Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


Strike Three! You’re caught.

Ballpark Mysteries Super Special #3: Subway Series Surprise by David A. Kelly

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Ballpark Mysteries Super Special #3: Subway Series Surprise by David A. Kelly and illustrated by Mark Meyers, is a to first base story: Mike and Kate are two sleuths and baseball lovers, that have solved several mysteries based around baseball. They are modern-day Encyclopedia Brown meets Babe Ruth. This time they need to find out who not only stole Kate’s moms notes about the book she is writing, but who has been pulling pranks on the Mets! The Subway series between the Yankees and Mets […]

Revisiting a favourite from my early teens

Why Didn't They Ask Evans? by Agatha Christie

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When out golfing one afternoon, young Mr Bobby Derwent finds a handsome stranger at the bottom of a cliff, near death. While his golfing companion goes to get help, Bobby sits with the stranger, who soon expires, but not before uttering: “Why didn’t they ask Evans?” While looking for signs of identification, Bobby finds the photograph of a very beautiful woman in the dead man’s pockets, but nothing else to give him a sign of the man’s identity. The local inquest rules the man’s death […]

“But Ma used to say, not everyone circles the same sun. I never knew what she meant by that until Monday went missing.”

Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson

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Someone here already reviewed this and I’m kind of sad to submit another repeat review. BUT I read it and I gotta count it! “This is the story of how my best friend disappeared. How nobody noticed she was gone except me. And how nobody cared until they found her . . . one year later.” That’s actually a pretty good summary of this book, supplied by the main character, 14-year-old Claudia.  She and Monday have been thick as thieves most of their lives, other than summers that […]

A Good Beginning

Sweet Little Lies by Caz Frear

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This is a really solid start to what could be a great mystery series. A great option if you just want something fast and twisty that’s also well-written. I think I flew through this one in just a day or two, so it really is quick reading and it was exactly what I was looking for after the heartache of reading American Overdose. Cat Kinsella is a young detective with the Metropolitan Police Force with, of course, a dark past. She was just a kid […]

Amateur Sleuthing on Your Sister-In-Law? That’ll Go Well…

Die A Little by Megan Abbott

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As I said in my review of The Song Is You, I wish Megan Abbott had done more 40s and 50s LA noir tales. She is of course welcome to write what she darn well pleases without my input. Give Me Your Hand was one of my favorite reads from last year. But these tales are so much fun and they hit that sweet spot of quality LA mysteries. Like The Song is You, this is a historical mystery featuring an amateur sleuth trying to deduce what’s behind her […]

Not My Cup of Tea, Unfortunately

Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson

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 I really did not like this book very much. At the same time, it is clear I am really not the intended audience for this book. Man, I really hate writing reviews like this, because while I didn’t like it, I can see that someone else probably would, especially someone younger, and this being a YA book, that makes total sense. So, I’m prefacing this with the disclaimer that I am a Cranky Old and so if you are not a Cranky Old, take this […]



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