Spin by Lamar Giles, 2019

Click to view
on Goodreads 

Sixteen-year-old Paris Secord's (aka DJ ParSec) career--and life--has come to an untimely end, and the local music scene is reeling. No one is feeling the pain more than her shunned pre-fame best friend, Kya, and Paris's chief groupie, Fuse. But suspicion trumps grief, and since each suspects the other of Paris's murder, they're locked in a high-stakes game of public accusations and sabotage.

Everyone in the ParSec Nation (DJ ParSec's local media base)--including the killer--is content to watch it play out, until Kya and Fuse discover a secret: Paris was on the verge of major deal that would've catapulted her to superstar status on a national level, leaving her old life (and old friends) behind. With the new info comes new motives. New suspects. And a fandom that shows its deadly side. As Kya and Fuse come closer to the twisted truth, the killer's no longer amused. But murdering Paris was simple enough, so getting rid of her nobody-friends shouldn't be an issue...

(400 pages)

I think it's pretty well-established on this site that I am a fan of murder mysteries. Usually Agatha Christie's novels are my poison of choice (pun intended), but I'm always game to try out new authors. I am often very interested to see how different books approach the mysteries from different angles, either focusing on the personality of the victim or on the character of the detective or just treating the mystery as a puzzle to be solved as an intellectual pursuit.

Spin takes an interesting approach by making the two main characters be the victim's current and ex-best friend, who don't like each other and in fact begin a social media war in the aftermath of her death. We learn more and more about Paris's story as the book goes on, and it's very interesting to see the process of ascending to fame and the pain and torn relationships that came with it. All of the characters in Spin are multi-dimensional, and the story is full of nuance. I really appreciated that.

I also liked watching the social media and technological aspect of the story, because Giles does a good job really making it feel like a realistic aftermath of the murder of a celebrity. There are some aspects of the dark web that seem to be pushing reality a smidge, but overall the details about Paris's fans, her social media presence, and the issues with her publicist, all seem very honest.

At this point I have to be honest: it's been a few months since I read the book, so I can't comment much more on the details or language. I do know that the story and characters have stayed with me much better than those of many other books do, so I can vouch that it's a fairly memorable book. Overall, I remember having some issues with it (and getting really ticked off at Paris at one point, though again that's part of the realism of the book I suppose). At the end of the day, it was a compelling and entertaining read that I enjoyed having access to. If you want to read it, I say go for it!

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

R.I.P. Eliza Hart by Alyssa B Sheinmel, 2017

Click to view
on Goodreads 

When Eliza Hart, the most popular girl at Ventana Ranch boarding school, is found dead on the cliffs outside her dormitory, Ellie Sokoloff is determined to figure out what happened to her. After all, Eliza was Ellie’s childhood best friend.

Never mind that ever since Ellie arrived at school Eliza has spread terrible rumors about her, calling her a liar and a stalker, when all Ellie wanted to do was rekindle their old friendship. Or that Ellie’s claustrophobia limits where she can go and what she can do. Or that Ellie’s suitemate, Sam, is the only one who will help her . . . because to everyone else, Ellie looks like the top suspect.

Can Ellie clear her name and solve the mystery behind Eliza’s death? Her hunt for the truth will uncover secrets she never imagined, sending her deep into her own memories of her childhood with Eliza Hart.

New York Times bestselling author Alyssa Sheinmel delivers a gripping mystery and a sensitive and moving examination of the secrets that can hold us back—and even destroy us.

(336 pages)

Oof.

I have definitely read more than my share of murder mysteries over the years, many of which had very gruesome deaths and terrible motives, but few if any of those books can match the sheer misery in R.I.P. Eliza Hart.

That's not to say that it's a miserable book to read - on the contrary, Ellie and Sam (who is a guy, by the way) share a sardonic sense of humor that keeps the book from becoming unbearably depressing. But at the same time, Sheinmel creates a suspenseful and gripping story which doesn't pull any punches.

It starts out straightforward enough, with the interestingly flawed protagonist (Ellie) trying to solve the sudden death of a classmate (Eliza) and clear her name from suspicion, but as the story goes on we learn more and more about the dark parts of Eliza's life that she had worked so hard to bury deep away from everyone. Eliza's tale takes many twists and turns, which I really wish I could discuss but won't because I don't want to spoil them. Suffice it to say that this is where the book jumps off the track of most other murder mysteries, and I believe it's better for it.

