You love our reviews of Nancy Drew books, so here's another one!
What could a book called Flying Too High be about, you might be asking. Well, you'll be thrilled to hear that Nancy goes undercover as a trainee fighter pilot!
Hard to believe? Not a bit! It's established early on that Nancy Drew is already a great pilot, so why shouldn't she fit right in among the other air force cadets?
Flying Too High is a real stunner. If you like your mysteries action-packed, this is the Nancy Drew for you!
Nancy's been called in by the admiral to investigate the death of one young pilot. Was it an accident? A technical malfunction? Or was it sabotage (aka MURDER!)?
We all know Nancy Drew is up to any task, but this one puts her through the ringer. Boy howdy, does it ever! I lost track of the number of explosions that took place over the course of the story. Exciting stuff!
Here's a line from the book, to give you a feel for what Nancy goes through:
"In the couple of days since she'd arrived at Davis Field, she'd been knocked out, her plane had been sabotaged, and she'd had a computer screen blow up in her face."
And you know what? That's not the half of it! There are even more explosions to follow! Lots of action in the air! It's non-stop!
If you're looking for a Nancy Drew novel that's all action (and even a hint of romance), you got it here. Dive right in!
It's been ages since I've read a Baby-Sitters Club book, but I loved this series as a kitten. So when this mystery crossed our desk, you better believe I got my paws on it right away. I couldn't wait to dive right in!
Reading this book really took me back. It begins with three chapters of reminding you who all the characters are: the girls in the club, their families, their clients. This takes a while, but kids like repetition, and this is juvenile fiction, after all.
Then we get into the juicy stuff: the babysitting. No, I'm kidding. THE MYSTERY. As you've probably guessed from the title, this mystery involves 13-year-old Stacey and a missing diamond ring.
See, diamond is Stacey's birthstone and she's been begging her mom for a (diamond) birthstone ring. Mother and daughter have an argument about it, and Stacey tells all her friends. As luck would have it, she babysits for a fancy new client and, sure enough, that client's diamond ring goes missing. Stacey is blamed. No, it's worse than that. Stacey is accused of stealing. And when she won't confess, the client threatens to tell all The Baby-Sitters Club's clients she's a thief.
I really felt for Stacey, when she was accused of a crime she didn't commit. It's hard enough for that to happen to you as a grown-up, but when you're thirteen, the trouble is compounded by the fact that you're a kid and nobody believes you. She has no way of proving she didn't steal the ring, and even her best friend seems to think she's guilty.
Nobody, cat or kitten, would want to find themselves in Stacey's predicament.
But Stacey comes up with a clever way to solve the problem. That, paired with a bit of luck, leads her to the solution.
Is there a lot of investigation in this book? No. Does it include all the components you expect to find in your typical mystery? No. There's no questioning suspects or anything along those lines, but there are enough red herrings that I thought I had this mystery tied up and I was wrong, wrong, wrong. But I don't mind being wrong. The ending surprised me and put a little smile on my face.
The Baby-Sitters Club Mystery #1: Stacey and the Missing Ring took me on a trip down memory lane. I would recommend it to people who are currently thirteen years old, as well as grown-ups who read these books when they were young. If you're as much of a sucker for nostalgia as I am, you're sure to enjoy it!
Great cast of characters in this one. So much personality. There's nothing worse than dull characters in a murder mystery, and you won't find any here. Young Tom loves Hardy Boys mysteries and detective novels, but he's no kid genius. There are a number of clues an adult reader picks up on that Tom doesn't notice. This builds tension. You're sitting there going "That's a clue, Tom! It's a clue!"
He gets there eventually, I should mention. Kid's not a total dope. In fact, he does a better job at solving this murder than I would have, as a kitten. I shouldn't be so hard on Tom.
There's a great action sequence toward the end of the book, as well. Something to look forward to.
Murder on the Canadian is a fun read. I honestly wasn't prepared for how much I would enjoy this one. Big personality, lots of fun suspects, a smattering of jokes, and a physical struggle that could mean the difference between life and death. What more could a cat ask for?
The agonizing sound of a woman's scream hurls Tom Austen into the middle of a murder plot on board the sleek passenger train The Canadian. Who is responsible for the death of lovely Catherine Saks? As Tom investigates the strange collection of travellers who share Car 165, he gets closer and closer to the truth . . . and then without warning, he is suddenly face to face with the killer, and his own life is threatened in the most alarming possible way.
Last year KitKat inspired me to read a Hardy Boys mystery for the first time. When The Charmed Bracelet showed up on the Mystery Cats' desk, I swiped it too. (Sorry, KitKat. You can read it next.)
Why did Zorro, your action/adventure cat, want to read a Nancy Drew mystery? Easy answer. Just flip through this graphic novel and the first thing you'll notice is all the car chases and squirming around in air ducts. Nancy Drew is a total ninja in this graphic novel. Early on, she saves her boyfriend from being struck down by a murderous motorcycle. Okay, the motorcycle itself wasn't murderous. The guy riding it was. But wouldn't that be cool if the motorcycle was a sentient being intent upon Ned's ultimate demise?
Maybe I should be writing Nancy Drew graphic novels!
As you might have guessed by my description, the Nancy Drew in this graphic novel is a contemporary version of the character. She's a kick-ass super-heroine, for the most part.
Bess and George are no delicate doilies either. While Bess is interpreted as a bit of a femme fatale, George is her usual tomboy (KitKat's type, I'd venture to guess) and self-proclaimed "Girl Computer Whiz."
