Monday Mini-Reviews: It's Been A While

 After a few weeks of attempting to read as many middle grade and YA books as possible, I'm back to having a little more freedom in what I'm choosing to read.

I have always enjoyed Jean Kwok's books -she's a must-buy author for me- and this novel was fantastic.

The Leftover Woman has two narrators: Rebecca a wealthy executive who has adopted a daughter with her husband, and Jasmine who has escaped a controlling husband in China and has nothing except the goal of finding the daughter who was taken from her at birth.  As the story moves back and forth between these two women, there's suspense in this story, too.  

Murder by Degrees: A Mystery by Ritu Mukerji - this is the beginning of a new mystery series set in 19th century Philadelphia where Lydia is a doctor. When one of her patients dies - dredged out of the river - Lydia starts trying to figure out what happened to the young woman.  I liked this one a lot and am hoping there is a second installment soon.

The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny - this the seventh book in Penny's series and the further I get into this series, the more I like these books.  In this installment, set at a monastery in the wilderness of Quebec, Gamache and Beauvoir have been sent to find out who has killed one of the monks, a group of men living in silence except for the singing that has made them famous.  While I always enjoy Penny's mysteries, I also enjoy knowing more about the characters as they are developed.  

Kill Show: A True Crime Novel by Daniel Sweren-Becker - this is fiction written like an oral history, a unique way for this mystery to unfold.  Sara Parcell, a high school girl goes missing without a trace.  There are interviews with the family, friends, law enforcement and several other characters as twists and turns unfold.  The novel is short, but it did take me a while to get through it.  Mystery readers should pick this one up and anyone who is looking for a unique method of storytelling should also look into it.

I must be in the mood for mysteries.  I finished a book last night, and am not sure what to pick up next. I've got more than enough options, but no real idea what I feel like reading.  I hate when that happens, but can usually pick up something fairly quickly that gets me back in the reading mood.