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patriciau36's reviews
906 reviews
Alphabet of Dreams by Susan Fletcher
4.0
I’m a sucker for well-known stories re-told from a different perspective, Wicked by Gregory Maguire being one of my favorites along with books by Donna Jo Napoli, so Fletcher’s novel caught my attention right away. As a former Catholic school girl, I know the New Testament story of the Three Magi pretty well, but Fletcher tells the story from the perspective of a Persian princess reduced to living in caves and stealing food after her family is slaughtered by her father’s enemies. Mitra discovers quite by accident that her little brother, Babek, can dream other people’s dreams, a skill that brings him to the attention of the Magus Melchior. Mitra and Babek journey to Bethlehem with Melchior and two other Magi to witness the birth of Christ, enduring all sorts of hardships and learning a thing or two about family in the process. I really liked Mitra — as my grandmother used to day, she has pluck! –and I found Babek’s gift fascinating and a little scary. The characters are well-drawn, especially the three Magi and the bodyguard who keeps Mitra and Babek safe. A lovely story all around…
The Unresolved by T.K. Welsh
4.0
I picked this one up because I love history and I love ghost stories, and this is both. I admit, I was also curious to see if Welsh could pull off what Katharine Weber couldn’t in Triangle — successfully combining authentic NYC history with a story that appeals to teens. I think Welsh has succeeded admirably here.
From the publisher:
Mallory Meer has just turned fifteen years old, and within an hour, thanks to the only boy she’s ever loved, she’ll be dead, a victim of the General Slocum steamship disaster. Bound by love to her grieving family, and outraged by the multitude of senseless deaths, Mallory haunts those responsible for the tragedy, determined to see that justice is served.
Young love doomed, a horrific tragedy, and a ghost bound to earth by the terrible event. What more could you ask for? I sped through the first few chapters and then read the end. This is the ultimate test of the “goodness” of a book for me — if I can read the end and then still want to go back and finish the rest of the book, it’s a good’un. The Unresolved is a great one. Mallory is the most well-developed ghostly character I’ve seen in a long, long time…maybe even since my Blossom Culp days. I can’t recall another story where I’ve felt so connected to the ghost, and I was particularly impressed with the way Welsh moved Mallory in and out of other characters and told their stories in that way. Welsh skillfully manipulates emotions and develops characters through the relatively short novel, and I found myself genuinely caring about these people.
My only quibble, and there’s always one, is with the names. We have “Mallory” and “Dustin” — both German, one Lutheran and one Jewish. The names just struck me as very WB and not in sync with the time (early 1900s). I did a little research and found the name Mallory is French, and didn’t come into regular use until the 1960s. Dustin is derived from the Scandinavian, but didn’t come into common use until the 1940s. It seems like Welsh just picked the names out of the air. But, this is a small quibble, and certainly not enough to keep you from reading this fabulous story.
From the publisher:
Mallory Meer has just turned fifteen years old, and within an hour, thanks to the only boy she’s ever loved, she’ll be dead, a victim of the General Slocum steamship disaster. Bound by love to her grieving family, and outraged by the multitude of senseless deaths, Mallory haunts those responsible for the tragedy, determined to see that justice is served.
Young love doomed, a horrific tragedy, and a ghost bound to earth by the terrible event. What more could you ask for? I sped through the first few chapters and then read the end. This is the ultimate test of the “goodness” of a book for me — if I can read the end and then still want to go back and finish the rest of the book, it’s a good’un. The Unresolved is a great one. Mallory is the most well-developed ghostly character I’ve seen in a long, long time…maybe even since my Blossom Culp days. I can’t recall another story where I’ve felt so connected to the ghost, and I was particularly impressed with the way Welsh moved Mallory in and out of other characters and told their stories in that way. Welsh skillfully manipulates emotions and develops characters through the relatively short novel, and I found myself genuinely caring about these people.
