Adult Fiction Pick: Daddy's Gone A Hunting

Daddy's Gone A Hunting
by Mary Higgins Clark
Simon & Schuster
2013
338 pages

Suspenseful, powerful, and masterful, Daddy's Gone a Hunting will not disappoint Mary Higgins Clark 's fans. When a powerful fire and explosion destroys their family's antique furniture reproduction plant, sister Hannah is injured and in a coma. Officials know someone set the fire, possibly to recover insurance money that will bail out the failing business. Kate doesn't believe her sister Hannah has anything to do with the explosion, but what on earth was she doing at the factory in the wee hours of the morning? Kate suspects her own father, Doug Connelly. He is dogged in his attempts to save his business and will stop at nothing to save his own name.

As officials tighten the investigaion, the real arsonist is getting jumpy. A cold case of a missing girl is reopened when her body is discovered, further complicating matters. Hannah is starting to come out of the coma and remembering things...things that happened a long time ago, and her memories will blow the case wide open.

As entertaining as Daddy's Gone a Hunting is, it lacks depth of character, at least  for me. I wanted to know more about Kate--other than the fact that she's an up and coming designer and that she loves her sister Hannah, Kate was underdeveloped. The reader never knows Hannah either. It's a real missed opportunity to build the story of their sister bond.

Recommended for fans of crime capers, murder mystery and fans of Mary Higgins Clark.
No sex; no language.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)

Nobel Genes: Now out in paperback!

Nobel Genes
by Rune Michaels
Atheneum (Simon & Schuster)
2011
181 pages

Now out in paperback, this novel is sure to please readers who love a quick-paced plot and taut suspense. See earlier review of the novel (hard back) here

Uncommon Criminals

Uncommon Criminals (A Heist Society Novel)
by Ally Carter
Disney (Hyperion)
2011
298 pages

Vibrant, exciting, clever, quirky, and fun, Uncommon Criminals once again finds Katarina (Kat) Bishop deep in the world of white collar thievery. Her family, you see, has always been known as the best art thieves in the world. When a Rembrandt is rifled or a Picasso is pinched, Kat's family is likely to be the brains behind that nefarious business.

When an elderly widow contacts Kat with a strange request, Kat's interest is piqued. She will need to break into a super-secure building with the latest in CIA cameras and ex-CIA agents as security guards and steal the most infamous jewel in the world, the Cleopatra emerald--97 karats of sublime beauty, but a jewel with such perfect beauty comes with a cursed history. Everyone who has possessed it has died soon after.

Hale, Kat's best male friend and "almost" boyfriend and wealthy partner in crime is adamant; Kat cannot take this "job" without him and Gabrielle, Kat's beautiful and bewitching cousin. The three teens brainstorm and "case the joint"--which means--for all you novice crime fans--check out the security and day-to-day, minute-to-minute operations of the auction house where the emerald will arrive.

Next the teens are boarding a jet for a quick globe-trotting trip to the Alps to pick up a fake emerald from an estranged, and quite strange, even beyond eccentric, Uncle Charlie, the best art forger in all the world who just so happens to have a perfect fake of the Cleopatra gem. Back in New York, Uncle Charlie's twin brother, Uncle Eddie shows up and not only warns Kat that the Cleopatra is cursed, it is forbidden. None of this is enough to stop a determined teen-age art thief from stealing the rock and returning it to its home country of Egypt and making an old widow's wishes come true.

The Cleopatra emerald was part of a huge archeological find unearthed nearly a century ago by the parents of Constance Miller, the old woman who relates her story to Kat. The young assistant of the dig stole all the artifacts from the dig, selling them to the highest bidders world-wide with no concern for history or antiquity. The thief's grandson is among the world's richest men, one Oliver Keller, the owner of the world's largest antiquities firm. The Cleopatra stone rightfully belongs to the woman's parents, but battling the man in court for 12 long years,Mrs. Miller decided the only way to return the emerald to Egypt was to have a very gifted thief lift the stone for her and she enlists Kat and her friends.

Once the jewel is delivered, imagine Kat's dismay when she realizes she has been conned. The Constance Miller who met her and told her story of woe was an imposter! Now it's up to Kat to grab the emerald again. The adventure takes the teens to Lyon, France and Monte Carlo, Monoco in search of the scammer and a shadow ghost named Visily Romani, a figure from Kat's past who has a long history of masterful heists.

