One of the main story lines involves the more-than-slightly-nutty Oklahoma governor “Buffalo Joe” Hayman. Hayman goes on a talk radio show program and announces that he is going to privatize state government — completely — from road building to the Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation. With the major Oklahoma newspaper backing the idea (this probably isn’t fiction!), masses of Okies agree that this is a great idea. The governor’s nickname comes from his hometown, Buffalo, Oklahoma, but Mack suspects it’s also because he is stubborn. The head of the OBI refers to him as “Chip” — as in “buffalo chip” (for those of you not versed in prairie lore, that’s dried buffalo poo).

In the midst of trying to change the governor’s mind, Mack walks into a medical nightmare. Meanwhile, his son is considering a hostile takeover of his mother’s grocery chain. Good story, fast read and lots of funny lines. And a hero who is the kind of politician we wish were real!

In fact, the old (by which I mean, before the new, splashy TV series) Doctor Who novels had an undeserved reputation of fluffiness. Although there certainly were novels which would have been more appropriate posted on a fan-fiction website, most that I read (and I read a LOT of them) were enjoyable and thought-provoking. The old novels were not aimed at kids - the readers may have been kids when the classic series was on, but this target market was grown up. The current series of books is for children, with shorter stories and a faster pace. But I am glad to see that the best traditions of Doctor Who fiction survives in these pretty packages.

I’m no stranger to children’s fiction, and I’m not talking about my formative years. Yes, I read several Madeline L’Engle books when I was 9, and two Narnia books at about the same time, but I quickly graduated to the works of James Herriott, Evelyn Waugh, AJ Cronin.

I’ve probably read more children’s books after 30 than before. I’ve read the Artemis Fowl series, The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, the first several Harry Potter books (until they got too big to carry with me on trips, plus frankly the movies are just as good), and even one Lemony Snicket. Okay, now that I think about it, I did read more books as a kid, because I read every Nancy Drew I could lay my hands on! But this post isn’t meant as a list of favorites. My point is, or may be, get to know any adult, and you will find either a book they read to their kids that they enjoy at least as much as their children do, or, for those who haven’t got kids, children’s books which allow them to secretly recapture their youth. It’s like going to see the newest Disney movie, and nowadays, there’s no shame in it. You don’t have to borrow a neighbor child to go.

Why the fascination with children’s fiction? It isn’t just the fountain of youth, at least not in the traditional sense, that warding off of maturity, old age, and eventually death. It’s recapturing the innocence of youth, and the fascination of a world which still offers more possibilities than disenchantment. It’s an opportunity to throw of the shackles off our jaded adulthood and dance in a world of magic and imagination, a world which, however scary it might be at times, is always ultimately safe, and good will always win.

You can get that in small amounts in adult fiction, so that is not the only appeal. One thing I noticed with these last books I read, once I started I simply could not stop. I read each of the books whose reviews follow in two sittings. It seems that children’s fiction is faster-paced than its adult contemporaries, with more suspense. As at least one book proved, this can be accomplished side-by-side with thought-provoking issues. None of the books paled in comparison with more mature offerings, with the grittiness, violence, foul language, and awkward sex scenes (does anyone else wish Dan Brown would end his books earlier?) which seem required of adult fiction. They do tend to be shorter works, so the plots may be less intricate, but I’ve read less substantial bestsellers.

At the same time I’m creating a fantasy childhood with these books, I’m trying to find the best of adult fiction, so if you find reading a kid’s book just too embarrassing, stick around, because I’ll have some other reviews up soon.

Break No Bones isn’t the first Tempe Brennan book, but it happens to be the first I’ve gotten my hands on. Although not a good choice for bedtime reading (thus my contemporaneous reading of Soul Music), the story is engaging and suitably twisty, the character development is involving, and the forensics educational and just the other side of TMI. This is a great read for those Queens (and others) who enjoy a good murder mystery and like to see the Bad Guy Get What’s Coming To Him.

For a Discworld novel, this one is mediocre. Which puts it in the 90th percentile of stuff that gets published, in my book. If you’re reading the series, don’t skip it, but don’t expect it to blow your mind like the Alchemists’ Guild, either. The three stars are based on the Discworld curve.