New Mysteries from Susan Elia MacNeal and Rhys Bowen

THE PRISONER IN THE CASTLE by Susan Elia MacNeal is yet another well-written mystery in the Maggie Hope series (see also previously reviewed titles like The Prime Minister’s Secret Agent and The Paris Spy). Maggie performs clandestine work for the British government during WWII and in this novel, she is sent to the “cooler” on an isolated island in the north of Scotland. As a kind of “house party,” she and several other trained spies are detained together due to various reasons like emotional breakdowns, too much knowledge, violent tendencies and so forth. They are forced to stay at the decrepit Killoch Castle whose past owner was accused of murdering his guests and committing suicide. While spending their days fishing, hunting, eating and drinking, these professional soldiers are frustrated at being forced to sit out the war, but that quickly changes to fear and paranoia as more and more members of their group are murdered in a manner reminiscent of Christie’s And Then There Were None. THE PRISONER IN THE CASTLE is a bit more of a “cozy” mystery than earlier titles in the series, but Maggie still needs all of her training and some quick thinking to survive in this entertaining, well-researched historical mystery.

 

FOUR FUNERALS AND MAYBE A WEDDING by Rhys Bowen is set in England a couple of years earlier and is part of The Royal Spyness series. The main character is slightly flighty and ever impoverished Lady Georgiana Rannoch who is planning her July 1935 wedding to Darcy O’Mara. As part of the royal family, Lady Georgiana bows to the Queen’s suggestion that the princesses (Elizabeth and Margaret) be bridesmaids. She is also lucky enough to be offered Eynsleigh, an estate of one of her mother’s former husbands, as a place to live. Forewarned that “all might not be as it should be” at Eynsleigh, she arrives to find a completely new staff who appear incompetent and insolent. Channeling her great grandmother Queen Victoria, Lady Georgiana attempts to put things right and is reinforced by the arrival of her mother, grandfather, and former maid, Queenie. Despite several attempts on her life and other suspicious activities, this cozy mystery is very light and diverting. FOUR FUNERALS AND MAYBE A WEDDING is a LibraryReads selection for August and received a starred review from Library Journal.

A Course Called Scotland by Tom Coyne

Have you found yourself thinking recently about playing golf in Scotland? Well, the newly released A COURSE CALLED SCOTLAND by Tom Coyne is certainly worth pursuing.  In this entertaining book, Coyne recounts his adventures playing famous courses at St. Andrews, Turnberry, Dornoch, Troon and many that are less well-known. In fact, Coyne sets out to play golf on every links course in Scotland (map included) and lists the results of 111 rounds (that’s a total of 657,450 yards and over 1900 holes in just under two months) where he impressively was over par by only about seven percent, or very roughly 5 strokes per round. Those stats are meant to convey Coyne’s serious ability although his writing is extremely humorous and will have you laughing out loud. 

A COURSE CALLED SCOTLAND is a great resource for anyone interested in golf – the kind of book that you can pick up and enjoy over time. It is an amusing and witty storytelling masterpiece, filled with history of the game and tales of family, friends and local playing partners. Coyne previously authored A Course Called Ireland (2009) which was a New York Times bestseller. Thank you to Simon & Schuster for the advance reader copy which was provided in exchange for this honest review.

More YA debut fiction ...

OUT OF THE BLUE by Sophie Cameron is an emotional coming of age story.  The main character in this debut novel is 16 year-old Jaya. She recently lost her Mom in a freak accident, feels abandoned by her first girlfriend, and is angry with her father. He has quit his job and temporarily uprooted the family including her younger sister in order to pursue a quest to find a Being. Yes, Beings (or angels) have been falling from the sky and no one knows why. 

Sounds strange, right? But I really liked OUT OF THE BLUE much more than I thought I would.  Jaya is an appealing character and her adventures in Edinburgh somehow felt plausible despite the idea that she is the one to find a Being who is the first to miraculously survive the fall to Earth. Jaya enlists new activist friends Allie and Calum to protect and hide the Being from fanatic cults and exploitation. Cameron provides a very read-able (790 lexile) exploration of mortality and grief, while also probing the consequences of good intentions and their impact on both friends and family relationships. OUT OF THE BLUE credibly reflects a diverse society (including biracial, lesbian and disabled characters) and received starred reviews from Kirkus and School Library Journal (grades 9 and up).  Look for it on our shelves.

THEY COME IN ALL COLORS by Malcolm Hansen is another debut novel that features a biracial character, Huey Fairchild.  The story begins in early 1960s rural Georgia when Huey is a child and the local pool is closed rather than being opened to Black swimmers. He and his Mom move to New York where he is given a scholarship to a private school; the only other person of color there is the janitor. I was intrigued by the time period and premise; plus, Malcolm Hansen has some first-hand experience on which to draw since he, too, is biracial and moved quite a bit as a child. Hansen is a talented writer; for example, he memorably describes how young Huey met his Mom at a diner and “jumped into a booth beside her and squeezed her like she was the very last of the toothpaste.” However, THEY COME IN ALL COLORS seemed very disjointed with the story moving back and forth between Huey (age 8) in Georgia and New York (as a teenager). Like many young people, Huey is uncomfortable with being different, but he is very naïve about it, too, and that stretches believability. I found it difficult to develop empathy for Huey and this feeling was reinforced as he frequently acts out and invites trouble for himself and his Mom.

Hansen does prompt readers to think about important points like the assumptions we make.  Here, Huey describes a baseball error where one outfielder was not able to avoid another: “[I] explained to Suzie that Chacon was from Puerto Rico, which is why he wasn’t able to call off Thomas in English.  She asked if that was where my family was from. I’m from Georgia, I answered. I couldn’t believe what came out her mouth next. Oh. So-you’re American?”

Sadly, THEY COME IN ALL COLORS, like in the above passage, was made much more difficult to follow because of the absence of any quotation marks and overall I would have preferred a more linear, traditional telling.