I’m not going to leave a specific description of this book. It’s the 12th in the Ruth Galloway series, and I worry that anything I say will give spoilers for previous books. I would hate to do that, because this is one of those series that is absolutely lovely to devour. They’re mysteries, but the mysteries are kinda beside the point. The point is what happens to Ruth, and Kate, and Nelson, and Cathbad, and all the many other recurring characters who have been living through a decade of their lives since The Crossing Places (book 1). This is why I can’t give a synopsis. Each mystery is self-contained and wouldn’t spoil previous mysteries, but the circumstances under which each occur will give away spoilers for the characters!

What I can say is this: The Lantern Men was one of my top two most-anticipated books of 2020. I thought it was coming out in February, and then that turned out to be the release date in the UK only. The US had a June release date. Then that got pushed back to July re: covid. I’ve been going mental waiting for this book! I downloaded it from Audible the moment my pre-order was ready, and listened to the book twice through in a few days. It was everything I’d hoped it would be, and I’m already craving Book #13 (which doesn’t even exist yet on GoodReads!). I’ve not enjoyed every book in the series with equal fervor, but this one was particularly good, both mystery and the character-drama. Plus, I got my MIL addicted to the series since I’ve been up in Wisconsin, so now I have someone to discuss these with! Woohoo!

Performance: The audiobook was read by Jane McDowell. Like others from the series that I’ve discussed in the past, there were some sound effect manipulations (like phone calls sounding distant, to make it as if you’re hearing through a phone in reality) that aren’t my favorite. The reading itself is sound, though, even if it wouldn’t be my first choice of format.