My only quibble, and there’s always one, is with the names. We have “Mallory” and “Dustin” — both German, one Lutheran and one Jewish. The names just struck me as very WB and not in sync with the time (early 1900s). I did a little research and found the name Mallory is French, and didn’t come into regular use until the 1960s. Dustin is derived from the Scandinavian, but didn’t come into common use until the 1940s. It seems like Welsh just picked the names out of the air. But, this is a small quibble, and certainly not enough to keep you from reading this fabulous story.
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
4.0
One of the clearest memories I have of elementary school is my 6th grade teacher reading the story of Persephone, Demeter and Hades to the class from Edith Hamilton’s Mythology. The Greek gods captivated me from the start. After that day in class, I scoured the library for every book even remotely hinting of Greek mythology, so you can imagine my delight when I picked up The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. The gods, alive and well in Manhattan? Monsters and godlings among us? A dangerous quest? Oh yeah!
Percy Jackson isn’t like other kids, a thought that becomes fact when, in the first chapter, he turns his evil Math teacher to dust with a ballpoint-pen-turned-sword. His life goes from bad to worse when he’s sent home from boarding school with an invitation not to return next year. Living with his stepfather, Smelly Gabe, is even worse than boarding school, but life gets even more complicated when Percy and his mother are attacked by The Minotaur while fleeing to the safety of Camp Half Blood, a training ground for demi-gods. Percy soon learns that his real father is the god Poseidon, and he is potentially one of the most powerful “heroes” to come along in years. But all is not well on Mt. Olympus. Someone has stolen Zeus’ thunderbolt, a most powerful weapon, and all fingers point to Percy. To prove his innocence, Percy, along with Daughter-of-Athena Annabeth and a satyr named Grover, embarks on a dangerous quest to the Underworld, where he learns a thing or two about friendship, trust and self-worth.
Action abounds from the first pages of this book. Great characters, great story, superb writing. My only quibble comes from the feeling I kept getting that I was reading a Harry Potter book. We have a boy who never fit in, finding out he has remarkable powers, teaming up with a smart, sassy girl who has equally strong powers and a less talented but very amusing third boy — all sent off on a quest to recover something very powerful that, if in the wrong hands, could mean the end of the world. Throw into the mix a mysterious, powerful, and dangerous evil thing that everyone thought was dead and we have…..Sorceror’s Stone, anyone? Even the typeface used for the chapter headings was the same as in the HP books.
Despite the similarities to HP, The Lightning Thief was a fabulous read, and I can’t see any kid putting it down. Read the first chapter to a class and I guarantee they’ll be in the library looking for this one.
Percy Jackson isn’t like other kids, a thought that becomes fact when, in the first chapter, he turns his evil Math teacher to dust with a ballpoint-pen-turned-sword. His life goes from bad to worse when he’s sent home from boarding school with an invitation not to return next year. Living with his stepfather, Smelly Gabe, is even worse than boarding school, but life gets even more complicated when Percy and his mother are attacked by The Minotaur while fleeing to the safety of Camp Half Blood, a training ground for demi-gods. Percy soon learns that his real father is the god Poseidon, and he is potentially one of the most powerful “heroes” to come along in years. But all is not well on Mt. Olympus. Someone has stolen Zeus’ thunderbolt, a most powerful weapon, and all fingers point to Percy. To prove his innocence, Percy, along with Daughter-of-Athena Annabeth and a satyr named Grover, embarks on a dangerous quest to the Underworld, where he learns a thing or two about friendship, trust and self-worth.
Action abounds from the first pages of this book. Great characters, great story, superb writing. My only quibble comes from the feeling I kept getting that I was reading a Harry Potter book. We have a boy who never fit in, finding out he has remarkable powers, teaming up with a smart, sassy girl who has equally strong powers and a less talented but very amusing third boy — all sent off on a quest to recover something very powerful that, if in the wrong hands, could mean the end of the world. Throw into the mix a mysterious, powerful, and dangerous evil thing that everyone thought was dead and we have…..Sorceror’s Stone, anyone? Even the typeface used for the chapter headings was the same as in the HP books.