I can't even pretend to be qualified enough to know whether Sheinmel's handling of mental health was good or not, but from what I could tell it seemed very sympathetic and believable. I did think that her handling of suicide (which many suspected Ellie to have committed) was almost a little too sympathetic, though: I hope that no one actually struggling with suicidal thoughts reads R.I.P. Eliza Hart.

For the rest of us, though, it's a gripping and thoughtful read about life, death, and hiding yourself in plain sight. I recommend it to anyone who is interested in it.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Death and Douglas by J.W. Ocker, 2017

Click to view
on Goodreads 

Douglas has grown up around the business of death. Generations of his family have run the Mortimer Family Funeral Home. The mortician and gravediggers are all his buddies. And the display room of caskets is an awesome place for hide and seek. It’s business as usual in Douglas’s small New England town. Until one day an incredibly out of the ordinary murder victim is brought to the funeral home. And more startling: others follow. On the cusp of Halloween, a serial killer has arrived. And unsatisfied with the small-town investigation, Douglas enlists his friends to help him solve the mystery. With sumptuous descriptions of a bucolic town and it’s quirky people, fascinating yet middle grade–appropriate insider information about the funeral process, and a crackling mystery with a heart-pounding conclusion―Death and Douglas has something for readers young and old.

(372 pages)

What a perfect book book this would have been to read right before Halloween! It's spooky and scary, with a serial killer on the loose and a main character who spends his life surrounded by death, but never so gruesome that it would be unpleasant to read.

It's perfect for middle school, really–though I liked it too, and I'm definitely not in that demographic anymore. I thought Ocker took a really interesting angle on spooky stories, telling a tale that was no less believable than an episode of NCIS or Monk or [insert your favorite crime show here]. Douglas is very comfortable with death, the sort of death that happens by accident or through aging. He knows and accepts that it is natural and inevitable, and he has a very intimate understanding of the process that occurs–from home removal to embalming to funeral ceremony to burial–because he has grown up as a part of the funeral business. When he discovers a serial killer is on the loose, though, it's fascinating not only to watch him and his friends do their best to solve the mystery but also to watch him grapple to equate his peaceful understanding of death with the horrible, unnatural, untimely death that occurs when there is a murder.

I think this is an important issue to think about, especially in a culture such as ours that is so inundated with books and movies and TV shows that revolve around solving murders. I love Agatha Christie's stories, for example, but none of her characters ever quite grapple with the horribleness of murder in quite the same way Douglas does. I think that's a big advantage of having a kid narrate, and I think it's also part of what makes the book both accessible for younger kids and also possibly a bit too much for them.

After all, dealing with the finality and purpose of death is pretty heady stuff for a kid's book. It manages to do a good job, I think, even without bringing in any sort of discussion of an afterlife. And the characters, both major and minor, are just so well-done that the entire book is a joy to read. It's also surprisingly hilarious for a book that literally has the word "Death" in its title.

Basically, if you want to read it, then do. I highly recommend it. But if you (or the kid you're thinking about) might not feel ready, then set it aside for now. Either way, think about saving it to read on some dark nights in October leading up to Halloween–that's definitely the best time of year for it!

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Murder is No Accident by A.H. Gabhart, 2017

Click to view
on Goodreads 

Young Maggie Greene may be trespassing in the old, empty Victorian mansion on a quiet street in Hidden Springs, but all she wants is some private time in the magnificent tower room to write her stories. Certain she'll be in trouble if caught, she hides when a realtor shows up. But someone else is in the house too, someone even more worried about getting caught. When Maggie finds the realtor's body at the bottom of a flight of stairs and the other person gone, Deputy Sheriff Michael Keane is called in. He assumes the realtor's death is a tragic accident--until a second person is found dead in the house. When Maggie is threatened, Michael must catch the murderer before anyone else dies.

Cozy mystery fans will love this third installment in The Hidden Springs Mysteries series from an author who knows how to make small-town America sweet, sentimental--and a little sinister.

(352 pages)

First, just so you know, this is the third book in the Hidden Springs Mystery series. I have not read the first two, so I have no idea what details in this book count as spoilers for them. I'll be reviewing it more or less as though it was a stand-alone.

