From the back cover: When Jimmy Marcus' daughter is found murdered, his childhood friend Sean Devine is assigned to the case. His personal life unraveling, the investigation takes Sean back into a world of violence and pain he thought he'd left behind. It also puts him on a collision course with Jimmy Marcus—a man with his own dark past who is eager to solve the crime with … [Read more...] about Mystic River by Dennis Lehane: A-
Books
The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman: B+
From the back cover: "Beware the seven blessings..." When she first utters these words, sixteen-year-old Sally Lockhart doesn't know their meaning. But when an employee of her late father hears them, he dies of fear. Thus begins Sally's terrifying journey into the seamy underworld of Victorian London, in search of clues that will solve the puzzle of her father's death. … [Read more...] about The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman: B+
Hornblower and the Hotspur by C. S. Forester: A
From the back cover: April 1803. The Peace of Amiens is breaking down. Napoleon is building ships and amassing an army just across the Channel. Horatio Hornblower—who, at age twenty-seven, has already distinguished himself as one of the most daring and resourceful officers in the Royal Navy—commands the three-masted Hotspur on a dangerous reconnaissance mission that evolves, … [Read more...] about Hornblower and the Hotspur by C. S. Forester: A
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro: A
From the back cover: As a child, Kathy—now thirty-one years old—lived at Hailsham, a private school in the scenic English countryside where the children were sheltered from the outside world, brought up to believe that they were special and that their well-being was crucial not only for themselves but for the society they would eventually enter. Kathy had long ago put this … [Read more...] about Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro: A
Well-Schooled in Murder by Elizabeth George: B+
From the back cover: When thirteen-year-old Matthew Whateley goes missing from Bredgar Chambers, a prestigious public school in the heart of West Sussex, aristocratic Inspector Thomas Lynley receives a call for help from the lad's housemaster, who also happens to be an old school chum. Thus, the inspector, his partner, Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers, and forensic scientist … [Read more...] about Well-Schooled in Murder by Elizabeth George: B+