Identifying Whether a Dust Jacket Is a Reproduction

Many reproduction dust jackets were created by series book collectors 20 to 30 years ago and placed on bare series books.  Some reproductions were marked as such, but others weren't.  The people who owned the books with reproduction dust jackets are now beginning to pass on, and their books are getting dispersed back into the marketplace.  The sellers don't know that the dust jackets are reproductions.  This is a big problem if you don't know what the warning signs are.  Even if you do know the warning signs, you can still be deceived quite easily.

I will start with a recent example to show my thought process as I view a jacket that is of concern.  This will give you an idea of what the clues are, and I will then explain in greater detail.

A 1930A-1 Nancy Drew Old Clock which appeared at first glance to have a dust jacket came up for sale on eBay.  (Click on each image in order to see a better version.)

Except... there was a problem.  When I first viewed the listing, I felt that something wasn't right about it.  If another Old Clock book with dust jacket had been in the same photo, it would have been obvious.  By itself, I couldn't tell whether I was right about something being off about the jacket.  

It's often hard to tell from online photos.  Sellers use varying equipment and lighting, and items often don't appear exactly as they truly are.

I looked at the back panel.

Once again, something seemed off to me, especially along the right edge of the back panel and most particularly at the top near the spine.  It looked like it might be a copy.  I still wasn't sure.

The front flap bothered me because of the shadow along the left side.  But then, that didn't necessarily mean anything.  I then looked at the right edge of the front flap.  I could see a telltale sign that did mean something.

Compare the jacket from the auction to the first printing dust jacket that I own.

Look at how far the red print is from the right edge of each jacket.  Notice that the red print on the auction DJ is closer to the right edge than on my real DJ.

I looked at the back flap of the auction DJ.

I compared it to my dust jacket.

It was obvious.  The back flap of the auction DJ is cut off along the left edge rather noticeably.  I knew then that the auction DJ must be a copy dust jacket.

I communicated with Jennifer Fisher, who checked her photo of a copy dust jacket that was made for her by another collector using their 1930A-1 jacket as the source DJ.  Bingo.

Image courtesy of Jennifer Fisher, www.nancydrewsleuth.com

Now, look at the spine of the auction DJ.

The auction jacket and Jennifer Fisher's copy jacket have the same swirly pattern in the center left spine.  They are from the same source.  Jenn verified that the collector who copied the jacket also provided a copy to the person who owned the book in the auction.  So, we knew that the auction DJ was indeed a copy.

I was suspicious from the beginning since I've seen many copy jackets and printed them myself many years ago.  I've seen how they appear in listings, and they can be difficult to spot.  But there are always signs.

A couple days later, the seller listed another 1930A-1 Nancy Drew Old Clock book but with an authentic 1930A-1 dust jacket.  The seller's copy dust jacket is shown at the left, and the seller's original jacket is shown on the right.  Comparing the images reveals how washed-out the copy dust jacket is.  They often don't look as good as originals.

Another listing by the same seller also didn't look right.

The promotional wrapper is so scarce that only a handful exist.  We only know of a few, maybe three or four of them.  The wrapper is so scarce that I featured it in my post, Ten Rarest Nancy Drew Items and Collectibles.  That post, by the way, is by an unbelievably huge amount the most popular post in this blog's history, and it's always floating in the right sidebar as a popular post.

The wrapper looks okay in the above photo except that it is sized too small.  The original wrapper should extend all the way across the front panel.

Nancy Drew collector Meredith Jaffe provided this image of the book she owns, which has the authentic wrapper.

Image courtesy Meredith Jaffe

Meredith's wrapper establishes that the wrapper from the auction cannot be real.  

Before I continue with how to determine whether a jacket is real, keep in mind that nearly all jackets that appear for sale online are real, at least 99% of them.  While copies do show up often enough, they are uncommon and dispersed throughout the online supply in low quantities.  Mainly, buyers should be aware of the warning signs just in case a jacket looks off in some fashion.

Let's go through what you should know and how you can determine whether a jacket might be of concern.

How to tell from online listings

Reproduction dust jackets are almost always in mylar covers.

Don't misunderstand my meaning.  Most jackets with or without mylar covers are real.  However, reproduction dust jackets are almost always enclosed in mylar, because they look much more real if in mylar.  This means that a jacket that is not in mylar is almost certainly fine.  I don't worry about dust jackets that are not in mylar.  While within the realm of possibility, the chance of acquiring a copy dust jacket that is not in mylar is extremely low.

Again, most jackets in mylar are fine.  But the copy dust jacket will be in mylar rather than not.  You have far less reason to be concerned about a jacket that is not in mylar.

The jacket is in extremely nice shape to where it looks new and has paper that is bright white.

Jackets that are in too nice of shape and are in mylar should be checked more carefully.  Old jackets can surface with no wear after having been stored in perfect conditions, so jackets that are high-grade aren't necessarily copies.  However, especially perfect jackets should be examined well just in case.

The colors are off or seem washed-out.  

This is a strong indicator that the jacket is a copy, since printer ink on plain paper just isn't going to look the same.  In some cases, certain dust jackets never reproduce with the same colors as the original dust jacket.

Beverly Gray at the World's Fair is a prime example.  The original dust jackets are decidedly green in tint, but printed copies almost always end up with a bit of a purple tint.  I have made printed copies myself, and I could never get the color to reproduce right.  The professionally printed American Web Books reprints of World's Fair also have a purple tint.

The above photo shows the original World's Fair from my collection on the left alongside the American Web Books reprint on the right.

The cover art and print on the jacket seem to be of lower resolution.

If the dust jacket image looks off like it might be a copy, then it probably is.

The front and back flaps are cut off at the outer edges, most often on the back flap.

Dust jackets are longer than legal-sized paper, so the entire dust jacket image does fit on the paper.  Some people print the jacket centered so that both flaps are cut off slightly.  Other people reproduce the entire front flap with the back flap noticeably cut off.

The book is in much worse condition than the dust jacket.

Sometimes real jackets are placed on poor condition books, so this situation doesn't guarantee that a jacket is a copy.  It does indicate that the jacket is not original to the book. 

Sometimes libraries stored jackets apart from the books, and sometimes stacks of nice dust jackets come up for sale.  People buy them and place them on their own books.  This is why a nice jacket on a poor condition book does not mean that the jacket is a copy.  However, if the jacket has other red flags and is on a book that is in rather poor condition, then it is likely a copy jacket.

How to tell in person

In most cases, when you hold a book with a reproduction dust jacket in person, you will know immediately that the jacket is a copy.  The paper used is often just regular paper that is not glossy.  The jacket usually will be in a mylar cover, so if you have any concern, remove the jacket from the mylar cover.  Doing that will usually allow you to tell.

You can also use a black light.  Copy jackets printed on modern paper glow under black light, and vintage jackets do not.

