The Mystery of Bluford High
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If you like a good mystery book we would recommend Secrets in the Shadows by Anne Schraff. The book builds up suspense and it makes you want to keep reading. It is about a boy named, Roylin. He meets a new girl at Bluford High named, Korie, who he really likes. She told him when her birthday was and what she wanted. What can he do to get the expensive gift? He has a friend who has enough money, but he betrays him in the process. To find out what happens next you will have to read the book.

We give the book 3 stars, because parts of it were exciting, and others were slow.
By:Amber, Jordan,and Raven
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Mrs. Bowden's 3rd grade reading group:

Kaz is a ghost who gets separated from his family. He meets a new human friend named Claire. Together they solve the mystery of the Library ghost.

We enjoyed reading about this mystery because it was interesting. There were some exciting parts. We can't read the next book.
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"The Secrets of Loon Lake" by J.D. Shaw is a tight little mystery with other components of teen angst and nerds/geeks v.kewl kidz. Sarah Ramsey is a 14-year-old science geek with a pretty/cool older sister to whom all the boys flock. When the family goes to Loon Lake for the summer(except for the attorney Dad who is staying in the city because he and Mom are not getting along, although the "D" word has not been mentioned yet),Sarah looks up her best lake friends, Jake and Rob, only to discover they have become seriously cool themselves over the school year. Sarah convinces them to embark on one of their annual "adventures" and they head for the forbidden Big Island. Once there, they find something they never expected: bones of a human body. Sarah, science-geek, thinks they should go the police and forensics route, but Jake and Rob don't want to get involved. Enter two drop-dead-gorgeous identical twins on their first lake vacation and Jake and Rob leave Sarah to figure out the mystery alone while they hang out with the blonde Heathers. Sarah continues on her hunt alone--until she finds an unlikely ally in the twins' great-grandmother. And that's when things get seriously dangerous. Well-plotted with a terrific and believable main character and some disturbing sub-plots involving the older sister. Good for tweens and teens and adults will find it readable as well.---Miranda Kent, author of the Madison McKenna series
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Murder on the Marshes by author Clare Chase is a suspense mystery set around the campus of Cambridge. Professor Samantha Seabrook is found murdered by drowning in an ornamental fountain behind the brick walls of a courtyard. She had obviously climbed the wall as part of her thrill-seeking adventures. Who was with her or followed her there?
Tara Thorpe is a journalist who receives a doll in the mail with a warning note attached. Tara knows to take the threat seriously because she had a stalker cause trouble for her previously. The police take this threat serious also due to Samantha Seabrook receiving a doll which looked almost identical before she was killed. What is the link or who in their past would link the two women?
This book is written very well and I enjoyed it very much! I hope Tara Thorpe will be in another book!
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Mean Girls meets Pretty Little Liars in a well-executed young adult mystery about pretty, high school academics who are getting killed off one by one. The novel does a fantastic job of setting up tension and mystery as it begins the novel with two characters in a car, leading to an argument and then the death of one character leading to an upscale investigation in a wealthy suburban area where anyone can be a suspect or the next victim.

To make the novel work and build up the suspense the author carefully made sure that there were no details revealed by any of the characters before they meet their untimely demise. It is skillfully written, creating tension, mystery, and intrigue by delving into the mind of the killer. By splitting up the story between perspectives, from the main protagonist who has taken it upon herself to try to figure out who is killing her friends, keeps the pace of the novel moving like a bullet. The speed with which the events take place, moving effortlessly from scene to scene do not lose the reader. Details do not get lost in the novel that would possibly distract the reader, but the novel is wonderfully constructed that the reader cannot get lost. The plot and the mystery draw the reader into the story.

The story is well written, going between perspectives and building the story with intrigue, suspense, and tension, leading to a breathless and thrilling ending. However, probably the most compelling piece of the novel is not actually about the novel. Perse. In many cases, poorly written characters can deter the reader, even well-written characters with sour dispositions can deter a reader. However, that is not the case here. These are not the type of nasty characters that a reader would love or even that villain everyone loves to hate or loves more than the hero; these are obnoxious self-entitled pretty girls. Nevertheless, they are realistic. These are girls with insecurities, drug problems, and varying forms of mental illness, hidden behind good looks and good grades. They are not the most delightful characters, with Penelope being the exception, but they are well-rounded enough to keep the reader entertained. The qualities that define them exist in the smallest of ways, but in the way the killer reveals these tiniest details about his victims, the writer makes these characters human. These qualities also help to give the villain in the novel their motivation, giving the reader a clear understanding of what has made this character snap.

