Lively supernatural investigations with humor and heart.
Following the (impermanent) death of her eccentric employer, R.F. Jackaby, Abigail Rook, much to her dismay, inherited his ability to see energy and emotional auras.
In this stand-alone set in the Jackaby series world, Abigail must now take the lead in their supernatural detective work. Most unusually, the New England city of New Fiddleham includes a rift to the supernatural world. Many paranormals—goblins, trolls, elves, fairies, and their like—have moved in, necessitating a Paranormal Division of police, for which Jackaby and Abigail consult. But while Abigail was cloistered for months, training as the new Seer, supernatural crime and human-paranormal tensions soared. Though feeling decidedly unready, Abigail must use her gift to trace a series of kidnappings and murders. Things grow especially bleak when her prospective sister-in-law, who can shape shift into dog form, is implicated in a murder and Abigail’s fiance, Charlie Barker, is kidnapped. Like Jonathan Stroud’s Lockwood & Co. series, this book expertly blends witty banter, sympathetic, struggling characters, descriptive worldbuilding, and sometimes-gory supernatural crimes with all-too-believable motives. Quick-moving action and creative supernatural elements will hold readers’ attention, though characters’ memory-loss incidents might lead to some plot confusion, and the denouement feels rushed. Human-presenting characters read White; Charlie has a “faint Slavic accent.”
Lively supernatural investigations with humor and heart. (Fantasy. 12-16)Pub Date: Aug. 22, 2023
ISBN: 9781643752402
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Algonquin
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023
Despite the stale fat-to-curvy pattern, compelling world building with a Southern European, pseudo-Christian feel,...
Adventure drags our heroine all over the map of fantasyland while giving her the opportunity to use her smarts.
Elisa—Princess Lucero-Elisa de Riqueza of Orovalle—has been chosen for Service since the day she was born, when a beam of holy light put a Godstone in her navel. She's a devout reader of holy books and is well-versed in the military strategy text Belleza Guerra, but she has been kept in ignorance of world affairs. With no warning, this fat, self-loathing princess is married off to a distant king and is embroiled in political and spiritual intrigue. War is coming, and perhaps only Elisa's Godstone—and knowledge from the Belleza Guerra—can save them. Elisa uses her untried strategic knowledge to always-good effect. With a character so smart that she doesn't have much to learn, body size is stereotypically substituted for character development. Elisa’s "mountainous" body shrivels away when she spends a month on forced march eating rat, and thus she is a better person. Still, it's wonderfully refreshing to see a heroine using her brain to win a war rather than strapping on a sword and charging into battle.
Despite the stale fat-to-curvy pattern, compelling world building with a Southern European, pseudo-Christian feel, reminiscent of Naomi Kritzer's Fires of the Faithful (2002), keeps this entry fresh. (Fantasy. 12-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-202648-4
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2011
An atmospheric and entertaining thriller perfect for snowy night chills.
A group of teens stranded in a snowstorm discovers a murderer in their midst.
While traveling on the highway to a state theater competition, Nell and her friends Min, Raven, Adam, and Jermaine are caught in a dangerous blizzard. Their teacher, Mrs. McElroy, who is driving the minivan, decides to stop for the night at the run-down and shady-looking Travel Inn and Out. The motel is labyrinthine and spooky, with dingy corridors and walls adorned with moldering kitsch. Nell and the gang meet another group of kids who are also stranded by the storm, making fast friends. A game of Two Truths and a Lie starts out flirty and fun but devolves into something more sinister when one slip of paper reads “I like to watch people die,” and “I’ve lost count of how many people I’ve killed.” The snow falls and the winds howl, and soon power and cell service are lost, cutting off the motel patrons from the outside world. As the first victim is discovered and the body count begins to grow, the terror becomes palpable. Everyone at the motel seems to have an insidious secret: Will Nell be able to uncover the killer before they strike again? An homage to Agatha Christie, Henry’s locked-room mystery is tautly plotted, with quick-moving nail-biting chapters, relatable characters, and a deftly wrought setting that paradoxically manages to feel both claustrophobic and sprawling. Nell is White; there is diversity among the secondary characters.
An atmospheric and entertaining thriller perfect for snowy night chills. (Mystery. 12-16)Pub Date: May 24, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-316-32333-8
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano Books
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2022
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