Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
“With the bucket comes a sensation of total nothingness, which, in most ways, is more pleasant than the everything-ness.”
“Young humans would fail abysmally in the sea.”
“Hiding spots ought to be sacred.”
“’Conscience does make cowards of us all.’”
Remarkably Bright Creatures is about a woman who cleans an aquarium at night named Tova and a giant Pacific octopus named Marcellus. Marcellus lives in a tank that Tova sees every night. We find out that Tova’s son disappeared years ago and she recently lost her husband. We are also introduced to Cameron who doesn’t seem to have his life together and is struggling. Tova and Marcellus strike up a friendship and from what Marcellus observes, there is something that needs solving. Will the mystery be solved? Will Cameron get his life together? How will Tova get along?
Shelby Van Pelt wrote a very interesting novel and it was different in a way I like. She intersplices chapters from the point of view of Marcellus. It does not come across as outlandish or too far-fetched. His chapters are funny and I could totally picture an octopus saying it. “It leads many humans to assume I am a squid, which is an insult of the worst sort.” His first chapter starts off extremely sad and adds an element of tension to the whole book. Marcellus’ chapters lend a depth and perspective to the story that is unique. I think he was my favorite character in the book. I did like most of the characters but at one point Cameron was not my favorite. He came across as creepy and whiny. He used the victim card one too many times. I love Vegas and whenever a book mentions Vegas I light up. Here the author has a character say “’Who spends a holiday in Las Vegas?” Well, me, I do. I spent my 40th birthday in Las Vegas at Christmas. There are subtle clues sprinkled throughout and whenever I read one, I got a little giddy like I added another piece to the puzzle. It had some good life lessons and the author made you think. “’No, the deal is never anyone’s fault. But you control the way you play.’” Some words/phrases that I pulled out are deadheading and incredulity. I found the ending very heartwarming. Even though I could kind of see what was coming, I think this was a well-crafted book and an enjoyable read. This is exactly the type of book I would recommend to a book club, anyone who loves octopuses, or dealing with grief.
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Tag: mystery
Murder Unreliable And How To Ghost Write
The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
“’Everyone is an unreliable narrator.’”
“Once you lie about your past, you wall yourself off from the present.”
“’You can’t erase the past by not thinking about it’”
The Ghostwriter is about Olivia who is a ghostwriter, and her father who is prolific horror author. Her father, Vincent, has a history and she has been hiding this fact. She has fallen on hard times recently and has just been offered a job. Vincent is the only remaining sibling in a horrific murder that happened in his home. His brother and sister were killed but no one was held responsible. Vincent wants Olivia to ghost write a book for him but can she trust him? The secrets are numerous and are slow to be revealed. Will Olivia be able to uncover the truth about what happened so long ago? Will she be able to forgive her father?
Julie Clark creates a very engaging story and creates tension that lasts. I needed to know what happened. It was slow but painful in a good way. I was yearning for an explanation. I like how she threw in prospectives from other characters occasionally. This is the second or third book I have read recently that has mentioned Topanga, CA which is weird. It was on page 2 too, so right away. The description of Olivia’s house is amazing. I would love to have a very similar house in a very similar location. What she said that got her in hot water was totally the truth. Her rant was awesome and it sucks she was punished because she spoke out. Then she was told to not get too emotional and to calm down. What a load of BS. I could feel the anger physically in my body. There were some moments of levity like with a hamster. I think she is a good writer because some of the phrasing like “I recognize the way he moves, like a memory of a song” and the way she talks about light & dark. It is almost poetic. There is a gay character too which is always welcome. Yay for the best friend. I had such conflicting feelings towards Vincent. He could be a big asshole but then I could almost understand him. I am leaning towards not liking him though. He is extremely unreliable and I don’t love that storytelling technique. When will people learn that lying will only get you in trouble. I do not feel sorry for Olivia and the consequences of her actions. One of the lines struck me. It would have affected me much more in the past but in the present, I don’t necessarily agree with that feeling. “Of being the friend everyone tries to include out of pity.” There is a kind of voiceover at the end. I could picture it as if it was happening in a movie. It was well conceived and written. I didn’t come across any words that jumped out at me. This is exactly the type of book to read if you enjoy books that talk about writing in it and a slow unraveling mystery.
