From A to Z Books: Confessions of A Murder Suspect by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

Dear Z,

James Patterson has been a staple in my life for as long as I can remember. His adult mysteries have graced the bookshelves of my living room and I have watched my mom and dad devour them as I fell asleep on the couch. And when I was old enough I read The Maximum Ride series, I obsessed actually. I was in fifth grade and it was summer and I read through as many as I could, and then followed them as they came out after that. It was the first series that I read as the books came out. So when I heard James Patterson was co-authoring a new YA series I knew I had to pick it up.

Confessions of A Murder Suspect is about a group of kids, siblings, Tandoori, Mathew, Harrison, and Hugo Angel and their parents Malcolm and Maud have just been murdered, and the biggest suspects are the Angel children themselves. The main protagonist is Tandoori (Tandy) Angel and she has made it her mission to solve the murder and catch the killer, but here’s the freaky part it may even be her. There’s more than just murder shrouding the Angel children in shadow. Gradually we learn the Angel children aren’t normal, in fact they are all out freaks of nature. Tandy struggles with memory lost, and a robot like lack of emotion, Mathew and Hugo have super strength, both have “hulk outs” as Tandy lovingly calls them, and then Harry is Tandy’s twin and the artistic protege.

Following Tandy through the skeletons in her families closet is riveting, Tandy is an interesting voice and her narrative flows smoothly. Sprinkled throughout the storyline are her confessions, for as reader we are serving as a sort of confidant to Tandy; someone whom she doesn’t have to worry about lying to her face, or killing her family. I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery and drama in this book and by the end I almost didn’t want to know who killed their parents, too scared for the Angel children. At every turn Patterson and Paetro threw me through a loop, never did I guess just what would happen next. I flew through this book (as much as we can with papers and spring fever) and I recommend it to anyone who loves the other YA books co-authored by Patterson, including Alex Rider, Maximum Ride, Daniel X, and Witch and Wizard. Also go check out the other mystery series by this specific duo, Women’s Murder club and Private series. I can’t wait to pick up the next in this series, already out. Okay I’m done plugging, but Patterson is a favorite so i guess I’m allowed!

Until The Next Read,

A

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From Z to A: Venom by Fiona Paul

Dear Aly,

Whew!! I finally finished my last book of 2013, and just in time! I was kind of feeling the pressure since I haven’t had a ton of time to read and for some reason I wasn’t feeling all that inspired to, but I pushed through it!

Venom by Fiona Paul is NOT fantasy (I can hear the big sigh of relief from our readers haha), it’s a historical murder mystery. It’s the debut novel in a series called The Secrets of the Eternal Rose, sounds cool right?? I was so attracted to the cover of this book, it sports a girl in a gorgeous Venetian carnivale mask. Now, I’m a sucker for anything Venetian, and I loooove murder mysteries so I thought this book would be perfect for me. I actually bought this a while ago, may have even been in 2012! I read a few pages, set it down and forgot about it for a while. No idea what made me pick it up again, but I felt drawn to read it.

It’s about a young contessa, Cassandra Caravello, who, after experiencing the untimely death of a friend, begins to suspect that something bigger and darker is happening in her city. She meets a mysterious artist, Falco, who helps her out in solving this mystery. Basically everyone in this book is not who they seem. Falco is involved with some secret work, Cass’s arranged fiancé, Luca, has a dark secret, and sometimes all this mystery is kinda disorienting! We like Falco, but he’s also kinda creepy; sometimes his comments about the “appreciation of the female body” kinda skeeved me out. He’s really sweet otherwise though.

There’s also these super creepy quotes from some book called the “Book of the Eternal Rose” which I’m assuming is where the series gets its title. I have no idea really what the book is, it’s only mentioned once. The quotes have these almost… Aristotelian quality to their language and they’re mostly about weird, renaissance-y doctor-y topics. There is a cool quote I liked though, “Both the teardrop and the tempest are made of water, making it the most yielding and most destructive force on Earth.”

Overall, I wouldn’t call this the greatest book I’ve ever read, nor is it the worst. It kind of falls in the middle; a book you’d read for fun and not have to worry about thinking too hard as you read. I really have no idea where the title, Venom comes from, we’ll probably find out in the next book of the series.

I can’t wait to see what amazing books come out in 2014, I want them all!!!! I also just received The Hollow Crown series from the library today, so that will be what’s sucking up the rest of my break, can’t wait!!!

Happy reading, see you in the new year!

Zoe