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

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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 ...
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Book Review: The Invitation by Diane Hoh

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Book Review The Invitation by Diane Hoh

The Invitation Diane Hoh is a Point Horror novel for young adults published by Scholastic in September 1991 and is about five unpopular high school students receiving an invitation to the party of the year by one of the most popular girls in school.  The five unpopular students hope this will be a night they'll never forget.

Diane Hoh was one of my favorite authors as a tween and teen, and I thought I had read all of her books with The Invitation being one of them.  However, in reading this book as an adult, none of it really felt familiar with the exception of maybe a line or two, so I don't think I ever read it.

The majority of the characters were unlikable, and I was surprised that there was such an overabundance of unpleasant characters in this novel.  I found it even more remarkable that a couple of them were down right cruel.  The only two characters that I found likable are Sarah and Riley.

With that being said, as a whole, The Invitation by Diane Hoh was well-written and had a great premise.  It had a few heart-stopping moments, some twists and turns, and at least one red herring.  I enjoyed that there was a bit of romance thrown into the story for good measure.  This is a great book for children eleven and older.  Three out of five stars.


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