A Box Full of Murders

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Janice Hallett. Puffin Books, (464p) ISBN: 9780241636183. Middle Grade, read 17/04/25, Paperback ★★★★☆

A Box Full of Murders

A Box Full of Murders

I was very excited and intrigued when I saw a middle grade murder mystery from Janice Hallett as her murder mysteries for adults are extremely popular and will have instant name recognition for adults buying for their kids.

Ava and Luke’s parent have separated and Ava is with Mum and Luke is with Dad, when Luke finds a box full of secret papers in the loft.

This separation gives the vehicle to show the documents that were found as Luke texts them to Ava, we also follow their text conversations as they discuss the mystery as it unfolds.

Well-paced and full of clues and red herrings, but also has a lot of information on how to look at evidence so that younger people can interrogate the text better and learn the conventions of murder mysteries as the book goes on.

Set in 1983 on a Scouts and Guides last camp as the site has been bought and going to be developed into a waste processing plant by what seems like a very dislikable company and brimming with comic characters (Officers Grudge and Grimm for a start), miscreants, obvious suspects, and intrepid investigators.

A great little mystery that had one or two little things that niggled me but wouldn’t be noticeable by the target audience, well-paced, funny, tense, and a great start to reading murder mysteries for the younger audience.

I received this from Puffin Books in exchange for an honest review.

Paul Dalton – Author Q&A

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Paul Dalton

Paul Dalton

After completing an art degree, Paul Dalton got a job in a bookshop and then a library. His storytimes were legendary. Through his writing, he explores climate change and the questions that go with it. He set his novel in the present day, as climate change is a story for now, not the future. He puts jokes in his writing as sometimes all you can do is laugh. ‘Don’t Go To Work, The World Is Ending,’ is out May 25th with Indie Novella.

Paul can be found at:
Website: pauldalton.co.uk
Instagram: @pauldalton_
BlueSky: @p-dalton.bsky.social

Tell me what inspired you to write your debut novel?

Like a lot of people, I spend a lot of my time thinking about climate change and have come to the conclusion that only normal people can fix it. The trouble is, that normal people don’t feel like they have the power to do so. So I thought, why not write a story about some normal people actually getting to fix a problem?

What came first, the characters or the world?

Characters but it’s all linked. A good world should be a character in its own right.

How long did it take to write?

About 2 years, but that includes about 9 months of rewrites with the publisher.

Do you have a writing playlist? If so do you want to share it?

It’s the album ‘Pink Flag’ by Wire. It’s post-punk perfection. It’s only 30 minutes long so I must have listened to it thousands of times.

What kind of reactions have you had to your book?

Surprise mainly, I didn’t tell too many people about it until I had a publisher interested.

What can you tell us about your next book?

It’s early days but: Dracula. Fascism. Christopher Lee.

Which genres do you read yourself?

Anything with a good hook for fiction and as widely as possible with non-fiction.

Don’t Go To Work, The World Is Ending

Don’t Go To Work, The World Is Ending

What will always distract you?

I don’t get distracted, I get temporarily inspired.

What were your favourite childhood books?

The Pongwiffy books. A smelly witch and a Dutch hamster, what’s not to love? Honourable mention for Bill’s New Frock and Harry the Poisonous Centipede.

Do you have any rituals when writing?

Does listening to the same 30 minutes of music on repeat count?

How many books are in your own physical TBR pile?

Only about 5 at the moment but that’s because the other 30 are in a drawer where I can’t see them so I don’t get guilty.

What is your current or latest read?

The Origins of Totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt. Which is surprisingly compelling, like a non-fiction 1984

and finally, what inspired you to write the genre you do?

I think fantasy suits big ideas. Humans have always used fantasy to try and understand the big stuff. Gods and monsters and all that, is just an attempt to process the things that don’t make sense. I like to write about the things that don’t make sense, which, unfortunately, includes climate change.

The Fib

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Pedro Iniguez, Nathan Kwan. Gloo Books, (32p) ISBN: 9781962351300. Picture Book, read 14/04/25, eBook ★★★★☆

The Fib

The Fib

Picture books with clear stories, with a simple moral are always great for kids, especially when they are fun as well.

More so when the story feels as though it’s getting out of hand.