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The Thief Of Focus And How To Decipher A 500 Year Old Manuscript
The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
“There’s no worse thief than a bad book.”
“Strange thing, time. It weighs most on those who have it least.”
“There was an unspoken prejudice among book-learned people, a secret conviction they all seemed to share, that life as we know it is an imperfect vision of reality, and that only art, like a pair of reading glasses, can correct it.”
“The strong take from the weak, but the smart take from the strong.”
“The greatest violence in the world was against art, against knowledge.”
The Rule of Four is about a manuscript that is about 500 years old and the people that are enthralled with it. The main character is Tom. He is the son of someone who was obsessed with this work and ended up dying in a car crash when Tom was younger. We also have Tom’s friends which include Gil, Charlie, and Paul. Paul has become enamored with this text and spends almost all of his time digging into the secrets. He purposefully became friends with Tom. We follow Tom as he navigates school and the quest to discover the secret of the Hypnerotomachia. He must manage his relationships with the book, girlfriend, and his friends, especially Paul. This work has been around hundreds of years, but no one has been able to figure it out. The group must dodge untrustworthy characters and death. Who will survive? Will the secret finally be revealed? Who will remain friends?
This book has two authors. Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason did a great job of coming up with an engaging and engrossing story. This is the type of story I love. I get to learn about history and cultural things as well as be a part of a kind of treasure hunt. The different pieces of information that are provided gives me a jolt of excitement like when belladonna, Procrustes, and the etymology of sarcophagus are described. There were also several platitudes sprinkled throughout that caught my attention. I know I start these posts with quotes but I also like to sprinkle some throughout the text as well like “never invest yourself in anything so deeply that its failure could cost you your happiness” and “a good friend stands in harm’s way for you the second you ask – but a great friend does it without being asked at all.” It is funny the way it appeared in the book. It is the main character relaying things he learned from his parents. One chapter ends with what his father taught him and the next chapter starts with something his mother said. Another is, “The two hardest things to contemplate in life…are failure and age.” There was a section in the book that discusses the concentration of geniuses in Florence, and that really struck me. I am like that seems like a good premise for a book. Some of the words I came across and took note of were Nilotic, crapulent, autodidact, steganography. and ersatz. Something that bothered me though was how the timelines seemed sort of muddled. It was hard to discern if something happened before or after the main storyline. The details and stories involving girlfriends and school seemed unnecessary. They didn’t add to the story, and felt like sections you had to sludge through to reach the exciting puzzle work. Paul was also sort of annoying and selfish. I also found the ending sort of lacking. It was anti-climatic and boring. No resolution. I wanted the treasure hunt to have a finale. I did fly through this book, somewhat thanks to a snowstorm. This is exactly the type of book to read if you like Dan Brown or art history or literature in general.
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How To Steal A Quarter Of A Billion Dollars And Impossibly Intriguing Investigations
The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
“Trouble is much like love: when the time is ready, it will find you.”
“’You choose your family these days.’”
“’Life is sprung on us.’”
The Impossible Fortune is a continuation of The Thursday Murder Club. It is the 5th book in the series written by Richard Osman. This time the gang is just coming off the highs of a wedding and the lows of a death. Joyce’s daughter just got married and the best man at the wedding approaches Elizabeth for help. He subsequently disappears and his business partner could hold some answers. There is something they have that is worth a lot…like a lot a lot but is it worth killing over? The gang rushes to find out the answers before someone else gets hurt. Will they solve it in time? The family of another member is in trouble as well. Will the gang be able to save everyone? Will relationships remain intact?
