Moonstone Mystery Romance #6 When Darkness Falls by Barbara Corcoran, 1985

Keeping tabs on a pack of ten-year-olds isn't the easiest job Julie's ever had, but working as a camp counselor has its rewards, too.  Like meeting Mark, the tall, blue-eyed hiking counselor who seems as nice as he is good-looking.

But then Pat, one of Julie's campers, suddenly disappears, and Mark turns cold and distant.  He's hiding a sinister secret behind that charming smile, and it might have something to do with Pat.  If only Julie can discover what Mark is up to - then she can be sure that Pat, and her own heart, are safe. 

I mentioned in two of my other reviews that I looked for anything that could refer to Nancy Drew or other series books as I read through this set, since the title of the series appears to be a nod to the Nancy Drew book, The Moonstone Castle Mystery.

I found several names in this book that might or might not mean anything.  Bungalows are mentioned.  Some character names are Dana, Joe, and Aunt Harriet.

This is a suspenseful and very good book.

Moonstone Mystery Romance #5 Something Out There by Leslie Davis, 1985

This is by far the easiest title to acquire in the series since it was reprinted as an Especially for Girls book club edition hardcover.  Unfortunately, the book club edition is the only one that can be found without a lot of trouble.  The original paperback is a bit hard to find, just as all of the other books in this series are hard to find.

At home on beautiful Massachusetts Bay, Chips is enjoying the best summer ever.  Her sailing school is a big success, and so is her romance with gorgeous soccer star Ryan Kennedy. 

So why does Chips also get a crush on Jeff, the boy her parents have hired to guard their house?  And why is he acting suspiciously?  Is he involved in the robberies that have frightened everyone in town?  Suddenly, lots of scary things are happening fast.  Soon Chips is awash in real danger - stranded at an abandoned lighthouse in a raging storm, face to face with a rescuer who may be a deadly foe!

I believe that this series was named as a nod to the Nancy Drew book, The Moonstone Castle Mystery.  This book mentions Nancy Drew multiple times.  Chips' boyfriend calls her "Nancy Drew" to tease her about being suspicious of certain events.

From page 83 of the Especially for Girls edition:

Chips settled into the couch, looking up from her book only occasionally whenever a June bug butted against the screen in an effort to reach the lighted room.

She had scanned Melissa's old collection of Nancy Drew mysteries and had chosen one about a lighthouse.  Maybe, she thought with a smile, it would tell her how to recognize clues or convince doubting boyfriends to take her seriously.

Skimming the pages, she found herself engrossed in the story and laughing at the heavy weather, foggy nights, and strangers in the shadows.  When the scratching began on the screen, she didn't look up at first because she thought more bugs were flapping against the mesh.

There are some things about Chips' behavior that I find annoying, but aside from that, this book is quite enjoyable.  I consider it to be overall very good.

The Drina Ballet Series

I love buying books online.  I would not have most of what I own if not for online shopping.  But online shopping has its limitations.  I must know exactly what I want in order to find books online.  I cannot just browse randomly and find books that are new to me.  That is, not usually.  In a rare case of the stars aligning, I discovered the existence of the American Adventure series one evening in early 2020 via my eBay feed.  That sort of experience seldom occurs.  I am so grateful for when it does.

Since finding new books to read online is difficult and often impossible, brick-and-mortar bookstores remain important.  Nothing can replace seeing shelves of books in person, holding and examining them, and reading the first few pages to see if the books are of interest.  

In July 2021, I chanced to see two of the Drina Ballerina books in a local bookstore.  Actually, I saw them, reflected on how attractive they were, and then left the books behind.  There was no way I would ever want to read a book about a young dancer.  I've tried reading some of the Wildfire and Sweet Dreams books about dancers and found the books full of extensive detail about dancing that is uninteresting to me.  I wasn't going to make the mistake of buying the books.

The next time I was in the store later that month, the Drina Ballerina books beckoned to me.  I couldn't leave the books behind a second time even though I thought that I could never read them.  The books were so pretty!  I purchased them.

In around October 2021, I decided to try the first book, Ballet for Drina.  The book was really good.  I made it to page 52, then I made myself quit.  I needed all of the books in the set.