Sometimes, I have questioned vintage jackets when the jackets are in especially nice shape and the paper is thin.  Some Grosset & Dunlap jackets from the late 1950s were printed on very thin paper, and those are the ones I more carefully examine when they seem especially nice and bright.  What I look for is what appears to be varnish that extends off of the front cover illustration onto the front flap.  If that is present the same as always and nothing looks strange about the jacket, then I assume that the jacket is real.  I could also use a black light, but I've never felt the need.

Caveat

We are fortunate in that series book jacket reproductions are typically not printed commercially.  Most reproduction dust jackets created for series books were done by individuals on home equipment, and those are easy to spot.  If a jacket was printed commercially, then it will be much harder to tell.

For more information about identifying dust jacket reproductions including ones made commercially, read these articles.

How Do I Identify a Facsimile Dust Jacket?

The Finer Print - Growing Concern Over Facsimile Dust Jackets

Current Nancy Drew Auction Warning, Store Hiatus, and Other Updates

I abruptly deactivated all of my eBay and Etsy listings last Tuesday afternoon.  Work-related stress has been extreme for around two weeks. 

I haven't felt much stress from online selling.  However, selling books is the one thing I can control.  By not selling right now, I avoid having to pack books in the evenings, which at least reduces my overall stress slightly.

The stress is being caused by me having to miss school several times recently and in the near future for appointments.  When I'm not at school, I get nothing done.  I also must go over two lessons the day before I'm gone, even though I have instructional videos uploaded to our course management system.  This is because students learn much better in person, and most of them aren't motivated enough to watch videos at home.  The explanations need to occur when students are present.

I will get into the specifics in a future post, but I had a bad reaction to two medications a few weeks ago, resulting in some pretty bad rashes.  I'm getting better, but it's been quite unpleasant.

I have no idea what the time frame will be for when I reopen my stores.  I think for my own well-being, I need to keep my listings deactivated until spring break, which begins the afternoon of March 14.

I delayed my upcoming blog posts so that I can insert at least two posts sometime in the next two weeks.  My posts won't be published on the schedule shown in my recent post, but they are still coming soon.

Finally, you might have noticed some rather scarce Nancy Drew items are currently up for auction on eBay.  Be careful, since some of the listings feature reproductions.  I am working on a blog post with information on how to spot reproductions, but I'm not sure how quickly I can finish it.  

The seller has been advised by collectors about the authenticity concerns, and two auctions now have a message after the description mentioning those concerns.  

One listing offers a Nancy Drew Larkspur Lane book with a reproduction Bonita Granville wrapper.  The wrapper is smaller than it should be, so it can't be authentic.

Another listing has a 1930A-1 Nancy Drew Old Clock book that has a reproduction 1930A-1 dust jacket.  The jacket is off in appearance in several ways.  We have determined who made the copy jacket for the collector whose book is for sale.  There is no doubt that the jacket is a reproduction.

And yes, the same seller has a 1930A-1 Nancy Drew Old Clock book with an authentic 1930A-1 dust jacket up for auction.  I have moved back my upcoming posts, since all of this is going on right now.  

The End of Everything Series by Nate Johnson

The End of Everything series by Nate Johnson was published in 2022 and 2023.

1.  The End of Everything, 2022
2.  The End of the Beginning, 2022
3.  The End of an Era, 2023
4.  The End of Hope, 2023
5.  The End of the Road, 2023
6.  The End of the Line, 2023
7.  The End of the Chaos, 2023

Book 1 summary:

At the end of the world, Nick Peterson never expected to be stuck with a bunch of kids.  A seventeen-year-old boy shouldn't be responsible for keeping other people alive.  But he didn't have much choice in the matter.  That's what happens when everyone else dies.

A CIT (counselor in training) at a summer camp high in the Poconos, Nick is left in charge of nine kids and fellow CIT Jenny O'Brien.  No big deal.  But when the people in charge don't return, Nick and the others slowly learn the truth.  No one will ever be returning.

A deadly virus has broken out across the world at the same time.  A virus with a 100% fatality rate.  Only those who are lucky enough to be on their own will survive.  In fact, the last thing you want to come across is someone you don't know.

Blessed with enough food to last them months, Nick and the others hunker down and try to figure out how to survive in this strange new world.  Devising solutions and new ways of doing things to stay alive.  But after a winter of starvation, Nick has no choice but to brave former civilization and pray the virus has died away.  It is either risk death to get food or die of starvation.

The discovery of a sanctuary on the other side of the country becomes their goal.  Loading everyone into a bus, they start their way there.  Fighting both the few remaining people and the elements to reach safety, only to discover it isn't as safe as they hoped.

Each book in this series features different characters caught in the aftermath of the virus.  Through happenstance, they end up in the Pacific Northwest in the same vicinity as the characters from Book 1.  Plot summaries of subsequent books do not spoil the rest of the series.

Book 2 summary:

Luke Sinclair is left alone in an empty world where almost everyone has died.  After spending two years searching out the few remaining people, he discovers Brie Osborn and her fellow survivors.  But at eighteen, he isn't ready to settle down no matter how pretty the girl is.  However, after discovering three children trapped in an evil situation, he reluctantly accepts the responsibility of saving them. Unfortunately, Brie would be vital to his success.

Two teenagers and three children being chased by evil men in a world gone mad.  A world without anything that they had come to depend upon.  Nothing works as it should. There is no authority to turn to.  Only two people doing the right thing.

Book 3 summary:

Five young people trapped in a skyscraper at the end of the world must learn to survive in a new era.  An era where all the old rules no longer apply.

Evan Carlson finds himself responsible for four other teenagers at the top of the Palmer tower in New York City.  Unable to descend into the chaos beneath them, they must scavenge from their new home.  But, even isolated, the evil from below still rises and must be dealt with.

Finally, when they are forced to break free, they discover everything is worse than they could ever imagine.

Sydney Parker had her entire life mapped out.  Harvard next year.  Yale law school four years later.  A girl's dream husband along the way.  But now, her world is ruined.  Everything she had hoped to find had been taken, and she must learn to live in this new world with death and devastation around every corner.  And a young man in Evan Carlson that would try any woman's patience.

Book 4 summary:

The small town of Hope, Montana cuts itself off as the world ends around it.  Little more than a village all alone in the mountains struggling to survive the worst of dystopian disasters.

Jake Roberts is an outsider.  A young man fighting to belong while the world crumbles.  Torn between helping others and trying to remain detached.  As the town and its people fight to survive both the plague and each other, Jake is caught in the middle of it all.  How do people live when they lose contact with civilization?  What happens when people lose what they have taken for granted?  Food, electricity, and security.  All of it gone, and worse, never coming back.

Mia Burk is left caring for her foster brother and sister as the world ends.  A situation no seventeen-year-old girl should be put through.  This new heavy burden of responsibility forces her to do things she would never consider if life was normal.  But this new world means she and her family must do whatever is necessary to live.

Book 5 summary:

Alone, isolated in the wilds of Alaska, Rachel Jordan's only goal was to keep her two little sisters alive as the world they knew disappeared.  Abandoned at her uncle’s lodge, Rachel struggles to come to grips with the new reality.  Everyone she ever knew is dead or dying.  Civilization has disappeared and there will be no rescue.  She and her sisters must face this new world all alone.