Richard Osman sure can write an engaging story. Chapter 1 starts with Joanna writing. There is mention of the Backstreet Boys and opinions on Americans right away which made me smile. Maybe I forgot or it was never mentioned but Ron has a daughter? There were so many moments of humor and situations I related to. One is where this young man is listening to something on his phone without a listening device, so it is blaring for everyone to hear. How many times have you encountered this at an airport or just out in public? Does it make you a little ticked off? Wish you could do something about it? Besides this minor, annoying character, another bigger character I didn’t like very much was Joanna. She seemed mean and unnecessarily antagonistic. Some words of wisdom were sprinkled throughout and it was nice to see when reading a captivating novel. “Too many people thinking too much was the key problem with the modern world…think about some things you have some actual power over, but everybody spending all day thinking about things they couldn’t influence, where did that lead?” and “’If you’re scared of something you should find out all about it.’” The word I came across that I hadn’t heard of was a type of fish, turbot. Another was clement. I always heard of inclement weather but didn’t put any thought into the opposite until I saw this word in this book. I was like…interesting…you learn something new every day. I smiled at this. I read this book in less than a day as I didn’t want to put it down. Richard has really fleshed out these characters and they are still going strong through the fifth book. I cannot wait to read more! This is exactly the type of book if you want to continue the series and love a good mystery.
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Creepy Men With Deadly Secrets And Greek Tragedy Rituals
The Maidens by Alex Michaelides
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
“Reading about life was no preparation for living it”
“My argument with so much of psychoanalysis is the preconception that suffering is a mistake, or a sign of weakness, or a sign even of illness. When in fact, possibly the greatest truths we know have come out of people’s suffering.”
“The childhood shows the man, As morning shows the day.”
“What if, like the Lady of Shalott, she stopped looking at life through a mirror – and turned, and stared at it directly?”
The Maidens is about a murder that occurs at Cambridge. A former student, Mariana, has a niece, Zoe, who currently attends the university. One night she receives a phone call from Zoe who seems upset as she thinks her roommate might be the murder victim. Mariana goes to the college for support and ends up being a bigger part of the investigation than she intends. Mariana is a group therapist who looks at things with that lens. She has a patient that causes issues and could be dangerous. There is a professor, Edward Fosca, who seems like a good candidate for the main suspect. There is a group of women called The Maidens that he teaches and the victim was part of that group. Then another victim is found from that same group. What is going on at this university? Who is the murderer? Will Mariana be able to figure it out before she becomes the next victim?
Alex Michaelides creates a mood of suspense while integrating fun connections with ancient culture. I loved the setting of an old university like Cambridge. It creates this sense of history and lore that permeates the novel. I felt transported to a different time even though the story takes place in the modern age. Mariana is a tough character to like. She seems like a pushover and some of her conclusions didn’t really at up like when she associated intelligence with trauma or that police onsite talking to the dean meant the victim could only be this one particular person. Also, why would she choose to run down an alley? I didn’t understand Mariana. Zoe was also unlikeable as she constantly came across as not liking her aunt and treating her badly. Edward is conceited and a little creepy. There are a lot of creepy men in this book…”men are not to be trusted.” The first person to be assumed a suspect (one of the few not creepy men) and the subsequent interview is where the book really grabbed my interest. Up until that point I was coasting along a lazy river but then this point of the book is where the rapids began. I was carried along at a nice clip, interested in finding out how it wrapped up. There was a scene where Gauloises cigarettes were mentioned which evoked a vivid memory of me smoking those in Paris. It brought a smile to my face. On the flip side, there was a description of watching your mother cry and I related fiercely with it. “It’s horrible watching your mother cry. You feel so impotent, so powerless.” I know it is pedantic of me but Alex used the term serial killer when only two murders happened whereas the definition includes 3 or more victims. He also missed an opportunity to really bring in the gay male fans. He described a guy on stage that was shirtless with the torso dripping in sweat but didn’t go any further in descriptive detail. He could have described the abs or muscles or something but nope. I love when I make connections between books. In this one, there was two points I wanted to call out. One is when the Goldberg Variations were brought up and I read The Gold-Bug Variations in college. I listened to Bach as well. The other was by the author himself in a self-referential moment. He brought in a character from another book, a book I actually read as well. It was cool and clever with a little wink implied. Some of the words I ran across that I liked were menis, Byronic, stygian, and anagnorisis. Alex did have me guessing on who the killer could be and I never guessed how it would wrap up. Though I didn’t like how it ended, it was a surprise. It was a little too weird and out there for me. This is exactly the type of book I would pick up because it referenced ancient cultures, murder, rituals, and mythology.