I discovered that the first six books in the series were published in the nice hardcover Collins edition in the United Kingdom during the 1970s.  The set was given the name "Collins Ballet Library."  Unfortunately, the rest of the series was not published by Collins.  Those books are, in my opinion, not very attractive books in comparison.  They are fine, but the Collins editions are exquisite.  

The Collins editions are actually reprints of the first six books, since they had previously been issued in hardcover with dust jacket.  I decided that I wanted to get the first six books in the Collins edition, and then I would settle for softcover editions of the remaining titles.

The Drina Ballerina series was written by Mabel Esther Allan under the pseudonym Jean Estoril.  The set consists of the following titles.

 1.  Ballet for Drina, 1957

 2.  Drina's Dancing Year, 1958

 3.  Drina Dances in Exile, 1959

 4.  Drina Dances in Italy, 1959

 5.  Drina Dances Again, 1960

 6.  Drina Dances in New York, 1960

 7.  Drina Dances in Paris, 1962

 8.  Drina Dances in Madeira, 1963

 9.  Drina Dances in Switzerland, 1964

10.  Drina Goes on Tour, 1965

11.  Drina Ballerina, 1991

I decided not to purchase #11.  Online reviews indicate that it doesn't read the same as the other books since it was written decades later.  I did manage to procure all of #1-6 in the Collins edition (with great difficulty!) and the remaining titles in relatively inexpensive softcover books.

I have now read the first book and have barely started on the second book.  The first book is excellent.  The second book begins four days after the first book ends, so the books do need to be read in order. 

I scanned the beginning pages of the first book so that you can sample it.  This is allowed under fair use.

You will have to click on the images in order to read the text.  

I hope that I continue to enjoy the books.  I have have a number of bad experiences with series where I enjoy the first book and then the series goes downhill.  Hopefully that is not the case with these books, especially considering how hard it was to build the set.

Moonstone Mystery Romance #4 Fatal Secrets

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.  

#4 Fatal Secrets by Linda A. Cooney, 1985

"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.

A Postage Dilemma + Many Books Listed

I have a lot of time right now for listing books since we had a snowstorm Wednesday and Thursday.  School was closed beginning on Wednesday, resulting in an unexpected five-day break.  

I have listed quite a few books on eBay.

Jennifer's Series Books on eBay

I am in the process of listing many books on Etsy.

Jennifer's Series Books on Etsy

I really need to raise the postage I charge for a single book.  I have been charging $3.95 postage since 2008.  $3.95 does not cover my cost even for lighter books like a Grosset and Dunlap picture cover.  I take on even more of a loss when the book is thick, since the weight ends up at over one pound.

I ought to raise the amount to $4.95, and I took the time to think about this thoroughly yesterday.  The problem is that many sellers continue to charge under $4.00 for postage.  I ran a search for "Nancy Drew" yesterday and looked at listings that offered a single book for sale.  Many of the listings have just $3.19 as the postage charge.  This is the one-pound media mail base rate that is charged by the post office.  These sellers aren't even charging for their own supplies, such as tape, an envelope or box, paper for the postage label, and ink to print the label.  This makes no sense!  Sellers need to quit undervaluing themselves.  

That's where my problem is.  My supplies add over $1.00 to my postage cost.  When I mail a package media mail for $3.19, my actual cost is around $4.50.  However, that is not even my total cost.  Whatever I charge for postage on eBay or Etsy is assessed a fee by the site.  Yes, I pay a selling fee on the postage charge.  This means that when I charge $3.95 postage, I'm not even getting that amount.  Factoring in the site's fees, my actual cost to mail a single book is around $5.00, if the book can be mailed at the one-pound rate.  Heavier books end up costing over $5.00.

Each year that the media mail rates increase, my loss on the $3.95 charge worsens.  Yet I cannot raise my charge when so many sellers charge only $3.19.

Actually, I could raise my postage charge.  I thought about this at length yesterday.  Some sellers do charge $5.00 to $6.00 postage for a single book.  A somewhat higher postage charge usually doesn't stop me from buying a book, at least not for a single book and certainly not for an expensive book.

I have decided not to purchase some bulk lots because of high charges.  Some sellers will only mail via priority mail.  For a heavy lot, priority mail is way too expensive.  If I see a $50 shipping charge on a listing that I know could be mailed for under $20, then I tend not to make the purchase.

