Exploring Series Books in Florida, Part 3 - Celebrating Gasparilla with Vicki Barr

Florida has so many places that can be found in various series books that Pam and I had to continue with our adventures!  After exploring the Space Coast (Series Books - the Space Coast) with the Hardy Boys, the Happy Hollisters, and Nancy Drew, and then exploring St. Augustine (Series Books - the Oldest City) with the Moving Picture Girls, the time came to head over to the west coast to follow in the footsteps of that crime-solving flight attendant, Vicki Barr!  That trip was originally planned back in October, but due to the hurricane, plans were changed - which, ultimately worked out for the best, because it gave us the opportunity to visit the Tampa Bay area in January and experience Gasparilla, just like Vicki Barr did!

 

As with our trip to St. Augustine, we were able to focus on just one book for this trip, and that was the Vicki Barr mystery, The Clue of the Gold Coin. This book is the twelfth book in the Vicki Barr Flight Stewardess series.  This series is sort of a companion career series to Cherry Ames (who was a nurse), as both series had the same authors: Helen Wells and Julie Campbell Tatham.  This particular book was written by Helen Wells, the original author for the series, and was published in 1958.  The story follows Vicki Barr, who was fortunate enough to get a route that would take her to Tampa Bay area, where she could not only visit with some friends, but also experience the pirate festival known as Gasparilla.  Vicki stumbles upon a mystery involving gold coins that are stolen from a museum exhibit that was arriving by plane, so of course, her traipsing through Tampa and Ybor City was mostly focused on solving the mystery.  Of course, along the way, she visited a number of various places, and it was surprising how many of them Pam and I found in the real world...

 

The adventure for Vicki began with her flight into the Tampa International Airport, as she looked out the window and "at last the hangars and runways of the Tampa International Airport swept into view..." (p. 4)  It was obvious that this would be our first stop as we followed in Vicki's footsteps.

 

We followed signs to see where the arriving flights would unload.  While Vicki flew in to Tampa on Federal Airlines, that is a fictional airline which does not exist in the real world (in the United States, anyway). Thus, we figured the closest we might find would be American Airlines, and we discovered the unloading took place at Blue 125.  There were a number of taxis waiting for passengers, which would have been perfect for Vicki, who "went out the building's main entrance to look for a taxi" (p. 12).

 

Once Vicki is settled into her friends' home, she is invited to join them for Gasparilla.  Her hosts provide her with a description of the event, giving her an abbreviated history of the pirate festival (pp. 17-19).  Since we did not have those same hosts to share the story, we visited the Henry B. Plant Museum, which provided the history we were seeking!

 

As the story goes, "...in 1783, to be exact, an officer in the Spanish Navy named Jose Gaspar mutinied ... turned pirate, changed his name to Gasparilla, meaning Little Gaspar, and began to prey on the merchant ships of all nations.  He made his headquarters in the islands around Tampa Bay..." (p. 17).

 

Since the book was published in 1958, it was likely the author visited Tampa the previous year and was able to experience the Gasparilla festival of 1957.  We learned that each festival has a "royal court" that includes a King and Queen, along witha group of maids, and the court is an important part of the celebration. At the museum Pam and I visited, we were fortunate enough to see the Jewel Circle Gown worn by a member of the court in 1957, which dress was designed by Anne Lowe, the first internationally recognized African-American fashion designer.

 

Both the museum and The Clue of the Gold Coin shared the history of how a "group of Tampa businessmen formed an organization called Ye Mystic Krewe..." (p. 18), which has since been joined by more than 60 additional "krewes," all of whom come together each year to contribute to this annual festival.  The Tampa Bay Hotel, which now houses the Henry B Plant Museum,was the central location for the early festivals.

 

 

From museum, it was only a hop, skip, and a jump (literally!) to the Cass Street Bridge.  Now, you may be wondering why would visit a bridge, as what importance could it have had to the Vicki Barr story?  Well, as it turns out, the book contains a two-page spread illustration of a drawbridge being lifted so that a pirate ship in the Gasparilla parade could make its way through.  

 

Based on the illustration, there was no doubt the bridge was the Cass Street Bridge, built back in 1926.  While the water tower in the background of the illustration is no longer there, the small octagonal building that housed the controls for the bridge is still there!  Based on the details in the illustration, either the author provided photographs of the bridge for use in drawing the scene, or the illustrator was familiar enough with it to depict it with such exactness.

