We have just closed out the spooky reading season, and while the atmosphere of today's book certainly fit that mold, might I remind you that A Christmas Carol IS in fact a ghost story? 👻 Anywho..
Today's blog tour guest is a newly published title via Amazon Crossing Kids and is the first book of a planned two book series perfect for older Middle Grade readers and beyond. It's got mystery, murder, and a tinge of magic, though that last part is all due to our little leading lady. Readers, please join me between the pages of...
(The Moonwind Mysteries, Book 1)
by
Johan Rundberg
Translated by
A.A. Prime
About the book...
Mika is not your average twelve-year-old―and she’s about to prove it.
It’s 1880, and in the frigid city of Stockholm, death lurks around every corner. Twelve-year-old Mika knows that everyone in her orphanage will struggle to survive this winter. But at least the notorious serial killer the Night Raven is finally off the streets…or is he?
Mika is shocked when a newborn baby is left at the orphanage in the middle of the night, by a boy with a cryptic message. Who is he? And who is this “Dark Angel” he speaks of? When a detective shows up, Mika senses something even more sinister is going on.
Drawn in by Mika’s unique ability to notice small details―a skill Mika has always used to survive―the gruff Detective Hoff unwittingly recruits her to help him with his investigation into a gruesome murder. Mika knows she should stay far, far away, and yet…with such little hope for her future, could this be an opportunity? Maybe, just maybe, this is Mika’s chance to be someone who matters.
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I'm not big on stories that are pure Mysteries. There's something about them that I generally find too easy to see through, or, in other cases, it's too caught up in the whodunit without anything else to focus on. However, this one offered other elements that I couldn't say no to.
Mika was such a character, so much bigger than her young years and stature portrayed. There wasn't a person that could make her stand down, a story she couldn't spin into gold, and a detail that could escape her keen eye. The reason for her honed skill was heartbreaking, but the assistance it provided to solve a dangerous murder mystery was astounding. She saw things others overlooked, listened where most ignored, and put the pieces of broken lies together to uncover the truth behind it all. If given the proper chance, I could easily see her in the role of detective, though the actual rules of which she'd find rather confining, but alas, she has her own mystery regarding herself yet to solve, and that may prove to be the hardest one of all.
By book's end, we discover the man behind the mystery, while exposing the cracks in a system that so carefully tried to cover them to no true avail, but we also grow to understand the power that lies in being underestimated. It may not feel like it at the time of realization, but it gives us an edge, or at the very least it did to Mika, and watching her unravel the murder mysteries that grown men couldn't even get close to... well, it definitely gave us a big moment of girl power triumph worth celebrating. I can't wait to see what happens next!
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About the author...
Johan Rundberg is an award-winning author of children's books who lives in Stockholm. He has written picture books, early readers, and middle grade, including Kärlekspizzan, Knockad Romeo, and the series Häxknuten. In 2021, he was awarded Sweden's most prestigious literary prize, the August Prize, in the children's and YA category for Nattkorpen, the original edition of The Night Raven, which was first written in Swedish. Nattkorpen was also the winner of a Swedish Crimetime Award in the children's and YA category. There are now four books in this series published in Sweden.
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About the translator...
A. A. Prime (Annie Prime) is an award-winning translator of Swedish literature. She was born in London and traveled the world studying a number of languages before settling in the English coastal town of Hastings. She now works full-time as a translator, specializing in the weird, witty, and wonderful world of children's and young adult fiction. She holds an MA in translation from University College London and has published more than twenty books in the UK and US. In her free time, she can be found belly dancing, folk singing, horse riding, and sea swimming.
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Special thanks to the dream team at Blue Slip Media for the chance to bring this title to you and to Amazon Crossing Kids for the copy for review. (THANKS!) For more information on this title, the author, the illustrator, or the publisher, feel free to click through the links provided above. Keep an eye out for more celebrations featuring this title throughout the blogosphere and social media!
Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!
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