SECRETS OF THE SNAKESTONE

by Piu Dasgupta;  

                                                                                       

An Adventure Book Review by Erin the Literary Cat©, International Book Reviewer.

Hello, and welcome to my weekend Book Review featuring Adventures in Middle-Grade Fiction.

This week's book review really doesn't need any witty preamble from me. It stands tall and proud and captured our hearts from the very first intriguing page of the prologue. Mrs H was taken back (decades/centuries) to her youth and let out a big sigh of satisfaction and appreciation for a work well written when we finished the epilogue. This is one author we will be keeping a close eye on for future releases, for sure.

So, all that said and done, join us now as we head to Paris in the 1890s. . . 

 

AUTHOR:  Piu Dasgupta

 

Cover art by:  Helen Crawford-White

 

Published by: Nosy Crow

 

Publication date Paperback:  14 March 2024

 

Paperback ISBN:   978-183 994 6318  

UK Cover price for Paperback:  £7.99

Kindle UK price:  £6.98

 

Pages:  272

 

Age range:  9-12 and upwards

Any dogs or cats? No, but a sloth and a pigeon play exciting roles. 

 

 

SPOILER ALERT

YES, some as to plot direction and characters.

 

 

Thank you to... 

 

We are exceedingly grateful to Hannah Prutton at Nosy Crow Publishers and NetGalley for the delight of getting to Read & Review this much-anticipated book before publication.

As ever, our views are our own, and we only share reviews of books we have bought, been given as gifts, or received in exchange for an impartial review.

First and foremost, the books we review are those we select to read, like, and feel our global readers deserve to know about and that we hope they, their family, friends and students will enjoy.

The plot

The prologue sees a rat run deep under the city of Paris, into the sewers, ending near where a man and boy work clearing a blockage. The rat sees a small gold object winking bright in the mucky water but is driven away by the sense of something "deep and slow and older than the city or the earth upon which it was built." Evil. The boy, Jules, spots the item; it's like two haves of a walnut held together with a clasp. A locket engraved with indecipherable symbols. It twitched in his hand like a living thing and gave off a sickly yellow-green glow. Pocketing it, he notes under which street, and possibly which house, the effluent has come from. There may be a reward for him if he returns it to the owner . . . .

Zélie Dutta has been sent by her father away from their home in the jungle south of Calcutta to live and work in Paris as a maid for Madame Malaise. She lives in an attic room shared with another maid called Blanche. The house was once the home of Doctor Malaise, discoverer of the cure for Blisterpox. The discovery had got the Doctor much fame and wealth, but he died a year later. He had been a member of a dark and decidedly dubious society called the Brotherhood of Blood. Readers will find out more about their dodgy dealings and wicked works later. Needless to say, it is not good. 

Being a foreigner does not help Zélie, and the other staff are weary of her, more so as she has heterochromia – different coloured eyes. They attribute any accident in the grand house they live and work in on Rue Morgue to Zélie and call her a witch. Items being lost and stolen get blamed on her.

Of course, that is all rot, bigotry and covering up their own mistakes and shortcomings. Our protagonist doesn't understand why she had to travel abroad and come to this house to work. It could have something to do with her father having to borrow money and thus using her to repay the debt.

Whatever the reason, she wants to get home. But as the lady of the house reads her letters to her father, she can not write about the dire conditions. When her father does not respond to her letters after a few months, Zélie becomes very worried, heightening her desire to escape the house and France. 

One day, on the way out to get some mercury-based powder for Madame's make-up, she bumps into the same sewer boy, Jules. He is holding the locket and is intent on finding an owner.

Zélie immediately recognises the locket as the one that her father used to wear around his neck. He would never speak of what it was or how he came by it, but he would never have given it up.

What I can and will say is that the locket used to house the Snakestone. The stone is cursed, like so many famous stones are reputed to be. And even though the stone brings long life, health and fortune to the possessor, it demands and exacts a terrible price – the loved ones of whoever holds the stone will die a horrible and unexplainable painful death. So why does Zélie's father have it, or at least have the locket? Could her mother have been killed by the curse?

