The Ski Trail Mystery and Storm Over Garnet by Virginia McDonnell

When I finished reading the final Kim Aldrich book, I wanted to read more of them.  I love suspenseful books like the Kim Aldrich books.  I looked over the list of books written by Virginia McDonnell, hoping that she might have written at least one other book that could be similar to the Kim Aldrich books.  Most of McDonnell's books are nurse stories, which do not interest me at all.

McDonnell wrote a book titled The Ski Trail Mystery, which was published in 1966.  The book didn't appear to be about nursing and sounded like a good mystery, so I purchased it.  I am so glad that I did.

In The Ski Trail Mystery, Chris Murphy is in the Ski Patrol at High Tor.  Chris hopes to be promoted to the leader of the Ski Scouts during the following year, but he must prove himself by doing something distinctive.  Chris' cousin, Suki, is visiting, and she and Chris spot a wolf on a nearby trail.  The young people learn that there is a bounty on wolves captured in their area.  Chris vows to get the reward.  Chris and Suki follow the wolf and discover a trail of red jewels.  The jewels could be rubies or garnets.  A garnet mine run by Chris' father is nearby, and the mine is no longer producing fine garnets.  The red jewels might be a clue to what is happening.

I do not care to reveal many spoilers, and a lot happens that I do not mention.  This book is also deeply suspenseful like the Kim Aldrich books.  The book does not involve murder or grim events like the Kim Aldrich books, but it does have a similar tone.  This is an excellent book.

I found one more book by Virginia McDonnell that I decided to read.

In Storm Over Garnet, Kaki Morrison is feels threatened by the opening of Star Mountain Lodge.  Garnet has been the gathering place for local skiers each day after school, but after the nearby lodge opens, most people go there.  Garnet may soon be forced to close, but Kaki believes that if she wins a ski competition that she might be able to help save Garnet.

This book classifies loosely as young adult and is a coming-of-age story.  The book is not highly suspenseful like the other books that I chose to read by Virginia McDonnell, but it is still very good.

Kim Aldrich #3 The Deep Six and #4 The Long Shot

In Kim Aldrich #3, The Deep Six, Kim witnesses the theft of a Cadillac from the street outside her apartment.  She and a reporter, Colin Ryan, speak to the owner of the vehicle, learning that he left his briefcase inside the vehicle.  The briefcase contained the only copy of the newest will of his wealthy client.

Hours later, the client is killed in automobile accident, and his wife is near death in the hospital.  The couple's daughter is disabled, and the new will makes arrangements for her.  The old will makes no provisions for the girl, so Kim and Colin work on finding the stolen car so that the girl will not be sent to an institution by her other relatives.  It soon becomes apparent that the vehicle was stolen for the will and that certain people will stop at nothing to keep the new will from coming to light.

The child is said to be "severely retarded" according to the author.  At the end of the book, the reader learns that the little girl just needs glasses, which is why she always had what was perceived to be a dumb look on her face and never responded to anything.  This makes no sense.  Even if she couldn't see, she should have been able to respond to sound.

The fatal accident that kills the girl's father was caused by a heavy oil slick on the highway.  The next day, Kim and Andy nearly get into a fatal crash from the same oil slick.  I find it strange that nobody had cleaned up the excessive oil.

This is another outstanding book.

In Kim Aldrich #4, The Long Shot, wealthy Mr. Van Alstyne plans to send his daughter, Robin, to summer camp, but he is afraid that she will be kidnapped and held for ransom.  Kim is hired to be a counselor at the summer camp, and her sole duty is to keep Robin safe.  Unfortunately, Robin doesn't want to be kept safe and constantly causes trouble and runs away from camp.  Soon, the worst happens, and Robin is abducted.  Kim and her new friend, Kevin Clark, who is a counselor for a boys' camp, search for Robin.

On pages 159 and 160, Kim thinks of a girl who was buried alive in Florida.  I assumed that this was a real story, but it would have been before my time.  A quick Internet search revealed the horrifying ordeal of Barbara Mackle, who was buried alive in a fiberglass box.

This book takes a lot longer to get deeply suspenseful, and at first, I expected it not to be as good as the other three stories.  Around halfway through the story, the book hits the same level of suspense as the previous three books in the series, and at times, it is even more suspenseful.  The later part of the story reminds me of the tone of modern young adult horror novels.

After I finished the last book, I was disappointed that I had reached the end of the series.  As of that time, I had read 224 books this year, and the Kim Aldrich books were in the top 10 best books read this year along with three of the Roy Stover books, and a few of the books by Capwell Wyckoff.  In the top 10 best out of 224 books is a rather high ranking.

