The Willies by Ethan Crownberry, 2007, Lulu.com, $8.06, softbound, 80 pages. Category/Genre: mainstream. Cover: good. Where we got it: author. Where you can get it: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million.
Told in rhyme, this book is the result of the author's own experience with 'the willlies,' that feeling you get when you're scared without any real reason to be. In this book, the willies are real creatures determined to scare you.
The story takes place on Halloween night, when a 12-year-old boy is walking home by himself. The artwork, all black-and-white, is smooth and attractive, and the rhymes are often clever, although the book is rather long.
One nit to pick: the author uses the word 'passed' when he means 'past.'
An unusual and interesting book.
If you like this one, try: Suggestions?
Mortal Arts by Anna Lee Huber, 2013, Berkley Prime Crime, $16.00, softbound, 374 pages. Category/Genre: mystery. Cover: quite good. Where we got it: author. Where you can get it: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million.
If you haven't read Huber's The Anatomist's Wife, the first book in the Lady Darby mysteries, do so, not because you have to in order to understand this book (you don't), but because it's good.
In this installment, Lady Kiera Darby finds herself once again beside gentleman investigator Sebastian Gage as the two try to find out what happened to a missing girl. In the centre of the turmoil is Kiera's old friend William Dalmay, who has returned home after a ten-year stay in a lunatic asylum. Kiera is determined to prove William innocent of the crime, but Gage isn't so sure.
Set against a historical backdrop (1830 Scotland), this book takes place two months after the events in The Anatomist's Wife. The mystery is engrossing, the characters engaging, and the writing adept. If you like Scotland, the Victorian era, or are just fond of mysteries, this book is for you.
If you like this one, try: The Anatomist's Wife, by Anna Lee Huber; A Grave Matter, by Anna Lee Huber.
Don't forget to check out the other stops on the tour!
Don't forget to check out the other stops on the tour!
