Book Review: The Whispering Statue

The Whispering Statue by Carolyn Keene

An elderly lady, Mrs. Merriam visits Nancy’s father to unearth the secret of her antique book collection, that she regularly sells to an antique librarian named Mr. Basswood. Apparently, Mr. Basswood seems to be flummoxing Mrs. Merriam by offering her lesser charges for the books she sold, than the charges he auctioned to his customers. The lady smells something fishy going on in his library-bookshop, and wants the secret behind this matter be unveiled.

Nancy, along with her friends Bess and George, boards the flight to Waterford, where she is going to have a stay in Mrs. Merriam’s watch club motel.

Disguising herself as a girl named Debbie, Nancy starts working in Basswood’s antique library as his assistant saleswoman. Guided by her instincts, she is led into a dusty chamber located inside the bookshop, where she discovers a smorgasbord of statues and sculptures, most of these signed in the initials M De K. Even Nancy is beginning to smell something spooky going on, here.

As she hops from clue to clue, she is led into an artist’s workshop where, soon after locating the secret connection between Basswood and this artist named Marco De Keer, Nancy finds herself kidnapped and gagbound inside a statue. Yes! Inside a statue…

However, a baffling secret is revealed to her, about the statue inside which she has been locked.

The novel ends with Nancy solving not only the mystery related to Mrs. Merriam’s antique book-collection, but also the mystery of the statue, which, people of this area, would call as ‘The Whispering Statue’…

Yet another Immersive mystery from the Nancy Drew-Carolyn Keene series!

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Book Review: The Mystery at Lilac Inn

The Mystery at Lilac Inn by Carolyn Keene

Of all the mysteries that Nancy has come across, this one causes her to land into ‘Lilac Inn’, a remotely-situated colonial-style resort. Abundant greens and dense sprinkles of lilac trees paint the portrait of this inn’s generous property. The picturesque space is revealed to be dotted with a number of elegant cottage huts, one dining hall and also, a public restaurant. Some itsy-bitsy renovations are in process.

The inn is owned by Nancy’s friend Emily, who has purchased it very recently, and also, who is going to host her wedding cermony in the inn before opening its cottages for the tourists. Nancy and their common friend Helen, are going to be Emily’s bridesmaids. And so, the two of them, Nancy and Helen, pack up their suitcases to have a wondersome stay in the beautiful inn; totally unaware of what awaits them there!

To everyone’s utter bewilderment, the inn seems to be shadowed by some bizarre occurrences. Also living alongside Emily, her elderly aunt Hazel is becoming low-spirited and heart-sick day after day, agonized over what horror is going to unfold next and engulf them.

A waitress reports seeing a ghostly phantom, and flees away from the inn without notice. Tools go missing from the garden toolbox. Electric power spookily fluctuates on and off, while the cause for it remains unidentified.

But most of all, what scares them all, is the theft of Emily’s diamonds. These were the diamonds that Emily’s late mother had bequested to her before her death. The gems were to be handed over to Emily on her eighteenth birthday by her aunt.

Withal, the very moment when her aunt is presenting this pouch of diamonds to her on her birthday dinner, the lights shut off abruptly and by the time it is back, the diamonds are gone!

Before Nancy can dig deeper into the mystery, she is shoved off with yet another riddle to solve. Apparently, as she takes back-to-back sleuthing trips from the inn to her house, riding in her boat, Nancy comes across a shocking discovery that a girl is impersonating her.

While she’s home, the people at the inn report seeing her, complaining of her weird behaviour, and while she’s away from her home, at the inn, the people in her hometown blame her for causing troubles to them.

Nancy is puzzled, but more than that, she is determined to catch the culprit and bring her into light. But guess what, the unfolding events only pull her deeper and deeper into the spiralling well of questions.

Determined that she is, but at the same time, she feels disheartened to be unable to distinguish real from unreal. Anyone and everyone appears to be the suspect to her binocular eyes. Sometimes, her attention shifts towards a gardener named Gill, while sometimes to Maud Potter, the social director of the inn. But, still and all, she doesn’t seem to arrive at any conclusion.

On top of that, the inn itself seems to her as a never-ending piece of puzzle. Despite having monitored every nook and corner of the inn, she is unsure whether she has seen it all. While she is tiptoeing through the inn following the diamond theft, she discovers a panel hidden behind one of the walls of the room from where the diamonds were stolen. The panel further reveals several other panels leading the way to the outside of inn’s quarters. She also discovers, in the garden, some mysterious typewritten notes, each one containing an unusual code-word.