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Historical Horror And A New Imagining Of The Donner Party
The Hunger by Alma Katsu
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
“Snow kept secrets.”
“Hope…could be a very dangerous thing, especially when dealt to desperate hands.”
“Maybe that was the curse of these mountains – they turned you mad, then reflected your own madness back at you, incarnate.”
The Hunger is about the infamous Donner-Reed Party and their ill-fated attempt on the Oregon Trail. It is a well-known story but this take adds a little more supernatural element. The author took some liberties but a lot of the places and people are real. Some of the main characters are Charles Stanton who is single and has a past he berates himself for all the time. He is described as hardy and resourceful but attractive. Tamsen Dooner who is the wife of one of the leaders of the party at certain points. She is very attractive but everyone thinks of her as a type of witch. James Reed who was the leader of the party at one point as well. He was presented as much more urban than country and he had a secret that he would do anything to protect. Edwin Bryant who was on a mission to learn about Indigenous people and had a bit of medical history. This novel takes us on their journey as they try and survive their trek to California. They run into a lot of issues that were all part of the typical expedition but a few more that made this trip scarier. Who will survive and who will succumb to the natural and unnatural alike?
I think that Alma Katsu did a phenomenal job writing this book. Her descriptions are so vivid and real without being too verbose. “Whoever had first thought to call the pioneers’ wagons ‘prairie schooners’ was quite clever; the canopies did look like the sails of ships, blazing white under the brilliant morning sun. And the thick clouds of dust kicked up by wagon wheels could almost be mistaken for the swell of waves carrying their miniature ships across a desert sea.” You can just visualize what this looks like. Some scenes were so pastoral, homey, and calming. “She reached out and let her fingertips dance over the wildflower blossoms. For a moment, she thought of the yellow coneflowers that dotted her brother Jory’s vast wheat fields, untamable and abundant…The blossoms bent and swayed at her touch, so delicate they almost tickled.” The author really knows how to convey apt elucidations that conjure up a very detailed and specific image in my head. “His laugh was like water running over stones in the creek – fast and free and clear” and “thinking of Lydia still brought an ache to his chest, like the first deep breath of cold air.” The way women were depicted seems to align with the time but still can sound familiar in today’s world. It is sad and frustrating in general. “Women were always forced to smile.” I am not sure if this is a positive or negative thought but “So many women seemed to turn their words over in their mouths like sugar cubes, until you could never be sure of the shape of the original thought” was such a good turn of phrase. The horrible attitudes displayed also holds true for how the Indigenous people were treated. It angered me to read about it, especially knowing those attitudes still exist. One scene boiled my blood. One of the themes that I noted took place throughout the book was the idea of truths. What is truth? When should you tell it and when is it good to hold back? “For many people did not like the truth, it seemed – thought it was a dirty and distasteful thing, impolite and complicated…Many simply preferred the sweet, momentary pleasure of hearing whatever they wanted to hear.” There was a scene where the truth was going to come out but didn’t and I gooped out loud. The author was able to write some very tense scenes where it felt like a thriller/horror film was playing out in my head and my body physically reacted by contracting muscles. Granted it wasn’t total world-building but the development of the fictitious elements was incredible. The thoughtfulness and depth behind it shone through. Some of the words I discovered and liked in this novel were sluice, miasma, indefatigable, fetlock, and ravenous. You know how you read some books, and it is just one cliché after another and it seems like they are trying too hard? Well Alma was able to convey a lot of wisdom and thought-provoking phrases without resorting to well-worn and eye-rolling platitudes. One minor thing that did detract from the book was the fact that there were so many characters and it was hard to keep track of the ancillary characters. I did enjoy the ending though. It was angering, surprising, and well done. This is exactly the type of book I would recommend to someone who likes amazing descriptions, getting lost in the scenery, and historical fiction. Well worth it!
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Wood Goddess And End That Let Down
“How quickly, I reflected, peril could be followed by beauty in the wilderness, each forming a part of the other.”
“The idea that one is free to do what one wishes in life, expectations be damned.”