 

Next in the adventure, Vicki was offered a chance to "VISIT GLAMOROUS YBOR CITY - Enchanted Land of Fiesta and Romance" (p. 82), and on our trip to Tampa Bay, we also visited this suburb of Tampa.  Pronounced "Ee-boar," the city was founded back in 1885 and became quite famous for its cigar industry. 

 

When Vicki made her way over to the area, she discovered that "Ybor City was quite different from the modern section of Tampa..." (p. 83).  As she walked the district, she thought of it as "The Latin Quarter of Tampa" (p. 83).

 

While in Ybor, Vicki had lunch at "The Granada Restaurant" (p. 82).  In the story, the author describes the restaurant so vividly.  "The foyer just inside the door was floored with bright mosaic tile as were the walls..." (pp. 85-86).

 

"A tiny fountain in the middle of the hall was surrounded by potted palms ... A huge archway provided the entrance to the restaurant proper" (p. 86).

 

Based on the descriptions in the story, it was undoubtedly clear that the restaurant called "Granada" in the book was actually the Columbia Restaurant, which opened its doors back in 1905.  Pam and I were very fortunate, in that the current owner of the restaurant was there the day we lunched, and he came over to the table to talk with us about the book.  When we read the description given by Helen Wells in the story, he agreed there could be no doubt it was describing the Columbia.  

 

While at the restaurant, Vicki asks if there is music, and she is told "[a]t dinner we have also the piano and violin" (p. 86).  In the Columbia Restaurant, Pam and I found memorials to Adela and Cesar Gonzmart, who played the piano and violin, respectively, for many years in the restaurant (including the 1950s, when this book was written and published!).

 

The Columbia Restaurant is quite well known, and the ownership has remained with the family who first established it back in 1905.   It has changed very little over the years (although the courtyard with the fountain now has a roof covering it, so on those rainy days, people can still enjoy their meals in that room), and it maintains its original Spanish feel.

 

Upon leaving the Granada Restaurant (a/k/a Columbia Restaurant), Vicki follows a character that she suspects of shady business dealings to his residence - so that is exactly what we did!  "To find the Duke is like putting your finger on quicksilver.  But his home is on Columbus Driver at the corner of Thirteenth Street.  A red-brick house with a balcony..." (p. 91).  Pam and I drove down Columbus Drive until we reached Thirteenth Street, and behold!  Right there on the corner, just like the book says, is a two-story, red-brick house with a balcony!  (NOTE - in the story, Vicki walks the distance from the restaurant to the house; however, in the real world, the distance would be far too great to walk!)

 

Later in the book, Vicki returns to Ybor City with her hosts for "dinner ... in a restaurant called the Spanish Park.  It was very much like the Granada, Vicki thought, with archways, tiled floors and walls, potted palms and tinkling fountains" (p. 101).  There was once a restaurant called the Spanish Park in Ybor City on the corner of 7th Avenue and 36th Street, which was a family-owned eating establishment that closed its doors, after nearly a century, in 2022 (just three years ago!).

 

Having located the address while researching the history of the Spanish Park restaurant, Pam and I set out to see what now stood at the corner of 7th Avenue and 36th Street.  Sadly, the building now on that corner was drastically different - no more arches, nor more tiled walls...).

 

So, after hunting down all of the locations, it was finally Saturday and finally time to experience the Gasparilla festival, just like Vicki (and likely just like the author did back in 1957, the year before the book was published).

 

In the book, Wells describes how the "costumed members of Ye Mystic Krewe clambered onto gaily decorated floats, and amid the strident music of half a dozen bands, the parade began to move slowly up the street away from the docks" (p. 80).  I have a feeling the floats were much more extravagantly decorated and colorful back then, as the floats we saw pass by during the parade were simple and not overly colorful at all (which was a bit disappointing).

 

However, just like Vicki did in the illustration, Pam managed to track down a pirate of her own!

 

The parade was extremely crowded, with throngs of people literally pressing in from all sides.  We left just a bit early in order to avoid the rush of everyone leaving once the parade ended.  We made our way back by trolley to Ybor City, where we parked.  And, interestingly enough, while in Ybor, we happened across a sign on one of the buildings which advertised "Jewel Box Lofts" and "Gruen Watches" - now any series book fan is going to automatically get those references to Nancy Drew's twentieth mystery (The Clue in the Jewel Box) and to Nancy Drew's housekeeper (Hannah Gruen).  Talk about coincidences!

 

And with that, we wrapped up our third Florida series book adventure.  First it was the Space Coast, then it was St. Augustine, and now Tampa Bay.  As we packed our bags for our return trips home, we had to wonder - where would our next Florida adventure take us?  The Everglades?  Key West?  Miami? Fort Lauderdale?  Fort Myers?  Palm Beach?  So many places to choose from!