Even though I usually will not back out of single-book purchases where the postage is on the high end, I believe that the average buyer of an easy-to-find book might very well back out.  I believe this because of how many people try to get me to take less for inexpensive books.  I have had people contact me trying to get me to lower a price from $5.00 to $4.00 or something similar.  Those people will balk at a $4.95 postage cost.  Of course, those people probably won't purchase from me anyway. 

I also often have people want me to break up a lot so that they can get one item.  Here is a very recent example.  

A buyer contacted me wanting me to sell just the ABBA issue.  I didn't respond, because I was pretty sure that I knew what they expected.  They probably wanted to get the ABBA issue for one-fourth of the current price, or at least for one-fourth of the current price plus a reasonable amount for postage.  From my end, that would not be logical.  It would be great for the buyer.

I am giving the four issues away as it is.  I may even take a loss.  I just want the issues gone, since they were extras in with other purchases.  I never wanted them.

I also hope that the ABBA issue sells the lot.  That's why I have that issue fully visible in the photo.  I know that ABBA is the most desirable of the artists featured.  If I sell the ABBA issue separately, then I won't be able to sell the rest.

Going back to postage, I finally decided not to raise my postage charge.  I instead will expand upon what I have just barely started doing, which is to add one or two dollars to the item price of single books to cover the postage that way.  Expect to see more and more of my $9.99 books priced at $10.99 or $11.99.  I need to cover it somehow, and that is the best way.

Moonstone Mystery Romance #2 The Shadowed Path and #3 Dangerous Beat

#2 The Shadowed Path by Barbara Corcoran, 1985

When a accident forces Phyllis to stay alone at a lake cabin, she isn't afraid - at first.  Her new friend David, a local boy, visits her every day.  And Ron, the smooth young man in the next cabin, is very attentive. 

But the sound of a helicopter landing at night, and a stranger with a gun, convince Phyllis that Ron is involved in deep trouble.  Soon she's caught in a sinister plot, a prisoner of her own suspicions.  She's seen too much - and unless help arrives at the last minute, she'll never escape alive! 

It was obvious from early in the story exactly which young man couldn't be trusted.  Even though I already knew where the plot would go, the story was still very suspenseful.  The last part of the story is more what one would expect from a boy's book with grave danger as Phyllis is held captive.

This is a very good book.

#3 Dangerous Beat by Charlotte Flynn, 1985

Jennifer loves her summer job helping the record critic of the local paper.  Through work, she meets two terrific boys - Billy, the fun-loving manager of a local rock group and Ken, the main source of information for her first big story.

But now, strange thefts haunt the newsroom; a mysterious death plagues Jen's budding story, and Ken warns her to get off the story and stay off!  Suddenly, the cub reporter is in over her head in a whirl of crime and danger where she had hoped to find romance.

Suspicion was cast on both boys in this book, but it was apparent to me from early in the story which one was the culprit.  That did not reduce my enjoyment of the book at all.  

This is an excellent story.

Overcoming My Review Writing Slump

A response that Neal Shusterman (author of Unwind Dystology and more) made on one of his recent Facebook posts resonated with me.  The post and comments are well worth reading as there are several great tidbits.  Someone asked how to get past writer's block.  Shusterman replied as follows.

Write.  That might sound facetious, but it's not.  The way to get past "writers block" is to reframe it.  Sometimes writing is easy, other times it's extremely difficult.  That's not a "block" that's writing.  If you accept the fact that struggle, and frustration is a normal part of the process, and work in spite of it, eventually you'll be able to move forward.

I took the response to heart and concluded that I could use that approach with my reviews.  I am not reading much, but it would be nice to write reviews of the few books that I have read.  I have lost all motivation to write anything.  I realized that I could write something anyway, even if I don't like the book (which will be quite likely) or even if the review is inadequate.  If I could begin moving back in the right direction, I might be able to start reviewing books in a fashion similar to what I once did.

Last week I wrote a review for the first time in some time.

Carolina Hurricane by Marian Rumsey

After I published the review of Carolina Hurricane, I wrote up some thoughts on the last three Hardy Boys Adventures books.

Hardy Boys Adventures #22 Trouble Island, #23 Mayhem Express, and #24 As the Falcon Flies

That took care of some unfinished business.  I have mostly managed to write a review of the latest Nancy Drew Diaries book, although I am struggling somewhat. 

I decided that I should post my reviews of the Moonstone Mystery Romance series.  I wrote those reviews more than six months ago.  Those reviews were done when I still had some motivation.