Meanwhile, Helen too reports seeing a ghost during the night, as Nancy finds her unconscious under a tree. The cottages, where Nancy and Helen are staying are burned to ashes while they are taking a walk in the garden. The culprits don’t leave them even while they are relaxing by skin-diving in the river. While they’re swimming, they are hit and struck by something what resembles a shark-like object.

Before Nancy herself could connect the dots, a phone call arrives, informing her that a theft has taken place in her home. Her identity card has been stolen and is being misused by the girl who is posing as her impersonator.

Nancy is clueless as her mind is racing in a thousand different directions, all at the same time.

Albeit, she rides back to her hometown, informs Chief McGinnis, the head of police, a dear friend of her father, and makes several visits to the list of suspicions she has – the old waitress’ house, the house of the former employer of this waitress, and the jewelry showroom where her identity card was misused…

Gathering several clues, Nancy locks herself in her room, and concentrates all her nerves to connect the pieces of mystery. At last, her mind causes her to craft a secret plan which, though, could risk her life, but would enable her to catch the mischief-making culprit. Nancy rides back to the inn without telling anyone about it, and secretly hides inside an empty cottage to avoid any attention that might alarm the suspects.

Successful at last, she comes across the girl who is not only revealed to be her mirroring impersonator, but also the ghost of the inn!

But wait, Nancy’s troubles aren’t over yet…

Before she can catch this girl, she is hit on her head from behind, only to faint and find herself rope-tied inside an underwater boat’s cabin.

Further events reveal shocking bits and pieces. The girl is nobody but a Broadway actress who, is switching her roles between becoming a waitress and an actress. Emily’s stolen diamonds too, are found to be hidden inside the girl’s lipstick case. There are other suspects in her gang too, some of whom, Nancy had suspected, quite early in the mystery.

As Nancy tries to absorb it all, the boat suddenly catches fire. The gang of culprits leave her all alone, gagged and locked in the burning, sinking boat. Nancy’s only hope is God. And the help does appear, in the form of his father who seems to be riding in a boat alongside Chief McGinnis. Spotting the smoky fumes rising from an underwater boat, they rescue Nancy just before the boat explodes and spurts into shattered metallic chunks.

Like other novels of this mystery series, The Mystery of Lilac Inn, too, is a stupendous and immersive plot to read through. The storyline mentioned is just a speck of the many interesting tiny details patched into the mystery. So, yes, a Nancy Drew fan if you are, you’re going to read the book, and totally love it too!

Neha
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Review: The Mystery of the 99 Steps

The Mystery of the 99 Steps by Carolyn Keene


9 x1 = 9
9x2 = 18 = 9= 1+8
9x3 = 27 = 9 = 2+7
9x4 = 36 = 9 = 3+6
9x5 = 45 = 9 = 4+5
9x6 = 54 = 9 = 5+4
9x…………………………

Oops!

My apologies for missing the introduction. I found myself involved in some serious calculations, actually.

By the way, do you recall, from your school days, this amazing pattern appearing in the mathematical table of 9?

Or, did you know that the number 9 was considered to be a magical number by many great & skilled alchemists of ancient times?

Well, even if you don’t, then this book will reveal to you some of these fascinating facts. And perhaps even more, as you progress in reading the chapters of this mystery.

This particular mystery offered to the blue-eyed detective, Nancy Drew, teems with all things chemistry, alchemy and oh yes, France!

Nancy’s lawyer father, Carson Drew is in France to work on a case concerning a top business tycoon named Monseiur LeBlanc. This businessman is appearing to display some strange behaviour pertaining to his business decisions. Making huge money investments which seem to be going nowhere; shutting down several of his factories without concern of a big lot of workers losing their jobs; appearing almost hypnotized yet revealing no information about the reason for his strange decisions. And all.

As a coincidence, Nancy’s latest mystery, relating to a dear friend Mrs. Blair, also leads her to the same country. That is, France. Apparently, Mrs. Blair is having some terrible & nightmarish dreams; all of which relate to the mystery of some 99 steps. And so, together with her duo of besties, she sets forth on this lovely Parisian trip.

