(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Detective Constable Maeve Kerrigan is used to being ridiculed by her mostly male colleagues.  They mock her gender, her looks, her Irish heritage, her "womanly" empathy, her work habits—everything.  Although the 28-year-old lets it roll off her back, she's still eager to prove she's a valuable member of the London murder squad, that she's there on her own merit and not because she's sleeping with the boss (a rampant, untrue rumor).  She longs to be part of the hunt for a vicious serial killer called The Burning Man.  Solving the case would earn her much-needed bragging rights.  Not to mention bring a murderer to justice.

When a new victim is found, Maeve and her colleagues are puzzled.  The murder seems to be the work of The Burning Man, but the M.O. doesn't quite fit.  Are they looking for the same killer or a copycat?  Assigned to look into the private life of the dead woman, Maeve makes some startling revelations that lead to more mystifying questions.  Who was Rebecca Haworth?  What led to her brutal death?  With few solid clues, it's difficult to find answers.  The more Maeve learns about Rebecca, though, the more determined she is to find the woman's killer.  Even if it means putting her own life on the line.  Which it inevitably will.

The Burning, the first book in the Maeve Kerrigan series by Irish crime writer Jane Casey, is a tense, fast-paced thriller.  While the mystery at its center is certainly compelling, it's the characters that really come first here.  Maeve is tough, but caring and devoted.  Eternally likable, she's also flawed, which makes her feel very real.  Louise North, who is Rebecca's best friend and a dual narrator with Maeve, is likewise intriguing.  While I would consider The Burning a character-driven novel, the plot definitely moves along at a clip.  The story isn't quite as twisty as I wanted it to be, but it definitely kept me riveted.  A few chapters in, I found myself reserving the next two books in the series.  That's how much I liked The Burning, especially its understated but unforgettable heroine.  I've learned since that Casey just knows how to pull me in—once I start one of her books, I (almost literally) can't stop reading.  Fair warning.

(Readalikes:  Books by Sharon Bolton and Tana French; also other novels in the Maeve Kerrigan series, including The Reckoning; The Last Girl; The Stranger You Know; The Kill; After the Fire; and Let the Dead Speak)

Grade:

 

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

 

for strong language, violence, blood/gore, sexual content, depictions of illegal drug use, and disturbing subject matter

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find

 

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Cammie O'Reilly knows what it's like to have a caretaker, but not a mother.  Hers died 12 years ago when Cammie was just a baby.  For as long as she can remember, it's been her and her father, who works as a warden at the local prison.  Since the O'Reillys live in an apartment above the entrance to the facility, she's always had one of the female inmates—a prison trustee—as a housekeeper and Cammie-keeper.  Which is all well and good, but this is a pivotal time for Cammie; she wants a mother of her own to help her through it.

There are plenty of women in the Hancock County Prison from whom to choose.  Maybe they're not the most ideal candidates in the world, but Cammie's not all that picky.  Boo Boo, a flamboyant shoplifter, would be a fun mother.  Eloda, the current Cammie-minder isn't exactly the warm and fuzzy type, but she would do.  Cammie just has to do a little scheming to make all her mother-shaped dreams come true.

Of course, procuring a mother isn't that easy.  Neither is growing up, as Cammie is finding out the hard way.  Between her determined mom-scheming, her friends acting strangely, the discovery of an unlikely new pal, and the arrival of an intriguing inmate, her emotions are running high.  It will be a summer full of startling revelations—truths that will change everything for one "Cannonball" Cammie O'Reilly.

I've never read anything by Jerry Spinelli, so when a copy of his newest—The Warden's Daughter—arrived at my kids' school library, I jumped at the chance to read it.  The jail setting caught my attention, as did Cammie's endearing plight.  While I didn't end up loving the novel, I did find it a thoughtful and poignant book that tells a sad but intriguing story. Overall, I did like the tale, which reminded me a lot of the old Rolling Stones adage "You can't always get what you ... you get what you need."

(Readalikes: Reminds me of the Al Capone series [Al Capone Does My Shirts; Al Capone Shines My Shoes; and Al Capone Does My Homework] by Gennifer Choldenko)

Grade:

 

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

 

for brief, mild language (no F-bombs)

To the FTC, with love:  I borrowed a copy of The Warden's Daughter from my kids' elementary school library.

 

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

Sarah Whitaker is used to standing on her own two feet.  In breeches and work boots no less.  Running a sheep farm in the Australian Outback, in a colony overrun with poisonous spiders, venomous snakes, and exiled convicts, is not for the faint of heart. Sarah may be a lady, but she's also as tough as the wilderness surrounding her.  She has to be.  With no family to protect her, no guardian to instruct her, and no neighbors to come to her rescue, she's on her own.  And doing just fine, thank you very much.

After a money-earning stunt goes horribly wrong, Daniel Burton (who happens to be the brother of Meg, who stars in Miss Burton Unmasks a Prince) is scheduled to hang.  Overwhelmed with guilt and shame, he knows he deserves his fate.  When an influential relative intervenes, however, Daniel can't help but jump at the chance to start over.  Although he's required to serve a 14-year sentence in an Australian penal colony, he will not be treated as the other convicts.  Unlike them, he'll be allowed to own land, to work his own farm, and to make his own profits.  Determined to prove himself a solid, trustworthy man, he sets himself to the task.

 

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

 

for scenes of peril

To the FTC, with love:  I received a finished copy of Miss Whitaker Opens Her Heart from the generous folks at Covenant.  Thank you!

--

Interested in following along on the Miss Whitaker Opens Her Heart blog tour?  Just click on the links below:

April 10th: http://booksaresanity.blogspot.com/, http://rockinbookreviews.com/, http://ldswritermom.blogspot.com/, http://www.iamareader.com/

Want to win your own copy of Miss Whitaker Opens Her Heart plus a $25 Amazon gift card?  Fill out the Rafflecopter below: