Rosemary for Remembrance and Rue for Repentance

The Janna Mysteries #1-2

by Felicity Pulman

A great-value bindup of books one and two in the nailbitingly thrilling Janna Mysteries

 
In Rosemary for Remembrance, Janna's mother has been poisoned and Janna will need all her courage and skill to bring the murderer to justice. But who can she trust when everyone around her has secrets that threaten her safety? In Rue for Repentance, Janna is given shelter at a manor farm as she flees for her life, but not all is as it seems. A child goes missing and Janna vows to find him, but who can she turn to for help? Time is running out for both Janna and the lost boy.

Genres: Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Young Adult

592 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2011

About the author

I grew up (a long time ago!) in a small bush town in Africa. No TV, iPods, computer games and surfing the internet – you could say I had a very deprived childhood! Not so. Instead, for entertainment I learned to read. Books became my windows to the world: they told me about dragons and fairies and magic. They told me about other countries and other cultures. They told me about myself. And I have never stopped reading, because I love stories.

I guess I always did things back to front – the hard way! In Africa, when I ran out of books to read, I wrote my own. I love writing stories, but I never thought about it as a grownup occupation. As a grownup, I had to go back to school to find out that I really was a writer. After doing the HSC at the age of 40, I went on to do a BA (Communications) degree at UTS. My major was creative writing, and suddenly I found myself experimenting with all sorts of genres and, in particular, writing the sorts of stories that I love to read – crime and timeslip fantasy back into the past.

Reviews

[Sarah Webb · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a teenager I adored this series, and now as an adult I still enjoy reading them.

[Lindsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

A young woman and her healer mother, live on the edge of the village, in a forest. Janna's mother dies quite suddenly by poison. Janna is young, impetuous, and abrasive. She makes trouble for herself by jumping to conclusions about folks as she tries to solve the mystery of her mother's death.

I pre-read this book for my 11 year old, thinking a medieval mystery would be fun for her. but no. The themes were a bit grown up and geared for an older audience - themes like unwanted pregnancies and adultery and phrases like "bedgames". Older themes aside, the story was unsophisticated and the plot clues too simple to present a challenge.

I say it's okay, but it's only *just* okay. If you get it for free and are bored, read it. Sure. But I wouldn't recommend anyone going out and buying it on purpose.