Hazel Edwards

Quinn, a self-described asexual and part time actor, part time celebrant (weddings, funerals, naming ceremonies and alike), describes how sleuthing skills come in handy when dealing with the ins and outs of the local’s lives, in a rural town.

"Celebrant Sleuth: I Do ... or Die" by Hazel Edwards is a little difficult to classify. I must admit, that the title lead me to believe that it was going to be a cosy mystery, but it is more a collection of amusing anecdotes, rather than what I show more describe as a standard crime/sleuthing offering. It certainly doesn't follow a traditional mystery/crime book style (not necessarily a bad thing).

The stores are presented in first person, in memoir-style vinaigrettes, and cover a range of weird and wonderful events that could happen in the life of a celebrant. It is clear that it is well researched and I suspect that more than one of the stories is based on a true event. Once I shifted my style/genre expectations I enjoyed the book.

The book is well-written and fun to read. The bite-sized chapters make it an excellent choice for holiday reading, and managing on public transport voyages.

I received a copy of this book from Sisters in Crime, Australia in exchange for a fair and honest review. show less

I don't want to start any arguments here, but my mind-reading chook is an Australorp, currently known as "Underfoot", although a renaming ceremony is now on the cards. I've always been convinced she was a mind reader, although I'm pretty sure there's been no laboratory accidents in her vicinity. But she's the one, out of the very big flock of chooks in these parts, that always seems to be where I'm heading before I've even decided to go there. Of course it might be that she's such a guts show more that she secretly tracks movements in the hope of treats to get out from "Underfoot", but I much prefer the idea that she's able to read minds, solve problems, leap not very tall buildings, and generally be a multi-skilled chook! Just like Sleuth Astrid.

Needless to say the idea of SLEUTH ASTRID appealed from the first mention. And both of these books "THE MIND READING CHOOK" and "LOST VOICE OF THE GRAND FINAL" are really quite clever. Part of the Easy to Read Mysteries category on Hazel's website, they are designed to allow younger readers to simply enjoy the stories, whilst the more adventurous or older would find the puzzles along the way engaging as well. The language is direct and very readable, the story's clever, quirky and particularly Australian. The connection with the Grand Final is a lovely touch that might also help with getting young, sports-mad kids to engage with reading.

Previously available in print format, these ebooks are now available directly from Hazel's site (http://www.hazeledwards.com/shop/cate...). Plus there's classroom performance scripts, a Design Your Own Sleuth section and other bits and pieces. It's great to see kids reading like this popping up in electronic format. Even for kids of "slightly" more advanced years.

http://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/sleuth-astrid-mind-reading-chook-hazel-ed... show less

f2m by Hazel Edwards and Ryan Kennedy is a YA novel about 18 year old Skye deciding to go with her heart and transition to male. Will Finn be welcomed into the once all-girl band? What will her parents and brother think? Plus, there are family secrets!

The book is a pretty quick and tame read. For young adults who might feel the need to transition (especially those in Australia, as some of the steps are very specific to Australian health care), the book reads like a step by step process, show more wrapped up in a fictionalized package.

To fluff things up, there's Skye/Finn's paricipation a punk band, some stuff about getting a drivers' license and finally, the history of Great Uncle/Aunt Al, whose history is only revealed after Finn begins his transition.

Frankly, Al's story was more interesting than Finn's. From the small handful of transition stories I've now read, they all seem desperate to find a balance between making it seem normal for the character who is transitioning, while making it as dramatic / traumatic for everyone else in the book, while still making the book a "clean" read.

While I still recommended F2M for the logistics of transitioning, I think the best (meaning most believable characters) book I've read so far is Jumpstart the World by Catherine Ryan Hyde. show less

It's probably written for kids. Teenagers. With short attention spans. That would explain it. The short sentences, I mean. You get used to them. But I found them tiring. You know?

I'm not sure it explains the author's apparent lack of interest in a plot. There were references to mutiny, terrorism, a helicopter crash, and an insidious biological terror agent that could render the world's population infertile. Pretty interesting stuff, right? But sadly, they remain just references. The word show more "mutiny" remains just a word: there is a mutiny maybe going on. Who's mutinying against whom? Why? Who knows, who cares.

I'm not sure which half of the book was worse: the 110 pages of prelude to the action, in which basically nothing out of the ordinary happens: our hero finds himself aboard a scientific expedition to the Antarctic, and gives a blow-by-blow account of daily life on the ship. The minutiae of the daily grind. Or the following 50 pages, in which all of the previously cited dramatic incidents happen and are resolved, leaving you perpelexed as to what you've just witnessed.

You can imagine the guy's diary: "January 15: cleaned my room, took photos of elephant seals, got in an argument with roommate. January 16: helicopter crashed on deck, threats of mutiny, and biological terror agent might destroy humanity. Oh, and I won the poker!"

Still, there was something mildly engaging here. Or maybe it was the short sentences. Compelling. Intriguing. Maddening. But unsatisfying. show less