It is a fast-paced novel that is hard to put down. The sequence of events moves quickly, giving the plot a well-rounded air and also giving the characters time to shine. There isn't much growth in the novel, but theres enough personality in it to make the reader engrossed in the mystery. Engrossed in Penelopes quest to find out who is killing her friends. All in all, an excellent read.
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Idelwild Hall being renovated but not being made public? Did the mysterious woman and her son that were doing the renovation know something no one else knew?

One good thing about the renovation was that it meant Fiona would be able to get inside the school grounds where her sister was found dead on the football field twenty years ago.

Fiona still had questions about her sister's death, and this would be the perfect time to investigate.

THE BROKEN GIRLS moves from 1950 when we meet the four main characters and then back again to present day with Fiona using her journalist's skills to write a story and find more clues to what happened at the school. It looked like more than what the public knew.

During her investigation, Fiona finds something else that happened that was kept from the public.

Fionas investigation heats up when she finds a teacher who was at Idelwild Hall during its hey day. The teacher let Fiona know that no one liked being there - students and teachers alike.

There was something at the school that was sinister and something that everyone wanted to keep quiet or perhaps something they didn't know about but kept the students and teachers on edge.

You won't want to put THE BROKEN GIRLS down.

THE BROKEN GIRLS has lots of secrets, along with ghosts, mean girls, and a school that was for unwanted girls for a reason.

This was my first book by Ms. St. James. Her writing is mesmerizing, detailed, and draws you in so well that you feel as if you are right there with the characters and the drama.

Murders, an old boarding school, corruption, and an awesome story line await the reader. And...how about that cover? A great indication of what is inside.

ENJOY when you read THE BROKEN GIRLS during daylight hours. LOVED the book. 5/5

This book was given to me free of charge and without compensation by the publisher and NetGalley in return for an honest review.
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This story has an interesting dichotomy juxtaposing Shawna, who is self-consciously overweight, a deer hunter, very religious, and the youngest member of a family which has farmed in Vermont for over a century with Thea, who is thin and pretty, a vegetarian, non-religious, and the oldest child of a family which has recently moved into this small town from Connecticut.

Teens will like these eighth grade girls who connect over math and a shared school research project about history,  and discover the suspense of a mysterious secret room and a secret code in Thea's house, a former stagecoach inn which dates back to 1852.  Is it linked to The Underground Railroad, or something else?

The girls become linked during field trips and looking at old diaries, records, letters, photographs.  It's fascinating to see which evidence these young detectives can trust in the research process.  Who is better at research:  the girls?  Thea's father?  or the college professor and his students?

Another mystery deals with Shawna's birth, which is pretty obvious to the reader from the first, but not resolved till the end of the book.  How can two different girls can maintain a BFF relationship despite challenges from others, their families, potential boyfriends, and differing views?
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In the late 1930s, the quiet town of Maycomb, Alabama awakens to a divisive trial that reveals fierce intolerance and tests the strength of a family.  The novel's narrator is Scout, an earnest young tomboy and daughter of the town lawyer, who documents her childhood and how it has been irrevocably shaped by a court case her father was assigned one summer. Beyond the court case, however, we find several sub-plots that help shape the characters into who they are by the end of the story.  One of those sub-plots being, Scout and her brother Jem's continued interest in their neighbor Boo(Arthur) Radley.  Boo Radley was not just a neighbor to Scout and Jem, he was an enduring fascination, an unsolved mystery, and a hero. By examining the relationships between the children, Boo and the other characters, one gets a glimpse of life in a small southern town, with all of its intricacies.
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Review: THE GHOSTS OF BLAKELY PAST by Jerrye Sumrall (THE BAYSHORE MYSTERIES BOOK 5)

Readers of middle-grade fiction, rejoice! Alabama author Jerrye Sumrall writes an excellent series entitled THE BAYSHORE MYSTERIES, starring a small group of youngsters living in and around Mobile Bay. Like the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, these boys (and girl) never met a mystery they didn't immediately want to solve. Jeff's wise Uncle Ed delivers the history narrative, and we learn about the flora, fauna, scenery, and backdrop of the area. Plus Ms. Sumrall is a talented writer, with great character delineation. For those who can't get enough of the factual framework, she separately included that information as well. Definitely a 12 star book.
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Told backward over a two week period, Megan Mirandas All the Missing Girls is a perplexing mystery about the disappearance of two young women who vanished ten years apart.

