Joe, the dragon, does not like to brush his teeth so each night he does not. His breath is so bad his becomes the smelliest in the family. George, his boy, decides to set up a contest to get Joe to brush his teeth. Will it work?

This is the cutest story about good oral hygiene without being preachy. The illustrations are fabulous. The tale is told through rhyme. I enjoyed this book so much. I love Joe! Perfect for your 2-6 year olds who are learning to read.

Four little books using animals to teach the alphabet to the little ones.  Perfect for the 2-5 year in your life.  I liked Obi the Owl taking us into each book.  The illustrations are so cute.  There is repetition as well as new animals introduced each book.  I found this adorable.

First in a series taking place in Singapore in 1910, about a woman convicted in England for her suffragette activities who flees to Singapore to assist her brother, a headmaster at a school for British boys.  As her post is unpaid, she advertises for secretarial jobs on the side, and discovers her first commissioner brutally murdered.

It's a compelling start to a series, but this first book leaves the characters' dynamic with each other unsettled at the end, so I didn't like it as much I would have otherwise.  Still the plotting was strong and well thought out, though some aspects of the puzzle were obvious to the reader, either because they were telegraphed early on, or because the reader has read too many mysteries not to see what was coming.  The characters not having the benefit of 100+ years of mysteries to tap into, their slowness to pick up on what was going on was understandable, if sometimes tedious.

I have the second book in hand on my TBR, and I'm looking forward to seeing the character development in that one.  That will decide me as to whether to go on with the series or not. (Assuming it continues past book 2, of course.)

I can't remember how I discovered the first book in this series, The Awkward Squad, but I thoroughly enjoyed it; it felt fresh and it amused me, and I chalked up any small irritations to the translation from the French.

This second book was much the same, although there were more straight-up translation issues this time; errors that should have been caught in editing - like saying the "France people" instead of the "French People" in one spot.  And a few things were just cultural references I didn't understand, not being French myself.  Glossing over them didn't affect my understanding of the plot or the mystery, though undoubtedly I missed a layer of enjoyment.  

The series focuses on a department of the police judiciaire, which was occasionally referred to as PJs, which made me giggle more than it should have.  This department was created as a repository for all the misfits that couldn't be fired; they were established in an old office building offsite with all the cold case files that have never been solved, and then left to fend for themselves. 

I didn't expect this to work as well as it does, but I enjoy reading about the individual misfits and how their odd contributions further the pursuit of criminals and solve cases.  It's far-fetched, sure, but it never feels silly or slapstick, somehow.

It's not perfect, but it's highly enjoyable, and I sincerely hope the author continues to write more in the series, and that they continue to be translated into English.