Persuading Jules to take her to where he found it, she begins a search to understand why it is in Paris and what has happened to her Baba - her father. 

Now, dear reader, the book escalates by many notches. In the search for the truth, Zélie and Jules find new allies, are betrayed, and get entangled with the 'Brotherhood of Blood'. They, too, and their sinister leader, are interested in the stone and, it seems, have a connection to Mr Dutta. What of Madame Malaise? Is she just a grieving widow? Then there are the circus folk Zélie visits. Could they be possible friends? With lives other than their own lives at risk, the story enters one captivating grand finale, which — did you really think I'd give that away? 

Ultimately, everything in this adventure is intertwined, but not everything or everyone is as they seem. You now have the great fun, as we did, of finding out for yourselves. 

What did we think? 

A beautiful literary jewel, filled with adventure and a plot worthy of grander, classical novels. Steeped in the very essence of 1890's Parisian life, above and below ground, that leaps from the pages. Captivating and compelling from the first enigmatic page through until the very last. Sheer genius and not to be missed.

I haven't been hooked on a book so quickly or compelled to read on more than I was with this. That, indeed, is an excellent sign. What I found within was a delightful plot that entertained and provided oodles of character, adventure, suspense, heroines and villains, dark and sinister, spangly and exotic, all sewn deftly together with lyrical expertise and a hint of magic. 

It is very much of the same sort of magic Wilkie Collins infused into the classic, The Moonstone, which was written in the same era and has enthralled children and adults alike ever since. 

Finally, we loved the quote from Les Misérables, by Victor Hugo, about the sewers under Paris. That sets a flavour, a tone, at the beginning of the book that lasts throughout.

Want to buy a copy?

To get a copy, please take the main roads, rather than rooftops or sewers, down to your local independent bookshop. A sloth around the shoulders is definitely not recommended. 

Piu Dasgupta's agent's page can be found HERE or type this:    https://www.theshawagency.co.uk/piu-dasgupta 

Nosy Crow's web page can be found HERE or type this:   https://nosycrow.com/ 

Helen Crawford-White's web page can be found HERE or type this:   https://studiohelen.co.uk/ 

We are joining the Sunday Selfies, hosted by the wonderful Kitties Blue and their mum, Janet Blue, in America.

 

I shall leave you with a selfie entitled: Black and White on Grey 🙂 🙂

Till laters!

ERin

MAJOR AND MYNAH – TARANTULA TERROR

 by KAREN OWEN;  

 Illustrated by Louise Forshaw                                                               

An Adventure Book Review by Erin the Literary Cat©, International Book Reviewer.

Hello, and welcome to my weekend Book Review featuring Adventures in Middle-Grade Fiction.

 

Mrs H has been busy chasing spiders this week. In fact, the warmer winter has meant that not only have the spiders not gone to sleep, they have been breading, too. Well, that's my excuse. In reality, they may have come indoors with me. But, I'm not telling Mrs H that on account of the fact she's been getting far more exercise chasing them and is wearing off all of the excess calories she put on in December. 

Thankfully, we haven't any as big as the spider in this week's book review. Also, none are as fierce and potentially as dangerous, at least for birds. We could do with a few of those to thin out the number of pigeons that wake me each morning at 10am by doing what pigeons do on the roof. 

So, without further ado, let's get on with our arachnid-tastic adventure!

 

 

AUTHOR: KAREN OWEN

 

Cover art by: LOUISE FORSHAW 

 

Published by: FIREFLY PRESS

 

Publication date: Paperback: 15 February 2024

 

Paperback ISBN: 978 191 5444 431

 

Cover price for Paperback: £6.99

 

Pages:  124

 

Age range: 7 - 9

Any dogs or cats? No, but B.O., the Mynah bird, has a crucial AND scary part!

 

 

SPOILER ALERT

Some as to plot direction and characters.

 

Thank you to... 

