Picture Me Gone by Meg Rosoff After my last couple of books I needed a break from the dark and creepy so I decided to read Picture Me Gone. I was not disappointed. Don't get me wrong this is not a warm and fuzzy story but a complicated mystery. Mila is 12 years old but wise beyond her young years. She has this ability to read a room and everyone in it. She gathers details that no one else sees. This is a skill that will come in very handy. Mila and her family live in England and are planning a trip to New York to visit her father's best friend but just before their trip he disappears. There is no note, nothing. He's just gone leaving behind his wife, baby and beloved dog. As soon as Mila arrives in New York she knows something is not right and what she finds out will rock her world right off its axis.
The Bat by Jo Nesbo This is the first in the Inspector Harry Hole series. Harry is sent to Australia to monitor the progress of the murder investigation of a Norwegian citizen. He soon realizes that this is the work of a serial killer who is murdering their way across the country. I liked this book because it is true to the Harry Hole character. We finally learn some of Harry 's story. I will say however, this is not as suspenseful as the other books in the series, nor is it as graphic. If you are a Harry Hole fan you will not be disappointed.
The Burn Palace by Stephen Dobyns Brewster, RI is a small town with the usual small town problems but that is all about to change. An infant is taken from its crib in the hospital and replaced with snakes, a man is found murdered and scalped and there is a pack of aggressive coyotes roaming the streets. The residents seem to think it is the work of a satanic cult. It is up to Detective Woody Potter and the local police to try and solve these crimes before the town goes completely crazy. I loved this book! It had a little bit of everything murder, mayhem and even romance. It is action packed with just the right amount of dark humor. This is one you will want to read with the lights on!
Death Cloud by Andrew Lane The story takes place in 1868, a 14 year old Sherlock Holmes tries to solve the deaths of two men. They appear to have died from small pox or the plague. This intrigues young Sherlock and he and his friend Matty investigate. The investigation takes them from small town England to the shores of France. What they find is a mysterious cloud of death and a baron worthy of Moriarty. I liked this book. It was a really quick read and had all the "quirks" of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. I will say that I was disappointed with the actual "death cloud". The premiss behind it was brilliant but the reality of it was a little farfetched. Sherlock Holmes fans you will not be disappointed.