It all starts with Pepe being too embarrassed to share the comic book he had been working on all summer with the class, and it is here where he introduces the fib to the class.

and this is where things start to get out of hand, to defend the initial fib Pepe has to keep adding to the fib.

Initially the fib is a cute little green fuzz ball, but it gets bigger and bigger all the time and gets more destructive as it goes on.

This is a brilliant metaphor for lying and works really well, and the monster is wonderful in it’s growth and, eventually, in its reversal. The reversal is also excellently explained.

Really enjoyed this for its vibrant illustrations and straightforward clear explanation of what can go wrong when you lie.

I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

EC Cruel Universe

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Corinna Bechko and 9 others. Oni Press, (176p) ISBN: 9781637157855. Science Fiction, read 13/04/25, eBook ★★★★☆

EC Cruel Universe

EC Cruel Universe

Earlier in the year Oni Press released Epitaphs from the Abyss, a horror anthology in comic form which I really enjoyed. So when this science fiction anthology showed up I jumped at the chance to read it.

This anthology does what I love about anthologies really well, loads of different art styles and story types that are constantly swapping up the energy of what you’re reading.

As always in any anthology or collection some stories are much stronger than others though there were no real disappointments here.

Some of the stories were short and punchy, a few required more thought and were a bit longer but it was in part this mix that made the anthology so much fun.

There were some I enjoyed more though and these were; The Deleted Man, Behave, Doomsday Particle, Paring Knife, and ORGAN1C, nice fun reads all.

Another great read from Oni Press

I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Kick the Latch

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Kathryn Scanlan. Daunt Books, (165p) ISBN: 9781914198250. Contemporary Fiction, read 13/04/25, Paperback ★★★★☆

Kick the Latch

Kick the Latch

I originally thought this was a collection of short stories and in a way it is, it is an episodic fictionalised account of a woman’s life, but taken from transcripts of an actual person.

The stories of Sonia from Iowa and the track her life took, working with horse for the majority of her life therefore the majority of the short episodes are based on her experiences with horses at racetracks and more.

We start off with some really interesting snippets from her earlier life and her gradually falling in love with horse.

There is nothing sugar-coated in this collection of incidents, they show the hard life Sonia goes through, the ups and downs, the bumps (some massive), and the camaraderie of the backsiders, the behind the scenes people of horse racing in the US.

With each episode you get to know Sonia and her world that little bit better, the normalisation of the hard life, the rough and tumble, but always that love of horses and the world that circles around them.

Each episode is short and sharp with no fat to soften the blow that the lyricism of Kathryn Scanlan’s words bring to the hard life that Sonia has lived.

I read this so easily, it was a searing story that really kept you hooked from start to finish.

TV Shows

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Jon Pertwee

Jon Pertwee

To go along with the various lists of award winning TV, Film, and Music I needed a dump space for everything else that doesn’t win awards.

There is the Lack of Resolution (see pinned list) post where I look at all those favourite series that never quite finished and we were left hanging in the middle of massive story arcs (looking at you The Order, seven loose arcs!).

This one will just be a list of all the other series I’ve heard about and fancied watching, all will eventually get pages for themselves once I start watching them and then each episode will get a mini review.

