Peach Pies and Alibis by Ellery Adams

 In this second in the Charmed Pie Shop series, Ella Mae's pie shop is doing so well, she is struggling to keep up. She wants to start doing some catering jobs, but can't expand without more help.  She also finds new friends at an artisan cheese shop, and agrees to a local wedding.  Then suddenly, a woman important in the magical world is found dead, and on the same day Ella Mae's own powers awaken. As she learns more about her own powers and the magical community of which she is part, she also scrambles to solve the mystery of the dead lady. Meanwhile, her relationship with her old flame Hugh Dylan heats as does her rivalry with her arch nemesis. What is a maker of charmed pies to do?

In this book the reader learns more the magic system of the series, and the magical bond between Ella Mae, her mother, and her aunts. The first book was mostly a murder mystery with a fantasy element, while this one is a fantasy book with a side story murder mystery.  I enjoyed the book alright, but I don't know if I will read any more in the series. I don't find them quite as interesting as, say, the Vampire Knitting Club series. I think I am feeling a little put off by the addition of a lot of fantasy elements all at once.  I guess I could say I thought it was long on world building, and short on plot or character development. (2013, 304 p)

Great Courses: Synthetic Biology by Milton Muldrow, Jr.

 Synthetic Biology is using splicing or other means to create altered or completely new DNA sequences.  In this lecture series Muldrow enthusiastically examines the potential of this emerging technology.  He starts out explaining the different methods of artificial gene alterations and the history of synthetic biology.  Then, in following lectures, he talks about the potential applications in fuel, food production, di-extinction, genetic disorders, space exploration, and eugenics. He is enthusiastic about his topic and spends much more time on the potential benefits and less time on ethical issues.  

I checked out this lecture series as a kind of related topic to the Epigenetics series I listened to a couple of months ago.  It was interesting, but quite technical.  I found myself tuning out a lot of the technical details and jargon, and just focusing on the ideas for applications.  Some of them I think have real possibilities, but others were pretty far out there in the "do-ability" scale. His discussions about how synthetic biology may be leveraged to make Mars colonization possible was especially futuristic, and not likely to take place in my or my grandchildren's life times. Still, the series made me wonder how synthetic biology will affect the world in the future.  Will it be the next big life changing innovation like the internet, cell phones, and AI? (2022, 9 hrs)

Exit Strategy by Martha Wells

 Murder Bot has discovered that his friend and liberator, Dr. Mensah, is in trouble, and Murderbot knows he must do what he can to help her, even if it means stepping further out of his comfort zone.  He makes further adjustments to his programing to appear more human and takes a transport to the place he first met with Dr. Mensah's group. Meeting up with the original crew is emotionally complicated for Murderbot, but when bullets begin to fly, he knows exactly what to do.

Here is another series I really enjoy. This is a great episode, where we see Murderbot take a few more giant steps toward being more human. It has the fast paced action scenes that one would expect, but also some really nice scenes with Dr. Mensah that melt your heart. I also like that each book is really short, only a few hours on recording.  I imagine they make the series more accessible for reluctant reader teens.  (2018, 176 p.)

Spy School: British Invasion by Stuart Gibbs

The kids from Spy School are hot on the tail of Spyder.  They have evidence that there is information about all the Spyder operators hidden somewhere in England, so with Erica's MI6 mom in the lead, they head off for London. Their adventures take them to the British Museum and then to Paris where they hope to discover Spyder's supreme mastermind, Mr. E.

Here is another in the Spy School series.  I am glad I read it pretty soon after reading Spy School Goes South, because it picks up right where the previous one left off with the kids still at the resort in Mexico. As always Gibbs slips in interesting facts about both the British Museum and Paris. The Erica vs Zoey drama continues, and there are more of the expected hijinks and narrow escapes.  These books are just fun and a little addictive. Yay for Stuart Gibbs writing engaging series for kids. (2019, 320 p)

The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

 When Lizzie's mother goes missing in Poland in 1939, and is presumed dead, Lizzie refuses to believe it.  She is sure her mother is still alive, and defies her American grandmother's attempts to bring her to the relative safety of Cleveland. Instead Lizzie seeks out her 19 year old brother, Jakob, who has been recruited to work at the top secret Bletchley Park as a codebreaker. While Jakob tries to unlock the secret of hacking the Enigma Machine, Lizzie continues her relentless pursuit of the truth of her mother's disappearance, even when evidence seems to suggest that Lizzie's mother is not at all what they thought she was. 