All four books in this series are outstanding.  I highly recommend them.

Kim Aldrich #1 Miscalculated Risk and #2 Silent Partner

The Kim Aldrich series was written by Virginia "Jinny" McDonnell and was published by Whitman.  The series consists of four books.

1.  Miscalculated Risk, 1972
2.  Silent Partner, 1972
3.  The Deep Six, 1972
4.  The Long Shot, 1974

Kim Aldrich is an insurance investigator.  She is out of high school, but her age is not given.  I assume that Kim is somewhere between 18 and 20 years of age.

These books read very much like the more exciting boys' series books.  One could also say that they are skewed towards young adult.  These are not your typical Whitman children's books.  The stories are deeply suspenseful and involve murder.  In each book, Kim is accompanied by an attractive young man.  Kim's companion is different in each book by necessity, since Kim is attracted to the young man but cannot completely trust him.

In Kim Aldrich #1, Miscalculated Risk, the Madden family is suing the city of Neadham.  Their son, Pete, slipped on rocks on the beach and was crippled.  The family contends that the city had no warning signs about the slippery rocks, while the city claims that they did.

Kim becomes acquainted with the Maddens' attorney, Andy Hill, and she helps him investigate.  Kim and Andy quickly learn that someone is trying to keep them from discovering the truth and that this person will resort to murder to keep the facts hidden forever.

At one point in the story, it is revealed that Pete was adopted.  Kim acts like the adoption could have some huge bearing on the case, like any shenanigans would have something to do with him being adopted.  It is really odd.

This is a rather excellent story.  The entire book is deeply suspenseful.  Kim is quite obviously in grave danger, and someone is murdered.  This a great mystery.

In Kim Aldrich #2, Silent Partner, Kim is on a ski vacation in the Austrian Alps.  While on a ski lift, she becomes friendly with Jim Whitcomb and a young boy named Roby.  Both Jim and Roby fascinate Kim.  Sometimes they are friendly, and other times they seem to ignore her like they are unaware of her presence.

Kim witnesses an attack on a skier where his ski poles are stolen.  The melee results in two deaths, and Jim will not let Kim tell the authorities what she witnessed.  Later, Roby disappears, and Jim gradually confides in Kim what he knows about the mysterious events in the Austrian alps.  As Jim and Kim search for Roby, they must also keep away from some very dangerous men.

Kim does really dangerous things in these books, very much like what the Hardy Boys do in the Hardy Boys Digest books.  On page 199, Kim climbs up to the top floor of a building via the balconies.  Nancy Drew was never allowed to do activities like that.

These books are quite suspenseful and are extremely good mysteries.

Both of these books are outstanding.

Kim Aldrich #3 The Deep Six and #4 The Long Shot

Meg Duncan #5 The Mystery of the Black-Magic Cave and #6 Mystery in Williamsburg

In Meg Duncan #5, The Mystery of the Black-Magic Cave, Meg, Kerry, and Uncle Hal travel to Merrybones, Maine, where Uncle Hal stays in his cabin and the two girls stay in a boarding house.  Uncle Hal's friend, Emily Hawthorne, is being threatened.  Emily's family once lived in the town, and she recently returned.  For some reason, she is not welcome.

Meg and Kerry learn that a coven of witches has meetings in a nearby cave.  The girls soon suspect that many of the prominent women of the town may be involved.  The girls wonder whether the women are the ones threatening Emily.

This is a really good mystery.  The story is excellent.

In Meg Duncan #6, Mystery in Williamsburg, Meg and Kerry are hostesses at an antique toy show in Williamsburg.  Meg searches for the valuable George Washington clothespin dolls, which have been missing for years.  An old dollhouse loaned to the show by Miss Mariah apparently holds the key to finding the dolls.  Several men appear to be way too interested in the dollhouse, and Meg fears that the clothespin dolls will be located by one of the men before she and Kerry can find them.

This is a very good book.

If the entire Meg Duncan series had been written exactly like the first two books, I would not have a very good overall opinion of it.  Instead, the series gets better and better, and in particular, #3, 4, and 5 are quite good.  I enjoyed #6 slightly less than the preceding three volumes but better than #1 and 2.  Overall, the Meg Duncan series is a very good series.

Meg Duncan #3 The Treasure Nobody Saw and #4 The Ghost of Hidden Springs

In Meg Duncan #3, The Treasure Nobody Saw, Meg enjoys the thrill of a thunderstorm.  As she looks outside, she is astonished to see a car drive up to the deserted Haywood house.  A figure in white goes up the steps.  Meg cannot get anybody to believe her, but she is certain that someone is staying in the Haywood house.  Meg investigates and becomes acquainted with the family that is staying in the house.