There are two mysteries to be solved in The Charmed Bracelet. One involves a stolen computer chip. The other is more personal: Nancy's boyfriend Ned is being framed for crimes he didn't commit.
Despite the dual mysteries, The Charmed Bracelet is a quick read. Maybe too quick? I'm not a big reader of graphic novels, so I'll be the first to admit I'm not overly familiar with how the pacing usually works in this style of book. I'll pass it along to KitKat, but I don't think she's a huge reader of graphic novels either, so the Mystery Cats probably can't provide an expert opinion. But, heck, we never claimed to be experts! We're just cats who like mysteries. And, as a cat who likes actiony thrillery tales, I thought it was a neat little read, but with an emphasis on "little." This glossy paperback has a total of 112 pages, and a whopping 24 of those pages are bonus materials and ads for other books!
If you're a Nancy Drew aficionado, you'll surely want to investigate this graphic take on the franchise.
Title: Catch a Killer Author: George Woods Genre: Action / Thriller / Police Procedural Status: Read Cats?: Zero
Zorro Says:
After reading that Hardy Boys mystery a couple months back, I've kept an eye out for other nostalgic action/adventure type books written for young people. That's why I picked up Catch a Killer by George Woods.
That Hardy Boys I read had a copyright date in the 1920s. Catch a Killer isn't that old. It hails from 1972. A quick Amazon search tells me this book isn't easy to get your hands on. There's no ebook version available, as far as I can tell. If you want to read this book, you'll have to buy a used copy of the hardcover or paperback.
The reason I figured this was juvenile fiction is that the copy I picked up was an educational edition printed specifically for a school board. It comes complete with follow-up activities and questions for students.
I half understand why a school board might pick this book for young people: the main character is twelve years old. But just because you've got a kid in your book doesn't make it a kids' book. Catch a Killer doesn't strike me as a juvenile fiction so much. Reminds me more of a police procedural TV series from the 1970s in the vein of Columbo. Except a lot of it takes place in the woods.
Andrew, the aforementioned 12-year-old, ends up witnessing a crime. His bad luck, because that crime is the murder of two police officers. The killer immediately takes Andrew hostage and leads him on a night hike through the wilderness.
They're on the run.
Since the only police on-scene are now dead, will investigators think it was young Andrew who killed them?
The way this book was written is very effective. You get one chapter about Andrew's experience, one about the investigators trying to solve the double homicide, yet another about the killer's childhood and upbringing. Instead of vilifying the young man, the author shows the reader what drove him to kill. By then end of the book, even the boy he takes hostage feels empathy toward him.
Since we know who the killer is, the two main mysteries in this book are: 1) what made the killer kill, and 2) will Andrew be blamed for the crime?
In order to find out, you'll have to track down a copy of the book and read it for yourself. I enjoyed it, and any reader nostalgic for adventure novels from the 70s should like it too. The book's a product of its time. Very reminiscent of police procedurals from that decade, but also delving into the psychology of the killer.
If you want to Catch a Killer for yourself, you can find copies at Amazon.
Zorro's Hardy Boys review inspired me to dive into Nancy Drew. I've never read the series, if you can believe it, but I'm starting with The Witch Tree Symbol. Antique furniture and the Amish--what's not to love?
Zorro Says:
Haven't started it yet, but there's a Linwood Barclay waiting for me. Been hearing great things about his books for years. He's a bit of a hometown hero, too. So time to take him for a spin with The Accident.
It is always most difficult to choose a book to read after one has devoured an Agatha Christie mystery as brilliant as The ABC Murders (which I shall have to review on the blog sooner rather than later), but I have selected a Martha Grimes novel to follow. I must admit I've judged The Old Fox Deceiv'd by its eerie cover. I am very much looking forward to exploring its interior.
Need a break from modern-day life? If you're like me, you're craving a simpler time. Well, here's one way of finding it: read a book from your childhood.
And considering The Mystery of Cabin Island (Book 8 in The Hardy Boys series) was first published in 1929, chances are this is a novel that came out long before you were born. If not, congratulations on exercising those nine lives. You must be a cat. Also, way to master the internet!
A lot of kittens grew up reading Hardy Boys Mysteries. Maybe you're one of them. Or maybe you're human--I don't know your life. But if you read this series as a child, this book has the nostalgia factor going for it. If you've never read a Hardy Boys Mystery, aren't you even the slightest bit curious why people are still reading them almost a century after they were written?
I read The Mystery of Cabin Island over the Christmas holidays. Perfect timing because, guess what? That's exactly when it's set. Boxing Day, the boys head out to the eponymous (Butterball's teaching me big words!) Cabin Island. Ice boats! No electricity! Thrills! Chills! (Literally! Did I mention they've got no electricity and it's the dead of winter?)
And of course they've got a mystery or two to solve. Stolen medals. A missing nephew. A missing butler! Non-stop action. If there's one thing the Hardy Boys do consistently, it's suck you in to the next chapter. Bet you can't read just one!
I probably don't need to talk you into revisiting the Hardy Boys. I'm sure just the mention of them has evoked a strong reaction in you, hopefully of nostalgia.
With two mysteries to solve, Frank and Joe must climb aboard their iceboat the Sea Gull to reach Cabin Island, where a belligerent stranger orders them off. Sabotage to the boat, danger to themselves, and a ghostly prowler do not daunt the Hardy boys in their search for Johnny Jefferson and for clues to stolen antique medals. How the teenage investigators outwit a ruthless foe and succeed in solving both mysteries makes for mounting suspense in this brisk-paced adventure.
