Edison: The Mystery of the Missing Mouse Treasure by Torben Kuhlmann

When they find a map to a treasure beneath the sea, the first thing they must to is make something to take them below the sea...

NorthSouth Books and Net Galley let me read this book for review (thank you).  It has been published and you can grab a copy now.

It takes them some experimenting to come up with a workable unit to go beneath the sea.  As they go to look, they find the shipwreck fairly easily.  They run across the human treasure but they have to look further for the mouse treasure.  You'll never guess what it is... 

The Monastery Murders: A Stanton and Barling Mystery by E.M. Powell

Barling is sent to a monastery that has had a horrendous killing.  He takes Stanton with him because they do well on solving murder mysteries together.  He has no idea what he will be facing when he gets there...

Thomas Mercer and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It has been published.

Winter is setting in when they arrive and it's a dangerous trek to the isolated monastery but they make it safely.  Barling is unpleasantly surprised by the abbot who is an old enemy of his.  But he intends to find the murderer.  He's told no one in the monastery can be guilty, they've all been questioned already.  But he's not so sure...

When there are more murders even while they are there, it becomes a more frantic search for the killer.  When they find the killings are following a text in the library, it becomes even more scary because there are more to come...

This is a nasty killer who has no feelings for those he destroys.  His greed is driving him.  And I never would have guessed who it was.  This is a well written mystery that sent a chill down my spine.  What do you think of it?

Luke and Lottie: It's Halloween! by Ruth Wielockx

Luke's a ghost and Lottie is a witch for Halloween.  They are the cutest little things and they are ready to trick or treat.

Clavis and Net Galley let me read this book for review (thank you).  It has been published and you can grab a copy now.

You can see them go from home to home gathering treats.  Everyone is having a good time, just like Halloween should be.

The illustrations are colorful and full of whimsy.  

This is great book to introduce your child to Halloween.

Fish-Boy: An Inuit Folk Tale by Vanita Oelschlager

He is part fish and part boy, and he asks the fisherman to be his father.  The fisherman is hesitant about that but when the fish boy shows him where the big fish are, he agrees.

Vanita Books and Net Galley let me read this book for review (thank you).  It has been published and you can grab a copy now.

When they venture to another island to fish, they are met with scorn.  They are especially mean to fish boy.  So he turns them into sea parrots.  When they leave, he reverses the spell but the ones that were mean don't change back.  After that, people treated him with kindness, which they should have done in the beginning.

Sloppy Takes the Plunge by Sean Julian

Sloppy would like to have a hug but he's covered in mud.  She tells him he needs to clean up first.  He tells her tree dragons love mud baths.  So, no hug until he's clean.

NorthSouth Books and Net Galley let me read this book for review (thank you).  It has been published, so you can grab a copy now.

He really wants a hug so he goes over to the pond, gathers his strength, and jumps in.  And, guess what?  Feeling clean is great!  And now he can get his hug!

Death of a Rainmaker: A Dust Bowl Mystery by Laurie Loewenstein

Being Sheriff in a small town is usually pretty tame.  He's running for re-election and has someone running against him.  He's concerned but he's not as politically motivated as his opponent.  Then a big dust storm comes through and turns everything black and full of dirt.  It's even worse when the theater manager finds a dead body out his back door.  Initial thought was that the dust storm killed him, but no.  Someone whacked him in the head...

Akashic Books sent me an ARC of this book to read for review (thank you).   It has been published and you can grab a copy now.

Since the coroner identifies the weapon as a shovel the CCC workers use, the Sheriff takes a hard look at them.  When a witness tells him one of them got in a fight with the dead man earlier in the day, he asks more questions and then arrests him.  His wife doesn't agree.  She'd met the young man earlier and he wasn't like that.  Her husband knows she associates him with their young son that died and he tells her he has to go by the evidence.  So she starts looking for evidence that will prove he didn't do it.

She finds more suspects, finds a battered wife and attempts to help her and talks to the CCC worker and tells him her progress.  In the meantime, the Sheriff finds more voters are going to vote for his opponent...

This story visits the plains where the wind blows mercilessly and gives old and young dust pneumonia that most don't survive.  It's not an easy life here and finding a murderer isn't easy either.

The historical content is good and the story kept my attention all the way through.  I enjoyed this read.  If you like historical mysteries, this will be a good one for you.

Captive by Donna J. Stoltzfus

He hates Germans.  His father is in the war fighting them and he has no reason to like them.  So why do the people he's working bring them in to work on the farm?

Schiffer Kids and Net Galley let me read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published October 28th.

What John discovers is that they are not monsters, they're just people like us.  They didn't join the service because they wanted to, they had to.  Hans even saved his life when the building they were working began burning.  His attitude about the Germans is changing.

But when his father comes home without his feet and lower legs, he has no use for them.  Nor does he like his son's drawings that show the Germans.  He won't let him use any of them for the drawing contest.  So he doesn't win.  But he's invited to visit the artist's studio and it looks like his dad has a job making frames.  Losing is not all bad...