As the four of them – Nancy, her two friends and her father, go on about exploring the details of their respective mysteries, the two mysteries began to intersect; revealing connection to the same clue, - the mysterious 99 steps.

While Mr. Drew takes them to exotic café restaurants & Bess displays her characteristic excitement over mouthwatering French food, George finds her in impatience as she gets kidnapped, drugged & trapped inside an old royal monument of France.

Scanning a number of chateaus, shadowing thieves in a parade and tripping over a number of coded warning letters, finally, the mystery causes the group to hunt an underground chemical laboratory located inside some isolated ruins of Chambord region.

As it turns out, the thief, masking as an Arab, is fooling the businessman; playing mind games over him by displaying some tricks with chemical potion bottles and make-believing the businessman that he can turn charcoal into gold. But the tantrums of this Arab man are not able to remain in hiding from Nancy for too long. She doesn’t just plan to unmask his foolmaking, but also, makes a strategy to catch him red-handed with a group containing her friends, her father and some policemen.

Throughout the mystery, you’ll observe that Nancy remains busy counting the number of steps wherever she spots any staircase or likewise. To me, that looks like an interesting movie scene. Well.

We’ll see that.

Spellbinding, overall!

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Review: The Clue in the Crumbling Wall

The Clue in the Crumbling Wall by Carolyn Keene
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

One part historical romance blended with equal part adventure, this mystery is not only interesting to read, but also very immersive with respect to its plot’s imagery detailing.

Driven by one of her client’s pleas, Nancy puts her foot into an old estate known by the name of Heath Castle. Though utterly magnificient, this English-style castle appears to her to be in a terrible condition; a consequence of caretaker’s carelessness, abandonment and neglect. Everywhere she steps, she discovers nothing but cracked plasters, crumbling towers, tangled webs of vines and overgrown weeds. But apparently, the greatest clues to the mystery too are concealed inside these mud-soaked moss-dipped fragmenting old castle’s walls. Nancy must find these clues as quick as possible because otherwise, this castle, as well as the entire inheritance connected to it, will go to false charity – in the hands of greedy men already having their eyes keenly set on it.

The castle, currently, is being governed (mis-governed) under the order of a deceitful lawyer. He, too, has his eyes tucked to the treasures hidden in the estate. And to swallow them up before anyone else can reach them, he is causing silent havocs in the castle by sending his men to secretly blast explosions in some wall or the other, to loosen the brickholds of some or the other tower, to ransack one chamber after the other. Nancy even notices him selling a few pieces of the stolen treasure at a jeweler’s shop, who is a dear friend of the young detective and tells it all to her.

In addition to these clues, she must also quicken her search for the missing dancer, to whom this castle belongs, as a part of her late husband’s inheritance. The dancer’s lover had sworn this to her, before a mysterious event separated them all of a sudden. Seemingly, this dancer, who was also a famous celebrity in the early days, went somewhere and disappeared strangely, never appearing or seen again by her family or her husband either. No one knows what might or could have happened to her. The best most information that Nancy has, is a young-age photograph of this woman dancer. Rest is left on her to decipher on her own. Adding to her difficulty, even Nancy’s boyfriend Ned is not available to her as a support in her sleuthing. Unlike other mysteries when he’d rush out to assist her, this time, he & his crew is in South America instead.

But as always, her two besties are there, as well as a jaunty friend named Salty. Salty is a former sailor, now a door-to-door clam seller. With his prior knowledge related to shells, pearls & dyes, he helps the detective crew navigate a doddering pearl button factory located inside the castle estate. There is also a little snippet outlining the crafting process of a pearl button. Interesting!

A series of little discoveries, at first unfolds a tale of sweet romance. The castle’s royal had hidden several precious gifts in various secret parts of the castle for his lover, the missing woman dancer. And then, some secrets hidden inside the walls of the castle, to discover which, she has to risk getting trapped, breathless, in one of the castle’s chambers.

By the climax of the mystery, a good amount of panic & anxiety engulfs Nancy. As soon as she’s about to reach the end of her search for the missing dancer, she finds that the dancer has been kidnapped. But as soon as she finds her, the various pieces of the puzzling mystery too, start to come together in her brain.

Various treasures are discovered. One-of-a-kind pearls, royal jewels, a freshwater spring, an old leatherbound photograph diary, a scientific formula for making dyes from whelk shells, and some bottles containing the purple dye samples that the dancer’s late husband was experimenting to create.