 

Only time will tell....

A Zebra Mystery Puzzler #16 - The Final Guest

It's been six books since Marcia Blair's (a/k/a Marc Baker's) last Zebra Mystery Puzzler, rather than the standard four between each of her Tory Baxter mysteries; but she's back with another wickedly good murder mystery.  While the interior art seems to change with each one of her stories, the characterization remains consistent and the plots are well done.  This one not only had me guessing up until the very end when I reached that sealed chapter, but it took my by surprise who the killer turned out to be (and I thought I had it all figured out!).  That, of course, made for a great read.

 

The Final Guest, the fourth nurse Tory Baxter mystery, finds our intrepid young sleuth playing nursemaid to an elderly woman with a somewhat weak heart at a boarding house not far from home.  It does not take long before her patient turns up dead of an apparent heart attack.  But what explanation is there for the position the body was found?  Or the pillow on the floor next to the bed?  Or the small red spot on the pillow case?  Tory is not sure what to think, even after the local doctor assures everyone in the house it was simply a weak heart.  Then the phone calls start.  Someone is sure Mrs. Vestry did not die of natural causes and wants to ensure the truth comes to light.  Tory begins to wonder, but her police lieutenant friend, Jay Thorpe, is certain the phone calls are nothing but pranks.  Then another death occurs - it could have been an accident, but then again, maybe it was not.  Then Mrs. Maxwell's young daughter goes missing, only to be discovered locked in the basement refrigerator, having been drugged.  Then Mr. Wickerson is discovered on his bed, drugged, his pillow on the floor next to him.  There is no doubt a murderer in the house, but who is it?

 

Blair (Baker) did Agatha Christie proud with this mystery.  A house full of suspects, murders that appear otherwise, and an amateur sleuth that the police refuse to believe.  And with the kooky cast of characters in this story, the reader is in a real quandary of sifting through clue after clue to determine who the killer is.  Essie Cabot is the old woman with the beginning stages of dementia; but is she merely faking it so she can add to her growing collection of jewelry?  Mrs. Maxwell is the single mother, whose obsession with daytime soap operas leave her young daughter Suzy free to roam the house, causing havoc with the other residents; but is her daughter merely a distraction while she commits crimes? Cristen Page is the actress, who has set her eyes on Jay Thorpe; but is her interest in him merely a ruse to keep him from uncovering the truth?  Colonel McGuire seems stuck in the past, retelling stories of his glory days and trying to maintain some peace among the residents; but is his affinity for his heroic past a mask to hide the villainy he is doing today? Mrs. Wickerson is an overbearing, bossy, rude kleptomaniac who, despite her great wealth, cannot help but steal what she wants; but does the obscene control she has over her husband hide a much darker side?  And then there is Mr. Wickerson, who is resolved to bowing to his wife's every demand; is he truly that weak-willed, or is he covering up more than anyone realizes?  Of course, we also cannot forget Lucinda Prescott, who runs the boarding house - her concern for her tenants and her anxiety over the deaths seems real enough; but is it all a smokescreen for a devious plan to steal her tenants' fortunes?

 

I will readily admit the mystery had me stumped.  I had my suspicions about a couple of the characters, but it turned out I was way off!  The ultimate revelations as to the killer's identity came as a surprise; although, looking back over the story, the clues were there to point to this person - you just have to dig them out from all of the red herrings.

 

While the previous Marcia Blair books featured cover art by Bruce Emmett, the art on this book does not have a signature or other identifying mark; however, Nurse Tory looks considerably better than she did on the cover of her last book.  That being said there are a couple of things about the cover that stand out right away - the first being that doll (?) lying on the bottom right hand corner of the cover.  I question whether it is supposed to be a doll with no clothes, or whether it is to represent the first murder victim, found face down on her bed.  It seems out of place on the cover and would be more appropriate on a men's pulp novel than on a cover like this!  The second item of note is the young girl - Suzy.  The girl on the cover is shown with short brown hair; yet, in the book, Suzy is described as having long blond hair, and even the internal illustrations support that description.  So, I'm not sure why the cover artist depicted her this way, unless he or she simply was not provided any character descriptions upon which to use for the art.

