Kindle Price: $5.99

Promotions apply when you purchase

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Read with our free app
You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

Buy for others

Give as a gift or purchase for a team or group.
Learn more

Buying and sending eBooks to others

  1. Select quantity
  2. Buy and send eBooks
  3. Recipients can read on any device

These ebooks can only be redeemed by recipients in the US. Redemption links and eBooks cannot be resold.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs

Follow the author

M.S. Spencer
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Hidden Gem: The Secret of St. Augustine Kindle Edition

by M. S. Spencer (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 15 ratings
See all formats and editions
Barnaby and Philo’s story begins with very bad chili and a dead body.

Barnaby is in St. Augustine, Florida, to teach a college seminar, and plans to use The Secret—a treasure hunt book—as a framework for his class. He enlists Philo Brice, owner of an antique map store, to aid him in seeking clues in the historic sites of the ancient city.

Together they face murderers, thieves, thugs, and fanatics, heightening their already strong attraction to each other. Can they solve the puzzle and unearth the treasure before the villains do? Philo and Barnaby pursue several twisting paths and false leads before arriving at a startling conclusion.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    383 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    April 4, 2022
  5. File size
    857 KB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  9. See all details
Next page
Add a debit or credit card to save time when you check out
Convenient and secure with 2 clicks. Add your card

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09QJHCB4V
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ The Wild Rose Press, Inc (April 4, 2022)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 4, 2022
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 857 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 383 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 15 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
M.S. Spencer

M.S. Spencer

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Although M. S. Spencer has lived or traveled on five of the seven continents, much of her life was spent in Washington, D.C. as a librarian, Congressional staff assistant, speechwriter, editor, non-profit director and parent. After many years in academia (attending Vassar, Princeton, American University in Cairo, Harvard, and University of Chicago), she worked for the U.S. Senate, the U.S. Department of the Interior, in several library systems, both public and academic, and at the Torpedo Factory Art Center. She holds a BA from Vassar College, a Diploma in Arabic Studies from the American University in Cairo, and Masters in Anthropology and in Library Science from the University of Chicago. She divides her time between Maine and Florida. All of this tends to insinuate itself into her works.

Writing as M. S. Spencer, she has published sixteen best-selling murder mystery and contemporary romantic suspense novels. Her latest release is The Wishing Tree: Love, Lies, and Spies on Chincoteague Island.

You can find out more information about her and her work at the following places:

Blog: https://msspencertalespinner.blogspot.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/msspencermysteries

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/msspencerauthor

GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/msspencer

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/msspencerauthor/

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/m-s-spencer

MeWe: https://mewe.com/i/msspencerauthor

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
15 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Enrico Grafitti
5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely entertaining murder mystery
Reviewed in the United States on May 23, 2022
Verified Purchase
‘The Secret’ is a puzzle book published in 1982 by Byron Preiss. To set up the puzzle, Preiss traveled to different locations in North America to bury a dozen ceramic vases secretly, which he called "casques", containing a small key that seekers could be redeemed for one of 12 jewels Preiss kept in a safe deposit box in New York. The key to finding each casque was to match one of the paintings in the book to one of the verses in the book, solve the resulting riddle, and start digging. To date, only three of the twelve treasures have been located. ‘Hidden Gem: the Secret of St. Augustine’ by M.S. Spencer cleverly uses one of these potential sites, St. Augustine in Florida, and the search for the Preiss casque there, as a wonderful vehicle to immerse the reader both in the treasure hunt and an ongoing cozy murder mystery.

Author Spencer’s protagonists, Philo, the owner of an antique map and book store, and Barnaby, an assistant professor using the hunt to teach his students investigation techniques, are both memorable characters, yet for very different reasons. Philo is far more down to earth and her motivation in this murder mystery is driven more by her romantic interest in the quirky professor. Barnaby, on the other hand, is an oddball mix of genius, a fountain of useful and not so useful information, and an extravagant and eccentric personality that will stay with the reader for some time after finishing the book. A difficult character combination, yet one that provides all the wittier moments in the tale, thanks to the skill of the author in rendering both as solid believable personas whose adventures together carry this complex story to a satisfactory conclusion.

