The Fairview Review: August 2025

Sunday, August 17, 2025

Summer Reading 2025 A Fashionably French Murder: An American in Paris Mystery

I admit - I was attracted to this series at first because I had enjoyed Julie and Julia so much. The idea of Julia Child as a literary character appealed to me after that experience, so I tried Mastering the Art of French Murder and I was hooked. With that first book readers enter Julia's world of Le Cordon Bleu cooking school as she teaches her neighbor Tabitha how to cook for her grandfather. In the second book, Tabitha learns more about fine French wines (which no French dinner would be complete without). And in this third installment, readers follow Tabitha into a third area of French mastery - haute couture.

Tabitha is a wonderful protagonist - fresh from the U.S. and enjoying her time with her grandfather in his lovely Parisian home, she soaks up everything about Paris. Her determined attempts to make dinner for her grandfather and uncle are comical and make her a very sympathetic character. How many of us could try to pull off dishes that Julia makes seem so effortless and succeed any better than Tabitha does? And her work as a translator and language tutor lets her meet an interesting cross-section of people living in the city. When she is asked to accompany a wealthy woman to a fashion house in search of a dress for her daughter's wedding, the stage is set for her next adventure.

It seems that along with a talent for the French language, Tabitha also has an uncanny knack for stumbling across dead bodies. The one she finds this time makes number seven and of all people, a friend of the deceased accuses Christian Dior of the crime! Between her paid work, her continued struggles to avert disaster in the kitchen, and acquaintances asking her to solve their own mysteries, Tabby certainly has her hands full. Julia adds to the drama by insisting that the brooding police inspector and Tabitha should date, and then Tabitha actually goes out with a charming veterinarian. Where does she find the time?

If you haven't tried this series yet, I recommend it for anyone show enjoys mysteries in an historical setting. The descriptions of Paris as it recovers from WWII are wonderful in themselves, and the characters are sure to become favorites.

Spring Reading 2025 A Case of Mice and Murder (The Trials of Gabriel Ward, #1)

I love mysteries - Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie,Dorothy L. Sayers, Margery Allingham, and up through today's J.D. Robb best sellers. This book takes readers back to a time familiar to fans of Holmes and Watson, with the death taking place in May, 1901. When an unassuming barrister finds the body of the Lord Chief Justice of England on his doorstep, he is shocked and dismayed - not only because Lord Dunning is dead, but because his feet are bare. Why would such a prominent man be murdered within the Inner Temple and then left in his evening dress with no shoes or socks? The condition of the body is almost as surprising as the murder itself.

A helpful diagram shows the layout of the buildings which comprise the Inner Temple, an area that is an "independent enclave...free from the jurisdiction of the Mayor and Corporation of London." As such, the police must have permission to enter, so the poor barrister, Gabriel Ward, is ordered by the head of the Inner Temple to investigate the death himself and avoid a scandal. Poor Ward wants nothing more than to get back to his legal cases and research; visiting the family of the deceased and questioning his peers is not something he will enjoy at all. As usually happens in a murder mystery, the more people he talks to, the more possible motives he discovers.

Whether he was killed because of professional rivalries and jealousies, family squabbles, or darker secrets, Ward must get to the bottom of the mystery so that he can go back to settling who is the rightful owner of the story Millie the Temple Church Mouse, the case that had him so distracted the morning he stumbled upon the body. At least his sleuthing skills may be useful in solving that mystery, too?

If you enjoy mysteries set in Victorian England and involving multiple persons of interest and motives galore, then you should feel right at home following Gabriel Ward through the steps of his investigation. I look forward to the next book in the series.

Summer Reading 2025 Troubling Tonsils! (Jasper Rabbit's Creepy Tales!)