Despite the similarities to HP, The Lightning Thief was a fabulous read, and I can’t see any kid putting it down. Read the first chapter to a class and I guarantee they’ll be in the library looking for this one.
The Whispering Road by Livi Michael
4.0
I freely admit that I am a book -judger-by-its-cover kind of reader. Sometimes I get a dud, but most often I get what I got from this book — a true little gem of a story.We first meet Joe and Annie as they struggle to escape the tortuous servitude they suffer under Old Bert and The Mistress. The children manage to get away and literally bump into Travis, a man of the Road, who saves them from certain death. Travis introduces our two young heroes to life on the Road, teaching them to hear through their feet, find food, and stay safe on the dangerous byways of England in the grip of the Industrial Revolution. Eventually, the pair find their way to a traveling show where Annie’s ability to commune with the dead lands her in the spotlight. Joe, jealous of Annie’s “talent” and of the attention she gets from the show crowd, hoofs it into Manchester, the blackest of the black industrial towns. There he hooks up with a gang called the Little Angels and begins a life right out of Oliver Twist. After much drama, Joe finds his way back to Annie, who desperately needs him. The two find each other and find a home. Happily. Ever. After.
Despite the tremendous number of plot twists and turns, I completely enjoyed this story. It presents an unusual look at the life of children during the Industrial Revolution, a point in history before the concept of “childhood” was known. The heart-rending choices made by parents who could no longer care for their children are presented in a way that will make any parent cringe. Although there are a few instances where I think the editing could be better — for instance, I somehow doubt that a 19th century English child would have “freaked out” — I had a fine time reading this one and would recommend it for ages 10 and up.
Despite the tremendous number of plot twists and turns, I completely enjoyed this story. It presents an unusual look at the life of children during the Industrial Revolution, a point in history before the concept of “childhood” was known. The heart-rending choices made by parents who could no longer care for their children are presented in a way that will make any parent cringe. Although there are a few instances where I think the editing could be better — for instance, I somehow doubt that a 19th century English child would have “freaked out” — I had a fine time reading this one and would recommend it for ages 10 and up.
The Valley of Secrets by Charmian Hussey
5.0
I wasn’t sure about this one because the blurb on the back didn’t say much about the story other than that it involved an orphaned boy who suddenly finds out that he’s the only beneficiary in a never-before-seen great-uncle’s will. But it takes place in Cornwall, which is, as any folklore lover knows, one of the most mysterious places on earth. We first meet Stephen Lansbury as he’s just finished a course in botany and is fretting over whether to return to the children’s home where he grew up or set off on his own. An elegant letter from Postlethwaite and Postlethwaite arrives, which brings Stephen to an odd interview with an ancient lawyer nestled comfortably in an office overrun by a jungle of plants. Bertie Postlethwaite informs Stephen that his great-uncle Theodore Lansbury has left him an estate in Cornwall, and Stephen should be getting on there right away to “take care of things.”
With a train ticket and 100 pounds from Mr. Postlethwaite in his pocket, Stephen heads to the wilds of Cornwall. There he finds gates that mysteriously open, overgrown grounds, and an empty but spotless manor house. As he explores, Stephen begins to notice things. Like the strange “woomp, woomp” calls in the forest, the fact that the house has no electricity, that some of the rooms have thick layers of dust all over everything while others are spotless, the odd hammocks hung in the library and in a room upstairs, and the creepy feeling that he’s being watched. Eventually, Stephen finds his great-uncle’s journals and becomes privy to a grand adventure had by his uncle and his friend B. As the days and weeks pass, Stephen comes to realize that his uncle brought part of his adventure home with him, a revelation that solidifies when Stephen finds an injured animal of a type he’s never seen before. He nurses the animal back to health, and is eventually led by the animal to find the greatest secret of all.