On page 114, Meg suggests that Abby put something white in the attic window if she needs something.  Meg tells her that she read about it in a book, and Abby remarks that she remembers the book.  In Nancy Drew #28, The Clue of the Black Keys, Terry signals by putting something white in the attic window.  I wonder if this is the book.

This book is very good.

In Meg Duncan #4, The Ghost of Hidden Springs, the old Hannigan house is reputedly haunted by the spirit of a young girl named Kathleen who drowned.  Several people see the ghost near the summer house.  Meg and Kerry find flowers on Kathleen's grave, then they meet a girl named Kathleen who is staying in the area with her mother.  Kathleen looks just like the dead girl.  What is going on?

As I read this book, I noticed that the sentences are not as short and that I like the style better.  I assume that this has to do with the different authors who wrote the books.  In any case, the series keeps getting better and better.  This is a very good book.

New Listings on eBay and Etsy + Site Strong-Arm Tactics

I moved a bunch of books into bulk lots on eBay.  Some of the books came from existing listings on eBay and Etsy, and others are books that I had not previously listed anywhere.  Since some of the bulk lots came from existing listings, not all of them are showing as new listings.  Take a look at the "Bulk Lots" category to see all of the bulk lots, and be sure to check the lots that are down near the bottom of the page, since some of them are new.

Jennifer's Series Books on eBay

Some of the books listed in the eBay bulk lots came from Etsy.  I deactivated those Etsy listings when I placed the books in the bulk lots.  Some of the deactivated listings still had a month to go, and I did not wish to lose those listings completely.  I have changed the deactivated listings to other books and have reactivated them.  This means that I have a number of new books listed on Etsy that are not showing as new listings.

Jennifer's Series Books on Etsy

Check the following categories in my Etsy shop to find the new listings, and keep in mind that they may be showing towards the bottom of the category pages.

Nancy Drew Blue/PB/Other
Nancy Drew Library Ed
Old Girls' Series

On June 1, I wrote about how eBay was tightening control of whether sellers could run promotions.

As is typical, eBay is tightening its control over sellers, ostensibly to give buyers a better experience.  Beginning in late June, eBay will only allow sales to be run on items that have been listed for at least 14 days.  eBay says that this is so that buyers will have price transparency.

New items cannot be included in a sale, because the buyer doesn't know if the seller artificially raised the price before listing it.  So eBay feels it is better for new items not to be on sale, since the seller might be trying to pull a scam.  How about letting buyers make the decision on whether the seller's price was artificially raised before the item was put on sale?  But then, eBay doesn't think buyers are smart enough to figure that out.

I do not use eBay's "Good 'Til Canceled" option for my listings.  This is because I typically float more than 250 listings each month on my allotted 250 free listings.  If I were to use "Good 'Til Canceled," then I would lose control on when my items get relisted, since eBay would do it for me.  This would cause me to pay listing fees on some items where I can avoid the fees.

I was amused this week to learn that eBay backed off that promotion policy for now.  According to eCommerceBytes, The policy has been reversed at least through the holiday season.  I still probably will not run any eBay promotions for the foreseeable future.

I mentioned on June 1 that I float more than 250 listings per month and that I cannot use "Good 'Til Canceled" for that reason.  There is a rumor that eBay is trying to force all sellers to switch to "Good 'Til Canceled."  Apparently on the mobile app, sellers now must use "Good 'Til Canceled," and many sellers are concerned that eBay will soon force PC users to switch to "Good 'Til Canceled."  eBay always has a plot afoot.

eBay isn't the only site using strong-arm tactics.  Etsy has begun to implement some of the same restrictive policies that eBay has had in place for years.  I find the messages that display on my Etsy Dashboard to be somewhat concerning.

The middle message is the one that concerns me.  Etsy is now giving better placement to listings with lower shipping prices.  I notice that the message "Lower your shipping prices" is grayed out for me, so I may not be impacted.  However, I am still concerned about what this could mean in the future, especially should Etsy ever decide to take it further.

My listings are set at $3.95 shipping, but I do have a free shipping promotion on orders of $35 or more.  I feel like my shipping promotion is good and does bring results.  I am concerned that in the future Etsy could insist on free shipping like eBay does.  That would not work for me with my pricing method on Etsy.