I was excited to listen to this book primarily because of the authors.  Sepetys wrote some of the most popular historical fiction books in our library, and Sheinkin has written some of my favorite nonfiction books for middle grade readers. Perhaps, because of my high expectations, this turned out to be a little underwhelming. Don't get me wrong, it was a good book and I would definitely recommend it to middle grade readers interested in World War II, but it felt like two characters put into a historical story, instead of two real people living it. Lizzie was a bit too perky, and Jakob a bit to, I don't know, big-brotherly. They didn't seem to have realistic emotions. It was all to gung-ho, and upbeat. They didn't deal with the real horrors and  heartbreaks of losing a parent while facing foreign invasion. It may have just been the choice of reader, but I don't think so. I guess it was emotionally appropriate for the age group, but I can't help but compare it to The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubanker Bradley. That book was also written for middle grade readers, but Bradley had to courage to deal with the real raw emotions the setting demanded. (2024, 400)

Pies and Prejudice by Ellery Adams

 Ella Mae fell in love and left her hometown and her family to experience the fast paced life of the big city.  Six years later, her marriage has fallen apart and she is back in Havenwood, GA with her mother and her singular aunts. She is a near graduate of culinary school and a expert pie cook, so her aunts offer to get her set up in a pie shop in town.  She discovers, however, that whatever mood she has while baking seeps into her pies and affects the emotions of those who eat them. Meanwhile, her high school nemesis, Loralyn Gaynor, is making trouble for her. When Loralyn's fiancée turns up dead, Ella is framed for the murder. Ella Mae needs to clear her name by finding the real murderer, while dealing with an old flame, a new romantic interest, and her magical family.

Baking mysteries are a pretty big subset of cozy mysteries, but here we have a sub-subset of magical baking mysteries. Adams is an author I hadn't tried before, and I was worried this book would be too spicy (and I don't mean the cardamom or cinnamon kind of spice) but it wasn't.  There was a little language, but the only steam coming off the pages was from the pie oven.  I ended up enjoying the book. It was what a cozy mystery is supposed to be, light, fluffy and fun.  The mystery plot was decently contrived, and the characters were bigger than life. The magical pies made for some funny side scenes. I was a little disappointed that there were no recipes included in the audio version as there are in the Joanna Fluke books, but I still wouldn't be opposed to reading the next in the series. (304 p. 2012)

From Ash to Stone by Julie Daines

Six years ago Lady Margaret Grey's family was killed by raiders that had crossed the border from Scotland to loot her home. Now she is back to get revenge and try to break a curse that was placed upon her that night. The problem is, she doesn't know the identity of the raiders.  As begins to investigate, she is reunited with a childhood friend Angus Robson, whose family live across the boarder. His intentions to help her seem to be sincere, but can she trust someone who is from the same community that changed her life forever? 

I almost laughed when I saw the cover of this book.  My family makes fun of me for reading so many books that have the back of a lady's fancy dress on the cover. This one adds a twist of the dagger, which, I guess, successfully communicates the theme of the book.  I enjoyed the book.  The characters are not particularly novel, but the setting was interesting and the mystery of the perpetrator of the raid made a good side story, (though the solution to the mystery was not much of a surprise).  I liked the ending, and thought it fit the setting pretty well. The reader of the book does the different accents well.  I mean, who doesn't enjoy a good Scottish brogue? (240 p. 2018)

Lola Benko, Treasure Hunter by Beth McMullen

 Lola loves her eccentric archaeologist father, but sometimes she tires of always moving, never staying on one place long enough to make friends.  Then, one day, her father rushes away on a new treasure hunt and sends her to live with her great-aunt in California.  Soon after, two strange lawyers inform her that her father has been killed.  Lola is convinced that her father is not dead, and goes on a (not so successful) crime spree to try to earn enough money to go looking for him.  Her adventures end with her being sent to a private science school. At the school she meets two other students who are willing to join her in her search for her lost father.  They are pitted against a mysterious legend, an illusive recluse, and an evil criminal mastermind.

Here is a fun mystery/adventure for middle grade readers.  The writing is snappy and the characters are quirky, in an endearing way.  There are plenty of hijinks, near escapes, and kid power. The nicest thing about the book is watching the three kids change from adversaries to friends. I am happy to have another recommendation for kids who like mysteries. (2020, 304p.)