family.  His enemy is someone he knows but he doesn't realize that.  When his mother tries to knock his plane out of the sky, he races back home to talk to his father.  The King tells him he knows he didn't do it because he's not smart enough to carry out such a plot.  (That's not really a compliment, is it?).  While he's visiting with his father, a dove lands in the window.  Then another and another.  Then they blow up and take the window out and enemies crawl in.  He drags the King out on his airship and they escape.  Except he still has someone following him...

Can he save his family from the killer?

THE AU PAIR by Emma Rous

Seraphine and her brother were only hours old when their mother threw herself off a cliff.  She'd been moody and a bit crabby but no one expected suicide.  Was it or wasn't it?

Berkley and Net Galley let me read this book for review (thank you). It is being published today.

This is a house of secrets.  The children are turning 25 and while Danny is happy with thing the way they are, Seraphine feels like she's not who they've been telling her she is.  When their father falls and dies from his injuries, she feels like she's afloat.  She wants to know why her mother died so she tries to find the Au Pair that was working there at the time of birth.  Some secrets might be better off left that way...

There are new loves, old loves, hidden facts, and even evil plans afoot.  The truth is a very complicated matter and doesn't necessarily make anyone happy.  This house has more complications than Peyton Place.

I don't read a lot of this type of book but I enjoyed the history of the family they shared and the drama kept me glued to the pages until I was done with the book.  There's sadness and happiness both in this story.  If you start reading this, I bet you'll finish it.  Get ready for backstabbing, scandal and murder all mixed in one pot...

The Burglar by Thomas Perry

She came from a poor family and doesn't want to be there anymore, so she has become a burglar.  She's petite and thin.  She can fit through dog doors, louvered windows and more.  She acts like a regular jogger and checks out empty houses.  Then she robs them.  The problem starts when she finds dead people in the house.  She leaves but now she has folks after her...

Grove Atlantic and Net Galley let me read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published the 18th of January.

The black SUVs are hard to ditch.  She begins by thinking they are cops, then she changes her mind.

She stays over with a friend and comes back to the apartment to find her and her boyfriend dead.  She didn't think she would endanger them!  Even staying in a hotel isn't safe.

She decides to turn the tables on them and investigate them.  She finds a lot.  Now will she last long enough to turn it in?