Title: ELIZABETH WEBSTER AND THE COURT OF UNCOMMON PLEAS
Author: William Lashner
Pub. Date: October 15, 2019
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Formats: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook
Pages: 320
Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, Audible, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD
Welcome to Elizabeth Webster’s world, where the common laws of middle school torment her days . . . and the uncommon laws of an even weirder realm govern her nights.
Elizabeth Webster is happy to stay under the radar (and under her bangs) until middle school is dead and gone. But when star swimmer Henry Harrison asks Elizabeth to tutor him in math, it’s not linear equations Henry really needs help with-it’s a flower-scented, poodle-skirt-wearing, head-tossing ghost who’s calling out Elizabeth’s name.
But why Elizabeth? Could it have something to do with her missing lawyer father? Maybe. Probably. If only she could find him. In her search, Elizabeth discovers more than she is looking for: a grandfather she never knew, a startling legacy, and the secret family law firm, Webster & Son, Attorneys for the Damned.
Elizabeth and her friends soon land in court, where demons and ghosts take the witness stand and a red-eyed judge with a ratty white wig hands out sentences like sandwiches. Will Elizabeth’s father arrive in time to save Henry Harrison-and is Henry the one who really needs saving?
Set in the historic streets of Philadelphia, this riveting middle-grade mystery from New York Times best-selling author William Lashner will have readers banging their gavels and calling for more from the incomparable Elizabeth Webster.
With Halloween just around the corner, this is the just the book to sit down with! Since historic Philadelphia is a place I have visited and walked in many times, I especially enjoyed the setting. Write more books in Philly! The rich lineage behind Elizabeth’s last name, and her heritage also a layer of history which could be studied. Story wise, I was interested and engaged all the way through. The pacing is great, characters have a synergy together and there are enough plot twists and turns to hook readers.
Content
There is some content which fits older readers more than middle grade. The author adds some elements of crime, psychological profiles and graphic descriptions which may be disturbing to young readers. There is also mention of adultery. Until the last chapters it reads like MG, but a bit mature for that genre in the wrapping up and dream sequences.
Overall, I hope this is series, because I would love to read more of the Webster adventures. I was pleasantly surprised!
About William:
William Lashner is the New York Times Bestselling creator of Victor Carl, who has been called by Booklist one of the mystery novel’s “most compelling, most morally ambiguous characters.” The Victor Carl novels, which have been translated into more than a dozen foreign languages and have been sold all across the globe, include BAGMEN, KILLER’S KISS, FALLS THE SHADOW, FATAL FLAW, and HOSTILE WITNESS. He is also the author of GUARANTEED HEROES, THE BARKEEP, which was an Edgar Award nominee and a Digital Book World Number One Bestseller, THE ACCOUNTING, and BLOOD AND BONE.
Writing under the pseudonym of Tyler Knox, Lashner is also the author of KOCKROACH, described as “roaringly entertaining,” by Publisher’s Weekly, and “an energetic tour de force,” by USA Today. As Tyler Knox he has written a number of book reviews for the Washington Post Book World.
Lashner was a criminal prosecutor with the Department of Justice in Washington D.C. before quitting the law to write fulltime. A graduate of the New York University School of Law, as well as the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, he lives with his wife and three children outside Philadelphia.
William Lashner Photo © Sigrid Estrada
Giveaway Details:
3 winners will receive a finished copy of ELIZABETH WEBSTER AND THE COURT OF UNCOMMON PLEAS, US Only.
a Rafflecopter giveawayTour Schedule:
Week One:
10/1/2019- Pandora’s Books– Excerpt
10/2/2019- Southern Girl Bookaholic– Review
10/3/2019- Shelf-Rated– Review
10/4/2019- BookHounds YA– Excerpt
Week Two:
10/7/2019- Odd and Bookish– Review
10/8/2019- EatingbetweenthelinesINC– Review
10/9/2019- Little Red Reads– Review
10/10/2019- History from a Woman’s Perspective– Review
10/11/2019- Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers– Excerpt
Week Three:
10/14/2019- Books_andPoetrii– Excerpt
10/15/2019- Jena Brown Writes– Review
10/16/2019- Nerdophiles– Review
10/17/2019- Savings in Seconds– Review
10/18/2019- The Reading Corner for All– Review
Week Four:
10/21/2019- Books a Plenty Book Reviews– Review
10/22/2019- Wonder Struck– Review
10/23/2019- Smada’s Book Smack– Review
10/24/2019- Novel Novice– Excerpt
10/25/2019- fictitious.fox– Review
Week Five:
10/28/2019- Fyrekatz Blog– Review
10/29/2019- Two points of interest– Review
10/30/2019- Fictitiouswonderland– Review
10/31/2019- PopTheButterfly Reads– Review
This sounds like an amazing story about middle school!