I confess that I am a sucker for stories that involve mysterious houses, unexpected inheritances and great secrets, so this book captivated me immediately. As I read, I felt like I was gently being led down a path and at the end I would find a fabulous gift. And that’s just what I found at the end of this story. The events unfolded at exactly the right pace, and the characters were all wonderfully drawn. The only thing I didn’t appreciate was the author’s occasional tendency to preach about the destruction of the rainforest. Although the topic was certainly pertinent to the story, the facts were presented awkwardly and didn’t really fit into the narration. All in all, though, this was a lovely, gentle story…give it a try.
With a train ticket and 100 pounds from Mr. Postlethwaite in his pocket, Stephen heads to the wilds of Cornwall. There he finds gates that mysteriously open, overgrown grounds, and an empty but spotless manor house. As he explores, Stephen begins to notice things. Like the strange “woomp, woomp” calls in the forest, the fact that the house has no electricity, that some of the rooms have thick layers of dust all over everything while others are spotless, the odd hammocks hung in the library and in a room upstairs, and the creepy feeling that he’s being watched. Eventually, Stephen finds his great-uncle’s journals and becomes privy to a grand adventure had by his uncle and his friend B. As the days and weeks pass, Stephen comes to realize that his uncle brought part of his adventure home with him, a revelation that solidifies when Stephen finds an injured animal of a type he’s never seen before. He nurses the animal back to health, and is eventually led by the animal to find the greatest secret of all.
I confess that I am a sucker for stories that involve mysterious houses, unexpected inheritances and great secrets, so this book captivated me immediately. As I read, I felt like I was gently being led down a path and at the end I would find a fabulous gift. And that’s just what I found at the end of this story. The events unfolded at exactly the right pace, and the characters were all wonderfully drawn. The only thing I didn’t appreciate was the author’s occasional tendency to preach about the destruction of the rainforest. Although the topic was certainly pertinent to the story, the facts were presented awkwardly and didn’t really fit into the narration. All in all, though, this was a lovely, gentle story…give it a try.
Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by David Levithan, Rachel Cohn
4.0
This story grabs you by throat and doesn’t let go. Norah’s character is spot on for the good kid confused by what’s happening around her. Boys, school, demanding friendships –all wrapped up in a blanket of music. I loved seeing the softer side of Nick, — the boy who can quote lines frmo Dirty Dancing right alongside the queercore bassist scene kid. This book captures the fear, confusion and frustration of teenage love beautifully. I particularly liked how the gender lines were blurred –Nick holding hands with Dev, Tris teaching Norah how to kiss –because that is such a true depiction of how boys and girls relate to each other in that scene. My favorite line in the book — “The moshpit doesn’t lie.” One quibble, though. I really liked how Tris was developed as the story went on and how she impacted Nick & Norah’s relationship, but I wish the author had done a little more with Tal, Norah’s ex. We know a lot about Nick’s relationship with Tris, but not so much about Norah & Tal. Of all the books, I think this speaks to contemporary teen life the best.
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
5.0
It seems as though I’ve read more books about people who love books in the last year than ever before. It all started with The Yellow-Lighted Book Shop, segued into John Dunning’s The Bookman series, stopped off in fantasy land with Cornelia Funke’s Inkheart, and most recently took a turn on the bestseller list with The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield.
The Thirteenth Tale is the famously omitted story from author Vida Winter’s collection of short stories. Margaret Lea, book lover and amateur biographer, is invited to hear the true life story of England’s most popular author. When Margaret arrives at Winter’s home, she finds a dying woman with one foot firmly in the past. As Vida’s story unfolds, Margaret finds herself drawn into the darkly strange world of the the Angelfield twins. She is unsure of how much is true and how much is flotsam from Vida’s compost pile of story fragments. As Vida tells her story, so does Margaret, who harbors her own untold story.