The God of the Woods is about a rich family, a camp, and the ripple effects emanating from them. The story centers around Barbara, a missing girl from this camp that was created by the Van Laar family a few generations ago. The story grows from there, where several characters and timelines get introduced. The author jumps back and forth between present day in the story and things that happened in the past. We get perspectives from counselors, campers, police, friends, and the community of the town nearby. There is an investigation into the missing girl but things are complicated because she is a Van Laar and her brother vanished years ago as well. What happened to the brother and what happened to Barbara?
Liz Moore is the author of this book and this is the first book I have read by her. Overall, I thought it was ok. I found it a little boring and I did not like the resolution. There were only a few likeable characters, so I found myself despising a lot of them. There were plenty of weak women and asshole men in this book. I was very judgmental throughout and kept on thinking how can anyone do that. There were a lot of characters and timelines to keep track in this book. I had to keep pausing and think heavily to remind myself who each character was, how they fit into the overall story, and where we were in the timeline. I couldn’t feel like I could really sink into the story. There were a couple of lines I smirked at including “From her toiletry kit she removed the new glasses…these she placed at the back of the single drawer…it would be better, she thought, not to see anything too clearly this summer.” This was also a long book and I thought it could do with a little more editing. There were multiple times I didn’t think a chapter added any value to or moved the story forward. This was also true of a specific character. I didn’t see the point in them. There were loose ends that were never tied up. However, I did feel compelled to finish the book to find out what happened to the missing kids. As usual, there were a few words that I came across that I enjoyed like indefatigable and abstemiousness. This is exactly the type of book that I would read if I was trapped in a cabin and was bored and wanted to read something. It was enjoyable enough as a distraction but not something that I would highly recommend to people.
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Scottish Matriarchy And The Disappearing Good Writing
*SPOILERS*
“Fear can make something beautiful appear ugly.”
“Sometimes I think we are all the unreliable narrators of our own lives.”
Beautiful Ugly is about a husband, Grady, who is an author, and a wife, Abby, who is a journalist. She disappears on the night of him learning some exciting news then the book jumps to a year later. The story is told mostly from the perspective of Grady. It does have a few chapters from Abby’s perspective though. Grady is having trouble sleeping and is struggling with writing. He moves to a secluded, Scottish island to hopefully get his life together. One day he ends up seeing his wife who disappeared…or does he?
Alice Feeney is the author of this book and this is only the second book I have read by her. So far, not a good track record. I gave the first book I read by her a 2 and this one is right in that ballpark as well. First off, I am not a fan of unreliable narrators so when it was revealed that Grady hasn’t slept well and tends to default to drinking (is he an alcoholic?) when the slightest thing goes wrong plus at one point is introduced to tea that might be more than he bargained for, I sort of rolled my eyes. I tend not to like it when authors resort to using alcohol as a crutch for a character’s faults and their problems. I find it mostly cliché and unimaginative. I wish someone would do something unique with it. I wonder if this is something that Alice defaults to because there is a sentence that appears in both the books I have read by her. It is not exactly word for word but close enough and in this one it goes like this, “Not everyone likes to drown in their sorrows, some people like to swim in them.” Look at my review for Daisy Darker to see that quote from that book. Secondly, none of the characters stood out to me as memorable or particularly likeable. They were just blah. Thirdly, the scenery could have had such an impression. It had such potential but I don’t think it was used to its fullest. There were these redwoods which was the raison d’etre of the islanders. The sea and landscape could have been characters. As readers, we were told how beautiful it was but we weren’t shown it and I didn’t feel it. It wasn’t vivid enough. Fourthly, throughout the book there were a lot of cliché sounding phrases that just didn’t land with me. It felt forced a bit like “He’s chasing something he’ll never find, but we’re all guilty of that.” There was a chapter that contained a preachy monologue by Abby that had me rolling my eyes too. There were some good phrases though that were funny and that I liked such as “I’m not insulting you; I’m describing you” or “The only thing I don’t like about being alone is the amount of time it forces me to spend with myself.” Fifthly, the writing didn’t make sense at points. The plane meeting…he asked someone to move but then only two in the aisle? Grady says his nan was the only person he considered family but he loved Abby and she was not considered family? Finally, the “twist” and general plot didn’t fully line up or make sense to me. Different people with the same name? Come on. I will stop railing on this book because you get the drift. Read at your own peril. I did kind of like the chapter titles and the “Buried Lovers” story though. This is exactly the type of book you could tell was phoned in and used cheap tactics.