Of course, when a boy is washed up on the beach, her problems only go from bad to worse.

Half drowned, Noah McCain is forced to accept a new responsibility.  Keeping three girls alive, and finding a way to get them back to what used to be civilization.  He must use every bit of woodcraft and repeatedly risk his life just so they might survive.

Only after living through a harsh Alaska winter can he focus on escape.  He knows that long term, their only chance is to find other survivors.  Even if that means they have to walk all the way.  

Book 6 and Book 7 are set 19 and 38 years later, respectively.  The summaries are just mildly spoilerish, but since they do mention some names, I won't include them in this post.  I had really enjoyed the first five books, and I felt some discomfort when I reached Book 6.  I knew the situation would a little different, since it is set 19 years after the other books.  

It turns out that Book 6 and Book 7 are just as good as the rest of the books in the set.  What's great about the ending of Book 7 is that readers know that the survivors will be okay.  They do have printed books from the before times, and as more people gather in Oregon, they will continue to rebuild civilization.

This series is just as good at Nate Johnson's other series that I recently reviewed.  Like with the other series, these books have many punctuation and homonym errors.  Randomly capitalized words sometimes appear in the middle of sentences.  Like with the other books, the story is so good that I didn't care.  I just ignored most all of the errors, except in the rare instances where an error temporarily confused me.

If you like young adult apocalyptic teen fiction with some romance and danger without gore, then you will like these books.

Keeper of the Lost Cities Forgotten Secret #4 Kenric and Oralie with Fintan

This post contains MAJOR SPOILERS from late in the set.  Do not read this post unless you've read ALL of the books that have been published.  You've been warned.

This will make more sense if I include my previous thoughts before I get to what I recently realized.

From Keeper of the Lost Cities #9 The Forgotten Secrets:

Page 243   But once again, they'd finished a memory and learned nothing—except that Kenric either lied when he told Oralie he'd slipped past Fintan's mental defenses, or he'd been fooled by a pretty simple trick.

We learn here that Fintan served on the Council at the same time as Fallon.  Could Fintan be one of the three Founding Councillors?

I wonder if Kenric did make a deal with Fintan.  It appears that he didn't, but we don't really know.  Kenric could have come back at a later time and made a deal with Fintan.  I wonder about this because Fintan faked his death in the Everblaze, and I'm certain that Kenric did as well.  That's quite a coincidence for both of them to fake their deaths at the same time and seemingly on the spur of the moment.

Fintan's statement that he's "not in charge—at the moment" sounds a bit ominous.  We now know that Fintan does want to be in charge and that he is working with the Neverseen in order to gain power.

From Keeper of the Lost Cities #9 More on the Forgotten Secrets:

This secret provides some information regarding Elysian and Fintan's Noxflares.  I spot several vague statements that are likely hints about Elysian.

Page 228:   "But some of us are still willing to wait for the opportune moment."  He smiled with the last words, as if he'd made a private joke...

This tells me that Fintan is waiting for a certain moment in order to unleash his scheme, whatever that is.

Fintan accuses Kenric of planning to give him one of his "infamous heart-to-hearts."  Interestingly, Oralie tells Sophie that she doesn't know what Fintan means.  Strange.

We learn that Noxflares are fire-resistant.

I continue to suspect that Fintan helped Kenric fake his death.  I believe some possible clues are in this memory. 

Page 234:   Fintan shook his head.  "These aren't hungry flames.  They'll stay right where I want them.  That's why I chose them."

What if the fire that Fintan sparked in Oblivimyre was one that Fintan could control and keep where he wanted it to burn?  What if the fire was designed to burn the tower and buildings of Eternalia and nothing else?  Is that why everyone was able to leap away?

Page 235:   "As far as I'm concerned," Kenric continued, "you can burn your whole house down if you want to—as long as no one gets hurt."

Hmm...  If Kenric didn't die in the Everblaze, then all that happened is that the tower burned down with nobody getting hurt.

Fintan offers Kenric a deal.  He will answer Kenric's question if Kenric will do something for him.  It seems that Kenric doesn't take the deal.  But then... most of the rest of the memory is unintelligible.  We know that Kenric did probe Fintan's mind, but only because of the other part of this memory that is detailed in Book 8.5.

From More Keeper of the Lost Cities Thoughts and Speculation:

My opinion about Kenric and Fintan colluding together to fake their deaths in the Everblaze has shifted for now.

This is what I wrote previously in my post More on the Forgotten Secrets:

What happened when Kenric probed Fintan's mind?  Could Kenric have made a deal with Fintan?  My thinking is that Fintan and Kenric had some kind of agreement that ultimately resulted in Fintan and Kenric faking their deaths at Oblivimyre.

The one thing I've struggled with is that Fintan would know that Kenric is alive.  I've since realized that since Kenric is a Washer, he would have simply erased Fintan's memory right after they escaped the flames.

A popular fan theory is that Kenric is with the Neverseen, and this would explain how Kenric disappears with Fintan.  The problem is all of the clues, particularly the anagram in Kenric's full name, that point to Kenric being Forkle, which is why I stick with my explanation.  Forkle is definitely not with the Neverseen.  I mean, I suppose he could be with the Neverseen and the Black Swan, but I think that's too much of a stretch.

I've been mulling this over, and I currently feel that both Kenric and Fintan faked their deaths with no knowledge of what the other one did.  There's obviously a secret about what happened when Kenric probed Fintan's mind in the Forgotten Secret.  I thought that Kenric and Fintan made a deal.  Later, it becomes apparent that Kenric learned about Elysian and/or stellarlune from probing Fintan's mind.

That's what I wrote in my three previous posts that touched on the Forgotten Secret with Kenric and Oralie questioning Fintan.  During my fourth reading of the series, I mulled over this Forgotten Secret as I drove to work on the morning of November 12.  I had just finished reading Book 7, and I realized that the chapter where Sophie and Fitz retrieve some of Keefe's washed memories with the assistance of Tiergan provides some clues.

Book 8.5, Page 526:   "You breached his mind?  Why?"  Kenric backed away, resuming his pacing.  "The same reason I always breach someone's mind—but I didn't find the information that I was looking for, in case you're wondering."

No, Kenric learned something about Elysian.  We know this because Prentice's broken mind has information about Elysian in it and because Kenric and Oralie visit Elysian in Forgotten Secret #6.

In Book 7, Keefe's recovered memories are damaged.  They are "crackly and distorted" with "strange flickering gaps" and the "soundtrack was warped, with voices fading in and out."  Tiergan takes a look and explains that the memories were shattered, rather than washed.

The memory with Fintan has some of these same characteristics.

Book 9, Page 240   The projection of Oralie sighed and repeated her question—but halfway through, the words turned muffled and distant.  "Is that the end of the memory?"  Dex asked when the hologram warped and faded.

Kenric tampered with the memory, which means that he shattered part of the memory before storing it in his cache.