 

The internal illustrator is also unidentified, and based on the style of art, I believe this is the artist's first book.  As with prior books, there are inconsistencies between the illustrations and the story - such as Nurse Tory always being depicted in her nurse's uniform, yet, in the story, she is wearing regular clothes in those scenes.  Additionally, there are no real clues to be found in any of the illustrations for this book, except the one on page 131, which depicts Tory in one of the tenants' bathroom, looking at all of the bottles in the medicine cabinet, one of which is clearly marked as "poison."  Otherwise, while the illustrations depict important moments in the story, there are no clues that would point to the identity of the killer.  It is the cover that holds the biggest clue for that.

 

One final thing I want to mention is the continued tension between Tory and Jay - from the very beginning, it was clear that these two belong together - yet Blair (Baker) has managed to keep the tension strong between them, keeping the reader guessing, will they or won't they?  I hope they do manage to make it official before the end of the series.  And the killer's ominous threat at the end - "I won't forget this," the killer says to Tory.  Does this mean we might see this person in a later book come back for revenge? That would make for a thriller!

 

I think this, by far, was my favorite Tory Baxter mystery in the series up till now.  Well written, well plotted, and a surprise reveal - everything one could want in a great murder mystery!

 

RATING:  10 fringed paisley shawls out of 10 for giving readers of this series an outstanding mystery well worth the read!

The Mystery of the Tolling Bell - A Book By Any Other Name, No. 2

Way back in 1946, Grosset & Dunlap first published the twenty-third Nancy Drew mystery, titled The Mystery of the Tolling Bell.  About twenty years later, Christian Literature Crusade, with permission by Pickering & Inglis, Ltd., published a book written by Ellen Jane MacLeod by that same name (The Mystery of the Tolling Bell), which I happened across by pure chance at a local used bookstore.  Now, here we are a year later, and wonder of all wonders, I come across yet a THIRD title by that same name!  Now, I realize that some titles have a tendency to be used over and over (such as common phrases like "Double Indemnity" or "Web of Lies" or such); but for this unique of a title to be used not once, not twice, but three different times by three different authors in three different decades - well, the coincidence is uncanny!

 

This version of The Mystery of the Tolling Bell is written by Alan E. Losure, is an Indiana writer who enjoys writing historical fiction.  Unlike the previous two stories, Losure's tale is a murder mystery written for an adult audience, nor for children.  That does not mean it has sex, violence, and foul language; rather, it means the subject matter (murder!) is not something normally intended for children to read.  Additionally, while the two books for young adults were set in the present time (well, "present" as far as the date when they were originally published), this story is set back in 1898, just before the turn of the century.  Thus, there are no motor cars that would enable to characters to speed from one place to the next, and telephones are about the only technological advance - we're talking about "old west" style living, with saloons, general stores, and such.  However, as the title would suggest, the mystery does involve the mysterious tolling of a bell - in this case, warning the citizens of Gas City, Indiana that death is about to come to their small town!

 

Losure does write an interesting story that is multi-layered and not as clear-cut as one may expect.  In fact, the book is broken up into two parts - the first part being "The Mystery of the Tolling Bell" and the second part being "Doctor Death."  While the underlying mystery is threaded through both parts, they actually have very distinct factors driving the plots.  In the first half, the story centers around Herbert Ainsworth, a young man graduating from the local high school, who, at his graduation ceremony, announces to the townspeople how he has suffered at the hands of three other young men in his class for the past four years and warns them that their time is coming - theirs, as well as the school administrators who allowed the bullying to continue unchecked.  The second half of the book is focused on members of the mob who come to Gas City to begin an "insurance" racket, forcing the businesses to pay part of their profits for protection from ... well, protection from the very people to whom they are being forced to pay the insurance!

 

 "The Mystery of the Tolling Bell" is the mystery that asks - who tolls that school bell before each murder (or attempted murder)?  The bell is high up in a tower, behind locked doors, and no one is ever seen anywhere near the scene at the time.  Yet, each time that bell tolls thirteen times (made me think of the Penny Parker mystery, The Clock Strikes Thirteen), and each time, there is a murder, or an attempted murder, at least.  All clues point to poor Herbert, who threatened the other boys in his class, since the two who are murdered were two of the three boys who bullied him, and the one who was nearly burned to death in his own outhouse was the school superintendent. Herbert claims he is innocent, and it is not until the last remaining bully is caught trying to torch Herbert's small shack that the town realizes it was actually that third boy - or was it?

