Books - March 2018

As promised, I've read a greater percentage of 'grown-up' books now that the fifth grade Battle of the Books is done. I thought I had more time to read in March, but I still just finished up three books, all of which were reviewed for Books I Think You Should Read. Check out all my thoughts there.

I really enjoyed A Beautiful Poison by Lydia Kang. The story was based in 1918, and was about three young adults who had been best friends growing up, until two of their families lost their social standing and were ostracized from the proper society of the third friend. Some deaths occur that they begin investigating together. A couple times, I thought I had this 'whodunit' figured out, but then a new twist would happen. The ending was definitely not one I saw coming.
As an interesting aside, one of the main characters was also suffering from radiation poisoning, but in history, this was not recognized until the 1920s. It caught my interest from my previous interest in stories of the 'Radium Girls,' and had me intrigued with this book from the beginning.


Next of Kin by James Tucker was another mystery that I completely did not predict. Without giving too much away, this book was about a ten-year-old boy who escapes when he hears his parents and sister being murdered. While that's terrible enough on its own, it's not the end of the killing of those close to the young boy. In this first book of the 'Detective Buddy Lock Thriller' series, the boy goes to stay with Detective Buddy Lock and his fiance, while Lock devotes himself to keeping the boy safe, and solving the crimes.




I wrapped up March with even more action-packed mystery! In True Fiction by Lee Goldberg, Ian Ludlow is a fictional author who believes he was recruited by the CIA (along with a few other authors) to brainstorm terrorist plots so the government can be equipped to deal with any possibility. Sounds like a cutting-edge idea and a great way to gather intel from people with great imaginations. Or maybe a way to plan a unique terrorist attack?
Three years later, Ludlow watches his idea come to life. He's soon on the run with an author guide from his book tour, and they're not quite sure who they're running from. The only thing they do know is that they're running for their lives, and he better have some great ideas to outsmart whoever is after them.


That's what I read in March, and April has been super busy so far with working and other spring activities. I've just got two books in so far, with maybe a brief nod to some audio books my daughter and I took on our recent road trip. You'll have to wait and see! What have you read lately that you'd recommend to read (or stay away from! LOL)?