I have some books priced as low as $1.99 plus $3.95 shipping.  If the books are purchased in an order of $35 or more, then those books would cost only $1.99.  If Etsy were to insist on free shipping, then the $1.99 books would have to be priced at no less than $5.99, which means that the shipping wouldn't be free when part of an order of $35 or more.  I hope I don't ever have to change my pricing method on Etsy.

Finally, some of us have seen the end of our Internet tax-free experience, and I have no doubt that the rest of you will follow in the next few years, so prepare yourselves.  Those of us who live in Washington, Pennsylvania, and Oklahoma now pay state sales tax on most all online purchases.  eBay is pretty much the lone holdout.  However, eBay will start charging sales tax for buyers from those three states beginning in 2019. 

I have to pay 9.1% sales tax on my online purchases, and I must say that it hurts a bit.  Midwest City, Oklahoma, has the highest city sales tax in the state of Oklahoma.  It really hurts when the book costs over $100.  Ouch.  I keep reminding myself, though, that the Oklahoma Internet sales tax law is paying for my own pay raise of $6,657.  I am still ahead by quite a bit.  I remind myself of that each time I see 9.1% added to an online purchase.

The Adventurous Allens Series in Dust Jacket

I finally acquired a copy of The Adventurous Allens Marooned in dust jacket, which means that I now have all five Adventurous Allens books in dust jacket.

I know what some of you are thinking.  You recall that my reading of this series was akin to torture and that I will never read another book by Harriet Pyne Grove.  That is true.  However, I am also fondly attracted to these books, even though I keep no other books by Harriet Pyne Grove in my collection and avoid all of her books like the plague.

The reason is quite simple.  I own the original cover art to the fifth Adventurous Allens book.  Read "A Mystery Solved" from December 28, 2008.

I can't help but feel a fondness for the series when the cover art to the fifth book hangs on my wall.

The premise of the Adventurous Allens series is excellent.  The first three books are pretty good, even though reading Harriet Pyne Grove's prose is difficult.  The last two books are the ones that tortured me.  Below are links to my reviews of the series.

"The Adventurous Allens" from September 15, 2010
"The Adventurous Allens Part 2" from September 16, 2010
"The Adventurous Allens Find Mystery" from October 1, 2010
"The Adventurous Allens Afloat" from October 8, 2010
"The Adventurous Allens Marooned" from October 23, 2010
"The Adventurous Allens' Treasure Hunt" from October 25, 2010
"Adventurous Allens Final Thoughts" from October 26, 2010

The series was revised and reprinted as the Penny Allen series. 

"Penny Allen and the Mystery of the Haunted House" from October 31, 2010
"Penny Allen and the Mystery of the Hidden Treasure" from November 2, 2010

The revised books are much better than Harriet Pyne Grove's original text.  If you are interested in reading the story of the Adventurous Allens, then consider reading the Penny Allen books.  They are very good. 

Meg Duncan #1 Disappearing Diamonds and #2 Witch's Stairway

The Meg Duncan series consists of six books first published by Whitman in hardcover and later reprinted by Golden Press in softcover.

1.  Meg and the Disappearing Diamonds, 1967
2.  The Secret of the Witch's Stairway, 1967
3.  The Treasure Nobody Saw, 1967
4.  The Ghost of Hidden Springs, 1970
5.  The Mystery of the Black Magic Cave, 1971
6.  Mystery in Williamsburg, 1972

These books are aimed at a slightly younger audience than the Trixie Belden series.  I was concerned when I began revisiting the Trixie Belden series that I might struggle with it since it is skewed younger than most books I enjoy.  My Trixie Belden experience went well after I adjusted to reading the books.  I decided to read Meg Duncan immediately after reading Trixie Belden, since that would give me the best chance of enjoying the Meg books.  As I have stated previously, what I have read just before reading a series can influence how much I enjoy it or whether I can even read it.

In Meg Duncan #1, Meg and the Disappearing Diamonds, Mrs. Partlow's diamonds vanish during a tea party.  At first, Meg fears that her friend Kerry's cousin might have taken the diamonds and hidden them.  Later, Meg realizes that someone else must be to blame.

This is a good story, but the culprit is way too obvious.  The reading level is a tad bit too low for me, and that affected my enjoyment.

In Meg Duncan #2, The Secret of the Witch's Stairway, Meg searches for the missing Ashley family silver.  Meg has a few clues, which she follows during her search.

This mystery is also a bit too simple.  After all, the title of the book pretty much tells us all we need to know about where the silver might be hidden

Even though the reading level is also a bit too low for me, I did enjoy this book more than the first book.  Generally, this series gets better as it continues.