 

This is where "Doctor Death" begins.  With the third bully hauled out of town to face criminal charges at the county seat, the citizens of Gas City think the horrors have ended.  But then the bodies start to pile up again, each one with a note signed by "Doctor Death," warning of more to come!  While this is going on, some out-of-town mobsters have made their way into Gas City and have set up an "insurance" scheme to force businesses to pay for their protection - and when they find out about Herbert's amazing mathematical skills, they threaten him into helping them.  Ultimately, Herbert comes up with a plan to outwit the crooks, while, unbeknownst to him, the real killer has entered the wrong house to do his next killing.  As the story reaches its climax, some startling secrets are revealed (including the REAL reason behind all of those killings) and a statewide criminal organization is finally brought to its knees.

 

Losure writes a great mystery that is fast-paced, yet still has time to fully flesh out all of his characters so that the reader actually feels for each and every one of them.  In addition, Losure includes considerable photographs of people that he identifies as the characters from the story, as well as vintage photos of various sites from around Gas City during the 1890s. At the end of the book, Losure explains about his use of the Cabinet Cards to "enhance the story" by giving a physical face to each of his main characters.  As far as the use of the tolling bell, this was likely taken from the old expression that "when a bell tolls, someone is going to die," which expression is said to be rooted in the tradition of churches ringing bells to announce that someone has passed away.

 

Overall, a pretty good read, even though there were a number of spelling errors and mixed up names (at one point, Herbert is sent to the telephone company to review the books and try to correct the payroll ledgers - when he enters the building, the story says "Wilbert assured them that it was his top priority" [p. 234], when it was actually Herbert who assured them), leaving me to wonder if any editing was done before the book was published.  I enjoyed the revelation as to the killer's identity and motive, and the pictures scattered throughout the book DID enhance my reading of the story.  At the end, Losure breaks the fourth wall to ask the reader "what will the future hold in store for them and a few other characters?" to which he informs the reader that such "answers will be contained within the pages of my next book" (p. 238).  Those two lines gave me a nostalgic feel of the old children's mysteries from the '30s, '40s, and '50s when each book would give a small tag at the end, letting readers know what the next book would be.

 

RATING:  9 helpings of salted meats, breads, and pickles out of 10 for a great mix of history and fiction with the superbly plotted murder mystery at its heart!

Harlequin Gothic Romance Series No. 32008 - Legacy of Raven's Rise

"She set out to unravel one mystery, then found herself caught in the grip of another, more deadly..." (cover blurb)

 

This eighth Harlequin Gothic Romance is the second of author Helen B. Hicks' three gothic tales for this series. Hicks seems to have an affinity for stories set in California during the 19th century, as both her first book (Castle at Jade Cove) and this book find the young heroine of the story making her to a small town in California where she must face the secrets of the past.  There are definitely some similarities between the two books, but there are sufficient differences to keep the story fresh and engaging.

 

Legacy of Raven's Rise tells the story of Selina Ames, an orphan who was raised by foster parents, and who has come to Bittercreek, California in response to a mysterious letters she received, indicating the secrets of her past might be unlocked in this small town.  In a way, Selina reminds me of Victoria Winters from the Dark Shadows saga - a young girl who knows nothing of her true parentage who travels to a somewhat remote location where there is a dark mansion overlooking the town, from which she hopes to unlock the secret of her past.  I suppose that trope is a somewhat tried and true scenario for gothic tales, as it is steeped with so many of the proper elements - veiled secrets, dark houses, mysterious pasts, and young women desperate to find their identity.  Hicks does not make Selina's identity the main focus of the story, although the reader does not realize it until about half-way through the book.

 

From the get-go, the only clues Selina has to her past is the strange note beckoning her to Bittercreek and the enormous emerald ring, surrounded by diamonds that her foster father gave her before he died, indicating it was from her mother.  While the note does not lead her to to any answers, the ring definitely does!  As soon as Selina arrives in Bittercreek, she is met with hostility from the townsfolk - the only ones who are nice to her is the gentleman who road with her in the stagecoach, the owner of the local newspaper, and the town's doctor.  The hotel clerk is downright rude to her, and the rest of the townspeople merely stare and whisper behind her back. She soon learns it is all tied into that dark house overlooking the town - the house called Raven's Rise.  It seems the owner has died, and if no heir appears to claim the fortune left behind by Raven Winfield, then the house and all of the other Winfield assets will revert to the town.  Well, you can pretty much guess what "secret" is going to come out about Selina...

