I was sorting out my library return pile today and found a couple of good books that I didn't mention when I read them a couple of weeks ago. The first was Anne Ursu's The shadow thieves, the first of a new YA fantasy series. It tells the story of an American teenager and her English cousin who need to solve a plague that is affecting their friends. The story features nice descriptions of family life, the underworld (based on a mix of Egyptian and Roman mythology if I remember correctly) and a cute kitten. An enjoyable read.

For a completely different book there was also Kate Atkinson's Case histories, the story of a present day detective involved in three different unsolved cases from the past thirty years. Although it still read like a crime novel (I don't know how to describe the feel) the twists of the stories were interesting and the characters well-rounded and believable. I found myself flipping pages over very quickly towards the end! Warning: there is violence against children involved in some of the stories.

The weather continues cooler than is normal. My sister had her traditional ice-cream birthday cake recently and we all sat there staring as it sat on the table only slowing melting, compared with the usual rush to bring it out, sing happy birthday and get it onto the plates!

Tags: atkinson, books, fantasy, mystery, ursu, young adult