Across the Library

Title: Girl at the Grave Author: Teri Bailey Black My Rating: 4 stars I've had this young adult book for a while and finally got around to reading it, and then still I wasn't sure I was going to be able to get into it.  Once I started though, it went by so quickly and and I engaged and excited.  It turned out to be a nice, kind of spooky, murder mystery, perfect for October! It is the set in the 1800's. Valentine is a teen girl who is a bit of an outsider, but not for the typical reasons one might be.  Her mother was hanged when she was a little girl for murdering a man, who was a prominent member of society.  The man's son, Rowan, is now a classmate of Valentine's, and he tends to watch her closely, in contempt she thinks.  Soon after the book starts Valentine finds out her mother was innocent, but the person who tells her this turns up dead, and it may have been murder.  Surprisingly Rowan wants to help her find out who the new murderer is ; m...

Title: This is Our Story Author: Ashley Elston My Rating: 4 Stars Five boys go hunting in the woods.  Only four come out.  An intern working with the assistant district attorney begins to think it may not have been an accident like the boys are leading everyone to believe.  This is a well-told mystery, full of secrets and plot twists.  I really enjoyed the writing style, and the build up.  There was however one thing that annoyed me.  The author used a variation or exact phrasing of "framed her face with his hands" over and over, enough that it was very noticeable.  I was also a little underwhelmed by the reveal of who shot Grant, but the book was so well done otherwise, that I am still giving it 4 stars. The author is actually local to my area, but I did not know much about her going in.  I had not read her work before this, but I would like to read more. 

Title: Truly Devious Author:  Maureen Johnson Cover: I like the cover. The title font is fitting for a mystery. The cover is a little busy, but not overly. Review:  Stevie, who is a crime buff, is off to a specialized high school, where students get to focus on their own specialities. Stevie's plan is to solve the cold case of the murder and missing person case of the wife and daughter of the founder of the school, from back in 1936. But then a current day student ends up dead, and she gets wrapped up in that mystery. Are there connections? Will Stevie solve the cases? I have to start by saying that even though I've only read a few of her books (the Shades of London series), I adore the author Maureen Johnson, or at least what I know about her from her online personality, and what I saw in person once at ALA. She is fabulously quirky and fun. I saw a little bit of that personality in Stevie in the beginning of the book and then again about three quarters of the way t...