For those familiar with Jasper Rabbit and his own adventures - Creepy Carrots! Creepy Pair of Underwear! Creepy Crayon! - it will come as no surprise that as Jasper grew up, he collected creepy stories that happened to others, too. In this troubling tale Charlie Marmot has to have his tonsils out, but he decides he wants to keep them in a jar to take for show and tell when he returns to school. That doesn't seem too unusual, but after a restless night and odd sounds while he tries to sleep, the day of surgery the doctor tells him the tonsils have disappeared! Very odd, but at least he won't have to undergo the operation. Seems like a happy ending all around, right? Nope. It seems that the tonsils have their own ideas of how the story should go and just who should be put on display for show and tell. Dunh-dunh-dunh!

This first chapter book tale continues the creepy tradition begun with Jasper's own mishaps in both storytelling style and illustrations. As young readers begin to outgrow picture books, they can move into these short chapter books and still feel the comfort of familiarity. Consider them a middle grade Twilight Zone and enter if you dare.

Thursday, August 14, 2025

Virtual Book Tour A Bus Can't Drive Empty

ABOUT THE BOOK

A Bus Can’t Drive Empty: An Alphaballiteration Adventure

Written by Davon Miller

Ages: 4-6 | 52 Pages

Publisher: Picture Novels (2025) | ISBN: 979-8992264708

Publisher’s Book Summary: It’s the end of the school day and three zebra friends are taking the school bus home when it runs out of gas, oh no! But when Chris, the bus driver, cleverly thinks of ways to continue on their jubilant journey, they have an adventure through the mountains, in a gondola, on a log, and on a pirate ship. Will the zebras finally make it home?

This vibrant and whimsical story is a fun and silly read-aloud for families and educators of young children, featuring a playful combination of alliteration and alphabet learning, with individual letters used in rhythmic text across each spread.

PURCHASE LINK

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Bookshop.org

MY REVIEW

This rollicking tale of a mishap on the ride home from school will make the alphabet and alliteration fun for young readers. A group of three little zebras are on the bus after school when the fuel gauge hits Empty. Oh, no! Bus driver Chris is determined to get his passengers safely home, so he rounds up Zea, Zeb, and Zec and off they go. Along their “jolly, jubilant journey” they encounter a gondola ride through the mountains, a log flume, and an overly interested octopus. Even though Chris quickly becomes queasy aboard the ship of Polly Pirate, her protection is better than staying in the clutches of the odd octopus. And everyone does make it home to Zala’s Zig-Zag Zipper Zoo by the end of the book.

Illustrations show three zebras with colorful stripes - one with blue, one with red, and one in the traditional black. (I’m showing my age, but they remind me of cheerful ads for Fruit Stripe gum.) They have alliterative remarks in reaction to each new event. When Chris suggests they hike home, each of them responds - “Huzzah!” “Hurrah!” “Hurray!” And when they spot the log ride from their gondola car, one says, “Look!” Another says, “Lovely!” While the third grumbles, “Lame.” Chris himself is a very dapper driver with warm brown skin, neatly trimmed beard, and spotless uniform. It is hard to believe someone so well put together would forget to gas up the tank! Kids who read this may have fun coming up with their own versions and brainstorming words for each letter of the alphabet for the dialogue and to describe the action.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Davon Miller is an author and illustrator who published his first book at the age of eleven. Starting as a child drawing with crayons, Davon has spent over a decade writing and illustrating children’s books, further allowing his art to inspire children to craft their own stories. Davon holds a B.A. in English for Creative Writing from the University of Central Florida. He became a Sunshine Ambassador for St. Petersburg, Florida, for his philanthropic efforts that support literacy. Davon and his works have been highlighted and included in the Tampa Bay Rays reading program “Reading with the Rays.”

For more information, visit davonmiller.com.

https://www.facebook.com/authordavonmiller

https://www.instagram.com/authordavonmiller/

https://www.tiktok.com/@authordavonmiller

https://www.youtube.com/@picturenovelsbooks

TOUR SCHEDULE

Week One

Wednesday, July 30, 2025

The Children’s Book Review

Book Review of A Bus Can’t Drive Empty: An Alphaballiteration Adventure

Thursday, July 31, 2025

The Starlit Path