  1. 3% ()
  2. 12 Monkeys ()
  3. The 100 ()
  4. 1899 ()
  5. The Abandons ()
  6. Agatha: Coven of Chaos ()
  7. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ()
  8. Ahsoka ()
  9. Alchemy of Souls ()
  10. Alice in Borderland ()
  11. Altered Carbon ()
  12. American Born Chinese ()
  13. American Primeval ()
  14. Andor ()
  15. The Ark ()
  16. Ash vs the Evil Dead ()
  17. Atlantis ()
  18. Avatar: The Last Airbender ()
  19. Babylon Berlin ()
  20. The Bad Batch ()
  21. Banshee ()
  22. Barry ()
  23. Based on a True Story ()
  24. Bates Motel
  25. Battlestar Galactica ()
  26. Beautiful Creatures ()
  27. Beef ()
  28. Beforeigners ()
  29. Better Call Saul ()
  30. Better Than Us ()
  31. Between ()
  32. The Big Door Prize ()
  33. Biohackers ()
  34. Black ()
  35. Black Knight ()
  36. Black Mirror ()
  37. Black Snow ()
  38. Blood of Zeus ()
  39. Bloodhounds ()
  40. Bodyguard ()
  41. The Book of Nora ()
  42. Breaking Bad ()
  43. Bright ()
  44. Britannia ()
  45. Cabinet of Curiosities ()
  46. Carnival Row ()
  47. Carnivale ()
  48. Castlevania ()
  49. Cheers ()
  50. Citadel ()
  51. Class of ’09 ()
  52. The Clearing ()
  53. Colony ()
  54. The Company You Keep ()
  55. Condor ()
  56. Constantine ()
  57. The Consultant ()
  58. The Continental (2023)
  59. Copenhagen Cowboy ()
  60. Copycat Killer ()
  61. Cowboy Ninja Viking ()
  62. Cunk on Earth ()
  63. Da Vinci’s Demons ()
  64. Dark Angel ()
  65. Dark Knight ()
  66. Dark Matter ()
  67. The Dark Tower ()
  68. Dark Winds ()
  69. Mrs Davis ()
  70. Dead Like Me ()
  71. Dead Man’s Hand ()
  72. Dead to Me ()
  73. Dead Ringers ()
  74. Deadloch ()
  75. The Devil’s Hour ()
  76. The Diplomat ()
  77. A Discovery of Witches ()
  78. Django ()
  79. Doctor Who ()
  80. Dollhouse ()
  81. Domina ()
  82. Dominion ()
  83. Drops of God ()
  84. Elite ()
  85. Emerald City ()
  86. The End of the Fucking World ()
  87. Errementari ()
  88. The English ()
  89. Evil ()
  90. Extraordinary ()
  91. The Fall ()
  92. Fake Profile ()
  93. Falling Skies ()
  94. Farscape ()
  95. Fear the Walking Dead ()
  96. Firefly ()
  97. Florida Man ()
  98. For All Mankind ()
  99. Forever ()
  100. Foundation ()
  101. Freeridge ()
  102. Friends ()
  103. Fringe ()
  104. From ()
  105. Fubar ()
  106. The Fugitive ()
  107. Future Man ()
  108. Game of Thrones ()
  109. Game of Thrones: House of the Dragon ()
  110. Gangs of London ()
  111. Garcia ()
  112. Gen V ()
  113. The Good Place ()
  114. Gray Matter (2023)
  115. The Great ()
  116. Grimm ()
  117. The Gryphon ()
  118. Halo ()
  119. Hannibal ()
  120. The Hated ()
  121. Head Count ()
  122. Heavenly Delusion ()
  123. Hello Tomorrow ()
  124. His Dark Materials ()
  125. House of the Dragon
  126. Humans ()
  127. Ice Fantasy ()
  128. In the Flesh ()
  129. In From the Cold ()
  130. Ink ()
  131. Into the Badlands ()
  132. Invasion ()
  133. Inventing Anna ()
  134. Invincible ()
  135. Island ()
  136. Jericho ()
  137. Justified ()
  138. Kaleidoscope ()
  139. Kingdom ()
  140. The Last Kingdom ()
  141. The Last Man on Earth ()
  142. The Last Ship ()
  143. The Last of Us ()
  144. The Leftovers ()
  145. Legacies ()
  146. Legends of Tomorrow ()
  147. Legion ()
  148. Liaison ()
  149. The Librarians ()
  150. The Lincoln Lawyer ()
  151. Locke and Key ()
  152. Lockwood & Co ()
  153. Loki ()
  154. The Longest Promise ()
  155. Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power ()
  156. Lost ()
  157. Love & Death ()
  158. Love to Hate You ()
  159. Lucifer ()
  160. Luna Nera ()
  161. Mc Mafia ()
  162. Mandalorian ()
  163. The Magicians ()
  164. The Mandalorian ()
