Entries Categorized as 'Mysteries'
Posted by Jordan
Categories: Advanced Readers, Adventure, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mysteries, Review, Science Fiction
Tags:Animals, Donkeys, Lloyd C. Douglas, Long Read, Sad
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Tribune Marcellus of the Roman army angers a prince and is sent to command a fort in Minoa, a notorious outpost in Israel where military offenders are sent as an “honor.” While there, he is ordered to crucify Jesus Christ — and wins His robe. Afterward, Marcellus is commissioned by curious emperor Tiberius to find out all he can about this mysterious man Jesus, so that he can report the facts to the dying emperor.
Vivid and captivating. Douglas spins a good story that is very intense. All sorts of things have happened by the time you are even a quarter of the way finished. Demetrius, Marcellus’ slave, is a good example of a loyal friend, and I’m very glad he was included in the book. This is a well-written story with many plot twists, but it has a few problems. A few things in here are just downright odd. However, if you can get past a few quirks, The Robe is well worth the time you’ll need to finish such a long book.
Posted by Ruth
Categories: Adventure, All Ages, Fiction, Mysteries, Review
Tags:Animals, Dogs, Horses, Jim Kjelgaard, Out of Print
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Trailing Trouble is “an adventure-mystery about a young game warden, his pinto pony, and Smoky, the dog with ‘a nose for trouble.'” Many people think it would be a good idea to make a National Park of the Gistache, but somebody obviously doesn’t share their sentiments. Bad things start to happen, and Tom Rainse thinks that this is more than the usual small band of poachers…
Well, I can’t say much more, because, after all, this is a mystery. I wouldn’t want to spoil anything, would I? Another fun Kjelgaard book, overall. The dialogue between Tom and his friend, Buck, is very comical at times. I am sorry to say, though, that Trailing Trouble ends just as abruptly as some of the other Kjelgaards. The climax occurs at the third paragraph from the end. But that’s okay. It still works.
Posted by Rebekah
Categories: Fiction, Mysteries, Older Readers, Review
Tags:Mark Twain, Quick Read, Roy Blount Jr.
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John Gray, a farmer, and his wife Sarah, live more-or-less happily with their grown daughter Mary in the little town of Deer Lick, Missouri. Mary and Hugh Gregory, the son of a neighbor farmer, are in love and are about to be engaged when John Gray finds out that his rich brother left all his money to Mary. “What’s wrong with that?” you ask. Well, John’s brother hates Hugh. Wanting to secure wealth for himself, John Gray tells his daughter she can’t marry Hugh. Then, while John Gray is walking one day, he finds a well-dressed stranger lying in the snow, but no footprints are to be seen. The stranger calls himself Mr. George Wayne, but Mrs. Gray soon finds out that he’s really Count Hubert dee Fountingblow. Spurned on by greed, Mr. Gray tries to make a match between the count and Mary, but Mary doesn’t love him. In the midst of this, David Gray is murdered and Hugh is accused and imprisoned. Who really killed David Gray? Will Hugh be proved innocent or guilty?
I’ll give you three guesses and the first two don’t count. Shall we say, predictable? It does have some humorous parts. Mark Twain made some jabs at Jules Verne’s stories and his source of ideas. It’s not bad, just not edge-of-your-chair material. In fact, you can even put it down in the middle of it and walk away, but there’s not much danger of that. It’s not very long.
Posted by Jordan
Categories: Adventure, All Ages, Fantasy, Fiction, Mysteries, Review, Science Fiction
Tags:Animals, Eleanor Cameron, Foxes, Mushroom Planet, Out of Print
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Only a week before the meeting of Mycetian League (Mushroom Planet people who live on earth), Mr. Bass receives a strange phone call from one of the League leaders. Mr. Bass, David, and Chuck hurry to Wales, where the meeting is to take place, and discover that the two most prized treasures of the League have been stolen. One, the Necklace of Ta (leader of the Mushroom people on Basidium), causes trouble whenever somebody takes any of its stones. The other, The Thirteenth Scroll, is the only key to the Mycetians’ past. Mr. Bass and the others go on a search throughout England to find the missing treasures and encounter mysteries from the past about Mr. Bass’ long lost Elder Grandfather.
This is the conclusion of the Mushroom Planet series. It’s also one of the more weird ones. Digging deep into Mr. Bass’ past, and even into the ancestry of the Mycetians makes for an interesting read. I highly recommend that you read the other books that come before this one, though. I hadn’t read two that came before this one, and it was kind of a shock to hear about people that were in previous books that I hadn’t read.
Posted by Ruth
Categories: All Ages, Fiction, Mysteries, Review
Tags:Animals, Elephants, Funny, Mark Twain, Quick Read
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When the King of Siam decides to send the Queen of England a white elephant, a man in the Indian civil service is chosen to convey this present. However, not long after arriving in New York harbor, the white elephant is stolen! The man (who appears to have no name, by the way, this being written in first person) immediately goes to the police and enlists their help. Inspector Blunt takes charge and the hunt for the elephant begins.
This short story is written in typical, humorous Mark Twain style. The Inspector is very thorough and takes down all the details of the elephant’s description so that his detectives will be sure to recognize the elephant upon sighting it! I went ahead and marked this as “All Ages,” but I think older readers may enjoy it more.
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