Rogue's Home

September 1, 2008
Gr 7-10-When readers last saw the unlikely duo of starry-eyed Sir Michael and his reluctant squire (and former thief) Fisk in "The Last Knight" (HarperCollins, 2007), the teens were headed toward Michael's home to face the music. Despite his father's instructions, the young man has refused to bring back a woman falsely accused of murder, and the punishment for this failure is harsh. Michael is declared "unredeemed" and tattooed with marks that will declare his newly despised status to any that see his wrists. What's worse, Fisk has been called back home by his sisters to help them clear the name of a man he dislikes. Michael comes along but somebody has it in for the two, and it will take all of their wits to keep them out of either jail or a hangman's noose. In a story that's part buddy comedy, part Don Quixote, and part mystery novel, Bell outdoes herself with this intrepid pair. Michael's insistence that he is a knight, an occupation that is "two centuries out of date," has waned and now it is Fisk taking center stage. The story line moves swiftly and without a stumble. Count on this book's humor, suspense, and plot twists to keep readers coming back for future installments."Elizabeth Bird, New York Public Library"

Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2008
Centuries after knight errantry became an unrealistic career choice, in a land lit by two moons and enriched by Magica, Sir Michael (aka Mike) and his reluctant sometime squire Fisk ride out for the second adventure in the Knight and Rogue series. After receiving an urgent, maddeningly vague cry for help, Fisk returns to his hometown to find his sisters in peril of losing their home now that his brother-in-law has lost his job and reputation. Who is the conniving villain who has schemed to bring the family low and committed murder and arson to cover his tracks? Though the many characters are well drawn and often diverting, their proliferation crowds the field of suspects to the point of confusion. The mystery may be the central focus of the novel, but the appeal of the series lies in the two strong protagonists, Mike and Fisk, and the fundamental tension as well as growing bond between them.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2009
Having left home in some disgrace, Fisk (The Last Knight) returns to help with family troubles. It doesn't boost his reputation when former would-be knight Michael shows up. With careful sleuthing, Fisk and Michael expose the truth. Bell writes with a buoyant, easygoing style, creating character and setting with economy and giving her readers a lighthearted, but also warm-hearted, tale.

(Copyright 2009 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

September 1, 2008
Fisk the former thief and Michael, now a former would-be knight, continue their bantering partnership and solve a mystery involving Fisk's staid brother-in-law Maxwell, a maligned judicar, in this, their second adventure (see The Last Knight, rev. 9/07). Having left home in some disgrace, Fisk is called back to help his respectable mercantile family out of trouble. It doesn't help his reputation when Michael, now tattooed as "unredeemed" and therefore dead to family and invisible to law, shows up in a well-meaning effort to help. It takes careful sleuthing, bungled leads, and midnight escapes for the two of them to finally expose the affable merchant who framed Maxwell. Bell writes with a buoyant, easygoing style, creating character and setting (a bit like late-medieval Europe, but with magic) with economy and giving her readers a lighthearted, but also warmhearted, tale. She explores the twin themes of shame and public discreditation from two vantage points, using Maxwell's predicament to underscore the more subtle dynamic of shame and honor with which Michael must contend. Good-humored and thoughtful, this has the appeal of a dashing mystery-adventure, but the deeper elements of friendship and family loyalty give it substance.

(Copyright 2008 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)