The school Trip by Miranda Smith
It's easy to lose track of a child at a crowded pumpkin patch. All it takes is to turn your gaze in one direction while the little on you're watching decides to dart off the other way. The sense of panic and guilt is immediate, even if you're sure that everything is going to turn out just fine. In this book, things aren't fine, and the author does an amazing job of building the tension.
Before one of the students goes missing, Emma is already feeling stressed and guilty. Her own daughter, Claire, is on the school trip, wanting one on one time even though Emma is working and has to keep a watchful eye on a number of children. She's promised that they'll spend time together at the end of the day. Then a little girl gets lost. She's quickly found, but in the confusion, Emma's own daughter goes missing and isn't quickly found.
I really enjoyed the read, even if I wasn't completely satisfied by the ending.
In The Meantime by A. R. Shaw
I was curious to see what a Cozy Apocalypse Mystery would be like. The book is set in a small town in Washington State, some time after spores killed off most of the population. It's exactly what the description said it would be, a cozy mystery. Someone has stolen the community's food supply and two widows team up to find the responsible party. At times, it felt almost too cozy, in the same way that other mystery series can feel too perfect. The author never really mentions any of the unpleasant details of the apocalypse itself -- that seems to be over and done with. Now the focus is on the survivors, with no mention of what might be going on beyond the town's borders. As a reader, I had a lot of unanswered questions about that.
I enjoyed the read, but I'm not sure I'm enthusiastic enough to seek out the other books in the series.
Disclosure -- The publishers provided me with advance review copies. This post contains affiliate links.
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