This book had my sons begging for the next volume! Shipping took forever, but was definitely worth the wait. Both of my sons enjoyed this volume and look forward to the next.

Absolutely devoured this read. Made driving to the grocery store so much easier! Definitely will recommend this listen to a fellow book nerd

Steve Smith is recently out of prison. He’s sworn he’s not going back to his old life, not going back to prison again. He has an adult son he’s never met. And Steve has memories of the book he found on a bus that led to a favorite teacher disappearing when he was 14. We follow Steve through transcripts of recorded notes he left on his phone. Because in trying to find out what happened to Miss Iles (or “missiles” per the transcription software) Steve falls down the vast Twyford Code conspiracy rabbit hole. Was Twyford just a children’s author? Or a spy who hid messages to other WWII spies in her books? Maybe she was a double agent? Did she help the Nazis steal Britain’s gold reserves? Or did she save the gold via bluffs and double bluffs? Her code (does it even exist?) leads to the stolen (or possibly saved) gold. Or to a supervirus and it’s vaccine. Or aliens. Or it’s the biggest internet conspiracy hoax ever. Who knows what? Who’s lying about what they know? And what did happen to Miss Iles in 1983?

Dorian's mother died in torment in a 19th century asylum -- per his grandfather's orders. Okay, maybe the old earl didn't actual order the torment, but he probably approved of it. Because he did not approve of Dorian's mother. Or of Dorian, for that matter. Dorian seems afflicted with the same wasting brain disease that lead to said torment and death. And with the old earl and most of the rest of the family now dead, it's up to Dorian to marry and ensure an heir. Fortunately Gwen is interested in medicine even she can't be a doctor. If she marries Dorian she'll have access to his wealth to build her own hospital and her very own dying madman patient to study. The Mad Earl's Bride is fun, fast-paced, and silly.

People traveled in the 12th-15t centuries. Merchants sought new markets, diplomats finagled treaties, and anyone who could get the necessary funding and permissions took religious pilgrimages. Bale explores the most common holy and trade routes based on what the travelers wrote in journals and guidebooks. It is very interesting, but too limited. Bale points out several times that Christians (Roman and Eastern/Greek), Muslims, and Jewish pilgrims visited many of the same places in Constantinople and Jerusalem. We only have the Christian, and almost exclusively Western European Christian, stories. One small chapter near the end follows Asian travelers’ adventures in the west. Ma Huan (Chinese Muslim), Het’um (Armenian Christian), and Rabban Bar Sauma (Christian Mongol) don’t represent the majority of nonEuropeans. A broader range of viewpoints and less personal commentary from the author would improve the book.

I loved the movie and didn’t realize there was a book. I loved all the added detail in the book!!!!!

An intimate charity auction on a secluded estate. A storm. A murder. It’s straight out of a Christie novel — or the multiplayer game, Murderscape, designed by Addie. Addie is her grandmother’s plus one to the party. There’s something odd with her grandmother, beyond the murder, but Addie is living her Nancy Drew dream chasing clues and interviewing suspects. This Is Not a Game is fun fluff at times, annoying fluff at others. I’m pretty sure the author has never lost electricity due to a storm. She definitely overestimates how much one candle can light up a large room in a blackout.

I’m a big fan of the Meg Langslow Mysteries. The series has gotten maybe a little too cozy with too many delightful side characters who have to make an appearance in every book. I like to go back and re-read the really good earlier books in the series, like No Nest. Meg and fiance Michael host an eXtreme croquet tournament on their new sprawling property. Members of the local historical society make up a team as do their arch-enemies the real estate developers. A disgraced former professor had history with both teams (and Michael). And now she’s dead.

BBC radio asked C. S. Lewis to talk about Christianity and morality for the everyman after the worldwide destruction of WWII. Lewis describes himself as an amateur Christian unable to debate the finer points of higher theology. His focus is more being a good person and living an ethical, and what that means for Christians and non-Christians. Mere Christianity is the printed version of those radio chats.

Bought for me as a birthday gift and I couldn’t be happier either it! Tina Kent is all about the spice!!