She gifts the elderly dancer a surprise of a stunning pearl jewellery set which her late lover had hidden inside the castle, just for her. And also shows her a cindrella-like shoe impression which her lover had carved on one of the high-towering walls of the castle, as a memento of their love.

Since the major chunk of this mystery revolves around just the same location & setting, therefore, the novel could have easily become boring to read, passing a few number of chapters. Howsoever, it doesn’t. Descriptions are quite juicy, fresh and gripping. All in all, this mystery is a sweet and refreshing read; and also one of the well-penned novels among the entire Nancy-Carolyn series!


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Review: The Secret of Mirror Bay

The Secret of Mirror Bay by Carolyn Keene
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

Nancy’s aunt invites her and her friends on a vacation trip at a bayside cabin owned by her. The cabin is located across a bay in a small New York based town called Cooperstown. Apparently, this trip is not only limited to vacation fun, rather, it is also an invite to solve the mystery of a woman who is reported to be seen walking atop the bay’s waters during early misty mornings.

This bay, named Bide-a-Wee, is known to possess utter beauty in the form of its mirror-like waters, further surrounded by fine woody mountains and jungly green rainforests.

So, along with her aunt and with two of her best friends – Bess and George, Nancy sets out on this adventurous exploration. And guess, what happens as they step into the town? Nancy is mistaken to be a criminal by town’s people and authorities!

Apparently, a girl whose face resembles Nancy, causes the people in town to mistake her identity as a thief and a swindler. This girl, as revealed gradually, is not only responsible for a vacation hoax, but also for her involvement in other crimes such as burglary of a jewelry store.

This mischievous girl, by the end, is caught by the police as well as her two partner buddies. As they confess, they had been scaring the people away from the forest by showing them hallucinations of a ghost-like creature glowing with flashy green light whose source seemed impossible to locate. Since Nancy didn’t believe in ghosts, therefore, she was able to trace their footsteps in the mud and reach the cave they had been using as their hidingplace.

As always, later on in the plot, the three respective boyfriends of the detective crew also join them and alongside them, an elderly man named Matt, too. Uncle Matt is a science professor.

By the end of their venturesome trip, Nancy doesn’t only discovers the secret of the woman walking on the bay’s waters, but also cracks the mystery of a giant fraudulent operation being carried out in a concealed underground chamber located in a secluded portion of the forest. As a bonus, she also digs out some treasured royal items from the bay’s depths including a box of ancient coins, pieces of a codeword letter and a long-lost royal child wagon carved in white and gold.

But like always, this mystery too wasn’t any plain or simple to navigate. As her friends get smacked on head, get poisoned by the forest’s serpents & almost get kidnapped, Nancy too is caught adrift into panic when she finds herself trapped inside the underground cave along with her boyfriend Ned and Uncle Matt as they are scanning through the forested region in the dark of the night.

Meanwhile, in the middle of the book’s plot, there are repetitive details of scuba-diving, boat-riding and swimming presented in a descriptive manner. These routinic scenes caused me to feel as if I am experiencing the refreshing waters of the mirror bay by myself.

In addition, there is a chapter in a book that I really felt quite immersive to read. You’d come across it when you read the book. This chapter mentions a setting of the cabin’s porch. It’s the time of evening. Nancy, her friends, their respective boyfriends, Nancy’s aunt and uncle Matt – all of these people are sitting on or nearby this porch. And they’re witnessing a swarm of glowing fireflies in the forested region surrounding them. Therein, Uncle Matt explains from his scientific knowledge, the process of cold light generation in the fireflies. And I found this detailing really fascinating to read. As Bess cooks her expertly delicious desserts, salads & sandwiches, and as romance begins to bloom between Aunt Eloise & Uncle Matt, these people spend a cool evening watching the sunset and talking about fireflies. I really liked reading this particular setting from all of the scenes written in the book.

Apart from this, there is a character in the book named Yo. Yo is an interesting character who doesn’t only know how to heal a serpent bite, but is also known for telling intriguing horror stories. I really liked these little horror tales inserted between the mystery and narrated through his peppy character.

All in all, I immensely enjoyed delving into this book. In fact, upon having finished this book, I found myself feeling like I’ve just returned from this trip to the bayside cabin myself!

