The Mystery of the Jewelled Moth by Katherine Woodfine

from goodreads

4 stars

Man, Have I been busy! The past two weeks have just been a whirl and my list of books to blog about is getting looooong!

What have I been doing? Well nothing super interesting but very productive. I have been going through the kids toys. We have been bursting at the seams and I decided that enough is enough. I took all the toys from the play room and we went through them all and decided what to keep and what not to keep. We threw out broken toys, got rid of dvds they don't watch anymore. Now when I go down to the play room it is actually pleasant. We are going through the rest of the house now looking for missing pieces or other toys that they are done with. What has been really nice is the kids have willingly parted with things. I did not give them an ultimatum or quota. I just said we have too much, just keep what you absolutely love to play with.

I invited my friends/acquaintances to do the same thing and they are going to drop off toys at my house this week and Saturday we are going to have a toy swap. I am setting my house up like a toy store and they can come and take whatever they like. The stuff left over is going to the thrift store. It's kind of exciting.

I also took a few days out last week and went up to my parents house and helped go through the rest of their stuff. My parents are in a retirement home now, due to health reasons. They still had some stuff left in their basement (we are renting their house to a friend of the family's). So my sister, who lives close by, and I tackled what was left over, the majority having already been gone through. Two van loads and a trailer later and the stuff is gone. That was nice to see!

Now I am not saying I am minimalist, but I will say that there is such a thing as too much stuff. Why spend your time and energy on the mountains of stuff you have when you could spend it on yourself, your family and other things you enjoy. That is my mission this year, to really get rid of the things that don't bring us joy and to simplify. Just think of how much time I will have to read then! All of it guilt free too.

Synopsis

This is the second of a series of mystery novels. Sophie and Lil are on the case as they hunt down a missing jewel that has a mysterious and ominous past. Their search brings them close to the ominous Baron.

My Thoughts

This was a great sequel to an awesome debut novel. This book had everything, suspense, murder, intrigue, misdirection and fun.

There were two separate story lines for a lot of the book and I loved how the author brought them together in a natural way that did not seem contrived or stretching at all.

Once again this book allowed us a glimpse into history and society of a bygone era but did so in a way that was engaging. History is fun to learn when it is part of a great narrative.

This book some more mature themes. It talked about arranged marriages, marriages of girls to much older men, the use of murder to quiet people. So for that I would say it would be a book that would be better suited for 12 and up.

I am looking forward to the next book in the series. This is definitely a series that will so be worth the read.