 

As indicated, Selina's past is not really the big mystery of this novel; rather, the mystery involves her grandmother's strange hold over the town and the people in it - especially the banker and the mayor.  There is also the rumor that Raven's Rise hides somewhere within its walls a great treasure, and someone is determined to find it.  Then there are the stories about Raven's ghost haunting the halls of the great house.  And when Selina sees a small light in the windows when the house is dark ... when she hears her name being whispered ... and when she is sure there is someone in the house with her, watching her ... it is all she can do to keep it all together.  Marcus Hannaford, the charming man from the stagecoach, urges her to sell the house and leave town.  The town doctor encourages her to abandon her hopes of staying in the great house and move back to San Francisco.  Even Jared Newcomb, the newspaper editor, questions her decision to keep the house, when the townspeople clearly do not want her there. But the more she is told to leave, the more determined she is to stay.  e

 

Interestingly enough, Hiram and Dulcie, the handyman and housekeeper at Raven's Rise who stayed on after Raven died, do not have any animosity towards Selina at all.  In most gothic tales, the household staff are either extremely antagonistic, not wanting the interloper to be in the house, or they are actually the villain(s) of the story.  In this case, Hicks does not play up to the reader's expectations, and instead, Hiram and Dulcie welcome their former employer's granddaughter into the house and do what they can to protect her - not only from the town's feelings about her, but also from whomever it is that is "haunting" the house.  I rather like this twist, as it is nice to read a tale where the heroine has someone who will support her and have her back when there is so much doubt about those around her.

 

The mystery slowly begins to unravel for Selina, as she learns that Raven Winstead was not exactly the woman she believed her to be.  Blackmail, revenge, murder, unrequited love, and a runaway daughter are all tangled into an intricate web of betrayal and deceit, and Selina must ultimately decide whether she will pick up where her grandmother left off, or whether she will put an end to the legacy that has haunted Raven's Rise for decades and walk a different path.  Can she allow the murderer of her grandmother's love get away with it?  Can she forget why her mother ran away and never looked back?  Can she escape the one who is intent on frightening her from the house so he can lay his hands on that elusive treasure?  It all makes for a rather dramatic conclusion (with a couple of surprising twists) that leaves the reader well satisfied with the outcome.

 

Once again, Harlequin offers up another gorgeous painted cover for this title, but fails to identify the artist.  The scene, with Selina running out of the front gates of Raven's Rise in the dead of night, casts the right amount of gloom and shadow to set the right atmosphere for the story.  I truly love the cover design and art for this series, and I would love to one day find some of the original paintings used for the cover art.

 

RATING:  10 overtrimmed silk lamp shades out of 10 for a gothic tale of mystery upon mystery, with some great soap opera-style themes of blackmail and betrayal thrown in for good measure!

Carol on Tour - the Fourth (and final) Carol Page theater story

And so, it is with a heavy heart, we come to the fourth and final Carol Page theater story by Helen Dore Boylston.  I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Carol Page, her best friend Julia Gregg, and her gruff but faithful friend Mike Horodinsky, and it has been fun watching them start out as amateurs (Carol Goes on Stage), then spend the summer learning more of their respective crafts (Careol Plays Summer Stock), and finally return to New York to face the struggles of making their way in an already overcrowded industry (Carol on Broadway).  Now, here we are at last - Julia has been performing in a traveling show, Mike has been stage managing Miss Marlowe's show, and Carol has had a role in a Broadway hit!  So, what else is there for them to do?

 

Carol on Tour, by the title alone, gives a pretty strong hint of what comes next for Carol, Julia, and Mike. The story picks up not long after the end of the previous book, when the play written by Carol's new friend is picked up by a producer and brought to life by Carol's long-time teacher and mentor, Miss Marlowe.  The show is a success, and Carol has been getting rave reviews; although, Carol being Carol, she does not necessarily let those reviews go to her head.  At least, not at first.  The story throws a new (yet at the same time, old) twist into things.  One of Carol's fellow cast members sees Carol as a stepping stone, so she befriends her and starts taking her to a number of dinner engagements and parties - after all, in order to keep working on Broadway, it's all about who you know, not talent!  Carol is too naive to see the type of people she is associating with, and when Mike and Julia try to warn her, she only grows angry and defensive.  It's not until Carol has the opportunity to take on a major role in a touring company's production of The Merchant of Venice that she discovers the truth about her new "friend" - a truth that pushes her to take the role and head on a new journey in her career as an actress!

 

While the number of unbelievable breaks that come Carol's way continue to mount, Boylston manages to keep a certain level of believability to the story by integrating the various theater personalities around her - from those who simply use others to get ahead, to those who are always demanding to be the center of attention, to those who have years of experience and are only too happy to share their knowledge with others, to those who are anxious to get on the stage, willing to take any role offered!  And circumstances seem to always convene to make sure Carol remains humble, acknowledging her lack of experience and her great fortune to be where she is.  Of course, Boylston keeps Mike and Julia in the mix, as Julia gets a small walk-on part in the touring show, and Mike is promoted to an assistant director - so all three face some new challenges in this story, and not all of it on the stage.

