After dragging myself through a Book Club selection that aimed for the moon but sputtered at take-off, I wanted a read that would take me for a wild ride. Thankfully, the latest chapter in the Adventures in Trains series had only recently arrived at my door. Those masters of ferroequinology, Mara Leonard, Sam Sedgman and Elisa Paganelli … Continue reading KRIMES FOR KIDS, DOWN UNDER EDITION: Sabotage on the Solar Express
Kiddie Krimes
BITING OFF MORE . . . (My 2022 Resolutions)
Here it comes – the moment when all the bloggers you visit try and entice you to keep coming back with our promises of things to come. Some of my plans are rather amorphous: I hope to do some spiffing up of the site itself so that Ah Sweet Mystery will be better organized, sport … Continue reading BITING OFF MORE . . . (My 2022 Resolutions)
BRAD’S BEST READS OF 2021
As book bloggers go, in sheer number of reads I’m a dismal failure. Don’t even try and compare me, say, to my friend Kate over at Cross Examining Crime who, even in a bad month (May, when she had to tend to the birth of five baby goats), reviewed thirteen books, ten more than my monthly average … Continue reading BRAD’S BEST READS OF 2021
THE RATCHETT EFFECT: Kids Solve Krimes on Trains
I have to hand it to my pal JJ: through his regular feature, “Minor Felonies,” over at his blog The Invisible Event, he has been calling my attention to some amazing mystery novels written with young people (and the young at heart) in mind. Sure, my shelves are over-crowded and my pocketbook depleted, but I’m … Continue reading THE RATCHETT EFFECT: Kids Solve Krimes on Trains
KRIMES FOR KIDS: The Curse of the Middle Child
Earlier this spring, I read the first book in not one but two series of mystery novels for kids, thanks to the diligence of my buddy JJ who spends a significant amount of time over at The Invisible Event digging up juvenile gold in the mystery genre. You can catch up to my initial thoughts … Continue reading KRIMES FOR KIDS: The Curse of the Middle Child
KRIMES FOR KIDS: Two Series of Unfortunate Events!
Everyone loves serials these days. You might blame this on television, what with so many of us stuck inside with Netflix, bleary-eyed from binge-watching the latest imported telenovela (sapopera if you’re watching Scandi-noir; merodorama if it’s a nice juicy anime series). But TV series deserve no credit for inventing series characters. Back in the 16th century, traveling theatre troupes performed commedia dell’arte for … Continue reading KRIMES FOR KIDS: Two Series of Unfortunate Events!
YOU TAKE DYSTOPIA, I’LL TAKE DAT TOPIA: Pondering the Hunger Games Prequel
Let me take you back to a meeting held one year ago in the editorial offices of Scholastic Books: Editor: Ladies, I fervently believe that the YA dystopian novel has not burned itself out yet! Even in these unsettled times, young people are spoiled and complacent. They love to read about worlds where adults have … Continue reading YOU TAKE DYSTOPIA, I’LL TAKE DAT TOPIA: Pondering the Hunger Games Prequel
THUNDERHEAD, or How YA Dystopian Fiction Helped Me Escape the GADoldrums
With Thunderhead, the second novel in his Arc of a Scythe trilogy, author Neal Shusterman continues to put a damper on the notion of immortality. C’mon, people! Did you think that if we ended war and want (and government – we don’t need that anymore!) and came up with the technology to install microscopic nanites into … Continue reading THUNDERHEAD, or How YA Dystopian Fiction Helped Me Escape the GADoldrums
HONING YOUNG MINDS . . . TO MURDER!!!!!! – The 2019 Mystery Project
I have spoken before in this space about how every spring I twist my drama students’ arms offer my drama students a wonderful opportunity to create their own GAD-styled mystery plays! or else! This year is no exception. After whetting their script-writing whistles on the Peter Ustinov version of Evil Under the Sun (nobody in either class … Continue reading HONING YOUNG MINDS . . . TO MURDER!!!!!! – The 2019 Mystery Project
YA DYSTOPIAN DIVERTISSEMENT
Alright, I’ll admit it: this GAD mystery lover needs a little break. I could tell something was happening as I watched the stack of books beside my bed grow taller and taller. These are the one that I’ve removed from my veritable TBR Tower of Babel and am “actually" reading, yet each of them has … Continue reading YA DYSTOPIAN DIVERTISSEMENT
Ah Sweet Mystery! 