We are exceedingly grateful once more to Firefly Press Publishers (and NetGalley) for giving us an advance copy of this to Read & Review for you all across the world.

As ever, our views are our own, and we only share reviews of books we have bought, been given as gifts, or received in exchange for an impartial review.

First and foremost, the books we review are those we select to read, like, and feel our global readers deserve to know about and that we hope they, their family, friends and students will enjoy.

The plot

This is book 3 in the series, and every bit as fun and adventuresome as the others, possibly more so. 

To recap, Callie is our main protagonist. She discovered that her new hearing aids allowed her to understand and speak to Bo, a Mynah bird they adopted in Book 1. Callie and her best pal, Grace, are the two 9-year-old girls in a detective team that includes Bo. They are collectively called S.P.U.D. (Super Perceptive Undercover Detectives).  is our main protagonist. She discovered that her new hearing aids allowed her to understand and speak to Bo, a Mynah bird they adopted in Book 1. Callie and her best pal, Grace, are the two 9-year-old girls in a detective team that includes Bo. They are collectively called S.P.U.D. (Super Perceptive Undercover Detectives). 

It is the school holidays, and a funfair has come to the village, but the kids, including Callie's younger brother, Luke, aren't allowed to go until the weekend when Callie's older cousin comes with his family. That leaves a whole week of going out with their mum and dad, with whom Grace is staying, and doing boring adult things like going to the D.I.Y. store or buying car tyres. I think we can all relate to that in one way or another!

So, having their own airborne assistant/spy in the sky, the girls send Bo off to reconnoitre the fun fair and spot the best rides. But Bo is taking far too long, and the girls are getting worried. When the mynah bird finally returns, he is rather coy as to where and what he's been up to. He gets downright evasive as the week goes on, and he seems very sleepy and off his food, too.

Eventually, after being asked countless times by the kids if they can go to the fair and having to turn them down, they offer to take them somewhere else as a stopgap trip. The kids ultimately settle on going to a wildlife park. Callie's parents have a dislike for snakes and spiders, and they are not keen on going. But a promise is a promise.

At the zoo, the girls learn about the tarantula, and Luke gets to see the snakes.

On leaving the spider presentation given by one of the keepers, the girls spot a giant spider, a tarantula, heading off into the hedge...

OK, what happens next really brings the story into top gear. So, that is where I must leave it. If you want to know the answer to what happens to the fearsome female spider – a bird-eating tarantula at that – what Bo has been up to, and how all the subplots mesh and come to a spooky conclusion, you'll just have to get the book. I assure you the best, scariest and funniest is still to come!

 

So, what did we think?

For a review of book 2, please use our link below:-

Book 2: Major and Mynah – Operation Raven  

We loved every minute of this book. There was always something happening which made it a real page-turner. Karen has ably combined the anticipation and thrill of the fun fair with the excitement and tension of an escaped tarantula and the ensuing investigation, chase and capture. There is also a mystery to unravel about where Bo went and what he was doing. As I was saying, never a dull moment. 

The parent's reactions are, as in real life, priceless. Couple this with the fact that fun and interesting facts about spiders are revealed along the way, and thoroughly engaging artwork makes this a sound, safe, responsible and enjoyable read for children of all ages.

So . . . .

Crunch time. 

Yes, buy this as an excellent way to pass a rainy day, to read aloud or alone, or as part of a broader classroom activity.

 

Want to buy a copy?

To get a copy, minus creepy crawly and slithery add-ons, take the quickest and least scary route down to your local independent bookshop. They are out there, and each shop is just waiting to serve up whatever kind of mystery, fun and adventure you young reader desire. Plus, you'll be helping small businesses stay alive and flourish.

 

KAREN OWEN'S web page can be found HERE or type this:  https://karenowen.co.uk/

 

FIREFLY PRESS web page can be found HERE or type this: https://fireflypress.co.uk/

 

LOUISE FORSHAW web page can be found HERE or type this:   https://www.munkeypants.com/

 

 

Next time we'll be reviewing a real gem of a story: Secrets of the Snakestone. It's a Wilkie Collins Moonstone-like adventure, not to be missed!

