Book Reviews

 Evans Above by Rhys Bowen, adult mystery, 1997

This is the first book in the Constable Evans mystery series. It is rare to find the first in a series on a library shelf, so I snapped it up when I saw it.

Evan Evans is a constable in the small Welsh Village of Llanfair. He was training to be a policeman in a larger city, but came back to his roots for a quieter way of life. 

Llanfair is quaint, and the villagers are an interesting group of people in this cozy mystery.  The town is small and everyone knows everything that is going on. Evan is an eligible bachelor, and it is the goal of many in the village to find a wife for him. The village is situated below picturesque, ragged mountains. The quaint atmosphere is ruined only by a large hotel at the edge of town, which brings guests to town who keep needing to be rescued off the mountains by the village folks. Evan, who knows the mountains well, is part of the volunteer rescue team.

The victims show up fairly early in the story when two men are found dead in the mountains. At first, it looks like a climbing accident, but Evan thinks there's more to it than that. He follows his instincts and plods through to solve the murders despite the fact that his superiors tell him to stay out of the investigation.

 It was an easy, fun read without a complicated plot. Sometimes mystery plots are so complex that I have a hard time following them, but not this time. The book was written almost 30 years ago and shows its age at times. For example, everyone who was married had their wife at home. But that is a minor part of the book. I will probably read another Constable Evans book, but prefer the Royal Spyness Mysteries by Bowen.

The Book of Boy by Catherine Gilbert Murdock, juvenile historical fiction (upper elementary-middle school), 2018.

Somehow, this book slipped under my radar (I'm going to blame it on COVID), but it was quite well-received. Here's a list of accolades it got

"A Newbery Honor Book * Booklist Editors’ Choice * BookPage Best Books * Chicago Public Library Best Fiction * Horn Book Fanfare * Kirkus Reviews Best Books * Publishers Weekly Best Books * Wall Street Journal Best of the Year * An ALA Notable Book" (Amazon)

The book takes place in the Middle Ages (1350) in France and Italy. One third of the European population had just been wiped out by the pestilence (Bubonic plague), and hundreds of thousands of people were pilgrimaging to Rome. 

Boy, an orphan, has a hump and is ridiculed and stoned because of it. However, he has some protection from the family he works for and the local priest. Secundus, a pilgrim, passes by one day and wants Boy to accompany him on his journey for a few days. The journey turns out to be more than a few days as Boy helps Secundus secure seven relics he is looking for.

Boy and Secundus have an epic adventure, and it is a mystery to the reader what exactly the purpose of the journey is for several chapters. In hindsight, you can see the clues that were being given, but I didn't catch on. This is a book where I can't discuss much of the story without spoilers. 

Because Secundus is on a pilgrimage, the book is centered around the Catholic religion and its rule at that time.  The author did extensive research to make the setting of the story as accurate as she could. However, since it involves religion, which is faith-based instead of evidence-based, major parts of the story are imagined.

This is not a religious Bible story. This is an adventure that involves a boy learning about the world and himself, and second chances.

Along with everyone else, I recommend The Book of Boy. It's not like anything I've read before.

The Beat I Drum by Dusti Bowling, juvenile fiction, middle grades, 2025

This is a sequel to the Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus and Momentous Events in the Life of a Cactus, and focuses on Aven's friend Connor, who has Tourette's Syndrome. Barking is his main symptom.

Connor has had to move across town and leave his best friend, Aven, behind, and start a new school. He is just turning 14 and a freshman. He immediately makes friends with another group, which includes a girl with Tourette's and another who has a birthmark across half of her face. Connor has his first feeling of love with these girls and experiences some of the complications that come with that. 

In the meantime, his father, who could not deal with Connor's Tourette's and left two years ago, is now back in the picture, trying to form a new relationship with Connor. Connor is still very angry with his father and wants nothing to do with him.

The pressure of the new school, along with the anger that he feels for his father, brings Connor to a breaking point. However, he has a music teacher who is working with him to find an instrument to play, as sometimes this can help with tics. They eventually decide on the drums, and he starts lessons. The story eventually has a feel-good ending, just like the first book.

Initially, I wasn't very interested in reading about teenage relationships, but the turmoil Connor was experiencing made the story more compelling. The author explores the practical and emotional aspects of Tourette's Syndrome well. She has two daughters and a husband, all of whom have tic disorders, from whom she draws inspiration.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, adult horror, 1959

I don't usually read horror books, but this was my nod to Halloween this month. The Haunting of Hill House is considered a classic, and there are many scholarly things written about it if you want to read a more formal review. I read it many years ago, but I didn't remember much about the book except that it scared me. 

Dr. Montague is a researcher of the supernatural and rents the Hill House for study because of its reputation for being haunted. Several deaths have been associated with the house, and no one stays longer than a few days in it before they leave. The townspeople won't go near it. Along with Dr. Montague, he has two assistants: the vibrant Theodora and the troubled Eleanor. Also, Luke, who will inherit the house, is there to represent the family.

The house gives off bad vibes from the beginning, with strange angles, complicated floor plans, along with heavy and grotesque furnishings. And there are strange, distressing episodes that they all experience.

While all of those things set up a somewhat typical horror story, I found the real creepiness was the psychological part of the book. Eleanor has no real place or experience in the world. She was isolated as she cared for her troublesome mother for 11 years before she died. Going to the Hill House is the first independent thing Eleanor has done in her life. She is emotionally fragile as she sorts out these new experiences. Sometimes you're not sure if it's the house and its ghosts wreaking havoc, or it is Eleanor's subconscious playing out. 

The story builds until it ends with a fitting ending for a psychological horror story. If you're into this kind of thing, it is a well-written, compelling book. 

That's it for this latest set of books.

Until next time...