 

One aspect of the tale I enjoyed was Carol's attempts to be a friend to one of her fellow actor, Harris Nichols, who seems despondent and depressed.  She soon learns he is having difficulties maintaining his relationship with the girl he loves back home, and he is fearful that she is going to turn to another man.  Carol tries to soothe his fears and boost his confidence, but when Harris gets notification that the girl has gone off to marry another man, he loses all hope.  The situation that develops is actually quite dark, and I'm rather surprised Boylston included it in a book intended for children and young adults.  However, it is that very incident that leads to a monumental decision that Carol must make - one that has been in the making since that very first book (and one I saw coming early on and kept hoping it would see fruition, and finally, at the end of this book, it does!).

 

There are couple of scenes in the book worth pointing out, as they reflect (or, rather in one case, do NOT reflect) true life in the theater.  The first is when Carol is considering the different types of audiences one must face when acting on the stage:

One never knew about the audience in the first few minutes, but as the play went on, one became more and more aware of it quality as a single, concentrated personality.  Sometimes it was responsive - quit to laughter or tears.  Sometimes it was dull and heavy - sitting out there like a great lump, a weight upon the performance and the players.  Sometimes it wasn't a personality at all, but just groups of differing reactions - "spotty" the company called it.  And sometimes it was maddeningly restless.

 

Each audience made the play a new play and each performance different from the one before. (p. 31)

Only someone who has been on the stage before can understand exactly how true this description is. The actors on stage react to the audience's reactions, and so a non-responsive audience can easily result in a not-too-exciting play; on the other hand, an audience that gasps, laughs, hoots, and is all-in can be a strong encouragement to the actors, who truly come alive in their performances as never before to make the play more real and more exciting for the cast and audience alike.  I thought this moment of reflection on the part of Carol shows just how much the character has grown over the past three books, and how much understanding she has gained with respect to the stage and its impact on those in each audience who attend.

 

The second moment in the book that caught my attention was closer to the end, as the touring group was preparing to get on stage for opening night.  As Carol fights those opening night jitters, Julia tells her, "Good luck!," to which Carol responds with her own, "Good luck!" (p. 138).  And just a few paragraphs later, as she slips by Mike to prepare for her entrance, she hears him say, "Good luck" (p. 138).  One might think these well-wishes are nothing to make note of - however, those who have worked in the theater know that you never, never, NEVER wish an actor "good luck" before they go on stage - that is considered BAD luck; instead, you tell the actor to "break a leg" (which is a theater superstition, along the lines of the ghost light that stays on at all times or never-ever saying the name of a certain Shakespeare play inside of a theater).  Considering how well Boylston managed to portray the theatrical world correctly, I was greatly surprised by this gaffe!

 

Other than that one flub, the book was another wonderful read, ending on a high note (despite the gloom of Harris Nichols) that takes Carol and Mike on to the next stage of their life (and if that doesn't give it away to you, then you have not been paying attention at all!).  The gorgeous black and white illustrations are once again provided by Major Felten, and the frontis piece is by far his best masterpiece of the series, showing Carol waking gracefully down a staircase in a stunning dress.  The color cover, also by Felten, displays Carol in her Shakespearean outfit as Nerissa, her eyes sparkling as she recites her lines on the stage.  The cover of the British edition is the same as the previous three books, with exception of the color, which changed for each book.  The British edition for this book is unique in one way - it is the only one of the four titles to use the same title as the American edition:  Carol on Tour.  

And with that, so comes to a close another wonderful series.  It is a true shame that Carol Page only had four books of adventures, as it would have been great to read her, Mike, and Julia's further adventures in New York and on Broadway as they took the theater world by storm!  Alas, all of those tales will remain forever untold...

 

RATING:  10 plain, wine-colored silk dresses out of 10 for sharing Carol's final theatrical adventures and ending the series in a very satisfying manner.

Dana Girls Mystery Stories No. 2 - The Secret at Lone Tree Cottage

The journey through the Dana Girls Mystery Stories continues with this second book, published alongside By the Light of the Study Lamp and In the Shadow of the Tower as the breeder set for this series in 1934.  Written by Leslie McFarlane, author of original Hardy Boys stories, this is the second of the first four books in the series that he wrote (after which, Mildred Wirt took over the authorship of the series).  From everything I've read and heard, McFarlane did not enjoy writing this series at all; yet, what I find strange, is that I like these stories far better than I do his Hardy Boys stories (don't shoot me, Pam!).  I feel like Louise and Jean Dana have a lot more personality than the Hardys, and the constant antagonism between the Danas and Lettie Briggs is so much fun to read!  This second book serves as a great follow up to the sisters' first mystery.