Book 8.5, Page 523  "Can you feel how serious I am when I tell you that it's absolutely essential to keep everything about Elysian fragmented?"

Kenric literally fragmented his own memory of entering Fintan's mind to find information about stellarlune.  Instead, he learned about Elysian.  We know this from the part of this secret that is in Oralie's cache.  Here is the above quote again with what follows it.

Book 8.5, Page 523  "Can you feel how serious I am when I tell you that it's absolutely essential to keep everything about Elysian fragmented?"  The projection of Oralie frowned.  "That's not the word you had me ask Fintan about."

Kenric slipped and said a word he hadn't mentioned, a word that he almost certainly had just pulled from Fintan's mind.

Book 8.5, Page 525  "You don't get to show up at my door in the middle of the night, beg me to go with you to see a former Councillor... ask him over and over about whatever stellarlune is... and then stand there, gray as a ghoul because you slipped and said something about this mysterious Elysian."

Yes, Kenric slipped.  He had just learned about Elysian from Fintan and accidentally said the word to Oralie.  He shattered that part of the memory in order to keep it out of his cache.

Kenric washed (or shattered) Oralie's memory, but his own memory is the one in the cache, since some of the memory is from when Kenric is inside Fintan's mind.  

I have long had a theory that Kenric is Ethan Benedict Wright II.  In a future post, I'll explain how I think this is still possible with what we learn in Book 9.5.  If I'm right about Kenric and Ethan, this is what I currently think:

Kenric was messing with Lady Gisela by letting her attempt to recruit him as Ethan Benedict Wright II.  While this plan was in progress, Kenric probed Fintan's mind about stellarlune and learned about Elysian.  What he learned scared him, so much so that he realized that he had made a mistake as Ethan Benedict Wright II.  In Book 9.5, Eleanor Olivia Wright tells Keefe that her father told her that he had made a big mistake.  It all fits.

All of my past Keeper posts are linked from this page:

Keeper of the Lost Cities Summaries, Reviews, and Theories

Late Winter 2025 Update on Blog Posts

I have no desire to list books for sale at present.  I have built up my back inventory of matte picture cover Nancy Drew books, which had diminished considerably over the months I avoided purchasing bulk lots.  I have some Three Investigators books, the Dana Girls books with blue/red jackets, plus some other stuff that needs to be listed.  Unless something changes, I probably won't list much of anything until around spring break.

I have been working on blog posts, and I have quite a few set for publication.  I have others that are partially complete or that I'm holding back for certain reasons.

These posts are set for publication in this order:

Keeper of the Lost Cities Forgotten Secret #4 Kenric and Oralie with Fintan
The End of Everything Series by Nate Johnson
Keeper of the Lost Cities Forgotten Secret #4 Kenric and Oralie at Night
No Place Left to Hide by Megan Lally
Keeper of the Lost Cities Forgotten Secret #5 Kenric and Prentice
Don't Go to Sleep by Bryce Moore
Keeper of the Lost Cities Forgotten Secret #6 Kenric and Oralie in Elysian
The Perfect Place to Die by Bryce Moore
Keeper of the Lost Cities Forgotten Secret #7 Map of Elysian
Keeper of the Lost Cities: The Council and the Black Swan
Hidden Clues #10 The Hardest to Find Books in a Series

These next posts are complete to varying degrees:

Hidden Clues #11 Scarcity of Middle Volumes in a Set—I know what I want to convey in this post, and I'm getting closer.  This is a post that is very hard to write, and I have to do it a little at a time over the course of a few months.

Nancy Drew Diaries #26 Superstitions of "The Scottish Play"—This post has been partially written.

Keeper of the Lost Cities #9.5 Unraveled Part 1 The Review Bombing—I decided to get the unpleasantness out of the way first, then I will get to my thoughts.

Keeper of the Lost Cities #9.5 Unraveled Part 2 General Thoughts—Part 1 and Part 2 were one post until I decided to separate the unpleasantness.  

Keeper of the Lost Cities #9.5 Unraveled Part 3 Alvar

Keeper of the Lost Cities #9.5 Unraveled Part 4 Ethan Benedict Wright II

Keeper of the Lost Cities #9.5 Unraveled Part 5 Eleanor Olivia Wright

The dates seen in Blogger represent the last date I changed something about each draft post.

I also have two posts that I continue to hold back for a certain reason.  They should get published sometime between now and June.

I wrote a post about the Nancy Drew action figures that had slipped my mind.  I'm going to pull it to the top so that I can decide when to publish it.

That's pretty much everything.  When I focus on the blog, I don't list books.  That's why nothing is getting listed.

The End of Times Series by Nate Johnson

The End of Times Series is by independent author, Nate Johnson.  The series was published beginning in 2023.

1.  Impact, 2023
2.  Escape, 2024
3.  Endure, 2024
4.  Quest, 2024
5.  Justice, to be published in 2025

Book 1 summary:

It really is the four horsemen of the apocalypse, Death, Famine, War, and Conquest.  Things a seventeen-year-old boy shouldn't have to deal with.

In those most infamous words, mistakes were made.  It wasn't supposed to happen. The asteroid was supposed to miss.  Running for their lives, Ryan Conrad and Kelsey Morgan race to escape the impact of a super asteroid and the apocalyptic world it left behind.  Fighting to survive the aftershocks.  The earthquake to end all earthquakes, the largest tsunami in human history, and worst of all, the EMP and loss of civilization.

Ryan must lead a ragtag group of people from Seattle to the safety of his grandfather's farm in northern Idaho.  Unfortunately, it seems as if fate is aligned against them.  Constantly putting every obstacle in their path.  Laying every trap, as if this new dystopian world was designed to kill them.

To top it off, he’s stuck with young kids depending upon him, a girl out of his league, and knowledge that one mistake and they all die.

Each subsequent book in this series features another member of Ryan's family heading for his grandfather's farm, each of them with a new acquaintance from the opposite sex.  The summaries of the subsequent books do not spoil the first book or any of the other books. 

Book 2 summary: 

It is a known fact.  Being in New York City at the end of the world is not the best.  There is only one solution.  ESCAPE.

When Haley Conrad was informed an asteroid is going to impact the earth, leading to the world's end, she knew her only chance of surviving was to escape New York before it became hell on earth.  But making it all the way across the country wasn't going to be easy.

Thankfully, Tanner Parks might be the perfect solution, part bodyguard and all monster.  He was just the type of boy that could keep a girl alive long enough to make it to the safety of the Idaho mountains.

Two young people following the ancient migrants trail.  Two people fighting to survive in this new world with new rules and more monsters than anyone could ever know.

Book 3 summary:

Chase Conrad didn't get along with people.  But that didn't mean he wanted the world to end.  Not like this.

High in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, he receives a call that an asteroid is going to wipe out civilization.  Not something you hear every day.  Torn between hiding out in the mountains and returning to the family farm in Northern Idaho, Chase choses home.  His sister and cousins will need him.  Unfortunately, three young people and a trial of endurance interfere with his plans.

