August 2023 – Michèle Griskey

Murder, She Writes

Back from a trip to California . . .

I recently read Martha Brockenbrough’s sweet middle grade mystery novel, To Catch a Thief.

The story unfolds when an unknown thief steals a dragonfly staff, an important and reportedly lucky artifact for the quaint town of Urchin Beach. Amelia MacGuffin decides she will use her detective skills to find out who is behind the missing staff (and a number of other items that disappear).

To complicate matters, a major storm hits the community, odd new neighbors show up, and the MacGuffin children rescue a sweet dog that they probably will not be able to keep because their family cannot afford a pet.

I love the seaside town setting, and this book has heaps of fun characters: Dr. Agatha, the reclusive mystery writer; Dot and Dash, the new 7th-grade Morse-code-expert twins; Birdie, a student journalist, and even a grumpy real estate agent named Mike Jung (who interestingly shares the same name as a writer I met once . . .).

In fact, all sorts of writers are mentioned like Kekla Magoon, William Alexander, Linda Urban, Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, Kelly Barnhill, Anne Ursu, Laurel Snyder, Laura Ruby, Tracey Baptiste . . .

Writers who write books Amelia, her siblings, and even her dad love to read.

Amelia hoped she would grow up to be the kind of grown-up who remembered that kids know what’s good and not boring.

Martha Brockenbrough

At the core of this sweet mystery is the MacGuffin family: Amelia, and her younger siblings–Bridget, Colin, and the twins, Duncan and Emma.

I’m a big fan of Martha’s books. Her works include masterful syntax, funny dialogue, and strong plots, but most of all, she understands the emotional core of her characters. In this case, Ameilia realizes what is truly important in her world and this emotional core to the story feels completely authentic.

Like Mr. MacGuffin, I still read plenty of books for younger readers. What would 10-year-old Michèle have thought of this book? Would I have liked it? Oh, yes!

I really hope the adventures of Amelia and her crew will become a series!

Murder, She Writes

Design and Illustration by Margaret Hanson

I recently stumbled across a delightful series from British Columbia, the Lane Winslow mysteries by Iona Wishaw. This series has many tempting boxes to check: The setting, the historical era, the characters, and of course, twisty plots!

A Killer in King’s Cove begins in 1946 near Nelson, BC, we meet Lane Winslow, who left England and recently purchased a charming old house in King’s Cover where she plans to write and garden, but when a body turns up, her new peaceful life gets a tad more challenging. Lane worked as a British Intelligence officer in WWII and is mending from a broken heart and the horrors of war. Nevertheless, she is clearly a modern woman. She will not swoon at the sight of a corpse, and she’s persistent with coaxing seemly subtle clues that eventually reveal answers.

Other characters include eclectic neighbors and the attractive but aloof police detective, Inspector Darling, who tries to resist the allure of the beautiful and brilliant new resident. This slow-burn relationship builds with the series, as the two characters realize they cannot deny their connection.

I like Winshaw’s commitment to historical details; she’s clearly done her research. I also like the strong point-of-view shifts that build scene by scene as readers are introduced to other characters and other puzzle pieces of the plot. Like a focus on a lens, the story suddenly comes into view.

I’m eager to read more books in this series!