Title: Checkmate and the Carpathians

Author: Reeves, Mary Bell

Book Preview:

Hans Grunwald.  Intimidating name isn’t it?  Well to two 16 year-olds named Con and Hannah it is.  Hans has been wanting to kill Con and Hannah ever since they identified him as an attempted murderer and as their kidnapper. Now Hans has escaped from prison and is searching for them.

Rating:

In the Prologue you got to hear Hans’s conversation with his boss. You could feel his anger when he was told he had to go to the small town of Iasi for a neo-Nazi rally (he and his boss are part of the neo-Nazi community) instead of seeking his revenge on Con.

I liked the characters in this book as well. The author did an excellent job of describing what they wore without making the story boring. The author used phrases like "…bundled up in heavy coats, neck scarves, and leather gloves…" and "…was wearing a dark blue ski jacket over a hooded sweatshirt, jeans tucked into wool socks, and hiking boots…" My favorite thing about the characters were their personalities though. For example, Hans was cruel and deceitful, and Con was kind and nosy.

It also had very exciting events, like when Con sees Hans’s face on the train, and when they discover why they keep being led back to Poppy in their search.

What I really liked about this book was the real-life lesson: "Let justice roll down like a river." (The Old Testament; Amos 5:24) I think that means that justice will come quick to some and slow to others, but it will always come!

Something that would have made this book better, though, would be if at the end of the book there were a word or phrase that sparked something in your mind that told you the author was going to write another book for the series (this is the last book of the series.) This would have made the book better because it would give you something to look forward to. I understand why there wasn’t though. The author could have had the plot planned out, or she might not want to write another book for this series. [Amber]