  165. Marvel’s Runaways ()
  166. M*A*S*H* ()
  167. Mayfair Witches ()
  168. Mayor of Kingtown ()
  169. Merlin ()
  170. Midnight Mass ()
  171. The Ministry of Time ()
  172. Minx ()
  173. Misfits ()
  174. Mortal ()
  175. Motherland: Fort Salem ()
  176. The Nevers ()
  177. The Night Agent ()
  178. Nikita ()
  179. The Nurse ()
  180. The Office (UK) ()
  181. The Office (US) ()
  182. Old Henry ()
  183. The Old Man ()
  184. The Old Way ()
  185. Once Upon a Time ()
  186. Only Murders in this Building ()
  187. The Originals ()
  188. Orphan Black ()
  189. The Orville ()
  190. Outer Banks ()
  191. Outer Range ()
  192. Outlast ()
  193. Outlander ()
  194. The Outpost ()
  195. The Pact ()
  196. Pantheon ()
  197. Paper Girls ()
  198. Party Down ()
  199. Penny Dreadful ()
  200. The Peripheral ()
  201. Joe Pickett ()
  202. Plan B ()
  203. Poker Face ()
  204. The Power ()
  205. Preacher ()
  206. Primeval ()
  207. The Protector ()
  208. Queen of the South ()
  209. Rabbit Hole ()
  210. Ragnarok ()
  211. Reborn Rich ()
  212. The Recruit ()
  213. The Redeemer ()
  214. The Regulators ()
  215. Resident Alien ()
  216. The Resort ()
  217. The Responder ()
  218. Revolution ()
  219. The Rig ()
  220. Rings of Power ()
  221. Rosewell New Mexico ()
  222. Russian Doll ()
  223. St. Elsewhere ()
  224. The Sandman ()
  225. Saint X ()
  226. Salvation ()
  227. Sarah Connor Chronicles ()
  228. Miss Scarlet and the Duke ()
  229. School Spirits ()
  230. Scrubs ()
  231. Season of the Witch ()
  232. Secret Invasion ()
  233. See ()
  234. Seinfeld ()
  235. Sense 8 ()
  236. Seven Kings ()
  237. Severance ()
  238. Shadow and Bone ()
  239. The Shield ()
  240. Shrinking ()
  241. The Silent Sea ()
  242. Silo ()
  243. The Sinner ()
  244. Siren ()
  245. Six Feet Under ()
  246. Sleepy Hollow ()
  247. Slip ()
  248. Slow Horses ()
  249. The Snow Girl ()
  250. Snowpiercer ()
  251. The Sopranos ()
  252. Special Ops: Lioness ()
  253. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds ()
  254. Star Wars: Visions ()
  255. Star Wars: Visions 2 ()
  256. Stargate SG-1 ()
  257. The Stinger ()
  258. Stitchers ()
  259. The Strain ()
  260. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell ()
  261. Stranger Things ()
  262. Strike Back ()
  263. Superman and Lois ()
  264. Supernatural ()
  265. Swarm ()
  266. Sweet Tooth ()
  267. Ted Lasso ()
  268. Teen Wolf ()
  269. The Terminal List ()
  270. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles ()
  271. The Terror ()
  272. Them ()
  273. Tidelands ()
  274. Tiny Beautiful Things ()
  275. Titans ()
  276. To the Lake ()
  277. Tooth Pari: When Love Bites ()
  278. Transatlantic ()
  279. Tribes of Europa
  280. True Lies ()
  281. Tulsa King ()
  282. Turn of the Tide ()
  283. Twisted Metal ()
  284. Unicorn: Warriors Eternal ()
  285. Unprisoned ()
  286. Unstable ()
  287. Upload ()
  288. Utopia (2013)
  289. Utopia ()
  290. Vampire Diaries ()
  291. Van Helsing ()
  292. Vikings ()
  293. Vikings: Valhalla ()
  294. Vortex ()
  295. Walker: Independence ()
  296. The Walking Dead ()
  297. War Sailor ()
  298. Warrior ()
  299. Warrior Nun ()
  300. Wayward Pines ()
  301. Wednesday ()
  302. Welcome to Eden ()
  303. Westworld ()
  304. What We Do in the Shadows ()
  305. The Wheel of Time ()
  306. White House Plumbers ()
  307. The Winchesters ()
  308. The Witcher ()
  309. Wolf ()
  310. Wolf Creek ()
  311. Wolf Like Me ()
  312. Wolf Pack ()
  313. Wynona Earp ()
  314. X-Files ()
  315. Yellowjackets ()
  316. Yellowstone ()
  317. Your Honor ()
  318. Z Nation ()
  319. Zoo ()
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