The Unbreakable Code by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Unbreakable Code is the second in the Book Scavenger series. The first one was great and this one was just as good. It continues the story of Emily and her best friend James. This time they are tracking down The Unbreakable Code which has existed for over a century. No one has been able to solve it thus far. It brings together gold rush, the origins of San Francisco, and obviously solving puzzles. With a narrow escape with a fire, or two, the two code-breakers must deduce who is setting these fires, how a teacher’s past comes into play, and where the buried treasure is. Will they be able to figure it all out before it all burns to the ground? I think you should find out!
I didn’t take a lot of notes with this one as I was just wanting to find out what happened. It was a quick, easy, engaging, and fun read! Jennifer Chambliss Bertman continued her formula without it appearing too redundant or like she was phoning it in. The writing was relatable and easy to understand as obviously this book was not written for my age range. The kids were juveniles and at times acted that way. It was kind of annoying but I get it. It didn’t ruin the book but at moments I was frustrated that they just didn’t get it or that they thought/said this thing. Nevertheless, I loved it. One thing that really got me excited was the historical aspect. Jennifer did this in the previous novel but after the novel concludes, she adds what was historically accurate and what she made up. It does touch on some despicable parts of the past of the United States but for the most part it is light-hearted. I love learning about new things, so I found this fascinating. I didn’t know very much about San Francisco, but I was surprised to find some information out. I will leave the reader to discover these things on their own so they can be as pleasantly entertained as I was. The author introduces some fun new ciphers, codes, and cryptograms, which is always fun to try and figure out for yourself. If you read the first one, I don’t need to tell you that you should read the second book in the series but you should, and I am just as excited to read the third!
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Tag: mystery
Secrets Of The Past And Feasting On Crow
The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
The Midnight Feast is about revenge, folklore, and secrets. It is situated at this expensive, retreat-style manor located on the coast of England, built for the perfect getaway. The story involves a woman who created and is running The Manor along with her husband who is the designer. There is also a single woman spending the weekend in a hut on the edge of the woods, a dishwasher with hopes to be promoted to a bartender, and plenty of locals who aren’t happy with the development intruding on ancient land. The story centers on opening weekend which is on the solstice but also jumps back in time. It jumps ahead, as well, to the day after the main event. The setting is idyllic…or is it?
When I first started reading, I was hit with the distinct feeling that I was reading another Nine Perfect Strangers. The story turns out to deviate just enough to separate it but the setting, ambiance, and host are similar. There was also an inkling of something else similar that I couldn’t quite pin down. I tend to like shorter chapters but I think Lucy Foley took it to the extreme here. Some chapters were only a paragraph long. I felt there was not enough time to orient yourself or get into what was going on. This was also in conjunction with multiple viewpoints and timelines. It felt too all over the place for me. I also could not get a sense of whether the author wanted the folklore to heavily influence our view of the genre or not. Is it a thriller or mystery or fantasy? The history and the stories of the area added a little feeling of being unsettled but I wish the author would have done it in a more organic and honest way. The writing wasn’t the best and what is with the reliance on ending so many chapters with a question? Is that the only way to build suspense? I was not a fan of the wrap up either. It felt incohesive and unfinished. However, I did like the way Lucy Foley tied elements from the past with the present and there were a couple times I was completely thrown. Most secrets and twists were done well. The host was painted in an almost unbelievable way with the extent of the delusion and self-importance, but it gave me a solid hatred for her regardless. Narcissism at its finest. Another aspect I loved was the creepiness of the childhood song that was introduced. I knew I had heard of it before but I was not positive, so I had to google it. Once I heard it, I could vividly imagine it playing in the book and it worked beautifully. I wish there was a play button on the actual page, so it played when I read that part! The story was inventive but hard to buy at points. In general, it was an ok read.
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Expensive Wine Will Kill You and Avoid Cave Exploration to Save Yourself
The Sentence is Death by Anthony Horowitz
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
I was hoping that this book would be different than the first one. Sadly, I still do not like the two main characters at all. The Sentence of Death is another book about Hawthorne, the detective, and Anthony, the writer. This time it follows them as they try to solve the death of a divorce lawyer. Another guy, who knew the lawyer, also died the day previous. It is a typical murder investigation with twists and turns. Red herrings and lies abound. The team of two do what they do to find out how everything links and who did what. There is cave exploration, relationship drama, a book club, scripts, and the writing world. There is also mention of wine which is funny and weird as I just got done reading The Billionaire’s Vinegar which involved the rare wine world. I read the jacket of this one and smiled at the mention of a 1982 Châteu Lafite. I also just started listening to the Currently Reading podcast which brought me to this series in the first place (I won’t blame them) but another book they mentioned was also mentioned here. Just two funny little coincidences. I did think the actual plot of the book was ok. I did guess before they officially revealed the solution but just barely. It was interesting how things connected between people and events. After saying that though, the same things that bothered me about the first book pissed me off here. First off, Hawthorne is a self-centered asshole. He is homophobic and doesn’t care how his actions affect others. The only thing he has going for him is his ability to solve crimes but that still doesn’t mask his unpleasantness. It is funny because the actual author of the book writes “you cannot have a central character who is simply, by his very nature, unpleasant, and although I wouldn’t have used that word to describe Hawthorne, there were moments”. Apparently, you can. Secondly, it is interesting that the author writes himself as a bumbling idiot. He has no self-respect, he cannot say no, and he unconsciously tries to foil the investigation. It is beyond annoying. I despise bullies and this book had a couple. I already mentioned one but then the cops. It just frustrates me beyond belief that people get away doing things without consequences. I also did not like the ending. I did have the rest of the books sitting here from the library, but I don’t think I can continue the series right now. It just aggravates me too much.