 

 

We are joining the Sunday Selfies, hosted by the wonderful Kitties Blue and their mum, Janet Blue, in America.

 

I shall leave you with a selfie. I am not sure my toothy grin counts as smiling, but could be one of the reasons I'm so popular with the mice  🙂 🙂

 

Till laters!

ERin

LIE OR DIE

 

by A. J. CLACK;  

                                                                                       

An Adventure Book Review by Erin the Literary Cat©, International Book Reviewer.

Hello, and welcome to my first weekend Book Review of the year, featuring this week a YA/Adult Adventure in Fiction. (Scroll on down for the selfie & bloghop.)

 

And my, this is a real winner. So, without further ado, let's get on with the show. This is a story, one most clever and dark, where the game contestants are dying and lying to get the prize . . . .

 

AUTHOR:  A. J. Clack

 

Cover art by: N/A

 

Published by:  Firefly Press

 

Publication date Paperback:   7th March 2024

 

 

Paperback ISBN:  978-1915444417

UK Cover price for Paperback:  £8.99

 

Pages: 367

 

Age range:  YA Thriller/Murder Mystery

 

 

SPOILER ALERT

Some as to early plot, direction and characters.

 

 

Thank you to...  

We are exceedingly grateful to Firefly Press Publishers for reaching out to us to see if we would like to Read and Review this much-anticipated book before publication. 

Having read the advance press release, we were only too pleased to read this. I do hope you will be, too, after the review.  

As ever, our views are our own, and we only share reviews of books we have bought, been given as gifts, or received in exchange for an impartial review. 

First and foremost, the books we review are those we select to read, like, and feel our global readers deserve to know about and that we hope they, their family, friends and students will enjoy. 

The plot

 

A little preamble. In this book's scenario, Lie or Die is a new reality T.V. show based on the real-world social gathering/party game Mafia, or in some circles, it is known as Werewolf.

 

The game, usually played with 10 players, is that the assembled group is split into two sides - Mafia and Townspeople. The Mafia tries to bump off the Townspeople whilst the Townsfolk try to get shot of the Mafia. There is also a Detective and a Doctor in the mix. Their roles are pretty straightforward. The detective seeks to detect a Mafia member in each day and night cycle of the game, whilst the Doctor can save a Townsfolk member each cycle. 

 

Each player is given a role to play. But, nobody knows who or what any other players are until they are eliminated. 

 

Now, during the day period of the game, the players can nominate someone to eliminate from the game, to send to the electric chair if you will. The nominated person is then put on trial and, if found guilty, removed!

During the Night segment of the game, the Mafia can eliminate a player. And so the game goes on.  

In Lie or Die, the story focuses on three late teenage pals, our key protagonist, Kass, and her best mates, Lewis and Thea. Kass has fallen out with Thea after having kissed Thea's ex-boyfriend. It is a silly rift that seems to be splitting the girls apart, big time. When an audition is held for Lie or Die, Thea says that Kass going for it with Thea is the only way she can trust Kass once more. Kass wants to put the whole mess behind her, so she is pressured into doing it. It turns out Thea has already entered them both, and the interviews take place soon after.

When Kass fails to pass the test, she is secretly relieved. After all, she has shown she is supportive of Thea. But, when on accompanying Thea to the studios, one of the contestants is bizarrely poisoned with seafood (even though there is none in the building), and her EpiPen is nowhere to be found; Kass, being already on the ground, is enlisted into the game. 

 

Her fellow players are an interesting mix of quiet, calm and outright play-to-win types that would do anything in the game to win the £50,000 prize and the social media stardom that could rocket their future careers. Everything goes, especially lying. In fact, daubed across all the studio walls is the phrase "Trust no one"!

Kass is considered the 'Girl Next Door' type. Bland and boring and not the likely fav of the audience that the show is being streamed to. What Kass does have in her favour is the ability to spot if people are lying. Telltale signs or tics that will give away their role. Also, none of the other players know she and Thea are besties. 

