Book Review: Missing Since Monday by Ann M. Martin

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Missing Since Monday by Ann M. Martin follows Maggie and her older brother when their father and stepmother leave on a long-delayed honeymoon, trusting the siblings to care for their four-year-old half sister, Courtenay. When Courtenay fails to come home from daycare one Monday afternoon, Maggie and her brother are thrust into a frightening mystery. With no adults around to help, they must piece together what happened and find a way to alert their parents before it’s too late. This standalone novel for readers ages eight to twelve was one I completely missed as a kid, but as an adult and a longtime fan of Ann M. Martin’s The Baby-Sitters Club  series, I couldn’t resist picking it up. The first chapter or two felt a bit choppy to me at first, but once the story found its footing, everything began to come together nicely . Because this is a short children’s book, the characters aren’t deeply developed, which is to be expected. That said, Martin does an excellent job conveying Maggie’...
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Book Review: Death in Paris (Màiri Maguire, #1) by Kate Darroch

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Death in Paris (Màiri Maguire, #1) by Kate Darroch is a story of a teacher named Màiri Maguire who is vacationing in Paris when her accompanying friend, Lianne, is accused of murder. Working with Major Ellis Peverel, together they try to prove Lianne's innocence.

A big thank you goes out to NetGalley and Kate Darroch for the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of  Death in Paris (Màiri Maguire, #1). It's an honor to be able to be selected to read this book.

This fast paced cozy mystery was a fun, entertaining read that would translate well into a film. I loved that there wasn't anything too gory in the story and that there wasn't any cursing for the sake of cursing. 

At first, the novel was a bit slow, and I had a bit of trouble of wrapping my head around the characters and their relationships to each other. However, the book picked up quickly, and I was able to sort out the relationships after a couple of chapters. There were some slang words I wasn't familiar with, but it didn't detract from the story too much.

I'll definitely give the second book in this series a go because I enjoyed Death in Paris (Màiri Maguire, #1) well enough to continue reading the next book. I also liked reading about so many of the places in Paris, France that I visited when I was there many years ago. Three out of five stars is what I give Death in Paris (Màiri Maguire, #1) by Kate Darroch.

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