Books for Christian Girls: "To Write a Wrong" by Jen Turano

About this book:

“Miss Daphne Beekman is a mystery writer by day, inquiry agent by night. Known for her ability to puzzle out plots, she happily works behind the scenes for the Bleecker Street Inquiry Agency, staying well away from danger. However, Daphne soon finds herself in the thick of an attempted murder case she's determined to solve.

Mr. Herman Henderson is also a mystery writer, but unlike the dashing heroes he pens, he prefers living a quiet life, determined to avoid the fate of his adventurous parents, who perished on an expedition when he was a child. But when he experiences numerous attempts on his life, he seeks out the services of the eccentric Bleecker Street Inquiry Agency to uncover the culprit. All too soon, Herman finds himself stepping out of the safe haven of his world and into an adventure he never imagined.

As the list of suspects grows and sinister plots are directed Daphne’s way as well, Herman and Daphne must determine who they can trust and if they can risk the greatest adventure of all: love.”

Series: Book #2 in “The Bleecker Street Inquiry Agency”. Review of the first book, Here!

Spiritual Content- A few Scriptures are read, quoted, & commented on; Talks about God (including one about a person that was mad at Him for a death of a loved one and another one about someone praying for courage); ‘H’s are capitalized when referring to God; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of a chapel, church services, & a reverend; A mention of helping with missions.

Negative Content- Eye rolling; Trying to find who is attempting to murder Herman; Herman drinks wine at a dinner party; Fighting/Punching (up to semi-detailed); Blood/Bleeding, Pain, & Fainting (up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of murders, murderers, & attempted murders (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of a ship that went down & deaths; Mentions of a kidnapping & being tied up; Mentions of missing people; Mentions of crimes, criminals, jails, & arrests; Mentions of break-ins/trespassing & intruders; Mentions of stolen items, thefts, & arrests; Mentions of threats, weapons, & pistols and arrows being aimed at someone; Mentions of fights, fighting, punches, & duels; Mentions of blood/bleeding, injuries, stitches, & broken bones (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of poison; Mentions of blackmail; Mentions of lying & liars; Mentions of gossip & rumors; Mentions of men abusing women; Mentions of asylums & a man attempting to commit his wife to one because she questioned him; A few mentions of gambling & debts to questionable characters; A few mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of wine, drinking, & having too much to drink; A couple mentions of throwing up.

Sexual Content- Three hand/fingers kisses, a not-detailed kiss, two barely-above-not-detailed kisses, and two semi-detailed kisses; Remembering a kiss (up to semi-detailed); Touches & Blushes; Butterflies; Noticing & Smelling (barely-above-not-detailed); Discussions that women (& young ladies) need to know how to protect themselves, about the dangers of the world and men, & that if a man does try to attack a woman, that she is not to blame; A man (it’s easy to call him a pedophile because he was an adult and she only thirteen) has a twist view of Daphne, who he thought was using her feminine wiles on him (he says she was “whetting [his] appetite for [her]”, (“twirling her hair in a provocative manner) however, she was completely not doing that); *Spoiler, but important triggering note* Mentions of when an adult man tried to force himself on Daphne when she was thirteen (he dragged her to a forest, but she fainted and nothing else happened); He tries again towards the end and gets beaten to a pulp *End of Spoiler*; Mentions of flirtation, flirts, & flirting; Mentions of feminine allure; Mentions of jealousy; Mentions of chaperones & reputations; A few mentions of men trying to attack women; A few mentions of kisses; A few mentions of noticing nearness/touches between couples & blushes; A couple mentions of cheating husbands & a possible affair; A mention of the possibility of men taking unwanted liberties with women; Love, falling in love, & the emotions;

*Note: Mentions of unmentionables & bustles shaping a woman’s backside.

-Daphne Beekman, age 25

-Herman Henderson, age 31

P.O.V. switches between them

Set in 1887

360 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

{Trigger Warning: Attempted Assault (including towards a minor) & Anxiety}

For the beginning and middle, I adored this book tremendously. Daphne was absolutely amazing with her wit and then how well-spoken she was made me want to take notes. Herman was an almost perfect hero, and their conversations about writing and plots were so amusing.

I was planning on giving this book a four star rating throughout the majority of the book because of those things and because of how much I actually laughed out loud. However, there was something revealed towards the end that touched on a dark topic and because of it, I feel more comfortable giving it a three star rating. It’s a sensitive topic and while it wasn’t detailed or even near that, it still turned my stomach at that part. (To note: it’s discussed for about 30 pages.) Personally, the topic of assault is something I’m sensitive towards, so I would have preferred a warning about this being mentioned in the book—perhaps at the beginning of the book because it can be triggering for survivors and those sensitive to it—especially as an attempt is made on a minor and we hear a bit of the man’s twisted thoughts.

So, while it was a mostly light-hearted and humorous read surrounding a mystery of who’s attempting to murder Herman, there were also serious discussions about anxiety and anxiety attacks, men abusing women, men not taking no for an answer, and the need for women to be able to protect themselves. This is why my ratings are lower for younger age groups, even though I really enjoyed the main characters and overall plot.

See y’all on Friday with a new review!