Setterfields characters are magnificent. The otherwordly existence of the Angelfield family is at once repulsive and fascinating. There are many strands to this story that wave all over the place throughout, but which are all caught up in a neat knot at the end. I was engrossed in this story from the start and — gasp of surprise — didn’t even peek at the end. Good thing too, because I sure didn’t see the truth in Vida’s story until the very end. All in all, this was one of the most satisfying books I’ve read in awhile.
The Thirteenth Tale is the famously omitted story from author Vida Winter’s collection of short stories. Margaret Lea, book lover and amateur biographer, is invited to hear the true life story of England’s most popular author. When Margaret arrives at Winter’s home, she finds a dying woman with one foot firmly in the past. As Vida’s story unfolds, Margaret finds herself drawn into the darkly strange world of the the Angelfield twins. She is unsure of how much is true and how much is flotsam from Vida’s compost pile of story fragments. As Vida tells her story, so does Margaret, who harbors her own untold story.
Setterfields characters are magnificent. The otherwordly existence of the Angelfield family is at once repulsive and fascinating. There are many strands to this story that wave all over the place throughout, but which are all caught up in a neat knot at the end. I was engrossed in this story from the start and — gasp of surprise — didn’t even peek at the end. Good thing too, because I sure didn’t see the truth in Vida’s story until the very end. All in all, this was one of the most satisfying books I’ve read in awhile.
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
5.0
I don’t normally appreciate stories that flip back and forth between two or more time periods or sub plots. I find them distracting and annoying because the transitions are usually abrupt and jarring. Until now, the only book I’ve read that does the transition between present and past skillyfully is Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg; Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen is the second.
Gruen tells the story of Jacob Jankowski, a ninety — or is ninety-three? — year old former circus vet whose life takes an exciting turn when a circus sets up shop across the street from his nursing home. The present-day circus sparks memories of Jacob’s own experiences with the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth, which plunged him right in the middle of love, hate, despair, and wild animals.
Most of the story is told in flashbacks to the summer of 1931, and begins when Jacob’s parents are killed a few days before he’s scheduled to sit his final exams at Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine. Senseless with grief, he hops a train that just happens to be a cab of the Benzini Brothers. When Uncle Al the circus boss discovers Jacob is a Cornell educated vet, he pulls Jacob into the Benzini family and sets him to work caring for the animals in the circus menagerie. Along the way, Jacob falls in love — with Marlena the horse trainer as well as with the animals he cares for — especially Rosie, a bull elephant who only understands Polish.
Back in the present, the older Jacob struggles with the limitations age has inflicted on him, all the while waiting for his family to come take him to the circus. When it becomes clear that his family has forgotten him, Jacob picks up his walker and gets himself across the street to the show. There he meets the boss, who is fascinated to discover Jacob was in the thick of one of biggest circus disasters of all time. During the course of their conversation, Jacob, ever the con-man, convinces the circus boss to take him along for the rest of the season, effectively running away with the circus for a second time.
Gruen has done her homework and includes wonderful details of circus life in the 1930s, including real life stories like the elephant that was responsible for drinking all the lemonade made for the concession stands, and the paralysis — jake leg– suffered by the hard-drinking circus men and associated with drinking Jamaica Ginger Extract while real liquor was outlawed under Prohibition. The story moves quickly and contains enough action to keep the reader satisfied. Highly recommended.
Gruen tells the story of Jacob Jankowski, a ninety — or is ninety-three? — year old former circus vet whose life takes an exciting turn when a circus sets up shop across the street from his nursing home. The present-day circus sparks memories of Jacob’s own experiences with the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth, which plunged him right in the middle of love, hate, despair, and wild animals.
