After the Funeral

After the Funeral is by Agatha Christie. A historical fiction mystery starring Hercule Poirot. When a rich man dies in his sleep, his family gathers to hear his will read. His sister suggests he might have been murdered and the next day she is found dead. The lawyer goes to Poirot for help solving the mystery.

Ratings: 9th grade - 9 out of 10. 

Death Comes As the End

Death Comes As the End is by Agatha Christie. A historical fiction mystery by the master of mysteries herself. Set in ancient Egypt, a priest brings home a beautiful concubine who is not welcome in his family. When she is killed, members of the family being to suspect her death was not an accident. When other family members begin to die, they must discover if the spirit of the concubine seeks vengeance or if there is another killer in their midst.

Ratings: 9th grade - 9 out of 10.

Fanfarlo

Fanfarlo is by Charles Baudelaire. A historical fiction novella set in France about a young man who finds himself falling obsessively in love with a beautiful burlesque dancer. He starts out attempting to do a favor for a friend and ends up in love and with his life in a mess.

Ratings: 10th grade - 8 out of 10.  

The Diamond As Big As the Ritz

The Diamond As Big As the Ritz is by F. Scott Fitzgerald. A historical fiction novella written by the author of The Great Gatsby. A young man from a small town on the Mississippi River goes East to a fancy boarding school. He makes a friend who invites him to his home in Montana. When John arrives he finds that all is not as it seems with his friend's family. Their home is located on a mountain that is really a giant diamond which is the source of their wealth and which they are desperate to keep secret. 

Ratings: 10th grade - 7 out of 10. 

The Ruin

The Ruin is by Dervla McTiernan. The first realistic fiction mystery in the Cormac Reilly series. Cormac has moved to a new assignment within the police force, and despite his outstanding record is being assigned nothing but cold cases by his new boss. Twenty years ago as a new officer he was called out on a domestic call to find a dead mother and two abused young children. He took Jack and Maude to the hospital and never forgot them. Now, Jack is found dead and neither his sister or his girlfriend believe it was suicide. Cormac finds himself back in the middle of a twenty-year-old case, where no one seems to want him to find the answers he seeks. Set in Ireland, this a fun new series that will have crime lovers wanting more. 

Ratings: 10th grade - 8 out of 10 - P (profanity) - AC (mature thematic content). 

Where the Crawdads Sing

Where the Crawdads Sing is by Delia Owens. A realistic fiction story set in the swamps of the North Carolina coast. The story revolves around Kya, whose family lives in a shack in the swamp. Her drunk abusive father runs off the entire family, who leave the seven-year-old child with her father. When he leaves and doesn't return several years later Kay must survive in the swamp alone. The story follows her as she grows up and learns about nature and people. The amount of suspension of belief required to buy this story is considerable. 

Ratings: Adult - 4 out of 10 - P (profanity) - AC (mature thematic content) - V (violence). 

The Dead

The Dead is by James Joyce. This historical fiction novella is set around a family gathering in Dublin set on the feast of the Epiphany. Two elderly aunts throw a holiday party for their family and friends. Their nephew also attends with his wife and the story more or less follows them, although Joyce includes all the other party goers as well. The ending is moving and typical of Joyce's revelatory writing. 

Ratings: 11th grade - 8 out of 10.