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Review: Nancy Drew 25: The Ghost of Blackwood Hall

Nancy Drew 25: The Ghost of Blackwood Hall by Carolyn Keene
My rating: 0 of 5 stars


The Ghost of the Blackwood Hall is a thrilling story, featuring one of the creepiest plots among all titles of the Nancy Drew-Carolyn Keene 64-title series.

As an elderly woman Mrs. Putney, reaches out to Nancy through a friend of her father; she seems somewhat anxious and perplexed. Guided by some superstitious trance that her late husband’s spirit is communicating messages to her, Mrs. Putney seems to be experiencing mysterious occurrences including the theft of her priced jewels & failing to remember the details of certain recent events.

Engulfed in the spell of her superstitions, she almost fires Nancy as her detective; not just once but multiple times. On the other side, Nancy, along with her friends, discovers that not just Mrs. Putney, but several other young girls like Lola & Nellie are involved in this dangerous & cultish trap. These girls appear to be acting crazy; handing out telegrams with their hard-earned cash & money over selected walnut trees in a forest. Again, they seem to be taken advantage of, through their respective vulnerabilities & superstitions.

The hunt for the mystery causes Nancy and her friends to take a trip to the colourful city of New Orleans; which also brings them to their first encounter with a nosy woman, who is also revealed to be a big piece of the mystery’s puzzle.

Meanwhile, in the same forest, a remote & isolated houseblock mansion named Blackwood Hall is discovered. The location, as it reveals to the young detective crew, is being used for something fishy. Some strange events are being carried out in this mansion. Nancy & her crew are welcomed here repeatedly with things like luminous flashes of neon green light, magic witchcraft wands, a ghostly figure playing music on an organ pipe, an invisible intruder, unconsciousness-inducing smoke flames, and what not!

Even her father too is not spared. His car is stolen and sneaked away to some isolated place as he’s inspecting the details of the place along with Nancy’s boyfriend Ned.

Nancy doesn’t just not give up on the mystery, but also, makes these hypnotized girls come out of their trance-like superstitions; also preventing the elderly woman, at the last moment, to hand over all her wealth & documents to these unknown fake séance-carriers…

Packed with intriguingly scenic descriptions of spooky-chilling seances & classic cult control tactics; suspenseful tales of trance-induction, psychological influence & hypnotism, the novel is certainly not to be missed if you’re a fan of the Nancy Drew detective series!

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Review: The Thirteenth Pearl

The Thirteenth Pearl by Carolyn Keene
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

This is the story about the theft of an unusual pearl necklace featuring a set of thirteen pearls, with the thirteenth and the center-most pearl bearing a special significance. All the clues to the mystery lead Nancy to Japan, where she accompanies her father.

During their stay in Japan, they are attacked with ghastly clues and threats, which warn them to take off the mystery. By the ending of the mystery, the clues lead Nancy inside a terrible pearl worshipping cult, where she find herself and her friend almost trapped inside an isolated house.

The creepily insane ceremonies being carried out in the cult are described very well, including the woman in the white dress muttering some unusual words to herself.

I loved the beautiful detailing the book mentions about the breeding of pearls, the pearl culture and how the descriptions of oysters are elaborated with much of a human-like emotion. Also, there are some fine tidbits of Japanese culture, out of which, I particularly liked the Japanese wedding scene.

A marvellous and scenic novel to read. By the way, “4 + 9 = 13”? Yikes!


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Review: The Sign of the Twisted Candles

The Sign of the Twisted Candles by Carolyn Keene
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

A lightweight plot rooted in a generation conflict pertaining to family property between the two families Faynes and Marvins. The mystery is plotted in an old-world mansion, in the tower room of which, lives a hundred-year old man named Asa Sidney. He is almost a captive of a couple called collectively as the Jemitts. The Jemitts are the caretakers of the mansion, which nowadays, is being partially used as a restaurant.

The property conflict further exponentiates after the sudden death of Mr. Sidney. As Nancy encounters the culprits, she is faced with kidnapping, drugging, foul play and what not. Despite of which, she manages to discover some valuable treasures including a special kind of music box, some ancient swords, and above all, some secret letters written by Mr. Sidney, and hidden in a place no one could decipher. The mystery is solved with not just the cooling of family dispute but a secret being revealed that left all the family members awestruck with wonder and surprise.