Following the unsolved disappearance of her best friend Corrine Prescott, eighteen year old Nicolette Nic Farrell left the small town of Cooley Ridge, NC behind her. Ten years later, she reluctantly returns after receiving a troubling letter from her dementia stricken father and a phone call from her brother Daniel requesting her help getting their family home ready to sell.  Not long after her arrival, their closest neighbor Annaliese Carter vanishes. Her disappearance bears eerie similarities to Corrines still unsolved case and the whole town cannot help but hold their collective breath as the investigation into Annalieses disappearance quickly hits a dead end. Fearing Daniel or her ex-boyfriend Tyler Ellison might somehow be involved, Nic is quickly caught up in trying to understand what happened to both Corrine and Annaliese.

With a job she loves and a wealthy fianc, Nic has come a long way from her small town roots and she is in no hurry to return to Cooley Ridge.  Her relationship with Daniel is fraught with tension and they are stuck in a pattern of ignoring the problems between them.  Her attraction to her high school boyfriend Tyler has not waned in the intervening years and the events from the night Corrine vanished continue to haunt their relationship.  Adding to her anxiety is the mysterious note from her father but she must delicately question him in an effort to avoid confusing him any further.  When her fianc unexpectedly arrives in town, Nic is caught in a maelstrom of strong emotion while trying to explain why she kept her past a secret from him.

Annalieses disappearance brings back Nics long forgotten memories of Corrine and with the lens of maturity, she now views her friend much more clearly. Corrine was a force to be reckoned with and she bullied her friends until they agreed to do whatever she wanted them to do.  She reveled in picking and prodding them into revealing their secrets and she enjoyed exposing then exploiting their weaknesses.  Corrine carefully concealed her troubled home life from them and in order to keep her problems a secret, she easily manipulated them into helping her escape her family.  Initially believing Corrine left town by choice, Nic and the police came to the conclusion that she was most likely the victim of foul play but with little evidence to go on, her case grew cold.

With the narrative going back in time, the readers perspective about what is occurring in the story is constantly shifting once the preceding events are revealed. This manner of storytelling is a little hard to follow sometimes but it is fascinating learning what lead up to the events of the previous chapters. A large portion of the story concentrates on Corrines disappearance and the complicated relationships between her, Nic, Daniel and Tyler.  The events on the night she disappeared are, initially, quite confusing because very little information is known about the various characters backgrounds or their complex histories. Since Annaliese vanished at the beginning of Nics arrival in town, the events surrounding her disappearance do not become clear until the novels final chapters. The conclusion of All the Missing Girls is full of shocking revelations and while most of the loose ends are completely wrapped up, a couple of small, yet important, details remain unresolved.

All in all, this adult debut by young adult author Megan Miranda is a riveting mystery that fans of the genre do not want to miss.

I received a complimentary copy for review.
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This is a fun mystery for kids.  I was reading Nancy Drew in second and third grade and loved them.  This Old Clock one was good.  It is the first in the series.  It's a helpful introduction to Nancy and her attorney father.  I graduated to Agatha Christie in 5th grade but have fond memories of independent and smart Nancy Drew.
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Class Reunion by Michael E. Field

A well told tale that any mystery fan will enjoy, told in easy-to-read language and a straightforward style that makes reading a pleasure. Talented author Michael E Field reminds us what our own high school days were like, making this tale a personal experience to the reader.

High school days should be fun and for some, they are, while for others they leave scars of the worst kind. For Robert Welch, a cruel prank forced him to leave town.

Ten years later, a class reunion is held and people begin to die. Who is behind the deaths becomes the problem of Detectives Greg Hawkins and Kathy Sear. As they investigate the first death, other events are added to their burden.

The investigation pulls them into the lives of the victims' pasts to identify a killer. What they find is how social status in high school can be a killer.