So, with an immediate ally, things get off to a good start. But then, the rules change from the perceived norm. First, a manakin is spotted hanging from a tree in the set garden. In its leg, Kass spots the EpiPen of the now-gone contestant. When that evening/night, one of the players is carded and seemingly killed by an agent, there is surprise amongst the players as only one kill a night is expected (the manakin being the first). The acting looked so real, even down to the drool from the contestant's lips, and later on the finding of a poison bottle.

The players are, for want of a word, 'controlled' by an A.I. personality called Cohin. It appears hooded in a hologram projection unit where the players are forced to congregate when commanded. The projection actually morphs into various characters that have exited the game as it progresses. So, when Kass has her doubts, especially as none of the others are aware of the truth regarding the girl she has replaced, she is soon assuaged when the poisoned girl appears to speak to them via the hologram and puts the recent realistic poisoning down to epic acting. 

I think by now, you can maybe see where this is going. 

The action takes off from here as the players accuse and prosecute one of their housemates. 

In the surprise outcome, which I won't spoil for you as it is a pivotal point, one player goes to the chair and, with a ghastly scream, exits the game and the house. Or do they???

As the game progresses, the ante is upped, and the contestants become more stressed, sleepless and, dare I say it, paranoid. With loud sounds and flashing bright lights, who wouldn't be? 

If you can take a breath, you should do so here before the book's second half. You won't want to leave this until the very last full stop.

 

So, what did we think?

The reality Television Mrs H and I know of is some of the worst T.V. out there. Has beens and wannabes, shameful and shameless. At least, that is our view. 

The book pulls apart from the inside what reality and reality T.V. is and means, and what it can do. But it also shows the fragility and underlying motivations of the players, some worthy, some not so. 

 

I love that Lewis points out that it is a beast we create, and whilst we may outwardly reject it, there is something that draws folks in. Maybe it's the fact that it's not them on the receiving end – voyeurism.

The author has skilfully manipulated our protagonist, labelled 'as the girl next door' by the other competitors, into the ultimate detective. Fighting to support Thea and survive and escape a deadly sealed studio.

 

Mrs H read this to the end, where I got so far and the tension and dread was so much that I have to admit to sneaking a look at the ending. But even then, I was surprised.

 

Let me tell you, this is one doozy of a read. Well paced and delightfully cast. Not only are there shock revelations but also extra double twists right down to the closing sentence. 

 

So . . . . 

Crunch time. 

 

The ultimate locked room mystery – twisted, deadly, dark and seriously addictive. Turning the banal T.V. genre into a must-read hit! Thank goodness this ISN'T on T.V.!

A must-read, and one Mrs H and I both feel far exceeded our expectations to become the brilliant and gripping read it was. 

 

Would we watch reality T.V. now? Absolutely NOT. 

 

Want to buy a copy?

To get a copy, please place advance orders with a local bookshop; that way, you're helping maintain local shops and economies. 

****** GIVEAWAY ******

One lucky commenter on this blog will receive a copy of this book thanks to Mrs H dipping into her pension and sherry fund. 

To be eligible, commenters on this post will need to be in an area covered by Amazon and be able to take receipt of a package from them with a suitable delivery address. They must also be willing to furnish Mrs H with their address if they win. This address will be deleted after the successful delivery of the package. 

Given the nature of the book theme, Mrs H and I are limiting this giveaway to those we know are over 18.

Comments must be made before midnight (GMT) on Saturday 13th January 2024.

 

A.J. CLACK's Twitter/X page can be found HERE or type this: https://twitter.com/alisonclack1?lang=en-GB

 

 

FIREFLY PRESS'S web page can be found HERE. or type this https://fireflypress.co.uk/

We are joining the Sunday Selfies, hosted by the wonderful Kitties Blue and their mum, Janet Blue in America.

 

This is as close to reality and prying cameras as we want to get . . . .

 

Till laters!

ERin 💙