A treat for fans of Regency tales and stories inspired by classics.
Solicitors Lizzie and Darcy team up in another Austen-flavored mystery.
Jack Mullins, co-owner of a wool storehouse in London, was Lizzie’s first client; three years later, he hires her again. Accompanied by Darcy, Lizzie intends to meet Jack at the storehouse, but upon arrival they find Jack distraught, and the building engulfed in flames. Jack, whose brother dies in the fire, insists that a young woman he spotted on the premises is responsible. Although his story isn’t entirely convincing, Lizzie agrees to investigate. Her leads include both impoverished French refugees and two privileged young women with ties to the country: Leticia Cavendish, who was raised in France, and Josette Beaufort, her half-French cousin, who once turned down Darcy’s proposal of marriage. Unable to confirm puzzling accounts of the Mullinses’ business dealings, Lizzie enlists the Dashwood sisters to help her search the storehouse at night. What they find only adds to the mystery—as does Darcy’s absence. Lizzie sought his help, yet he never showed up. This volume positions Lizzie and Darcy, sturdy survivors of many retellings, as well-chosen protagonists in central roles. While Mr. Bingley and the Dashwoods turn up (and Miss Woodhouse makes a cameo appearance), new characters streamline the action by freeing up creative space in which the intriguing mystery can briskly unfold. Major characters present white.
A treat for fans of Regency tales and stories inspired by classics. (author’s note) (Mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2024
ISBN: 9780063278028
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter.
After a Nigerian British girl goes off to an exclusive boarding school that seems to prey on less-privileged students, she discovers there might be some truth behind an urban legend.
Ife Adebola joins the Urban Achievers scholarship program at pricey, high-pressure Nithercott School, arriving shortly after a student called Leon mysteriously disappeared. Gossip says he’s a victim of the glowing-eyed Changing Man who targets the lonely, leaving them changed. Ife doesn’t believe in the myth, but amid the stresses of Nithercott’s competitive, privileged, majority-white environment, where she is constantly reminded of her state school background, she does miss her friends and family. When Malika, a fellow Black scholarship student, disappears and then returns, acting strangely devoid of personality, Ife worries the Changing Man is real—and that she’s next. Ife joins forces with classmate Bijal and Benny, Leon’s younger brother, to uncover the truth about who the Changing Man is and what he wants. Culminating in a detailed, gory, and extended climactic battle, this verbose thriller tempts readers with a nefarious mystery involving racial and class-based violence but never quite lives up to its potential and peters out thematically by its explosive finale. However, this debut offers highly visually evocative and eerie descriptions of characters and events and will appeal to fans of creature horror, social commentary, and dark academia.
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781250868138
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
A powerful story of family, belonging, and identity interlaced with thriller elements.
A wary teen wonders if she should run when people come looking for her.
Lucy Smith was raised by her white father, who said little about her mother. Following his death and her stepmother’s abandonment, Lucy entered the foster care system at 14. Her stepmother revealed that Lucy’s birth mom was Native American, but her social worker urged her to keep that quiet. Battered by her time in the foster care system, it’s no wonder that 18-year-old Lucy is cautious when she’s approached by a man who says he’s an attorney who helps Native American foster kids connect with their families and communities. He introduces her to a friend who reveals to Lucy that she knows her Ojibwe maternal relatives—but a wary Lucy refuses her offer to learn more. Someone is stalking her, after all, and the FBI is investigating the bomb that went off in the diner where she worked—an event she’s sure targeted her. This stand-alone from bestseller Boulley, who’s an enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, includes characters her fans will recognize from previous works. The action scenes are mediated by ruminations on the failings of the foster care system and strong portrayals of Lucy’s relationship with her father and her complicated identity. Ardent book lover Lucy is a sympathetic narrator whose strong sense of justice is coupled with a deep acceptance of others.
A powerful story of family, belonging, and identity interlaced with thriller elements. (content warning, author’s note) (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9781250328533
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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