Meagan Foster never expected the world to end.  Earthquakes, Volcanoes, EMPs.  Oh yeah, starvation.  None of it was expected.

Forced to make a choice, stay and fight the mobs tearing the city apart or the long desert road, one thing was obvious: the only chance she and her two younger brothers had was this strange boy walking out of the mountains.  Four young people must fight the desert, natural disasters, and what used to be left of civilization to reach safety.

Book 4 summary:

Cassie Conrad knew life was unfair, but she never thought the universe could be this cruel.  Informed by her father that the world is going to end, she is torn between staying with her friend Sara or trekking across the country to the family’s farm in Idaho.

Everything she thought she knew is put to the test.  Everything she valued has been taken from her.

Jake Thompson never anticipated an asteroid ushering in a post-apocalyptic world.  Left in charge of his sister Sara, and her friend Cassie, he must keep them alive as the world turns to hell in a handbasket around them.  Unfortunately, he is not surprised to discover just how fast the law of the jungle has returned full force.  Kill or be killed.

There is no one to go to for help.  No authority worth trusting.  Alone, these three young people face a new dystopian world filled with starving people desperate to take what they need.

I will get the only negative out of the way first.  These books have quite a few homonym and punctuation errors as well as randomly capitalized words.  At times, this is distracting.  However, these books are so compelling and so very good that I didn't care.

Nate Johnson tells really great stories.  The books are effortless to read.  He is low on description and includes no unnecessary information—no sidetracking into pointless, boring stuff.  Each story sprints forward from the very first page.  He is very high on characterization and effortlessly manages to gain the reader's interest.  I immediately cared about the characters and found every book to be compelling.

The stories are repetitive, but I like that.  I'm a series fan, and it's great fun reading through a set where every installment gives me a variation of what I read in the previous book.  This series does exactly that.  If you like the first book, then you'll like all of them.

Each book features a character from the Conrad family who receives a call from their father/uncle telling them that an asteroid will hit in minutes.  Each person grabs their things and takes off for the family farm in Idaho.  As each character heads on their journey, they acquire a traveling companion from the opposite sex.  The two characters inevitably begin to have feelings for each other, while hiding their feelings from each other and thinking that the other doesn't care.  

The books are unrealistic in some ways, but these kinds of books always are.  I didn't mind that, since I thoroughly enjoyed reading the books.

I love these books.  They are great reading.  If you love apocalyptic teen fiction with a hint of romance and a good dose of danger without any gore, then you'll love these books.

Keeper of the Lost Cities Forgotten Secret #3 Kenric and Oralie in Kenric's Readying Room

This post contains MAJOR SPOILERS from late in the set.  Do not read this post unless you've read ALL of the books that have been published.  You've been warned.

I have included all of my past comments on this Forgotten Secret.  I want all of my thoughts in the same post, and it will be easier for me to find what I need if I separate the Forgotten Secrets into separate posts.  I will indicate any additional thoughts by adding comments in brackets.

From Keeper of the Lost Cities #9 The Forgotten Secrets:

Page 217   "I know you want me off the Council."  "I do?"  Kenric lowered himself into the chair and propped up his feet.  "That's news to me."

Page 217   She leaned closer, placing her hand over his.  "You're a better liar than most.  But I can still tell."

Page 218   "I'm not a fan of you, either."  Kenric's lips twitched with a smile: "Is that so?"  "Yes.  You're arrogant and boring.  And you have terrible taste in everything."  She crinkled her nose at his orange tunic—which did clash with his bright red hair.

Page 218   "And there it is," Kenric said, pointing to the hand she'd placed over her heart.  "The wide-eyed innocent act you love to hide behind."  "There's no act!"  "Really?  So you parade around in pink and ruffles because you want to be taken seriously?"  "No, I dress this way because I like the way I look."  "Pretty sure it's because you like to be admired."  Kenric stood up to face her.

Page 222   "I'm capable.  And I'm tired of being treated like I'm weak!"  "I don't think you're weak, Oralie.  In fact, I'm fairly certain you're stronger than all of us.  But your ability will always make you more vulnerable to certain things."

Page 222   "During my last investigation, I learned that we've been imprisoning someone for thousands of years—someone whose crimes were so horrible, they've been completely stricken from any kind of record."

Page 223   "Emotions can't be erased.  They can only be buried or misdirected—which is much harder to do with an Empath."

This memory shows how Kenric and Oralie did not get along with each other at first.  We also learn that Kenric apparently knew about Vespera and that it could be considered his fault that Vespera escaped from Lumenaria.

Also of note is that Kenric props up his feet.  He does that in this memory and in Forgotten Secret #5.  I mentioned in my previous post that Forkle as Leto props his feet on his desk on page 490.  The reader is being led to draw a connection between Kenric and Forkle/Leto.

We learn that Kenric was a good liar.  We know that Forkle is a good liar.

From Keeper of the Lost Cities #9 More on the Forgotten Secrets:

This secret is the one that fascinates me the most since it provides a full conversation between Kenric and Oralie in an everyday situation.  Oralie has stalked into Kenric's readying room to complain about him missing most of her special first-year-as-Councillor celebration.  The fact that she's so bothered shows that she has deeper feelings for Kenric than she realizes.  

She complains that Kenric left during dinner after the first course.  She thinks he couldn't stand to watch her celebration.  Kenric tells her that he had an upset stomach, contacted Elwin, and then returned.  Oralie places her hand on his and replies, "You're a better liar than most.  But I can still tell."

So, we know that Kenric is lying about why he left.  He certainly didn't go to see Elwin.  The first few times I read through this scene, I took the scene at face value and didn't think anything of it.  I just figured that Kenric left because he didn't want to be at the dinner.  But then, that really doesn't make sense. 

A moment later, Oralie complains that Kenric has bad taste "in everything."

Page 218:   "I'm not a fan of you, either."  Kenric's lips twitched with a smile.  "Is that so?"  "Yes.  You're arrogant and boring.  And you have terrible taste in everything."  She crinkled her nose at his orange tunic—which did clash with his bright red hair.  Kenric's smile widened.  "If you were a better Empath, I doubt you'd denounce my taste in everything."

Kenric's last statement implies that he does care about Oralie, and she has no idea.  If Kenric does care about Oralie, then he didn't leave the dinner to get away from her celebration.  What would he have been doing, and why did Shannon make a point of mentioning it?

I think Kenric was switching with his twin.  He'd have to disappear at times in order to make the switch.  This must be why Kenric left the dinner.

Page 218   "And there it is," Kenric said, pointing to the hand she'd placed over her heart.  "The wide-eyed innocent act you love to hide behind."  "There's no act!"  "Really?  So you parade around in pink and ruffles because you want to be taken seriously?"  "No, I dress this way because I like the way I look."  "Pretty sure it's because you like to be admired."  Kenric stood up to face her.