I liked the detailed descriptions of the mansion including the candles and the attics in the tower room. They transported me into a vintage-like era as if I myself am strolling through a palatial monument.

Also, there is a moment in the novel when the Jemitts leave the mansion and Nancy has only a small window of time to make her search. As she is hurrying from room to room and from wardrobe to wardrobe along with Mr. Sidney’s maid Carol, the feeling of urgency could be experienced by the readers.

The entry into this ancient-built tower mansion offers enough of the spooky element that makes the mystery quite immersive from the very beginning. Overall, an intriguing mystery to delve into!


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Review: The Spider Sapphire Mystery

The Spider Sapphire Mystery by Carolyn Keene
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

This is a story about an ancient sapphire gem belonging to a renowned Indian Shastri Tagore. This is a special kind of sapphire with a spider naturally embedded inside it. The gem is reported to be stolen and the blame of the theft is put on Dr. Ramsey who has produced an exactly similar gem but rather synthetically. Dr. Ramsey is also a dear friend of Nancy’s father, who is sure that his friend is totally honest in this regard. So, Nancy decides to unfold the mystery behind all of this. As a coincidence, the mystery appears to be connected to her venture safari trip to Africa with her friends and a group of Emerson college students are going to take. The mystery begins with the kidnapping of Nancy’s boyfriend Ned. Yet, the clueIn the end, a predictable yet highly dramatic scheme is unfolded behind the theft, which, the reader discovers in the ending chapters. Apart from finding the sapphire, she also discovers a lost jungle guide who is the brother of a Swahili singer Madame Bulawaya whom she had met in River Heights.

I have been reading the Nancy Drew series quite on repeat since the first time I started reading it during my school years. And I must say that some of the scenes depicted in this novel have stayed the very same with me each time, especially the chapter relating to the Baboon thief as well as their adventures in the treetop house. Also, I particularly loved the chapters which outline the detail of various animals they encounter during the safari.

Packed with thefts, warnings, and other obstacles, the mystery settles into Nancy unfolding the scheme behind the thievery, tracing the fabulous spider sapphire and catching the man who is the master mind behind all this. As always, it was absolutely entertaining to read the novel!


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Review: The Secret of the Forgotten City

The Secret of the Forgotten City by Carolyn Keene
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

This is a novel about Nancy Drew’s adventures about re-discovering and locating a lost Indian city, as well as the gold treasure hidden therein. The treasure hunt is joined by her two best friends Bess and George, their respective boyfriends and some students from the University of Nevada. The gold digging is carried out with the help of clues and symbols depicted on seven petroglyphs, each featuring a moon phase symbol, and a shiny golden chuckwalla symbol.

While the thief named Fleetfoot Joe tries to stop then, to warn them and to create obstacles repeatedly in their way, he is in the end caught and arrested by the police.

In the end, Nancy almost loses her life to the waters of underground river, but comes out saving her life, as well as discovering the package with the ancient gold plates.

This is one of my favourite novels from the entire Nancy Drew-Carolyn Keene series. Part because it features India, my hometown, and part because of its plot which features the gold-digging theme which matches many of the Indian mythological texts.

I immensely enjoyed reading it!


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Review: The Clue in the Jewel Box

The Clue in the Jewel Box by Carolyn Keene
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

This is a chapter-novel magnifying the mystery of a woman named Madame Alexandra, who was a former queen; pertaining to her lost grandson - the prince as well as the number of clues cleverly hidden inside her recovered treasures, among which were a prettily-tiered porcelain jewel box and a gold-trimmed Easter Egg featuring a singing nightingale. In addition to all the items of her treasure, these two items particularly, paves way for Nancy to move forward with several encrypted clues as the mystery unfolds before her. As both a writer and a reader, I found the treasure item descriptions to be intriguing. I also liked the character of the fake prince represented by Michael, especially the quality of stubbornness that his features and mannerisms depicted in the novel. Other characters that stayed with me after the completion of the novel were Mr. Faber - the antique jewel dealer, Anna – Madam queen’s maid, and the Helen-Ellington couple with their love story reaching a happy ending in the finale. I also loved the moments of dinnertime at Madam queen’s house, the table setting, the silver cutlery, luxurious dishes and all; which, literally transported me into a regal feel as I read along, through these!

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