Love this book. Amazing story a must read

What’s true? Dorothy Sayers founded the Detection Club for the best of the best mystery fiction writers of the time. May Daniels, a young English nurse, disappeared while on a day trip to France. Sayers and her reporter husband, Mac, investigated May’s disappearance and probable murder. Marie Benedict takes these facts and creates a locked room mystery solved by the all-star Queens of Crime: Sayers, Agatha Christie, Emma Orczy, Ngaio Marsh, and Margery Allingham. At first the investigation is a bit of a lark, a way to prove their worth by solving a mystery the police and their fellow (male) mystery writers can’t. But the queens bond as they learn about the sweet, naive person May was. The press describe a very different woman, turning public opinion against the victim. She had it coming. The police jump at any excuse to unofficially stop investigating (since they aren’t getting anywhere). Only the Queens care about justice for May, and all of the expendable young women like her.

Romeo and Juliet (one of my least favorite plays) set in the forest community of Shady Hollow. He’s a hardworking otter, she’s a (former) beaver heiress. Their parents can’t agree on much, but do believe the couple need to split up. The otter patriarch dies during a very dramatic, very public fight at the top of Twilight Falls. Vera Vixen, reporter, is as horrified as everyone else, but she’s the only one who feels the whole scene was . . . wrong. All clues and an anonymous note point to the young beaver lass. But her beau insists they were together in the woods and surely he wouldn’t lie to protect his father’s killer.

Herbert Lee Clark mixed folk wisdom with his own observations to write practical notes on all aspects of rural/farm life. Unfortunately good advice is mixed with very questionable or flat out bad ideas. Do not read the section on training pups to hunt coons or the having a stranger (to the dog) whip your dog as part of guard dog training. Do not inject Lysol into any animal for any reason. I discussed that tip with a vet; it’s too bad Clark didn’t before adding it to his journals.

Dowager Queen Ravenna has ruled through subtle and not-so-subtle manipulation of her late husband and now her son. King Roland hated his father and fears his mother. Queen Falaise, alternately bullied and ignored by men, might be a lot than more than anyone realizes. Denzel is Roland’s cousin and closest friend, but where do his loyalties really lie? Kade Carrion, Queen of Air and Darkness and Roland’s illegitimate older sister, returns to court. Is she part of the plot to kill the royals and use the fae to start a war with the neighboring kingdom? Years of distrust separates the family. They might survive if they work together.

Yoshitaka Amano illustrates passages from The Tale of Genji (11th century Japanese novel of court life and possibly the first novel), A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and catalogues of fairies. A short section at the end discusses fairies of the British Isles versus Japanese spirits. You won’t get much of a sense of Genji or Midsummer Night’s if you’re not already familiar with them. Really this book is just a showcase for Amano’s gorgeous art.

Donovan explores board games from ancient Egypt (senet) and Ur (the royal game of Ur) up to the biggies of the 21st century (Pandemic, Catan, and Ticket to Ride). He describes some less than ethical dealings by the big US game companies, but seems to downplay them. Trying to play nice, maybe? His chapter on Monopoly portrays the execs of Parker Brothers as being unfortunately duped instead of deliberately squashing The Landlord Game and its creator, Elizabeth Magie. It’s All a Game even touches on Google’s AlphaGo defeat of a (human) grand master go player, one of the big steps in AI development.

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.

Great book kept me wanting to listen to it I love how the author described Evwrything ……………………………..

Absolutely chilling read. I didn’t realize it was a true story until I was halfway through. Made it even more intriguing and disturbing. The authors capabilities on portraying events leaves little to the imagination.