Book Review: Murder at the PTA (Maya and Sandra Mystery, #1) by Lee Hollis

-
Image
Murder at the PTA (Maya and Sandra Mystery, #1) by Lee Hollis is the first installment in the Maya and Sandra Mystery series, a cozy mystery series centered on private investigators. The story follows Sandra Wallage , the wife of a U.S. senator and the newly elected president of Portland High School’s PTA, who becomes the latest target of a vicious gossip website called Dirty Laundry . After a heated PTA meeting, Sandra crosses paths with Maya Kendrick , a private investigator who has uncovered the identity of the person behind the gossip site. When the two women attempt to confront the culprit, they instead discover a dead body. Was it really a suicide, or did someone have a motive for murder? I’m a longtime fan of books by Lee Hollis , which is actually the pen name for sibling writing duo Rick Copp and Holly Simason . They’ve written several cozy mystery series, and what I appreciate most about their books is that they aren’t overly kitschy, unlike some other cozy mysteries I’ve ...
Post a Comment

Book Review: The Overnight (Fear Street, #3) by R.L. Stine

-

Nothing bad will happen, right? That's what the members of Shadyside High School's Outdoors Club thought when they decided to go on their overnight camping trip anyways when their club advisor cancelled it. It's all fun and games until Della gets lost in the woods and stumbles across a stranger on Fear Island. When the stranger starts threatening her, Della does the unthinkable, and everyone in the Outdoors Club swears secrecy of what happened. But someone else saw what happened and is sending the members mysterious notes.

The Overnight (Fear Street, #3) by R.L. Stine did not disappoint me in my attempt to reread my way through my childhood. I vaguely remembered the storyline as I was reading this book but not enough to remember exactly what happened, so it was like reading it for the first time. When I was a tween and teen, I read the Fear Street books out of order and loved this horror series. As an adult, I'm reading them in order, and I'm seeing connections with each book that I didn't see when I first read them.

As I was reading this book, it vaguely reminded me of the movie I Know What You Did Last Summer. I won't go into details as to why as it will ruin the storyline if you decide to read it, but I think those who have read it and will be reading it will see what I mean. It made me feel like I was visiting with an old friend.

I loved most of the characters and felt like most of them had some character development, which you don't always see in a young adult book that is fewer than 200 pages. The only two featured characters that I didn't care for were Ricky, the class clown, and Della's best friend Maia. Ricky was just annoying, and Maia was a whiny little baby.

This is a perfect read for kids between the ages of eleven and eighteen, especially those who love spooky books. Like all his other books, R.L. Stine ties up all the loose ends, which I personally enjoy in a book. I had a blast rereading The Overnight (Fear Street, #3) by R.L. Stine and gave it five out of five stars. So far, it's my favorite in the series, and I can't wait to read the next book, Missing (Fear Street, #4).

If you liked The Overnight (Fear Street, #3) by R.L. Stine, you may like Trick or Treat by Richie Tankersly Cusick.

 

Follow Us On Social Media

https://www.facebook.com/runningbibliophile/https://www.instagram.com/therunningbibliophile/https://www.pinterest.com/therunningbibliophile/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Book Review: The Dare by Natasha Preston

-
Image
The Dare by Natasha Preston is a young adult horror novel about Marley and her friends Atlas, Lucia, and Jesse are seniors in high school.  The senior pranks are fun and lighthearted until Rhett starts doling out dares that are more serious.  Will Marley and her friends survive? A huge thank you to NetGalley for the Advanced Readers Copy of The Dare  by Natasha Preston.  The last book I read by this author was so well written, I knew I wanted to give her latest story a try. The first thing I noticed about the story is it's reminiscent of R.L. Stine's Fear Street series, which brought back all the feels from my childhood.  Pretty quickly, the storyline shifts and is eerily similar to the movie I Know What You Did Last Summer .  It's at this point that I became disappointed with the book and almost stopped reading it.   Additionally, there were other parts t hat reminded me of The Secret Diaries by Janice Harrell.  So, overall, The Dare wasn't ...
Read more

Book Review: The Writer by James Patterson and J.D. Barker

-
Image
The Writer by James Patterson and J.D. Barker  was published on March 17, 2025. It opens with Detective Declan Shaw at a closed subway station trying to work up the nerve to commit suicide when he receives a call from his partner about a break in and homicide at the home of a true crime author. Shaw makes his way to the crime scene to work the case, and in a turn of events, Declan comes under scrutiny in another case loosely connected to this new case. I received an Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of The Writer  from NetGalley and Little , Brown, and Company for free in exchange for my honest review. I'm appreciative that my request for this book was approved. With this story opening with the main character trying to commit suicide, I almost didn't go any further with the book. However, I am glad I stuck with it as it took me on a fantastic ride and had my emotions all over the place. There were so many twists and turns that just when I thought I had it all figured out, there was ...
Read more

Book Review: Dirty Thirty (Stephanie Plum, #30) by Janet Evanovich

-
Image
Book Review: Dirty Thirty (Stephanie Plum, #30) by Janet Evanovich Dirty Thirty (Stephanie Plum, #30) by Janet Evanovich  is the latest installment in the Stephanie Plum book series and opens with Joe Morelli asking Stephanie to dog sit his dog Bob while he is out of town testifying at a trial.  The typical chaos ensues when Stephanie has to bring Bob along to apprehend all of her FTAs and has her asking herself if she wants to be married. Each book in this series typically follows the same formula and is wrapped up in a neat, tidy bow at the end.  It's because of this that I enjoy the series . . . I always know that Stephanie is going to get herself into some sort of trouble and need Ranger or Morelli to help her, and the bad guy is always caught.  Sometimes, I just need something familiar and predictable to read.  And, I don't mean that in a bad way either because it allows me to escape reality and gives me a few chuckles along the way.  It's like the ...
Read more