Though I have to say, starting with Murder is No Accident definitely did feel like I was stepping into the middle of something. Most of the characters are given introductions, so I didn't have to constantly guess about who everyone was, but I think I was supposed to already be attached to the characters at the start of the book. I couldn't have cared less about the main character Michael in the beginning of the book, and even though I grew to like him by the end (how could I not, with his love for kids and his tragic back-story?), I still found myself skimming the pages about his personal problems in the second half of the book. What can I say? I wanted to know what was happening with the mystery! And I really didn't care about his personal life that much. There's a fair amount of romance drama between Michael and his girlfriend, and I just couldn't convince myself to feel any anxiety about the relationship between two people who, to be perfectly honest, I did think should just break up and continue in their completely different lives.

To be fair, though, what interest I lacked for Michael and his girlfriend was more than made up for by my interest in Maggie and her boyfriend. It was so cute watching her grow increasingly connected with Anthony, who seems like a really sweet boy. I also just liked Maggie in general, because she seemed like a really nice person whose life was constantly on the verge of catastrophe. The family dynamics, especially with her younger brother and laid-off father, were very well done and I enjoyed them. Basically, Maggie and everything directly connected to her were the biggest things that I loved about the book.

Since this is a murder mystery, I suppose I should talk about the mystery itself. I can't really say much about it without spoilers, obviously, so I'll try to tread carefully. I've read tons of murder mysteries over the years, beginning when I was just nine years old with Murder on the Orient Express, but the number of non-Agatha Christie murder mystery novels I've read can be added up on just one hand. This one is definitely the best of those by far–more engaging, with a wonderfully character-driven plot–but it still doesn't even approach the genius of Christie's mysteries. I didn't guess the murderer, per se, but I definitely wasn't surprised by the end reveal. I was a little bored by it, honestly, but I can't say why because that would be a massive spoiler.

All in all, though, this is still the best murder mystery book I've ever read by anyone whose last name wasn't "Christie," so that's a win in my book. Also, to any other murder mystery fans out there: can you recommend some new names to me? Murder is No Accident has gotten me in the mood for the genre again!

Disclaimer: This is an Amazon affiliate link, and I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Running Girl by Simon Mason, 2014

Click to view
on Goodreads 

Meet Garvie Smith. Highest IQ ever recorded at Marsh Academy. Lowest ever grades. What's the point? Life sucks. Nothing surprising ever happens.
Until Chloe Dow's body is pulled from a pond. Garvie's ex-girlfriend.
Inspector Singh is already on the case. Ambitious, uptight, methodical, he's determined to solve the mystery--and get promoted. He doesn't need any "assistance" from a notorious slacker.
Or does he?
Smart, stylish, and packed with twists and turns from start to finish,Running Girl introduces an unforgettable new character to the world of crime fiction--so lazy he'd only get out of bed for murder.

(432 pages)

This book is deeply disturbing.

Though I suppose I knew it would be when I saw that it was a high school murder mystery.

I won't spoil what happened (obviously - what sort of terrible person would I be if I spoiled the end of a mystery novel?), but let's just say that there's some pretty sick stuff that they at the very least theorize was going on in Chloe's life including stalking, pedophelia, and rape. It's truly horrifying to read about, and part of me wishes I hadn't at all.

The mystery is well done, though. There were a couple of times when it seemed like everything was obvious, that the mystery was solved, and then someone (usually Garvie) would point out some small incongruency and the entire thing would unravel. Setting aside the fact that the murder theories become progressively disturbing as they go along, this definitely keeps interest the entire novel through.

I do have to say, though, that this is one of very few murder mysteries I've ever read that wasn't by Agatha Christie. I've devoured murder mystery books by the gallon, sure, but never really branched out from the one author. So when I read a murder mystery, I can't help comparing it to Christie's. Garvie - with his frustratingly apathetic approach to life, his weed addiction, and his constant betrayal of his mother's trust - is not exactly the young counterpart of Christie's Hercule Poirot, but he does share the latter's habit of keeping his cards close to his hand. Somehow I find it more annoying when Garvie does it than when Poirot does, though I don't know if that's just because I generally find Garvie to be pretty unpleasant as a character. Where Poirot is a genius who genuinely cares about the people he's investigating, Garvie is just a high school weed-head who's investigating the murder of a girl he didn't really like just for the fun of it. When he doesn't tell people everything he knows, it's more obnoxious than anything.

I don't know if I can explicitly recommend this book to anyone - not just because of the intense material, but also because of the terrible language that pops up occasionally - but I think everyone has to decide for themselves whether or not they're feeling up for it. You've read my review, you have an idea of what Running Girl is like, and now it's up to you to decide whether you want to read it. If you need any more information before you make your decision, ask me anything you want in the comments section below.

Disclaimer: I received an unsolicited ARC of this novel from the publisher.