msjamgochian'sinfinitebooklist

"Dead, and no one told me." Catherine Gehrig, horologist extraordinaire at the Swinburne Museum in London, arrives at her post one morning only to find that her lover of 13 years, married Matthew Tindall, Head Curator of Metals, has died. Her grief is illicit; their relationship had been a secret since it began. Eric Croft, or "Crafty Crofty," the head of her department, makes it clear that he knew all along about her affair with Matthew, and, out of kindness or simply wanting to keep the scandal under wraps, swiftly exiles Catherine to an out-of-the-way annexe and gives her 18 tea chests full of 19th-century clock parts that make up an automaton to assemble. Catherine is attempting to put the pieces back together, both in the studio and in her heart, when she finds a set of journals belonging to the original owner of the automaton, Henry Brandling, in one of the tea chests. She finds a fellow broken-heart in Henry, who has lost one child to illness, his wife to ...

Another creepy gothic thriller set in a small German town from the author of The Vanishing of Katherina Linden . Seventeen year-old Lin Fox is uprooted from her comfortable life in the UK when her father, a renown scholar in medieval history, decides to move to a tiny village to study the legend of the Allerheiligen Glass, a series of medieval stained-glass windows that may or may not be inhabited by demons. The problem is, nobody actually knows where the windows are, and the locals aren't exactly helpful. In fact, it quickly becomes clear that Lin's family isn't welcome when bodies start turning up, surrounded by shards of broken glass. Ms. Grant is a master of building suspense; you'll find yourself turning on lights and checking that the doors are locked if you read this late at night. Give this to fans of Agatha Christie or anyone living in a small German village. Grade 8+

Pia Kolvenbach is living a relatively peaceful existence with her German father and British mother in the tiny town of Bad Munstereifel when her beloved and beautiful Grandmother Kristal dies in a freak accident at Pia's home. Inevitably, her cruel classmates mock her as she quickly becomes the 'girl with the grandmother that exploded.' When children start disappearing from Bad Munstereifel, Pia thinks she has caught a break, but the latest scandal doesn't stop her classmates from continuing to taunt her. Pia, along with her only friend (fellow class reject Stink Stefan), decides to solve the mystery in order to regain her social status. What follows is a gripping, suspenseful, and incredibly insightful story of life in a small town. This is the perfect book for expats living in Germany or for anyone who likes mysteries. Pia's authentic and likeable voice will appeal to teens as well. Don't miss the extremely corny book trailer . Grade 8+