A Pattern of Lies (Book Review)

Title: A Pattern of Lies: a Bess Crawford Mystery
Author: Charles Todd
Publication: William Morrow, hardcover 2015, paperback 2016
Genre: Mystery/Historical Fiction

Plot: Bess Crawford, a capable nurse stationed in World War I France, becomes embroiled in a mystery relating to a former patient recuperating in Kent. A tragic explosion at the Ashton Gunpowder Mill is now being blamed on Philip Ashton. While visiting the family, Bess learns of the threats made to the Ashton family and tries to assist them in understanding why they are being maliciously targeted. Back in France, Bess deftly deals with the trauma of the last months of the Great War while also trying to locate a key witness to the explosion, protect herself from a killer, and put a stop to the lies threatening her friends.

Into the Dim (book review)

Title: Into the Dim
Author: Janet B. Taylor
Publication: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Hardcover, 2016
Genre: YA Time travel

Plot: Hope Walton is still devastated from losing her mother when her stepfather ships her to Scotland to visit an unknown aunt while he vacations with his new girlfriend. Christopher Manor is an imposing 5-6 story mansion, full of secrets, and before Hope even meets her Aunt Lucinda, she has is befriended by the housekeeper’s granddaughter Phoebe (good), meets a handsome young stranger in the Scottish countryside (good) who is taking pictures of her (bad), and found a portal in her aunt’s basement that takes her back in time to Eleanor of Aquitaine’s London (dangerous). Soon Hope begins to learn the truth about her mother’s family and finds out her mother isn’t dead but is trapped in the 12th century. Hope, her new friend Phoebe, and Phoebe’s critical brother Collum need to rescue Sarah Walton but they only have 72 hours before their time travel window will expire...

Audience: Fans of time travel and YA fiction

What I liked: Feisty orphans or quasi-orphans, mysterious mansions, quests back in time, a handsome hero who might be the villain – yes, this is a fun, fast-paced, and entertaining book just waiting for a sequel.