Sheer fun and suspense with a sweet little near-romance thrown in, Uncommon Criminals will please readers who like a well-planned caper. Both male and female readers will likely appreciate the fast-paced plot; girls will find Kat irresistible. Ally Carter's first book in the series, Heist Society, has been picked up by Hollywood and is in the capable hands of actress turned prolific director Drew Barrymore. Fans are in for a wild ride.

Highly, highly recommended for readers ages 12 and up who love adventure, mystery, globe-trotting, and a good crime caper.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I purchased this book for my library. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

Ghostly Pick

The Hunt for the Seventh
by Christine Morton-Shaw
Katherine Tegan Books (Harper Collins Publishers), 2009 (paperback edition)
273 pages

Creepy, thrilling and mysterious, this novel will have young readers frantically turning the pages to figure out who the "seventh" is. Jim moves with his father and younger sister to an English manor known as Minerva Hall. It's steeped in history and mystery. The current master, Lord Minerva, is a grumpy old curmudgeon who detests children and Jim, it seems, in particular.


When Jim begins seeing visions of ghostly figures and statues of dead children, he realizes that there has been at least one murder at Minerva Hall. As he searches for answers, his life and his family's lives are threatened.

Mixing ancient rites and early English lore with the supernatural ghost story, The Hunt for the Seventh will appeal to those readers who love a ghost story and a mystery. Readers who have read Mary Downing Hahn's ghost stories are sure to like this book.

Recommended for readers grades 4-8.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I purchased this book for the library. I did not receive any monetary compensation for this review.

YA Pick

The Compound
by S.A. Bodeen
Feiwel and Friends (Macmillan), 2008.
248 pages.

This first novel was surprising. Surprisingly great! The Compound strikes close to home in this era of the Internet and streaming video where news stories hit the net within seconds. Because we are so aware of government coups, upheavals, gorilla warfare, and nukes, we are afraid of something happening as it does in this novel.

Eli and his family are forced into a safe compound underground built by his eccentric billionaire father. Eli's twin and grandmother don't make it before the iron door shuts. They are lost to the family. The world as Eli knew it has been destroyed by nukes and radiation. They are only safe stuck in the compound for the next fifteen years. The vault cannot be opened until fifteen years pass and the world is "safe" from nuclear fall-out. His father has planned this safe haven for years and stockpiled supplies, even medicine and a medical wing. They are prepared for anything. Except the livestock start dying, flour is running short, and they are facing a real food crisis. His father has planned for that. Every year a new Supplement joins the family. These are the offspring of Eli's mother and father--yes, children--, but they are not considered part of the family. They are raised in case the food runs out.

Eli and his sister find shocking news. They discover that their father has been in touch with the outside world through the Internet. They wonder, if there is Internet, people are still alive! And if there is Internet, most of the world must be normal! Eli confronts his father about the lies, and the novel continues to shock. Readers who like thrillers will love this one. Recommended for all YA collections, grades 7 and up.

YA Pick

Witch & Wizard
by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet
Little Brown and Company, 2009.
314 pages.

Teen readers will be drawn to this novel for three reasons: the large "W" ablaze dominating the cover, the words "witch" and "wizard" in the title, and those readers who followed the Maximum Ride series will want to read Patterson's latest YA novel.

Siblings Wisty and Whit Allgood are awakened in the middle of the night by armed thugs who arrest them, transport them to a "trial," and drop them off at a sadistic prison. The old government has been overthown and replaced by a maniac who refers to himself as "The One Who Is The One." The Allgood teens are dangerous to the new order because of their powers. Wisty and Whit discover that they are a witch and a wizard, respectively. As they begin to harness their powers, they befriend a ghost or "curve" who helps them escape the prison through the Shadowlands, a dangerous otherworld where spirits, and sometimes, humans, roam. Later, they join a gang of likeminded kids who hope to overthrow the new regime and fulfill a prophecy that kids will rule and peace will come.

This is a quick read with chapters only 2-4 pages in length. Each chapter ends on a suspenseful note to keep those pages turning. Action and adventure readers will enjoy this novel. Patterson continues to use a formula he has had past success with: working with another author who is comfortable in the children's and YA lit market. Charbonnet, with over 75 titles to her credit, is best known for the Babysitter's Club Baby Sister's books.

The ending of this novel makes possible a slew of sequels. As prolific a writer as Patterson is, he will likely churn out a whole series.

Recommended for YA collections. Grades 6-high school.