I am sick to the stomach. In case you wanted to know. A correspondant just alerted us that Six For Gold is listed for review in Kirkus Reviews on October 1.

So far as I've ever been able to ascertain, Kirkus hates mysteries. Their criteria for a good mystery is that it isn't really a mystery.

I never check the Kirkus site because I didn't think we had anything to fear from that quarter. Kirkus only got hold of our first book, but luckily their review was nothing more than a summary of the plot from beginning to end. I got the impression the reviewer figured that the story, stated baldly, was so ludicrous as to require no further comment.

At least Four For A Boy and Five For Silver were bleak and depressing, which might have earned us some literary points (even if we don't go in for literary stylings) but after those two we decided sixfer should be lighter and brighter. No deep psychological underpinnings. A yarn, an interesting puzzle. A classic mystery. In other words, just what Kirkus hates.

Well, things could be worse. I didn't get lost at the orienteering meet. There are bears at Hickory Run. They don't like mysteries either.