The Twist of a Knife by Anthony Horowitz

 I discovered Hawthorne and Horowitz Mysteries a few years ago much to my delight. The Twist of a Knife is #4 in the series that has 5 books in it at present, although the author has said there are more planned in the future. Hawthorne is a former police detective in London and now works as a private investigator. These are unique because Horowitz puts himself in the story as the side kick to Hawthorne who has asked him to write books about him as he solves cases. The reader gets a unique look into the frustrations and insights of a somewhat unobservant companion to a brilliant detective. Horowitz inserts many things about his personal life in these stories that it makes you wonder if they are true and not fiction. My favorite part of mystery series are the reoccurring characters. Hawthorne is a well developed and there is a lot of mystery surrounding his history which makes reading the story engaging and so interesting. 

I listened to the audio book version and the narrator did a wonderful job. His voices of the characters really brought them to life for me. 

Recommend: Yes

Mystery, murder, detective, crime

A Darkness at the Door by Intisar Khanan

 Book #3 in The Dauntless Path. Book #2 ended with a cliff hanger so I immediately downloaded this on my kindle. The story continues of Rae who is, with the help of some thieves, trying to end the kidnapping and enslaving of the kingdom's children. She is up against insurmountable odds, mages, royalty, and deception at every turn. 

The pace of this book was excellent. I was engaged from the beginning and was swept up in the adventure throughout the book. I loved seeing the development of the characters and especially liked it when they did things that surprised me. 

Recommend: Yes!

Young Adult fiction, fantasy, child slavery, magic

The Theft of Sunlight by Intisar Khanani

 Book #2 in the Dauntless Path series. I really like Thorn, book #1 and happily started this one after reading a small short story called The Bone Knife which takes place in between #1 and #2. I read this very quickly (and the third one as well) and loved every minute of it. I rarely like the second book in a series more than the first, but this one is even better than Thorn. 

Rae is asked to come to court to be with her cousin who is expecting a child. While she is there she is asked to be the new princess's companion (the main character from Thorn). This suprises her since she was born with a club foot. She accepts the assignment and uses it to try and discover what is happening to the children of the kingdom who mysteriously disappear. 

Recommend: Yes.

Young adult fiction, fantasy, child slavery. 

23 Minutes by Vivian Vande Velde

 I read this book in July of 2023 and liked it so much I wanted to read it aloud to my boys. Vivian Vande Velde is one of my favorite authors and I loved how she told this story. 

Zoe, age 15 and a half,  has an unusual ability to travel back in time for exactly 23 minutes. There are restrictions, which I won't describe here. This ability irritates her mostly until she witnesses a bank robbery gone wrong. Now she has to figure out how to fix it. 

Recommend: Yes

Time travel, Young Adult Fiction

The List by Melanie Jacobson

I've read The List more than a few times. The plot is pretty simplistic, but I do enjoy the characters and so find myself picking it up every couple of years to reread. 

Ashley is about to start her masters degree and is spending the summer with her cousins in southern California. She has a List she has made of things to do before she gets married. She wants to knock a few of them out this summer before going back to Utah to school. One of them is to have a summer fling. She meets Matt and of course things begin to look like they could be more serious, but Ashley only wants her list completed, not a real relationship. Their adventures together are sweet and even though Ashley's actions are a little frustrating, I still really enjoy reading her story. 

Recommend: yes

LDS fiction, romance, beach, summer

Thorn by Intisar Khanani

Retold and remixed fairy tales are a favorite genre of mine. Thorn is VERY loosely based on The Goose Girl with plots and characters not found in the orginal tale. The main character has courage and stamina and also reacts to hard situations in a real way. She has endured abuse and that colors how she sees people and situations and affects her trust of people's motivations. I liked how that is still a part of her and yet she can still find ways to show mercy to people who have wronged her without allowing them to continue to hurt her. 

This is the first book in the series called, Dauntless Path. Each succeeding book focuses on a new main character while the previous book's main character takes a back seat while this new story is told. I enjoyed this a lot and have already started the second book, The Theft of Sunlight.

Recommend: Yes

Young Adult fiction, fairy tale, fantasy

Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow

 8 hours and 33 minutes. Time spent listening to this gem. Here is the plot in a very small  squirrel sized nutshell: Simon is a pre-teen that has experienced something traumatizing: a school shooting. His parents move him to a new town to help him move past it all. He meets new friends and has new adventures all which help him to embrace who he is. 

There are also demented squirrels and emus, obsessed space scientists, and a town without the internet and microwaves. Oh and hilarious anecdotes mixed in. The author, Erin Bow, uses humor and quirky real characters to soften this sad and scary subject. The kids in the story deal with PTSD and autism and are super bright. They show how they deal with these issues courageously with parents who love them and support them. All around inspiring. This quote sums it up well, "Simon Sort of Says is a breathtaking testament to the lasting echoes of trauma, the redemptive power of humor, and the courage it takes to move forward without forgetting the past." (Summary on Libby app)

Recommend: Yes

Junior Fiction, trauma, PTSD, autism, astronomy, friendship, humor