The Book Review Club (August 2011)

Welcome to the last meeting of the summer of The Book Review Club. We've got some great reviews (fiction and nonfiction) this month. So, please scroll down and click on the links below. You won't be disappointed. :)

Without further ado, here's my review.


Over the Edge by Norah McClintock

Norah McClintock is a prolific Canadian Young Adult writer of mostly mysteries. She has won the Crime Writers of Canada's Arthur Ellis Award for Best Juvenile Crime Novel FIVE times! Ms. McClintock was born in Montreal, attended McGill University and now lives in my beloved Toronto. In fact, several of her mysteries are set in Toronto.

Other fun McClintock facts: As a child, she read all the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boy mysteries. She bakes a mean brownie. She has written 3 different mystery series: Chloe & Levesque, Mike & Riel, Robyn Hunter plus A SLEW of other books.

I want to be Norah McClintock when I grow up!

I have never met a Norah McClintock mystery I didn't like. Today I'm reviewing Over the Edge, the first book in the Chloe & Levesque series. In Over the Edge, high-schooler Chloe Yan, is forced to move to a small mining town because her mother marries a detective, Louis Levesque. One of the students at Chloe's new school, a loner named Peter Flosnick, is found dead at the bottom of a cliff. Peter's mother believes he was pushed and convinces Chloe to investigate. Peter is the third student to die recently. Chloe comes up with three suspects, then methodically follows the clues. There's a great climactic scene where Chloe amasses all the suspects at the cliff. The gathering together of the suspects kind of reminded me of the Nero Wolfe mysteries. I've always had a soft spot for Nero. :)

I love Chloe who is spunky, full of attitude and quite the risk taker. I love her stepfather, Levesque, because he's even-tempered, smart and goes to a lot of trouble to figure out how to deal with Chloe. I love Norah McClintock's mysteries because there is never ever a loose thread. And they're fast paced. And she always offers up a good, solid mystery.

Here is an excerpt from Over the Edge.

Now, drum roll, here are this month's delectable reviews! Please click through. You will find much to add to your to-be-read pile.

ADULT BOOK REVIEWS

Scott Parker: FUN AND GAMES by Duane Swierczynski (pulp fiction)

Sarah Laurence: STATE OF WONDER by Ann Patchett (literary)

Staci of Life in the Thumb: CLOSE YOUR EYES by Amanda Eyre Ward (literary)

Prairie Rose of Prairie Rose's Garden: FALL OF GIANTS by Ken Follett (historical fiction)

Kathy Holmes: WHAT THE HEART KNOWS by Mara Purl (women's fiction)

Patti Abbott: TIME WILL DARKEN IT by William Maxwell

Beth Yarnall: SHAKESPEARE'S LANDLORD by Charlaine Harris (mystery)

Linda McLaughlin: DARK FIRE by C.J. Sansom (mystery)

Stacy of The Cat's Meow: THE TIGER'S WIFE by Tea Obreht (And here's a link to Sarah Laurence's May review of this book.)


NONFICTION REVIEWS

Alyssa Goodnight of the Writers' Road Less Traveled: LET'S BRING BACK: AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FORGOTTEN-YET-DELIGHTFUL, CHIC, USEFUL, CURIOUS, AND OTHERWISE COMMENDABLE THINGS FROM TIMES GONE BY by Lesley M.M. Blume

Ellen Booraem of Freelance Ne'er-do-well: THE WORDY SHIPMATES by Sarah Vowell (historical and humorous)


Note to Reviewers: Any errors (broken link, missed review, etc), just shoot me an email or leave a comment. Thank you so much for your reviews!