This is an extremely entertaining murder mystery, which respects the real events on which it is based, while engaging the reader throughout. Truly an enjoyable and fun read. Recommended.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Julie A Sherman
4.0 out of 5 stars Mystery and more
Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2022
Verified Purchase
This is a great story of mystery treasure hunt by two individuals that want to solve long time mystery all the while other treasure hunters are on their heals.
This book has mystery, interesting characters, written well with a sprinkle of relationship.
Julie with Summer Fling Reading Challenge.
Helpful
 Report
Colleen Mooney
5.0 out of 5 stars Great characters with lots of plot twists and turns!
Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2022
Verified Purchase
Our characters find themselves together by a common interest in a 100-year-old buried treasure story. A would-be professor, Barnaby, working at the local university finds himself in an antique bookstore attracted to the owner. She is interested in his quirky manner and together they form an unusual pair. A mysterious map thought to be associated with the treasure’s secrets arrives at Philo’s bookstore but goes missing as mysteriously as it appeared.

Will Barnaby and Philo find the treasure before the unscrupulous treasure hunters find it or get rid of the competition first? Along with Barnaby’s students who have a class assignment to follow clues. The only clue is that is supposed to be in St. Augustine at an historic site, of which, there are many. Barnaby, Philo and the students find themselves in strange and dangerous encounters while other treasure seekers are trying to find it first. Who will get to it first?

There are lots of twists and turns with romantic involvement along with funny characters. You don’t want to miss this one!
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
KC
5.0 out of 5 stars Mystery, mischief and romance!
Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2022
Verified Purchase
This book has it all. There’s mystery, intrigue, romance, clues, misdirection and a cast of characters that you’d expect to be peeking over the back fence, trying to get a better sense of what’s going on. Throw in plenty of local flavor from St. Augustine and you’ve got the recipe for an entertaining story.

And there are quotes too! Each chapter kicks off with a famous quote that ties well into the story. Only Spencer would find a way to include great lines from Captain Jack Sparrow and Edith Head.

Spencer has a knack for creating memorable lead characters. She continues that here with Philo and Barnaby, who somehow find time for some romantic activities while following up with each day’s twist of events. Fortunately for Philo, she gets just enough breaks from Barnaby to keep her store running. But that doesn’t mean she’s not thinking of this exasperating new man in her life.

This is a great read. Highly recommend it.
5 stars.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Vicky Burkholder
4.0 out of 5 stars Quirky and Based on Real Story
Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2022
I loved this book, though I did find it a little long. But so much fun. Barnaby is positively one of the most unique, funny, interesting characters I’ve ever read. I laughed so hard at him – and kudos to Philo for putting up with him! Be aware, you may need a dictionary to read some of this. Barnaby (and others) has a penchant for using high-class words that you’d use only in a crossword puzzle—which figure into the story as well as other things.

The story centers around a real mystery – the Preiss gems. Before he died, Robert Preiss buried twelve caskets in twelve cites around the country. In each is a key to a specific gem held by the Preiss Trust. As of 2019, only three of them have been found. In this story, everyone is looking for the St. Augustine casque which will give them a sapphire. But there are other challenges for our hunters – like who is trying to kill them and/or their neighbors. Who killed the hunters? And more. There are mysteries within mysteries here. But I still have some questions that were not answered. Like…why is the shop only open two days a week? Seems rather odd. There are others, but I won’t go into them here because they would give things away. I will note, it’s a very long book – over 400 pages – but totally worth it. It’s so much fun. And has a good ending that satisfies.

Recommendation: Definitely recommended!

Disclaimer: Thanks to The Wild Rose Press and Netgalley for providing this book. I received a final and/or advanced reader copy of this book with the hope that I will leave my unbiased opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that… My Opinions. I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Report an issue

Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Report
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Report
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?
Report