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A Family Affair by Caro Peacock
Liberty Lane Mysteries, #3
Pages: 440 pages
First Published: 2009 UK (Jun, 22, 2010 US)
Publisher: Avon A
Rating: 4/5
First sentence:
London, June 1839
At one end of the lists the Knight of the Green Tree was fighting to control his horse, a raw-boned chestnut hunter of sixteen hands or so, over bitted- [...]

Death on the River by John Wilson

Pages: 193
Ages: 15+
First Published: Oct.1, 2009
Publisher: Orca Books
Rating: 4/5
First sentence:
I pull back the thin blanket and swing my legs over the edge of the bed.
Acquired: Received a review copy through LibraryThing’s Early Review Program.
Reason for Reading: John Wilson is a Canadian author whom I have read a few [...]

Houdini Pie by Paul Michel
Bennett & Hastings Publishin, 2010
Historical Fiction; 212 pages
Halley, named after Halley’s Comet was born right after his father Charles got caught in one of his fraudulent schemes. Once Hal was considered old enough he was expected to work for Charles in his less than honest [...]

Trackers by Patrick Carman
Trackers, Book 1
Pages: 224
Ages: 10+
First Published: May 11, 2010
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Rating: 4/5
First sentence:
How far back can you go Adam?
Acquired: Received a review copy from Scholastic Canada.
Reason for Reading: I became a huge fan of Carman’s after reading the Atherton series and was excited to read another book by him.
A book [...]

Revolver by Matt Kindt

Pages: 192
Ages: 18+
First Published: Jul. 20, 2010
Publisher: Vertigo
Rating: 4/5
First sentence:
I do the same thing every morning.
Acquired: Received a Review Copy from the publisher.
Reason for Reading: Pure Plot. I love post-apocalyptic stories.
This is a dark, oppressive story from every angle and will not be for everyone. The art is [...]

The Secret Fiend by Shane Peacock
The Boy Sherlock Holmes, His 4th Case
Pages: 244
Ages: 12+
First Published: May 11, 2010
Publisher: Tundra Books
Rating: 5/5
First sentence:
There have been many late knocks on the old apothecary’s door.
Acquired: Received a review copy through LibraryThing’s Early Review Program.
Reason for Reading: Next in the Series.
Shane Peacock has made it to the 4th [...]

Fever Crumb by Philip Reeve
Fever Crumb, Book 1
Pages: 385 pages
Ages: 12+
First Published: 2009 UK (Apr. 1 2010 US)
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Rating: 3/5
First sentence:
That morning they were making paper boys.
Acquired: Received a review copy from Scholastic Canada.
Reason for Reading: The plot was intriguing and this is my type of book.
A foundling baby girl found by the [...]

Neil Young’s Greendale by Joshua Dysart. illustrated by Cliff Chiang. foreward by Neil Young
Pages: 160
Ages: 18+
First Published: June 15, 2010
Publisher: Vertigo
Rating: 3/5
First sentence:
On a warm spring day way back in 1985, two precious children were born to Edith O’Reilly and Earl Green.
Acquired: Borrowed a copy from my local library.
Reason for Reading: Long-winded reason follows. [...]

I suspect my destiny was written from the very start, my first sensation of life was the smell of machli ka salan, a spicy fish curry, rising through the floorboards to the cot in my parents’ room above the restaurant. To this day I can recall the sensation of those cot bars pressed up [...]

Live to Tell by Lisa Gardner
Detective D.D. Warren, book 4
Pages: 385 pages
First Published: June 13, 2010
Publisher: Bantam Books
Rating: 4.5/5
First sentence:
I don’t remember than night much anymore.
Acquired: Received a review copy from Random House Canada.
Reason for Reading: I’m a fan of the author and had read the previous book in the series.
This book had me [...]

Ice Cold by Tess Gerritsen
Rizzoli & Isles, book 8
Pages: 322
First Published: June 29, 2010
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Rating: 5/5
First sentence:
She was the chosen one.
Acquired: Received a review copy from Random House Canada.
Reason for Reading: Next in the series.
Tess Gerritsen consistently writes a series that aims to please her fans. Ice Cold is no exception. [...]

Terry Fox: A Story of Hope by Maxine Trottier
Marathon of Hope 30th Anniversary edition
Pages: 35
Ages: 8+
First Published: July 1, 2010
Publisher: Scholastic Canada
Rating: 5/5
First sentence:
Hope is a quiet thing.
Acquired: Received a review copy from the publisher.
Reason for Reading: It’s been a long time since I read anything about Terry Fox and with the 30th [...]

Whiter Than Snow by Sandra Dallas

Pages: 292
First Published: Apr. 30, 2010
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Rating: 4/5
First sentence:
No one knew what triggered the Swandyke avalanche that began at exactly 4:10 P.M. on April 20, 1920.
Acquired: Received a review copy from the author’s internet publicist.
Reason for Reading: I’ve always wanted to read a Sandra Dallas book and the [...]

It is the night of Easter Sunday. I’ve already been to chapel and received God on my tongue. I sit in my cell with the lights off. Everyone’s light is off. I wait for the man with the cross to begin his walk. He’s been doing it once a year [...]

Confessions of a Prairie Bitch: How I survived Nellie Oleson and Learned to Love Being Hated by Alison Arngrim
Pages: 300 pages
First Published: June 15, 2010
Publisher: IT Books
Rating: 5/5
First sentence:
I always envy people whose detailed memories extend back to the womb.
Acquired: Received a review copy from Harper Collins Canada.
Reason for Reading: I’m a big fan [...]

Time played tricks on him whenever he stood in front of the easel. Hypnotized by the rhythm of the brush on the canvas, by one color merging into another, the two shades creating a third, the third melting into a fourth, he was lulled into a single-minded consciousness focused only on the image emerging. [...]

Wolven by Di Toft
Wolven series, book 1
Pages: 322
Ages: 8+
First Published: Jun 1, 2010 (Aug. 2009 UK)
Publisher: Chicken House
Rating: 4/5
First sentence:
In Nat Carver’s opinion, the strange animal being paraded before him looked as though it owed its origins more to Dr. Frankenstein than Mr. Darwin.
Acquired: Received a review copy from Scholastic Canada.
Reason for [...]

The Water Seeker by Kimberly Willis Holt
Pages: 309
Ages: 13+
First Published: May 11, 2010
Publisher: Henry Holt
Rating: 5/5
First sentence:
Jake was known as the dowser.
Acquired: Received a review copy from Macmillan.
Reason for Reading: I love frontier life western historical fiction and the dowsing aspect caught my eye.
It seems strange to call a book with just over 300 [...]