Tabitha’s just minding her own business running her little Australian cafe when she ends up in the middle of a police investigation. A busker is found dead in a net in a band’s spare room, but she learns that before that, a cat was caught in a net and her step-brother-in-law was caught in a cage inside his house. The police rule the busker’s death an overdose, but when Tabitha finds an electrified ping pong ball in her purse, she thinks something else is going on and it just might involve her missing landlord.
A Trifle Dead
3 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2016: 122
Pages Read in 2016: 33,211
Hours Listened: 27 hours 2 minutes
Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks (more book reviews!)
includes five novellas, two deleted scenes, and two pieces of flash fiction. The novellas are Mind Games (before Open Minds; about Raf’s feelings for Kira), The Handler (about the first of Julian’s recruits – a very dangerous handler), The Scribe (about Sasha and why he is reluctant to use his powers), Keeper (about Kira and her desire to be sent on missions even though Julian doesn’t want her to; shows how she began to learn to control her body with her mind), and The Locksmith (simultaneous to Open Minds; the story of a mindjacker, Zeph, who can lock and unlock people’s minds). The flash fiction (very, very short, but packed with action) pieces are Leaving Gurnee (about when Kira’s parents and Xander were attacked and had to flee their home) and Seeds of Promise (a glimpse into Anna’s time in Kestral’s prison). The deleted scenes are Kestrel’s Interrogation and Drinking the Water. Both of the scenes are referred to in Free Souls. Before each novella and short story is a little background information and guidance on when it should be read. I enjoyed these extra bits very much. I read everything in the collection at once. I think it would have been better to have read the parts as directed through the collection. Either way works, though. I highly recommend the 
, is just as fun and exciting with some brainteasers thrown in as the first two. My boys enjoyed every bit of it and were so excited that we didn’t have to leave Mr. Benedict quite yet (but could meet him as a boy in the prequel). I highly recommend this book to adults and children alike. The series makes an excellent read aloud.
, the last of the Mindjack trilogy, was my favorite of the three. The very end was exactly what I wanted, but there were many times I was sure it wouldn’t turn out that way. There were a couple twists that totally surprised me. I really didn’t see them coming. The book is very well written and enjoyable. By halfway through I couldn’t put it down. I highly recommend reading it (after the first two Mindjack books)!
Mama Reader 