I'm pleased to recommend Class Reunion to any mystery reader as a trip into the past where you will relive you own high school days while joining two very interesting and able detectives in their hunt for a killer and the why of it. You'll be looking for other books by this imaginative writer. I know I will. Enjoy. I sure did.

Anne K. Edwards
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Intrepid sleuth Nancy Drew has two mysteries to solve. It begins when a homing pigeon crash lands on her property. The message the pigeon is carrying is strange, if not a little ominous. As more unusual developments happen, Nancy realizes that the message is connected to the mysterious absence of an elderly woman named Mrs. Eldridge. The second mystery centers around a frightening ring of blue fire showing up near the home Helen Corning's grandparents after dark. When Helen asks Nancy to find out what's causing the fire ring of fire, she agrees, of course. It isn't long before she discovers that the two mysteries could be related.

Password to Larkspur Lane is one of my favorite Nancy Drew mysteries, and perhaps the one I remember most from forty years ago, when I first read this series. It was a treat to step back in time and remember why I loved these mysteries. The plotting is pretty good in this one, and Nancy's resourcefulness in solving her own problems is one of the book's best aspects. Young readers will find the language pretty corny. Still, mystery buffs curious to know why this series was so successful should give this one a read.
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This story is about a young girl who was murdered during the high school homecoming. It is also about the 6 other students that accidently found her body in the Butler Building. A building that the school no longer used and was suppose to be locked up so no one could get in. Eight years later, one of those students is a reporter for the local newspaper. She calls the other 5 people together and wants to let the sheriff know they were there and saw the body and a mysterious blue pick up there. Admitting this could change their lives as they now know it forever. But Andrea told the dead girl's mother she would look into it. Will everything come out to the surface? Will the murderer be discovered? Could this new news bring another murder to this small town? Read the book to find out. I received a copy of this book from Reading deals. The review is entirely my own and voluntarily done.
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Teenage girls have tough time dealing with desire to belong, jealousy, and loneliness. There are so many books about it out there and this is one of them.

The Girl in the Park introduces two very different girls who attend an exclusive Manhattan private school. Rain was bullied because of her speech problem caused by birth defect. Her only friend Wendy was desperate to belong because she was not from Manhattan old money. What happens next is the mystery.

You totally understand how these girls feel and mystery keeps you wondering. Although there's nothing really new as a mystery or Young Adult novel, it's a well-written mystery and a compelling read.
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In the news we hear of missing children or teens, and we wonder how they can just disappear without a trace. Surely someone knows what happened to them. People don't just vanish into thin air? Or do they?

That is the question readers will be asking themselves in Author Kelly Hashways latest YA novel FADING INTO THE SHADOWS. Sixteen-year-old Avery is missing. Ella, his best friend, saw him just a short time earlier. So what happened? Where did he go?  Was he kidnapped, as several other teens had been recently? Officer Bobson, the cop that questions Averys parents, along with Ella, the last person to see him, doesnt act too concerned. So begins the mystery of Averys disappearance, and Ella soon finds herself in another world, where she learns the fate of the missing teens, including Avery.

Kelly Hashway has created a fantasy world that will enchant you and yet leave you wondering who are the good guys and who are the bad. Add a touch of romance between Ella and Avery, along with Hercules and Melanie, as well as the handsome Gabe, and you have a story of adventure, family, and the lengths some people will go to in order to achieve their goals. And sometimes, people are not what they seem. Fading into the Shadows is a great read for teens and also for the young at heart. The novel would make a great addition to high school libraries. Recommended.

 An ARC of this novel was given to me for my honest review.
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This book is intended for young readers but for adults like me it was a great read and a great mystery. The book is about two girls, Boo and Punkin, who are cousins and had to spend part of the summer at their grandparents place called Ghost Dancer Ranch. While there they discover a secret passage way under the house that leads into tunnels in a cave. The secret passage way was used by Red Bull, a Native American Indian. The book is really full of mysteries that had me reading more and more, it also told the history of the family which I enjoyed because I like reading about Native Americans, and also believing in God when through prayers He is there and with you. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more of Boo and Punkin and would recommend this to anyone who likes to read a good clean mystery, young and old.
I received a copy of this book from the author and P & J Publishing in exchange for my honest review.