The Penny Nichols Series - #1 Penny Nichols Finds a Clue

Having read Mildred Wirt's "Trailer Stories for Girls" in succession, and finding that I rather enjoyed following the adventures of the Gibson children so closely, one after the other, I decided to give my hand (or my eyes, as the case may be) to another of Wirt's four-book series, the "Penny Nichols Series."  This series actually premiered one year prior to the Trailer Stories, with the first three books being published in 1936; however, the fourth book in this series actually post-dates the Trailer Stories, as book four was not published until 1939 (some three years after the initial three).  The series was published under the pseudonym of Joan Clark, and all four books featured the same cover art - Penny driving her roadster, pointing out to her friend Susan a truck traveling far ahead of them in the distance.  The series was published by Goldsmith, who published other books written by Wirt in the '30s.  I had read this series many years ago when I first bought the books off eBay, but it's been so long, I honestly don't remember any of the stories - so re-reading them now is like I'm reading them for the first time!

 

Penny Nichols Finds a Clue is the first in the series, and it introduces readers to Penny, her father, her best friend, and the world in which she lives.  In this world, Penelope Nichols (there's that "Penelope" name again!), better known as Penny to her father and friends, is the fifteen-year old daughter of a private detective, Christopher Nichols, who lives in Belton City.  Like so many sleuths of the day, Penny's mother died when she was young, and as a result, her father dotes on her and gives her pretty much unlimited freedom.  The Nichols have a live-in housekeeper, Mrs. Gallup, who worries about Penny as if she were her own daughter.  Like the "Penny" who came after her, Penny Nichols has a car that gives her problems, she is always running out of her allowance before the next one (thus causing her to be borrowing ahead on future allowances), and she wants to follow in her father's footsteps - except, instead of working in the newspaper business like Penny Parker, Penny Nichols dives into the private detective business!

The mystery centers around a ring of car thieves who manage to steal tires and other assorted items directly from cars parked on the street.  The police are stumped, and an insurance company has hired Mr. Nichols to try and find out who is behind the thefts.  Nichols is pretty certain the Molberg gang is behind it, but he's been unable to catch a break in figuring out how they are doing it and where they are hiding.  He's also quite certain that Molberg himself is not the big boss - someone else is pulling the strings.  Penny is not overly interested until a tire is stolen from her own car, and she and Susan were only away for a short time!  The mystery deepens further when Penny returns home to find a young man hiding away in the room over Nichols' garage!  He tells her his name is Jerry Bellows and convinces her not to turn him over to the police - and Penny wonders if it was a mistake to let him go.

Wirt weaves quite the intricate tale here - there's the mystery surrounding the Bellows boy and who he really is - there's the mystery surrounding the car thieves and how they manage to steal tires from cars without anyone noticing - there's the mystery surrounding the police officer who may very well be on the take from the Molberg gang - and there's the biggest mystery of all: just who is behind all of these nefarious thefts in Belton City?  Honestly, that last question is one of the easiest to figure out (and maybe that's just because I've read so many mysteries at this point, these type of things are pretty easy to spot), and the question of Bellows' identity is not really that difficult either.  The manner in which the thieves are pulling their operation is actually quite creative, and I give Wirt props for not giving in to an easy out for the thieves.  

There is certainly plenty of danger in this book, but that is an aspect I enjoyed.  Penny's life is put in danger because of her father's investigation (as well as her own!), and it was nice to see Mr. Nichols be proactive in placing a man to follow Penny around to ensure her safety (which comes in quite handy when Penny is tricked and kidnapped!).  Penny also proves her bravery when she discovers the place where the criminals are moving their merchandise, and she sneaks in - and rather than trying to stop them on her own, she secrets herself in an office and calls her father for help!  FINALLY!  A mystery that has some intelligent characters that act in rational ways rather than trying to be the hero.  I do have to say, however, that as I was reading this book, particularly as it got closer to the end, I began to see some similarities between this story and the Nancy Drew episode from the '70s television show, "The Mystery of the Diamond Triangle" - in both instances, there are car thieves, the thieves are holed up in an out-of-the-way location, and Penny/Nancy sneak into the hideout in order to put a stop to the thieves' activities!  Only, unlike the TV show, this book ends with a shoot out, as Wirt has no problem with characters using guns in her books (unlike Stratemeyer's series, where guns were a big "no-no").

This first book was a great start to this series, and I can definitely see some resemblances between Penelope Nichols and Penelope Parker, so I am guessing when this series didn't quite make it, Wirt may have simply made some alterations to the character and her name when she began her Penny Parker series for Cupples & Leon.

RATING:  9 discarded scraps of metal out of 10 for an adventurous beginning of yet another young sleuth from the mind of Mildred Wirt Benson!