My take on Kenric's remark this time is that he correctly understands that Oralie puts on an innocent act.  She pretends to have a fragile voice, and she dresses in pink ruffles so that people think she's just a helpless beauty.  Kenric is very annoyed by Oralie's behavior, and at this early stage in their acquaintance, he has no idea why she acts like this.

[I no longer think Kenric is annoyed by Oralie's behavior.  He's just acting annoyed so that Oralie won't realize how much he loves her.  He's saying whatever he can to keep her riled up so that she doesn't sense his true feelings.]

Kenric and Oralie's conversation then switches to why Kenric voted against Oralie becoming a Councillor.  Before Kenric answers Oralie, he "[takes] a step back."  I suspect that Kenric steps back so that Oralie can't detect a lie.  Kenric then tells her that she rushes through her assignments in order to garner attention and that is why he voted against her.  Oralie is deeply offended.

Instead, Kenric probably voted against Oralie being a Councillor because he already cared about her.  That is, the twins already cared about her.  They saw her as a complication, and they had enough problems dealing with their shared identity and keeping that secret.  They didn't need a potential love interest to be a Councillor, especially since their shared identity prevented either of them from ever marrying.  

I also suspect that Kenric is openly hostile towards Oralie as a means to mask his true feelings.  By angering Oralie, he keeps her from realizing how he feels.

[Yes, that's all this is.  Kenric isn't annoyed by Oralie.  He thinks she's wonderful, but he can't let her sense that.]

Lady Fayina is also mentioned during this conversation.  She apparently fell off a cliff, and Oralie closed the case so that she could be declared dead.  Who was Lady Fayina?  Is she really dead?  Could she be of some importance?

All of my past Keeper posts are linked from this page:

Keeper of the Lost Cities Summaries, Reviews, and Theories

Keeper of the Lost Cities Forgotten Secret #2 The Matchmaker Memory

This post contains MAJOR SPOILERS from late in the set.  Do not read this post unless you've read ALL of the books that have been published.  You've been warned.

I have included all of my past comments on this Forgotten Secret.  I want all of my thoughts in the same post, and it will be easier for me to find what I need if I separate the Forgotten Secrets into separate posts.  I will indicate any additional thoughts by adding comments in brackets.

From Keeper of the Lost Cities #9 The Forgotten Secrets:

Page 210   "What if I told you that neither of us was going to remember the rest of this conversation?" Kenric asked quietly.  "Everything from this moment on will be erased.  Behnam's eyebrows lifted.  "Then what's the point?"  "This way I'll be able to remember that I asked.  But I won't know whether or not you answered."

This statement doesn't make sense.  What is the point of asking if he won't remember the answer?  Kenric must be lying to Behnam about why he wants to see the hypothetical match lists.

Page 210   "No, I suppose it doesn't."  Kenric buried his face in his hands and took a long breath.  "I realize this is a tremendous ask.  I'm just… running out of ideas for how to move on—and I have to move on.  Surely you can understand that."

Kenric is lying.  How would knowing for sure whether Oralie is his number one match help him move past the fact that he can never be matched with her?  If she is his number one match, then that would be devastating.  If not, then I suppose it could help.  However, Kenric claims that he's erasing the memory, so none of this makes any sense.  Kenric is instead manipulating Behnam into giving him the information that he seeks.

Page 211   But in the projection, Behnam leaned forward and told Kenric, "Truthfully, I do understand why you need this answer.  So I'll plug in the data for you—but I feel the need to remind you that it will always be impossible.  She already collected all five of her lists.  No more can ever be issued."

Page 212   Kenric's number one match was Oralie.  And Oralie's number one match was Kenric.

Page 213   "I don't understand," Oralie whispered, closing her palm around the cache to block the projection.  "This isn't a Forgotten Secret.  It's… I don't know what it is."  "It's something Kenric didn't want to remember," Sophie mumbled.  "But I'm pretty sure he didn't want to forget it either."  Oralie's laugh was equal parts bitter and broken.  "Well, how nice of him to leave it in his cache for anyone to find."

Kenric put the information in his cache because he wanted it to be found.

[I no longer think this.  Kenric just couldn't have Behnam remembering this event and wondering about it.]

Page 213   "And by the time he decided to give it to you, he wouldn't have had any idea what was in there, right?"  "No, he wouldn't.  But Kenric was usually far more cautious when it came to… these kinds of things."

Oralie wonders why Kenric would carelessly put information like this in his cache.  That's exactly it; the information was not placed in the cache carelessly.  He wanted Oralie and Sophie to have this information.  Also, I highly doubt that Kenric was unaware that this information was in his cache.  After all, if Kenric is Forkle, then he had an identical twin brother.  The memory would likely have been shared with his twin brother before being erased, and then the twin brother would have shared it with him again.  The same would be true for all of Kenric's Forgotten Secrets.

[I've since realized that the secrets in Kenric's cache are probably not his memories, but are instead the memories of the other person.  In this case, Behnam's memory was washed and placed in the cache.  I don't think Kenric washed his own memory.  He needed the information for Project Moonlark, which is why he asked.]

Since this memory makes no sense on the surface, it means that Kenric is up to something that he isn't telling Behnam.  I believe that Kenric is seeking information for use in Project Moonlark.  In order for the moonlark to have the greatest potential, the child would need to be the offspring of a pair of number one matches.  Kenric is actually making certain that he and Oralie are number one matches.   

Page 214   "Kenric and I… we had a very special connection.  Add in the fact that Empaths and Telepaths are frequently matched with each other, and… no, I wasn't surprised to see his name at the top of my list, or mine at the top of his.  But… we also wanted different things—and no matchmaker would ever be able to account for that."

Somehow I doubt that Kenric and Oralie wanted different things.  I think they wanted all of the same things, but Oralie was unaware.

[I wonder what Oralie thinks the different things are.  What does she think Kenric wanted?  What does she want?]

Page 214   "Why are Empaths and Telepaths usually matched together?" Dex asked.  Oralie cleared her throat again and dabbed the corners of her eyes.  "The abilities complement each other.  Both are introspective—but in very different ways, which allows each partner to find a deeper understanding of the other." 

From Keeper of the Lost Cities #9 More on the Forgotten Secrets:

As I wrote previously, this is a huge clue about Project Moonlark.  Kenric needs to make sure that Oralie is his match so that the donors for Project Moonlark are number one matches.

Page 210:   "What if I told you that neither of us was going to remember the rest of this conversation?" Kenric asked quietly.  "Everything from this moment on will be erased."  Behnam's eyebrows lifted.  "Then what's the point?"  "This way I'll be able to remember that I asked.  But I won't know whether or not you answered.  That'll be enough for me to finally let this go—while also ensuring that there's no proof of you bending any rules.  It'll be almost as if it never happened."

I mentioned previously how this makes no sense and that Kenric must be lying.  This is what he says to Prentice in Forgotten Secret #5.

Page 256:   "In case you're wondering, I'll be wiping this conversation from my mind the second you leave.  That way it'll be as if it never happened."

Page 257:   "As I said, I won't even remember that I approached you about this."

