What I Read in February

And here's what I read in February that I didn't already post about.

All ratings are on a scale from 1 (bad) to 5 (great).

THE NAME OF THIS BOOK IS SECRET by Pseudonymous Bosch - 3
This kid's mystery finds Cass and Max-Ernest trying to find out what happened to the previous owner of a collection of vials known as the Symphony of Smells. Little do they know the dangerous world they are about to enter. This book had it's fun moments, and the story was good. But the choice to narrate it by someone who keeps warning us about how horrid the story is grew old early and actually left me a little disappointed when the danger took so long to appear.

WORLD'S GREATEST SLEUTHS! by Steve Hockensmith - 5
Cowboys Old Red and Big Red are summoned to the World's Fair in Chicago to compete in a competition to discover who is the best detective in the world now that Sherlock Holmes has vanished. But the stakes are raised when someone involved in the competition turns up dead the second morning. Can Old Red figure out why the murder took place? I always enjoy spending time around these brothers in the 1890's, and this book was no exception. The story is strong as are the characters. Another fun read.

HOW TO SURVIVE A KILLER SEANCE by Penny Warner - 4
Presley's latest big shindig is a seance at the Winchester Mystery House, a chance for inventor Jonathan Ellington to show off his new 4D technology. Things are going well until the projection of Sarah Winchester starts to accuse Jonathan of infidelity. When the bodies start piling up, Presley has to figure out how the killer is. You could not ask for a better setting and set up for this book, and I felt the story took full advantage of that. Unfortunately, the climax felt rushed, but it did tie up all the lose threads from the plot.

GHOST IN THE POLKA DOTE BIKINI by Sue Ann Jaffarian - 5
Emma Whitecastle is trying to enjoy a romantic Thanksgiving weekend with her boyfriend on Catalina, but the trip is interrupted when she keeps seeing the ghost of a woman who disappeared in the 60's. Can Emma find out what really happened to the woman? It was great to see these characters again, and I enjoyed the humor in the book. Yet it reaches a more serious ending, which I found appropriate.