Most of the story is told in flashbacks to the summer of 1931, and begins when Jacob’s parents are killed a few days before he’s scheduled to sit his final exams at Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine. Senseless with grief, he hops a train that just happens to be a cab of the Benzini Brothers. When Uncle Al the circus boss discovers Jacob is a Cornell educated vet, he pulls Jacob into the Benzini family and sets him to work caring for the animals in the circus menagerie. Along the way, Jacob falls in love — with Marlena the horse trainer as well as with the animals he cares for — especially Rosie, a bull elephant who only understands Polish.
Back in the present, the older Jacob struggles with the limitations age has inflicted on him, all the while waiting for his family to come take him to the circus. When it becomes clear that his family has forgotten him, Jacob picks up his walker and gets himself across the street to the show. There he meets the boss, who is fascinated to discover Jacob was in the thick of one of biggest circus disasters of all time. During the course of their conversation, Jacob, ever the con-man, convinces the circus boss to take him along for the rest of the season, effectively running away with the circus for a second time.
Gruen has done her homework and includes wonderful details of circus life in the 1930s, including real life stories like the elephant that was responsible for drinking all the lemonade made for the concession stands, and the paralysis — jake leg– suffered by the hard-drinking circus men and associated with drinking Jamaica Ginger Extract while real liquor was outlawed under Prohibition. The story moves quickly and contains enough action to keep the reader satisfied. Highly recommended.
Resurrection by Tucker Malarkey
4.0
Growing up in an Irish Catholic family in the 1960s and 70s was an experience steeped in church-every-Sunday, frilly white communion dresses, tiny silver crucifixes on delicate little chains, nuns enveloped in billowing habits, and don’t-you-dare-lean-your-behind-on-the-pew-when-you’re-kneeling instructions from Mom & Dad. I can tell you with much certainty that the Catholic Catechism I used in Sr. Paul Regina’s religion class sure didn’t have anything in it about the Gnostic Gospels.
As I’ve aged, I, like many of my contemporaries, have lost a little faith in the teachings of the Catholic Church. It’s not so much a loss of faith but a real questioning of the things I was taught so many years ago. So I naturally gravitate to books that deal with themes that question the same things I question. In this case, that questioning involves the authority of the four gospels of the New Testament, and the place in history and faith of the Gnostic Gospels, or New Testament apocrypha.
Resurrection is a fictionalized account of the discovery of the Nag Hammadi gospels in post World War II Egypt. Gemma Bastian, our intrepid heroine, is a war-damaged nurse who lived through the Blitz in London which killed her mother and destroyed her home. Shortly after the war ends, her father, a Biblical archaeologist, is found in his Cairo office, dead of an apparent heart attack. Shortly after being informed of his death, Gemma receives a mysterious letter from him that sends her to Cairo on a mission. As she discovers more about her father’s work, it becomes clear that he had discovered something that would rewrite the history of Christianity. The story follows Gemma as she slowly pieces together the last days of her father’s life and culminates in her possession of the Nag Hammadi gospels.
This reminded me very much of early Elizabeth Peters fiction, which owes a lot to the gothic romances so popular in the 1960s and 70s, and which evolved into the inimitable Amelia Peabody series. The three primary characters — Gemma, Michael and Anthony (the two brothers who vie for her attention) are colorful and well drawn, but the real action in the story involves the discovery of the gospels, what they contain, and what happens to them. Malarkey’s story whet my appetite enough that I’m currently reading the scholarly works on the Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels. I realize that my father, who spent the first part of his young adulthood in the seminary, is probably spinning in his grave, but I have to say that what I’m reading is making me re-connect with the basis of my Christian belief. And that’s not a bad thing.
As I’ve aged, I, like many of my contemporaries, have lost a little faith in the teachings of the Catholic Church. It’s not so much a loss of faith but a real questioning of the things I was taught so many years ago. So I naturally gravitate to books that deal with themes that question the same things I question. In this case, that questioning involves the authority of the four gospels of the New Testament, and the place in history and faith of the Gnostic Gospels, or New Testament apocrypha.
