Second book in the Shady Hollow Mysteries. Imagine animal characters like those of The Wind in the Willows in a cozy mystery series. Reporter Vera Vixen is on the case when the rabbits dig up a skeleton along with a dead apple tree. To her skunk of a boss old bones equals old news. Her beau, constable Orville Bruin, orders her off of the investigation. A slinky new mink in town seems to have Orville’s attention while the gossip columnist vents her professional jealousy.

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?

I’m slowly making my way through the series. I loved ACOTAR and thought this series would be right up there with it, but I’ve been let down. There is a lot in the book that’s just page filler that’s unnecessary

Love the book great storyline

This is always an ongoing read for me. I bought the special edition from b&n years ago and read it with my teen and tween

I will for sure read this book again. I received it as a birthday gift because of my love of hockey smut and was completely engulfed while reading. Sleep was lost but pages needed to be read.

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

Very interesting was reading about space since I watched the Apollo movie so I will be reading a lot of books about it this summer

Loved loved loved I read this series already and decided I need to read it all I loved again it’s that’s good

Very good book just like filthy rich fae ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………11111