I had purchased all of the Moonstone Mystery Romance books but couldn't find #4 Fatal Secrets when I decided to read through the set. I knew I had ordered the book, but it was nowhere to be found. I finally figured out where I purchased the book. The seller had marked it as shipped with no tracking number. That always makes me wonder if the book was ever shipped. I realized that I had never received the book and sent a shipping query. The seller responded, saying that the book was mailed right after it was purchased but that it had apparently been lost in the mail. I received a full refund.
I really had to wonder whether the book was ever mailed. The seller still had it up for sale on a different site. Did the seller still have the book, or was the listing a phantom listing?
I found exactly one other book for sale online, from a seller of whom I am wary since this person sent the wrong edition of a book the last time I ordered from her. I decided to give it a try. The seller cancelled the order, saying that she couldn't find the book. How splendid. Also, not helpful.
No copies of Fatal Secrets were available, other than the phantom listing mentioned above. I have this obsession where I must have every book in a set while reading the set. I needed the book immediately. So, I looked into downloads. The book was on some shady sites that required a credit card number. I wasn't about to give away a credit card number.
I then found that the Internet Archive had the book scanned. I love it when the actual book has been scanned and not reformatted. I signed up for a free membership and was able to borrow the book for one hour.
It took me 35 minutes to screen capture all of the scans and save them to the cloud. I was then content, since I had all six books, even if one was digital only.
"Run, Kate!" David yelled. But the powerful older man grabbed David viciously by the front of his shirt and shoved his gun under David's chin. I was unguarded, but afraid to do anything that would cause him to pull the trigger.
He dragged David across the lab. Tying David's wrists to a pole with the wiry twine, he spewed out a horrifying set of orders.
"As soon as I've got him tied, I'll get the girl." Then, he said to his partner, "I want you to turn on every gas jet in this dump. Turn them on high. I see on the shelf they've got kerosene in one of those chemical vats. That'll make a great lighter. We're going to make a little kerosene bomb..."
I believe that "moonstone" in the name of this series is a reference to Nancy Drew, since one book in the Nancy Drew series is titled The Moonstone Castle Mystery. For that reason, I have looked for anything that could refer to Nancy Drew in these books. In this book, a character is named Bess and another one is named Carolyn. A bungalow is mentioned. This could just be coincidence, but Nancy Drew is directly mentioned multiple times in the next book in the series.
On page 71, I was appalled that high school students had open access to a chemical shed with dangerous chemicals including sulfuric acid. Wow.
This is an excellent book. It's too bad that it's impossible to find. Thank goodness a digital copy is available online.
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