Kenric tells Behnam that he'll remember he asked.  He tells Prentice that he won't remember.  So which is it?  This depends upon where Kenric begins the memory washing for each memory, but here's the problem:  Kenric knew what he was going to do in both cases; he didn't wash his memory of when he set up the meeting with Prentice or when he walked in to ask Behnam about his match.  In both cases, Kenric would know that he asked.  He's lying when he tells Prentice that he wouldn't remember.

All of my past Keeper posts are linked from this page:

Keeper of the Lost Cities Summaries, Reviews, and Theories

The New eBay Feed and More eBay Complaints

I had gone years with minimal eBay complaints.  I used to complain all the time, and then eBay went for a long stretch where they did most everything right.  Now they've fallen apart again.  Someone must be justifying their paycheck by changing everything they can.  Instead, they're breaking everything.

Here is my last post on eBay's ineptness:

My Complaints on the New eBay Feed Page

Prior to that post, I wrote this one:

The eBay Feed Situation and Other Grievances

I have even more grievances to report!

But first, let's recap everything that's wrong with eBay.

1.  Thriftbooks has dumped its entire inventory on eBay.  This ruined all of my saved searches, and I had to create new ones to try to remove Thriftbooks' inventory.  Inexplicably, the nuisance persists.  eBay is so determined to ruin our searches that many of Thriftbooks' items still filter through even though I've blocked Thriftbooks' multiple IDs.

Just wait until all of eBay's inventory is dumped on Facebook Marketplace!  Yes, indeed.  If you haven't heard, this is going to happen.  eBay might as well ruin all marketplaces while it's at it!

2.  My store categories don't show in my eBay store unless buyers go through multiple clicks.  What's the point of having categories?

3.  eBay continually changes its feedback page with each change making the page even more difficult to use.  The latest obnoxious change causes a pop-up window asking if I want to save the seller.  I most certainly do not!

4.  The eBay saved feed has been ruined.

Here is another complaint I made to eBay on the new saved feed (complaint #5):

The feed page is now intermittently broken.  Sometimes I can only get 18 items to load.  Other times, more items will load, but slowly.  It's not my high-speed internet since all other sites load quickly.  Remove the watched items from the page.  We ONLY want to see newly listed items sorted by newest first.  Please give us the old page back! 

eBay and sellers are losing money while buyers are struggling to find items, since they must now complete dozens of searches manually in order to find items to buy.  It's a headache and not worth doing when we also check other online sites that are working properly.  eBay is now a slog to check.  It was the easiest site to check until the original feed page was removed. 

You have significantly downgraded your site.  This new page is woefully inadequate.  The old feed page was the single most important site feature for buyers, and it worked beautifully! 

When I wrote this, my goal was to make my complaint as strong as I could to make it more likely that I grab their attention.  This time I included my email address in case they decide to send a survey.  I'm not holding out much hope that they will listen, but I'm going to keep complaining.

Later, the page stopped at 88 items.  I complained again (complaint #6):

The page cuts off at 88 items.  Please fix it!

Ina Steiner has now picked up the story.

eBay Made ‘Saved Feed’ Feature Harder to Navigate, Buyers Complain

Through the article, I learned that eBay has now altered the mobile feed as well.  This proves to me that this isn't a glitch; it's by design.  eBay ruined the feed on purpose.

Ina also mentioned that this could be part of eBay's winter update, which will be announced in February.  If so, then eBay has made a mistake.  Features that are significantly changed and degraded should be beta tested first while the bugs are worked out.  They shouldn't just change an important feature to a buggy new version that is very hard to use. 

And now...

Complaint #7:

The page is broken!  "Oops!  There seems to be a problem serving the request at this time.  Please check back later."

I actually had a small amount of hope after the page broke completely.  Maybe they'll reinstate the old page.  I checked the URL, and it still redirects.  If the new page is completely broken, then eBay should let us have the old page back.  Right?  No?  We can hope...

The new page came back later, but does it matter?  

I thought of some additional mistakes that eBay has made in recent months.  The list goes on and on!

5.  eBay is sending emails to buyers telling them that their packages are delayed when they aren't!

On December 17, a buyer sent me this message:

"What is taking so long for my item to get here? It should have been here days ago. i keep getting delayed messages. This really  isn't great service. The shipping fee wasn't small either. I certainty  hope I get it soon, as this is very irritating."

There wasn't a problem.  The package had been mailed one week before, which was just two weeks before Christmas when the postal volume is extreme.  The package had gone from Oklahoma to Michigan and was at the distribution center closest to the buyer's home.  

I reassured the buyer, and it worked out fine when the package arrived the next day.  I knew why the buyer was overreacting.  eBay had originally given a fast delivery estimate.  Two messages were sent out in the following days saying that the package was delayed, and the result was that the delivery estimate was changed to a realistic date.  That's it, but the buyer had gotten upset because of the supposed delays.

eBay didn't use to send out messages like that.  By doing so, they are alarming buyers when there is no reason for concern.  I was quite annoyed in this case, and not with the buyer.  I was annoyed with eBay.

6.  eBay sends messages telling buyers that they have been refunded, making it sound like they have been fully refunded even when the refund is partial.

I send partial refunds for postage overages.  This usually happens when a buyer makes two purchases separately, and I plan to ship the books in one box.  I send a partial refund on the postage for the second book purchased.  I say why I send the partial refund.  

The problem is that eBay now sends a message to the buyer with the title "Order --------- has been refunded."  The message tells the buyer that they have been refunded.  If the buyer scrolls down, they can figure out that it was a postage refund, but eBay doesn't say that.  Buyers then misunderstand.

In just the last week, I refunded postage on the second transaction made by a buyer.  The buyer immediately sent a message asking why they were refunded.  They said that they still wanted the book.  I reassured the buyer that I was just refunding the postage overage.  

I feel like eBay and I are working at cross purposes.  

Keeper of the Lost Cities Forgotten Secret #1 Bronte and Kenric

This post contains MAJOR SPOILERS from late in the set.  Do not read this post unless you've read ALL of the books that have been published.  You've been warned.

I have included all of my past comments on this Forgotten Secret.  I want all of my thoughts in the same post, and it will be easier for me to find what I need if I separate the Forgotten Secrets into separate posts.  I will indicate any additional thoughts by adding comments in brackets.

From Keeper of the Lost Cities #9 The Forgotten Secrets:

Page 197   "You have more experience with everything, Bronte.  You can't always claim seniority.  Plus, you were away working on the mysterious investigation you refuse to tell us about."

I continue to wonder what Bronte's investigation was. 

[It's apparent from this secret that Bronte knows about the plague that affects the gnomes.  Kenric apparently doesn't, at least not at this time.]

Page 197  "Where's the gnome you hailed Elwin about?"  Kenric frowned.  "How did you—"  "Elwin alerted me right after he spoke with you.  I've asked all the physicians to contact me if they ever hear any report of a sick gnome—and thankfully Elwin remembered."

[Yes, Bronte knew.  He then takes Kenric's memory, which is how it ends up in Kenric's cache.  Bronte is keeping the secret of the plague to himself.]

