February -Edgar Nominee Reads - Reporting

[Theresa]

Finished Djinn Patrol - so good. Here's my review:

Jai lives in the slums a/k/a basti of a major Indian City. As children, including classmates, start disappearing in the basti, Jai, who wants to be a detective, persuades his friends to investigate using what he's learned from watching TV detective shows he loves. The children are lively, inventive, delightful. Daily life in the basti among the poor is brought to vivid life as Jai and his friends follow leads and parrot the adults around them.

Told entirely from the eyes of the children, what evolves is a mystery very thinly disguising social commentary on poverty and class in India where the disadvantaged children remain at extreme risk while the police and government look the other way. Finishing reading this just as the news is filled with the first family reunions at the US border of children wrenched from their parents by the prior administration's harsh border policies was a harsh reminder that the vulnerable are just as much at risk in a wealthy country as anywhere.

Yet the book is far from grim. The author, who was born in India and worked there as a journalist until emigrating to England, captures and maintains the child's voice and viewpoint to the very last word with a skill I last saw in Frank McCourt's Angela's Ashes. There is an incredible lightness to the read, great charm in Jai and his friends. It just won the Edgar award and deserves every prize and accolade it receives.

[Booknblues]

Theresa wrote: "Finished Djinn Patrol - so good. Here's my review:

Jai lives in the slums a/k/a basti of a major Indian City. As children, including classmates, start disappearing in the basti, Jain, who wants to..."

Great review, Theresa. I knew you would like it.

[Theresa]

I finished the last of my Edgar reads last night: Before She Was Helen. I agree with Cora's review. Only I just gave it 2.5 stars rounded down to 2.

Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

To repeat what I have said before: I loved reading the Edgar nominees this year and absolutely am up for doing so again next year and every year after. BooknBlues - thanks for starting us on this! Make it an annual event!

[Theresa]

I am posting this link about juvenile crime fiction here as I think Cora mentioned her son loves them. For the rest of us...this may in part be a nostalgic visit to our youthful reading passions.

https://crimereads.com/a-brief-histor...

[Karin]

I just read one, finally

The Thursday Murder Club

My review is nothing stellar, just:

3.5 stars rounded down (oh, when will GR add half stars? Not every 3.5 star book is one I want to round up, but is better than a 3 star read...)

This was a fun cozy mystery, and there were a number of things and characters I enjoyed about this, not the least of whom is Joyce, who clearly has a lot more going for her than others realize. The humour is quite good, overall, and even though the characters aren't all stunningly original, they are still well enough done that I could enjoy them. If you are looking for a very tight plot, this isn't for you, but I didn't mind this because it suited the characters and ambiance. Not every mystery has to be tightly plotted. Instead of leaving loose ends, we end with something that lets us know their is another book to come, which I plan to read.