Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

I don't know whether to review this as juvy or YA. I put it more toward YA both due to age of the characters (15) and subject matter (murder, in a cozy-mystery way).   Participating this week in the fantastic Marvelous Middle Grade Mondays blog hop hosted by Greg Pattrige of Always in the Middle . Check out his blog for a list of additional middle grade reviews. I've been discovering some great reads there. Title: Top Marks for Murder   Author : Robin Stevens Publication info : Kindle edition, Simon & Schuster, 2023, 260 pages. Originally published 2019 by Puffin. Publisher's Blurb: Daisy and Hazel are finally back at Deepdean, and the school is preparing for a most exciting event: the fiftieth Anniversary. Plans for a weekend of celebrations are in full swing. But all is not well, for in the detectives' long absence, Deepdean has changed. Daisy has lost her crown to a fascinating new girl - and many of the Detective Society's old allies are now their swor...

It's been a long time since I read the first in this series, and I recalled having reservations about it, despite very strong recommendations from Jemima Pett. But her insistence on the quality of the series prevailed, and I don't regret it.   Title: The Janus Stone Author: Elly Griffiths Publication info: Kindle edition, 2011 by Mariner Books, 337 p. Originally published 2010 by Quercus Publishing. Source:  Library  Publisher's Blurb: It’s been only a few months since archaeologist Ruth Galloway found herself entangled in a missing persons case, barely escaping with her life. But when construction workers demolishing a large old house in Norwich uncover the bones of a child beneath a doorway—minus its skull—Ruth is once again called upon to investigate. Is it a Roman-era ritual sacrifice, or is the killer closer at hand? Ruth and Detective Harry Nelson would like to find out—and fast. When they realize the house was once a children’s home, they track down the C...

  Title: The Grave's a Fine and Private Place Author: Alan Bradley Publisher: Delacorte Press, 2018 (US edition). 363 pages Source: Library Publisher's Summary: Flavia is enjoying the summer, spending her days punting along the river with her reluctant family. Languishing in boredom, she drags a slack hand in the water, and catches her fingers in the open mouth of a drowned corpse. Brought to shore, the dead man is found to be dressed in blue silk with ribbons at the knee, and wearing a single red ballet slipper. Flavia needs to put her super-sleuthing skills to the test to investigate the murder of three gossips in the local church, and to keep her sisters out of danger. But what could possibly connect the son of an executed killer, a far too canny police constable, a travelling circus, and the publican's mysteriously talented wife?   My Review:   Okay, Flavia is not enjoying the summer. She hasn't been enjoying anything for about 6 months (I won't go int...

Title: Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd Author: Alan Bradley; read by Jayne Entwistle Publisher: Books on Tape, 2016. Original by Delacourt Press, 331 pages Source: Library digital services Publisher's Summary: In spite of being ejected from Miss Bodycote’s Female Academy in Canada, twelve-year-old Flavia de Luce is excited to be sailing home to England. But instead of a joyous homecoming, she is greeted on the docks with unfortunate news: Her father has fallen ill, and a hospital visit will have to wait while he rests. But with Flavia’s blasted sisters and insufferable cousin underfoot, Buckshaw now seems both too empty—and not empty enough. Only too eager to run an errand for the vicar’s wife, Flavia hops on her trusty bicycle, Gladys, to deliver a message to a reclusive wood-carver. Finding the front door ajar, Flavia enters and stumbles upon the poor man’s body hanging upside down on the back of his bedroom door. The only living creature in the house is a feline...

  Title: A Pinch of Poison (A Lady & Lady's Maid Mystery, #2) Author: Alyssa Maxwell Publisher: Kensington, expected release Jan. 2017. 304 pages Source: Electronic ARC from publisher in exchange for my honest review   Publisher's Blurb: In post–World War I England, Lady Phoebe Renshaw and her lady’s maid, Eva Huntford, encounter an uncharitable killer at a charity luncheon sponsored by a posh school for girls . . . Good deeds build good character, and good character is what the Haverleigh School for Young Ladies is all about. Lady Phoebe—with the tireless assistance of Eva—has organized a luncheon at the school to benefit wounded veterans of the Great War, encouraging the students to participate in the cooking and the baking. But too many cooks do more than spoil the broth—they add up to a recipe for disaster when the school’s headmistress, Miss Finch, is poisoned. The girls at Haverleigh all come from highly respected families, none of whom will countenance ...

Title: Death Comes to Pemberley Author: P.D. James; read by Rosalyn Landor Publisher: Books on Tape (original: Alfred Knopf, 2011, 291 pages). Source: Library digital services Publisher's Summary: It is 1803, six years since Elizabeth and Darcy embarked on their life together at Pemberley, Darcy’s magnificent estate. Their peaceful, orderly world seems almost unassailable. Elizabeth has found her footing as the chatelaine of the great house. They have two fine sons, Fitzwilliam and Charles. Elizabeth’s sister Jane and her husband, Bingley, live nearby; her father visits often; there is optimistic talk about the prospects of marriage for Darcy’s sister Georgiana. And preparations are under way for their much-anticipated annual autumn ball. Then, on the eve of the ball, the patrician idyll is shattered. A coach careens up the drive carrying Lydia, Elizabeth’s disgraced sister, who with her husband, the very dubious Wickham, has been banned from Pemberley. She stumbles out...