Ashleigh's Bookshelf

Death on Tour by Janice Hamrick Texas high school teacher Jocelyn and her cousin Kyla have always been interested in Ancient Egypt, so when presented the opportunity to spend her spring break touring the Great Pyramids, Jocelyn isn't about to say no. She's not even going to let the death of one of her more annoying companions ruin her trip. But, when strange things keep happening to their group, Jocelyn begins to wonder if the trip was really worth it. Unlike most cozy mysteries, this book begins with the murder on page one. For me, this was a definite turn-off. When reading mysteries, I like to have a chance to know my characters before someone dies. I believe it was also possible that I knew the name of the victim before the name of the main character (although I have already returned the book to the library, so I cannot be certain). With such a large cast, I had a very difficult time remembering who was who and sometimes felt I knew everyone else'...

Nutmeg Street: Egyptian Secrets   Sherrill Joseph When an ancient Egyptian treasure goes mission, it's up to four young detectives to help solve the case. I love a good mystery, especially when I have NO IDEA whodunit. This story definitely fell into that category. I thought I had figured it out by the second chapter, only to have been horribly wrong. (Although, when the guilty party is initially introduced, I did get a feeling that person might be the culprit. But, I was still voting for my first choice until the very end.) This novel had a great storyline and reminded me very much of Nancy Drew. I really wanted to be engaged. However, I found the story very difficult to read. Despite the line acknowledging the children were brighter and more mature than their age, the dialogue felt very forced and there was an excessive use of dialogue tags, often poorly placed. It was very difficult to relate to the characters, both the children and the adults. Additionally, a lot of backstory...