Circle of Blood by Alane Ferguson

Cameron Mahoney's father is the coroner for a small town in Colorado.  Cameron helps her father out in all aspects of his work from the paperwork to the autopsies.  She frequently becomes embroiled in mysteries and in this third book of the forensic mystery series, Cameron's life becomes even more complicated by the return of her long-lost mother.  Cameron and her mother pick up a young woman hitchhiking and Cameron senses that there is something going on with the girl.  She is definitely hiding something and seems nervous.

Later on, the woman is found dead with a gun in her hand.  Was it a suicide?  Was Cameron's mother involved in some way?  Or is there something sinister happening?

This book is recommended for teens and adults who enjoy mysteries or forensics CSI type shows.   

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Silence of Murder

The Silence of Murder by Dandi Daley Mackall.  Published by Alfred A. Knopf, 2011

Hope loves her brother, Jeremy.  She knows he is a little different- he hasn’t spoken in twelve years.  He collects empty jars and keeps them all over his room.  He seems to understand what’s going on around him sometimes, but other times completely tunes things out.  He’s really important to Hope, who tries to help him.

Her family life isn’t exactly normal.  Her alcoholic mother can be quite cruel and doesn’t take care of Hope or Jeremy.  She comes home from work and drinks herself into a stupor (on a good day).  Controlling her temper isn’t a priority, so Hope has learned to avoid her mother as much as possible.

The police come to the house and arrest Jeremy.  He’s a suspect in the baseball coach’s murder.  Hope doesn’t believe he would hurt anyone, but there is quite a bit of evidence against him and Jeremy can’t help defend himself.  Who can Hope turn to for help?  She gets some assistance from unexpected new friends.  But she isn’t sure she can trust them.

This murder mystery has numerous twists and unexpected plot developments.  Recommended for grades 9 and up.

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