Tuesday Book Reviews

Murder on Magazine by Julie Smith

So good to be back with Skip and the gang in New Orleans. This time, a terrific new character is introduced. Cody, or any of the other names Cordelia goes by, was sold into prostitution by her mother, but in escaping, she thinks she kills the whale. As Skip officially investigates the death of the man who was monitoring Cody, the teenager does her own investigation. Who was the whale? Did he kill the other man? Where will Cody be safe? And through it all are the dogs. And opinions, mainly negative, on the Airbnb situation in NOLA. Hope this means we’ll see more Skip Langdon stories, and that they include more Cody.

Jolly Foul Play by Robin Stevens

Another wonderful Wells and Wong detective story. When the head girl at Deepdean School for Girls dies during a bonfire, Daisy and Hazel are on the case. They witnessed how the victim and her group of big girl prefects had terrorized the younger girls at the school. Malicious rumors and secrets began to turn up after the death. Along with their dorm-mates, they conclude that the prefects are the only viable suspects. Hazel’s ‘voice’, telling the story as she recorded it for their Detective Society, is wonderful. Thanks to my daughter, I now have three more in the series.