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Bored To Death and Other Queer, Geeky Ways To Die
Board to Death by C.J. Connor
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
This is about 30-year-old guy who chooses to come back to Utah and help run a board game shop for his father as his father was diagnosed with a medical issue. He is gay and recently divorced. A shop owner neighbor comes into his life as a murder takes place on his doorstep. The murder seems to revolve around an original game that predates Monopoly. There is a small amount of romance and an even smaller amount of mystery. I am not sure how to classify this one. I cannot find a genre to place it in. The book dips it’s toe into a few different classification pools but never takes the plunge. The main character, Ben, annoyed me slightly. I am not a fan of the meek, easily scared, or pitiful literary trope and unfortunately Ben fits this mold. Granted, it is not as strong with him as other characters, but it still applies. There were two quotes that I did enjoy though. “I loved attempting to read Dune. It was so much easier to accomplish than actually finishing it.” I relate as I have attempted several times to get more than 50 pages into that novel. The other I thought was funny and unique was “I’d had a bowl of Thin Mints doused in milk for breakfast, for goodness sakes. You can’t ethically expose the world to yourself when you are in that state of mind.” Sadly, two good quotes do not a good novel make. Ben was not a good sleuth (he just started giving all his own information away at one point) and it felt that he had no impact on moving the story along. I can’t recall of anything he did by himself. It was bland but a very easy read. I did like that it had queer elements though. You can skip Board to Death and play Solitaire instead.
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Hawthorne Is An Asshole And Other Manipulations
The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book is about an ass of a detective and an easily manipulated writer with boundary issues. The writer is orchestrated into writing this book, as evident by the book in hand, and it follows an investigation into the death a woman who plans her funeral hours before her murder. We get a first-person account which allows the reader to join in on the adventure and the inner thoughts of the author. I really did enjoy the structure and concept behind the book. A writer writes about himself in a semi-fictional world, in which he creates this intriguing story but interweaves real people, shows, and movies. The name drops are cool and London is a great setting. It did interest me right away and I found it an easy read. It was quick and held my attention throughout. There were phrasings throughout that were teasing and playful which made me smirk. However, there were things that I definitely did not like. As mentioned above, in my opinion, the detective is an ass. He had only 1 redeeming quality and that was his intelligence and shrewdness (is that technically two?). Otherwise, he is a jerk who is manipulative and doesn’t care how he interjects himself into other people’s lives or how he affects others. He doesn’t even have the courtesy to pay for him own stuff. There are plenty of manipulative (on his account) behaviors and boundary issues (on both the main character’s part) in this book. The writer just can’t say no. As the reader, I can see it plain as day and I did not like it. There were also a couple discrepancies that bothered me and the common phrase in these novels that popped up, “I should have stopped.” There was one other characteristic that made me despise the detective, which I won’t mention so you can find out for yourself. Overall, it had some really good aspects and some aspects that really got under my skin. I will see what the next book in the series brings though.
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Intrigue, Codes, and Fun at Bletchley!
The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was a very fun read! I do start out a little annoyed by one of the characters. I get the typical precocious young person character, but I did find myself saying shut up and listen in my head once or twice. Maybe it is because I am getting older or something. She did grow on me, and I definitely found myself on her side through the remainder of the book though. The mystery of finding out the truth and following clues/riddles is a genre I like. Can I figure it out? Do I want to figure it out? Code breaking and the intelligence aspect is intriguing. It is a quick and enjoyable read. It kept me engaged and I wanted to keep going to find out what happens. I finished it within a day. The bones of the setting and story are based in truth including Bletchley Park and Alan Turing with World War II going on. I love when books do that. They add fictionalized elements to something historical that is interesting already. There were many topics I had to look up and get some more real-life information on including buildings and people. I love learning which is one reason I love to read. The sibling relationship was relatable and believable. There were several supporting characters who I enjoyed such as Colin, the local boy, and his mom. The author created a couple characters to create obstacles and it helped create tension. It is definitely a young reader novel but it is still worth it as an adult. It is easy and entertaining.
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