Page 199   "It's been about three hundred seconds," Kenric announced several minutes later.

This is a huge clue about Kenric.  Sophie counts the seconds, and so does Kenric.  This means that Sophie and Kenric share an odd habit.  Sophie shares an odd habit (tugging out her eyelashes) with her mother, so now we know that she shares an odd habit with Kenric, who is likely her father.

[I left an "out" when I wrote this, saying that Kenric is "likely" her father.  For some time, I have been completely 100% convinced that Kenric is Sophie's father.  I don't see how this series can be going in any other direction.  There is just too much for it to mean anything else.]

Page 206   Councillors weren't allowed to date or marry or have families of their own because it could bias their decisions.  But Kenric had asked Oralie to resign with him so they could be together—and Oralie had refused.  Not because she didn't love him.  Because she needed to stay on the Council.  Partially for her own ambitions.  And partially so she'd be in a position to protect Sophie.

[When Kenric was also on the Council, Oralie's only reason to remain Councillor was for Sophie.  She resisted her feelings for Kenric only because of Sophie.  Now that Kenric's gone, Oralie is on the Council for Sophie, but she also a Councillor because she doesn't have anything else.  She cannot resign for love, because there's no one.]

From Keeper of the Lost Cities #9 More on the Forgotten Secrets:

I mentioned in my previous post how Kenric counts the seconds at one point during this memory.  Counting the seconds is one of Sophie's two odd habits.  She pulls out her eyelashes like her mother, Oralie, and she counts the seconds like her father, Kenric.

Page 196:   "King Dimitar brought it to our attention.  He claimed we've been allowing the humans to expand into this land, even though it's supposed to be a Neutral Territory—and unfortunately he's right."

Kenric points out the cause of the pollution, a nearby human city that cannot be relocated.  He also mentions that Dimitar said that he will consider the Neutral Territories to be up for grabs if the humans are allowed to remain.  Bronte tells Kenric that he has no idea what they might be dealing with, and Bronte refuses to explain.  However, Bronte acts like the ogres are to blame at first.  Later, he says that it isn't what he feared and that the pollution was caused by human chemicals.

Page 205:   "There is a lot to monitor, Kenric.  We can only keep track of so much."  "Then we should ask for more help."  "From whom?"  Kenric dragged a hand down his face, leaving streaks of mud.  "I... have no idea."

Interesting.  Kenric starts to give a response, then he changes his response to "have no idea."  What was he going to say?  I think he was close to making an accidental slip, like perhaps a reference to his Black Swan activities.

Forgotten Secret #1 is the only secret that was placed in Kenric's cache by someone else.  Bronte kept the secret about the ogre plague to himself and washed Kenric's memory of it.

All of my past Keeper posts are linked from this page:

Keeper of the Lost Cities Summaries, Reviews, and Theories

If I Tell: A Murder Mystery Thriller about a Girl and a Serial Killer

If I Tell: A Murder Mystery Thriller about a Girl and a Serial Killer was written by J. W. Lynne, an independent author.  The book was published in 2022.

Publisher's summary:

My name is Jenna.

I'm sixteen years old.

And I think my dad is a serial killer.

On a muggy summer afternoon in Upstate New York, sixteen-year-old Jenna Cooper is swimming in a lake when a murdered girl is found nearby, pulled from that very same lake.  The next day, the body of another girl is discovered a couple of miles away.  Soon, more bodies are found.  All are girls in their teens or early twenties, and they were all killed in the same distinctive manner.

As police race to solve these horrible crimes, Jenna finds clues that make her wonder if her father might be the killer.  Although she is terrified to believe her dad could be a murderer, she is determined to find out the truth, no matter what it is.

But her quest for the truth is about to land her in a makeshift prison, at the mercy of a serial killer.  Will she find a way to escape or will she be the next to die?

If you like fast-paced murder mysteries with short captivating chapters, intriguing family relationships, jaw-dropping twists and turns, a dash of clean romance, and an ending that brings everything together, you'll love this riveting thriller that will keep you guessing until the final pages!

The book has an interesting premise, and I did enjoy it overall.  When I finished the book, however, I felt depressed.  The story just didn't do much for me.  There are several problems.

The book has way too many characters, and I quickly decided not to keep track of them.  That reduced my enjoyment.  Furthermore, the characters are all flat.  The text is flat.  The book is missing that something that makes a book compelling and really good.

The book has a good story, but I wanted more from it.  If the story had been fleshed out more with more feeling shown by the characters, then it could have been an excellent story.

My Complaints about the New eBay Feed Page

I previously wrote about the new eBay feed.

eBay Removed a Perfectly Good Feature This Afternoon

The eBay Feed Situation and Other Grievances

It's now over two weeks later, and we are still stuck with the new feed, which I still feel is a permanent change.  I was getting used to it, but I saved an item to my watch list early Saturday morning.  Now it's the first item I see every single time I go to the feed.  I just want to see the final selling price without having to leave myself a note on my computer monitor.  I don't need the item flashed in front of me every time I go to eBay.  I seriously want to remove the item from my watched items list.  I'm sick of seeing it!

I sent eBay another complaint in the feedback form that is linked from the feed page.

First, here are my previous three complaints to eBay.  I complain each time the new feed does something I don't like.

Complaint #1:

You removed the eBay feed page?  Why?  It was perfect the way the items flowed.  Stuff I wanted was easy to spot.  Instead, it goes to this awful saved searches page that loads slower and has so much white space everywhere.  You're just driving customers away, and I've been buying since 1997.  This will decrease how much I spend on eBay.  I am not someone who complains.  This is unacceptable.  Return www.ebay.com/feed to what it looked like before today, PLEASE.

Complaint #2:

This page could work if it were changed to where ONLY NEWLY LISTED items show up on top, not the dreadful mess that it is right now.  Please give us the old eBay feed back!  It was perfect.  It didn't need to be changed.

Complaint #3:

I listed a bunch of items for sale, and they are not showing on this page.  This makes me not trust the results.  What else is being filtered out?  I want a feed that shows me everything that appears when I run the search manually, not just what eBay wants me to see.  Let me decide what I want to see.  This page is so bland and uninteresting compared to the feed page that existed until late last week.  We need this new page to do EXACTLY what the feed page did.  Anything else is unacceptable.

Here is my latest complaint, #4:

Items from my watch list don't need to be shoved in my face at the top of the feed each time I go to the saved items feed.  Most of us place items in our watch list because we are just curious about the final selling price.  

Items we intend to buy are placed in our shopping carts, and the notification icon at the top of our screen reminds us to check out.  We don't want to see watched items at the very top of the saved search.  

Please make this page function as it did in the previous feed.  I already removed all of my saved sellers because their items took up most of the page.  I will quit using the watched items feature as well if the watched items aren't removed.  Thanks.

I put "Thanks." at the end of my complaint to be... how do I say it?  I guess I did it to indicate annoyance and not to thank them.  Something like that.  I am annoyed, for sure.