I selected a random book that I have had for a few years, Girl Scouts in the Ozarks by Nancy Nance and started reading it.  I am writing a review!  I will confess that the book is a bit weak but has some interesting parts.  I find it easier right now to complain about a book than to write about a book I like.  Perhaps I can expand to writing about what I like sometime soon.

I give you fair warning that any reviews that I might write could end up full of complaints.  That's where I am right now.  I'm not enjoying most books much if at all.  If I do read a book, I probably still won't enjoy it that much.  If I write a review, then it won't be a positive review.

Some of my readers dislike negative reviews and have complained in the past.  If you are one of those people, you might not want to read my reviews.  Back around three years ago, I was beginning to spiral down down into this slump.  I read many books that I didn't like, but I did manage to review them. 

I was told that I was reading the wrong books, and I was given unneeded suggestions on where I could find suitable reading material.  Both then and now, most all books are the wrong book for me.  I can't change that.  I need to get in a better place, but it's going to take time.  I am the only person who can get myself in a better place.  I am the only person who can decide what I should try to read.

I do not need advice.  Any advice will set me back.  When I received the advice about what to read, it hastened my departure from writing reviews.  Actually, it was that and the command to quit reviewing Sweet Dreams and get back to reviewing children's series books.  Being told what to do caused me to lose much of the motivation that I still had at that time.  It's not surprising that I completely quit reviewing books.  It's going to be hard for me to come back from this, so...

Please resist telling me what to read or what to review.  I have a house full of books, probably around 10,000 of them.  Several times in recent months, I actually looked through the list of what I own and thought about which ones I could try.  I pulled various books off the shelf and tried to start.  I found that I could not summon any interest in reading a book that I have read before.  If I'm going to read, then I'm going to have to read a book that is new to me. 

The problem with that is that I don't know which ones I will like.  I try to read books that I will like.  At least, I try books that sound appealing, but I can't help it if the books do not hold my interest.  Some books start out great and then fall apart.  All I can do is try.  

The pandemic-related stress is off the charts, and my goal each day is to get through each day.  I will read as I can, and I will write what I can.  I will not cause myself additional stress by setting goals or placing any kind of requirement on myself.  I do not care how few books I read this year.  For the record, I am currently at 3 1/2 books read in 2022.  I will read what I can.  And that's good enough.  

Moonstone Mystery Romance #1 Deadly Design

The Moonstone Mystery Romance series was published in 1985.  Five of the six books are quite scarce.  The only book that can be found easily is Something Out There in the Especially for Girls hardcover book club edition.

1.  Deadly Design

2.  The Shadowed Path

3.  Dangerous Beat

4.  Fatal Secrets

5.  Something Out There

6.  When Darkness Falls

I believe that this series was named after the Nancy Drew book, The Moonstone Castle Mystery.

In #1 Deadly Design, Charlotte has landed a job at an upscale boutique at Mission Square Mall.  Charlotte is thrilled about her job, and she really likes Steve, who works at the adjacent book store.  But Charlotte soon realizes that the mall is not a safe place.

I was about to return my sales book to the special place in the drawer when I noticed a slight thickness toward the back of it.  As I investigated further, I found a bulky note was stuck to one of the pages.  I pried the note off carefully, being sure not to rip the pages of my precious book.

As I opened the folded note I saw that it was composed of letters cut out of magazines or newspaper and glued onto a sheet of paper.  

BE VERY CAREFUL.  HE HAS A GUN.

Who has a gun?  The thought was so sharp that for a moment I was afraid I had actually said it out loud.  Was it the gang leader who had trailed me to my apartment building the night before?

Or was it Steve?

Please don't let it be Steve, I thought.  Anyone but Steve!

I really enjoy books that are set in stores or shopping centers and have an unknown danger.  I found this book to be interesting from the very beginning.  It's clear from early in the story that something odd is going on at the mall.  It's not clear who the culprit is.

Charlotte has legitimate reason to suspect multiple people of threatening her and following her.  I didn't guess the actual solution until the reveal towards the end of the story.  I think I could have if I had been thinking more in a certain direction.  The author did a good job of casting suspicion on several characters, actually to most of the characters.  I like that.  It's always more entertaining to be kept guessing, wondering what is really going on. 

This is an excellent book.