The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

by Carol13 Comments
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, translated by Lucia Graves When I purchased this book, I was expecting to fall in love with it. I was hoping it would be the best book I would read all year. I thought it would enthrall me. I was disappointed. The story is fascinating. Daniel's father takes him to the Cemetery of Lost Books, where he discovers The Shadow of the Wind by Julián Carax. Daniel loves the book, but when he begins to search for other books by Carax, he discovers that someone is systematically burning every copy of every book Carax has written. Daniel is drawn into the mystery surrounding the author's life, a story of murder, lost love and madness. In the meantime, Daniel himself falls in love, his own story in a way echoing Carax'. I told her until that moment I had not understood that this was a story about lonely people, about absence and loss, and that...
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The Witch’s Grave by Shirley Damsgaard

by Carol2 Comments
The Witch's Grave by Shirley Damsgaard This is the 6th in the Ophelia and Abby Mystery series. I've read all of them, so of course I had to buy this one. Ophelia Jensen is a psychic and novice witch. She is guided and helped by her grandmother, Abby, also a witch who learned most of what she knows in the hills of Appalachia.  The story begins with Ophelia having erotic dreams about a stranger, but she soon meets this man of her dreams, exposé author Stephen Larsen, at a library fundraiser. Unfortunately, he's shot right after their first kiss, and is left in a coma. Ophelia continues to have dreams, only now she's a model in WWII Paris. What connection can there be to the present day happenings? And was Stephen the gunman's true target, or was it Ophelia? Luckily for Ophelia, Abby is around to help her learn to trust in her gifts and solve the mystery, but of course Ophelia runs into her fair share of danger along the way.  This wasn't...
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The Old Motel Mystery created by Gertrude Chandler Warner

by Carol2 Comments
The Old Motel Mystery (Boxcar Children #23) created by Gerturde Chandler Warner Aunt Jane has taken The Boxcar Children to stay with her friend, Kay, who owns an old, shabby motel in Florida. Kay is ready to sell the motel when the children offer to help fix it up and put it back in business. My thoughts: Like I've said before, Amber loves these, which is why we read them together. Who is sabotaging Kay's attempts at fixing up the motel? Amber knew who the culprit was about halfway through the book, but she still enjoyed it. After we finished, she said that next time we go to Florida she wants to see the Everglades. That is one nice thing about this series, the settings are varied and there is always a little extra information about the area. I personally find the series pretty boring, but we'll probably start a new one tonight. I think she borrowed six from the library last time she was...
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The Mystery of Alligator Swamp created by Gertrude Chandler Warner

by Carol2 Comments
The Mystery of Alligator Swamp (Boxcar Children Special #19) created by Gertrude Chandler Warner From the cover: Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny head down south to Louisiana and find themselves swamped in a new mystery! In the lush bayou country, the Aldens learn all about fishing, Cajun cooking, and the alligators of the swamp. When a boat is found with a bite in it, the local fishermen wonder if the legendary alligator, Gator Ann, is up to her old tricks. Impossible—unless Gator Ann is a ghost! Could Alligator Swamp be haunted? The Boxcar Children put their heads together to catch a gator! My thoughts: This was another cute Boxcar Children mystery. I've never been to Louisiana, let alone the bayou, but this book definitely made me want to visit.  Amber and I learned a lot about alligators and the swamp. I think one of the fun things about reading childrens' mysteries is that the clues are so blatant and the plots so predictable, I can usually guess what's...
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The Mystery of the Black Raven created by Gertrude Chandler Warner

by Carol1 Comment
The Mystery of the Black Raven (Boxcar Children Special #12) created by Gertrude Chandler Warner Description: The Boxcar Children are traveling to Skagway, Alaska, for the annual Four-Rock Miners' reunion. They're looking forward to a week of sightseeing and even panning for gold. But before the fun can begin, the soapstone raven and the scrapbook that grandfather is set to inherit for the year go missing. They're nothing but old souvenirs, so why would anyone want to take them? The Boxcar Children set out to find the raven's secret! My (brief) thoughts: I don't think Amber's ever going to get tired of the Boxcar Children Mysteries. I find them a little boring, but she enjoys them, so I read them with her. This one did have some interesting facts about Alaska and the Gold Rush, though. As usual, there were several suspects and clues and it was fun to try to guess who the thief actually was....
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A Night at the Operation by Jeffrey Cohen

by Carol5 Comments
A Night at the Operation by Jeffrey Cohen Description: Most men wouldn't be terribly upset if their ex-wives suddenly vanished. But most men aren't Elliot Freed. So when Sharon disappears, Elliot finds it impossible to focus on running Comedy Tonight. And when it's rumored that Sharon might be somehow connected to a patient's death—which looks like murder—Elliot embarks on a frantic search for his ex with help from her soon-to-be-second-ex-husband, Elliot's passive-aggressive mother and desperate-to-please father, and his good friend Detective Meg Vidal. And the longer Sharon is gone, the less stable Elliot becomes... My thoughts: The Double Feature Mysteries have to be one of the funniest mystery series I've read, and this latest installment is not an exception. It's full of one-liners and laugh out loud moments. Even though Elliott is scared to death about Sharon, and the theater is by turns flooding and catching on fire, Elliott's sense of humor still shines through. It's a reflex, a part of his personality, and he...
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