Locked Room Murder And Past Crimes That Haunt You
Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
“We spend our youth building sandcastles of ambition, then watch as life blows sands of doubt over our carefully crafted turrets of wishes and dreams.”
Daisy Darker is about a very dysfunctional family and the secrets they have kept hidden. It takes place in a seaside house that becomes an island at high tide. This is a locked room mystery in the vein of And Then There Were None. It is told from the point of view of Daisy who is the youngest child of the main family. The story has flashbacks to when the girls were young. There is a storm outside with rain and wind lashing at the house which helps create an atmosphere. It follows the night of the matriarchs 80th birthday where she is found dead then one by one things devolve. Who is a suspect and will it be solved before the tide goes out?
This was the first novel I have read by Alice Feeney and I started out liking how each character was introduced. It seemed like they were walking onto a stage as they were brought in one by one. I did like when the author talked about books and how important they were to several characters. I do love books and reading. Writing was also a key component and I liked how it was interwoven through the family and plot. I had high hopes as I love locked-room mysteries and stories that take place in one location like Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and several books by Agatha Christie. This particular story was fine albeit a little contrived. Alice Feeney had some home runs with the writing but then also some strikeouts. Not sure why I resorted to baseball metaphors just now but there were several quotes and ways that Alice phrased things that I did truly love like “Some people drink to drown their sorrows; others drink so they can swim in them.” There were some great life lessons and ways of thinking of things. However, there were times where I think the author went overboard. There were too many platitudes and cliches though and some were forced in which made it sound pretentious for its own sake. I also found only 1 semi-likeable character in the entire book. The family was despicable and had very few redeeming qualities. For most of the book, I was wanting to find out what happened but when I did, I was fully disappointed. There is a twist but it does not pay out. It left a bad taste in my mouth. I had to reflect on the whole story to think about what I missed and things just didn’t add up. I know that it is fiction but this to was just too out there. I felt blindsided and not in a good way. I don’t want to ruin anything but I will say that I don’t like the type of story that it turned out to be. “Doesn’t everyone wonder who they might have been if they weren’t who they were?”
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Extinguishing Fires And Finding Buried Treasure With Friends
The Unbreakable Code by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Unbreakable Code is the second in the Book Scavenger series. The first one was great and this one was just as good. It continues the story of Emily and her best friend James. This time they are tracking down The Unbreakable Code which has existed for over a century. No one has been able to solve it thus far. It brings together gold rush, the origins of San Francisco, and obviously solving puzzles. With a narrow escape with a fire, or two, the two code-breakers must deduce who is setting these fires, how a teacher’s past comes into play, and where the buried treasure is. Will they be able to figure it all out before it all burns to the ground? I think you should find out!
I didn’t take a lot of notes with this one as I was just wanting to find out what happened. It was a quick, easy, engaging, and fun read! Jennifer Chambliss Bertman continued her formula without it appearing too redundant or like she was phoning it in. The writing was relatable and easy to understand as obviously this book was not written for my age range. The kids were juveniles and at times acted that way. It was kind of annoying but I get it. It didn’t ruin the book but at moments I was frustrated that they just didn’t get it or that they thought/said this thing. Nevertheless, I loved it. One thing that really got me excited was the historical aspect. Jennifer did this in the previous novel but after the novel concludes, she adds what was historically accurate and what she made up. It does touch on some despicable parts of the past of the United States but for the most part it is light-hearted. I love learning about new things, so I found this fascinating. I didn’t know very much about San Francisco, but I was surprised to find some information out. I will leave the reader to discover these things on their own so they can be as pleasantly entertained as I was. The author introduces some fun new ciphers, codes, and cryptograms, which is always fun to try and figure out for yourself. If you read the first one, I don’t need to tell you that you should read the second book in the series but you should, and I am just as excited to read the third!
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