A Reader's Paradise

Well internets, after reading Lili Wilkinson's A Pocketful of Lies, I feel absolutely devastated that I didn't really get into crime books as a young whippersnapper. Sure, I read Enid Blyton's Famous Five and Secret Seven and Fatuous Four (okay, maybe I made that last one up), and of course got into great American classics like Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. But the closest I have ever come to reading Agatha Christie is watching the Doctor Who episode where a giant wasp is killing people at a 1920s house party with Agatha Christie in attendance. And somehow I don't think that counts.

Anyhoo, it seems I will have to let Bee, the super sleuth of A Pocketful of Lies, have all the fun being a teen detective. Bee is such a great heroine. Super-smart, passionate, funny and sometimes a total nob-head, as all the best teenagers are. And if I didn't feel slightly wrong lusting after a 19-year-old (I know I'm only 4 years older, but I normally like men who are 200 years older than me, like Mr Darcy), I would let Toby tell me strange biological facts about animals any day. Glorious teen romance. TICK. Excellent plot. TICK. Great supporting characters, such as Bee's mother, who admits she is a teenage nerd stuck in a middle-aged body. TICK.

I wouldn't want to ruin anything, but basically Bee is working at the Natural History Museum in Melbourne when someone is found dead inside the Red Rotunda. Everyone says its a suicide, but Bee isn't so sure and does a little bit of investigating (with the help of Toby, of course) to find out what really happened...This book is a constant surprise and I did not at all predict the end! I loved this book. You know you are engaged with the characters when you hide under the quilt cover 'cause you are so worried about what will happen to them next.

But apart from my lucky strike with Bee and the kids, I'm still stuck in my reading dry patch. Which is why I think I need to change up my location. So coming soon...best cafes to read in around Melbourne...without the staff getting huffy and kicking you out!