Resurrection is a fictionalized account of the discovery of the Nag Hammadi gospels in post World War II Egypt. Gemma Bastian, our intrepid heroine, is a war-damaged nurse who lived through the Blitz in London which killed her mother and destroyed her home. Shortly after the war ends, her father, a Biblical archaeologist, is found in his Cairo office, dead of an apparent heart attack. Shortly after being informed of his death, Gemma receives a mysterious letter from him that sends her to Cairo on a mission. As she discovers more about her father’s work, it becomes clear that he had discovered something that would rewrite the history of Christianity. The story follows Gemma as she slowly pieces together the last days of her father’s life and culminates in her possession of the Nag Hammadi gospels.
This reminded me very much of early Elizabeth Peters fiction, which owes a lot to the gothic romances so popular in the 1960s and 70s, and which evolved into the inimitable Amelia Peabody series. The three primary characters — Gemma, Michael and Anthony (the two brothers who vie for her attention) are colorful and well drawn, but the real action in the story involves the discovery of the gospels, what they contain, and what happens to them. Malarkey’s story whet my appetite enough that I’m currently reading the scholarly works on the Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels. I realize that my father, who spent the first part of his young adulthood in the seminary, is probably spinning in his grave, but I have to say that what I’m reading is making me re-connect with the basis of my Christian belief. And that’s not a bad thing.
The Bad Quarto by Jill Paton Walsh
4.0
I was browsing a few weeks ago among the fabulous displays done by the Lit staff at the Central Library and happened across a familiar author writing in an unfamiliar genre. Jill Paton Walsh has been one of my top 10 favorite young adult authors ever since Ellin Chu made me read A Parcel of Patterns years ago. Imagine my surprise and delight when I fouund that she’s now writing mysteries for adults.
The Bad Quarto is the latest in her Imogen Quy (rhymes with “why”) series. Imogen is a nurse at St. Agatha’s College, Cambridge University, but moonlights as a part-time sleuth. Devoted mystery readers know that the Universities in England are awash with mystery and intrigue, and in the grand tradition of Dorothy Sayers, St. Agatha’s is no different. This time around, Imogen must unravel the mysterious death of a promising scholar, which becomes tied up with a production of Shakespeare’s “Bad Quarto” version of Hamlet, which which leads her to the daring “night climbers” of Cambridge, and finally to a sad and dangerous young woman.
Imogen is everything we want in a sleuth – single, self-possessed, empathetic, smart, funny, daring — a real Nancy Drew. She handles all the (many) characters throughout the story with aplomb. The story is short, a mere 265 pages, but Paton Walsh packs a lot into that small space — almost too much. There is an over abundance of characters here and I did have some trouble keeping them all straight at times. However, Paton Walsh ties up the ends into a neat little bow, leaving me wanting more of Imogen Quy. I will be looking for her earlier titles now, and waiting for the next in the series.
The Bad Quarto is the latest in her Imogen Quy (rhymes with “why”) series. Imogen is a nurse at St. Agatha’s College, Cambridge University, but moonlights as a part-time sleuth. Devoted mystery readers know that the Universities in England are awash with mystery and intrigue, and in the grand tradition of Dorothy Sayers, St. Agatha’s is no different. This time around, Imogen must unravel the mysterious death of a promising scholar, which becomes tied up with a production of Shakespeare’s “Bad Quarto” version of Hamlet, which which leads her to the daring “night climbers” of Cambridge, and finally to a sad and dangerous young woman.
Imogen is everything we want in a sleuth – single, self-possessed, empathetic, smart, funny, daring — a real Nancy Drew. She handles all the (many) characters throughout the story with aplomb. The story is short, a mere 265 pages, but Paton Walsh packs a lot into that small space — almost too much. There is an over abundance of characters here and I did have some trouble keeping them all straight at times. However, Paton Walsh ties up the ends into a neat little bow, leaving me wanting more of Imogen Quy. I will be looking for her earlier titles now, and waiting for the next in the series.