{"id":24343,"date":"2025-03-29T08:37:41","date_gmt":"2025-03-29T12:37:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=24343"},"modified":"2025-10-01T17:38:41","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T21:38:41","slug":"its-elementary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/24343","title":{"rendered":"It’s Elementary"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s Elementary<\/em><\/a> (2024) Elise Bryant (Mavis Miller #1)<\/p>\n

\"It's<\/a>The principal has disappeared and the head of the PTA was seen wearing latex gloves, paper booties, and lugging black trash bags into her mini-van in the middle of the night. <\/p>\n

Are these things related? Mavis Miller, the newly volun-told head of the PTA DEI committee thinks so.<\/p>\n

Mavis is a single mom who lives with her dad, and works at a non-profit where she is underpaid and overworked. But Pearl’s dad isn’t out of the picture–just constantly out of town.<\/p>\n

The \u201cDaddy Tracker\u201d is what Pearl calls Find My Phone, the app and website that we use to track where Corey is every night. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

One of the things I particularly liked about this story is that Pearl and the other kids are real kids.<\/p>\n

(A)ll the time we\u2019ve gained is lost when I can\u2019t find Pearl\u2019s favorite silver-and-black-striped knee socks, just her other silver-and-black-striped knee socks. So I have no choice but to break several traffic laws on the drive to the school, basically drifting in on two wheels, while Pearl stares resentfully at the impostor socks in the back seat.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Yes!\u201d Pearl squeals, her eyes lighting up. \u201cI only did that once before, but then Mommy told me I couldn\u2019t do it again.\u201d She gives me the side-eye, leaning into Jasmine.<\/p>\n

I sigh. \u201cThat\u2019s because you did it with permanent marker.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCan I have some, too?\u201d Langston asks, pulling up his mask.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, sir,\u201d Jasmine says, twirling her finger at him. \u201cThat\u2019s about to bring this whole look together, little man.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Despite being a cozy mystery, it’s blunt about much of the bullshit that goes on in society.<\/p>\n

I open up Outlook, and there\u2019s an email from Rose sitting at the top of my inbox: Can you convert this Word doc into a PDF? I still can\u2019t figure it out, ha ha!<\/em><\/p>\n

See? Crucial.<\/p>\n

I convert the file for her, a thirty-second task that Rose could easily learn herself if she just tried to be a little less helpless…and I stopped indulging her learned helplessness.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

DEI means diversity, equity, and inclusion, sure.<\/p>\n

But it also means free labor to be given willingly to fix problems that we didn\u2019t create. It means a box checked with no real change made.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Which I appreciated, since as a middle-aged white lady, I can guess at things, but don’t know<\/em> them.<\/p>\n

But you should read this book because it’s a good mystery, and it’s a lot of fun.<\/p>\n

I can think of a lot more things I\u2019d rather do in this moment. Get my annual Pap smear. Do my taxes. Clean slime out of a rug. Listen to that song about sharks on repeat for the rest of my life\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Characters<\/strong>: Mavis Miller, Pearl, Mr. Miller, Corey, Polly, Langston Hammonds, Anabella Holbrook, River Ackerman, Mason Ackerman, Brody, Sojourner Soso Hart, Trisha Holbrook, Jasmine Hammonds, Leon Hammonds, Corinne Ackerman, Dyvia Mehta, Ruth Gentry, Felicia Barlow, Florence Michaelson, Angela Hart, Charlie Lee, Paul McGee, Jack Cohen, Principal Thomas Smith, Mrs. Smith , Mrs. Nelson, Ms. Castillo, Mrs. Tennison, Mrs. Lilliam, Rose, Nelson<\/p>\n

Cover illustration by Camila Pinheiro<\/p>\n

Publisher: Berkley<\/p>\n

Rating: 9\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s Elementary (2024) Elise Bryant (Mavis Miller #1) The principal has disappeared and the head of the PTA was seen wearing latex gloves, paper booties, and lugging black trash bags into her mini-van in the middle of the night. Are these things related? Mavis Miller, the newly volun-told head of the PTA DEI committee thinks […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[13,897,190,292,204,8],"tags":[820,821],"class_list":["post-24343","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-10","category-contemporary","category-cozy","category-ebook","category-good","category-mystery","tag-elise-bryant","tag-mavis-miller"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-6kD","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":25510,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/25510","url_meta":{"origin":24343,"position":0},"title":"The Game Is Afoot","author":"Michelle","date":"November 5, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The Game Is Afoot (2025) Elise Bryant (Mavis Miller #2) I'm not rating this book. I had a very difficult time reading and finishing it (it took me more than a month) so I don't think I can clearly judge it. Why? Because for most of the book Mavis is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Contemporary"","block_context":{"text":"Contemporary","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/contemporary"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Game Is Afoot","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/The-Game-Is-Afoot.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/The-Game-Is-Afoot.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/The-Game-Is-Afoot.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":23609,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/23609","url_meta":{"origin":24343,"position":1},"title":"Banquet of Lies","author":"Michelle","date":"May 25, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Banquet of Lies (2013) Michelle Diener (Regency London) Set in London in 1812. Another favorite. \u201cWe\u2019ve been fattening Mavis up,\u201d Iris said, and something in the way she said it made Gigi go very still. If this was evidence of Mavis with more meat on her bones, she must have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Banquet of Lies","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Banquet-of-Lies-e1511038599836.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":14159,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/14159","url_meta":{"origin":24343,"position":2},"title":"Banquet of Lies","author":"Michelle","date":"March 30, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Banquet of Lies (2013) Michelle Diener (Regency London) Set in London in 1812. Giselle Barrington fled Stockholm after witnessing the murder of her father. Now she has to find not only the killer, but also someone she can trust with the papers they were supposed to bring back to England.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Banquet of Lies","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Banquet-of-Lies-e1511038599836.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":24417,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/24417","url_meta":{"origin":24343,"position":3},"title":"Banquet of Lies","author":"Michelle","date":"April 12, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Banquet of Lies (2013) Michelle Diener (Regency London #2) Set in London in 1812 \u201cHe reacted without thinking.\u201d \u201cHow can you send someone out to starve without thinking?\u201d Iris asked, her voice soft.\u201cWe\u2019ve been fattening Mavis up,\u201d Iris said, and something in the way she said it made Gigi go\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "10\/10"","block_context":{"text":"10\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/10-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Banquet of Lies","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Banquet-of-Lies.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12639,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/12639","url_meta":{"origin":24343,"position":4},"title":"Banquet of Lies","author":"Michelle","date":"March 17, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Banquet of Lies (2013) Michelle Diener (Regency London) Set in England in 1812. After reading Death Below Stairs I wanted to re-read a favorite of mine that also features a woman working as a cook in historical Britain. Every time I read this I love it a little bit more--there\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Banquet of Lies","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Banquet-of-Lies-659x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9205,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/9205","url_meta":{"origin":24343,"position":5},"title":"Banquet of Lies","author":"Michelle","date":"August 18, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Banquet of Lies (2013) Michelle Diener Set in England in 1812. Giselle Barrington has spent her life following her father around Europe, collecting folklore and working secretly for the Crown. She's developed her own strange passion: food, recipes, and cooking. \u201cWhat do you do with the recipes?\u201d The woman looked\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Banquet-of-Lies.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24343","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24343"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24343\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24343"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}