 

The Secret at Lone Tree Cottage takes place a few months after the conclusion of the first mystery.  In Study Lamp, the girls were just starting their new school year at Starhurst; in this book, it is November (p. 96), and the Thanksgiving holidays are just around the corner (p. 144). I like this type of continuity in a series, and it appears the Syndicate made this decision to follow the seasons, as the reference to Thanksgiving appears in the outline written by Harriet Stratemeyer Adams (which outline, it must be noted, was considerably more detailed and quite a bit longer than Edna's outline for the previous book!).  Moving time forward in a sequential manner such as this gives the books a sense of realism that helps overcome the fact that the Danas (like the Hardys, Nancy, and so many other series sleuths) never actually age, despite moving through the seasons and holidays year after year after year after year.  Ruth Fielding and Judy Bolton are just two of the few series book sleuths who actually did age as their respective series progressed.

 

The mystery this time around involves their English teacher, Miss Amy Tisdale, who disappears after receiving a strange note in class one day.  Louise and Jean think it odd, and so they decide to track down their teacher, especially after her parents reveal that Miss Tisdale did not come for a visit over the weekend as she normally does.  The Danas are already aware that Miss Tisdale has a twin sister, Alice, that is estranged from the family, and when following up on a lead in the small town of Hilton, the girls discover Mrs. Alice Brixton, their teacher's twin!  Of course, they discover the woman after finding her toddler daughter lost in the woods on the way to Hilton.  It is those series book coincidences that always help our favorite sleuths solve their mysteries!

 

It is a fairly interesting mystery, with somewhat cryptic clues, including coded messages that Miss Tisdale sends to her teacher where one must read every fourth word of the note in order to get the "real" message being sent!  The girls are determined to locate Miss Tisdale, even engaging the assistance of their Uncle Ned, who is only too willing to drive from Oak Falls to Penfield to help his nieces.  The fact that the kidnapper - one Sol Tepper (p. 36) - portrays himself as the injured party, having been cheated out of money by his former business partner, Mrs. Brixon's deceased husband, leaves the readers and the Dana Girls wondering how far he will go in order to get what he believes he is deserved. Ultimately, he also kidnaps Mrs. Brixton's young daughter to use both her and Miss Tisdale as bargaining chips.  When you stop and think about that, it makes you realize just how "adult" of a story this mystery could truly be!

 

As with McFarlane's first entry into the Dana Girls' series, this second book also features some pranks played between the Danas and Lettie Briggs. When the sisters leave Miss Tisdale's car parked just outside the school's entrance, Lettie secretly moves it, so that the Danas believe the car has been stolen (pp. 65); later, when a private detective hired by Miss Tisdale's mother shows up at the school to talk with the Danas, Jean informs Lettie a man is there to see her, causing the girl to make a fool of herself before the private detective (pp. 119-21); and later yet, when the sisters purchase all the food necessary to make a good Thanksgiving dinner for Mrs. Brixton and her daughter, Lettie slyly steal the food and replaces it with rocks inside the container (pp. 151-53).  What is odd about the last trick is that the "mystery of the vanished dinner was forgotten (p. 154), and Lettie is never truly revealed as the culprit or made to reveal what she did with the food (did she throw it out? did she give it to the cook? did she simply eat it herself?).

 

And since we are on the topic of the Danas driving Miss Tisdale's car, for two girls who do not have a car of their own, they certainly manage to find transportation to use in the course of solving mysteries.  In the first book, they had free use of Mrs. Grantland's car, and now, in this story, they are given use of Miss Tisdale's car until they are able to locate the missing teacher.  Although, before they gain use of the car in this book, they are forced to walk quite a distance to the town of Hilton in order to follow in the steps of their teacher (pp. 16-17).  McFarlane seems to be spatially-impaired in his storytelling, just as Mildred Wirt was time-impaired, as he writes about Louise and Jean walking distances in a relatively short amount of time, but later in the same book, he describes how they drive these distances, and the driving takes a bit of time (in the first mystery, it was their trips to the park; in this mystery, it is the girls' trips to Hilton).  

 

McFarlane does include some references to Charles Dickens' classic tale, David Copperfield, which is a book that Jean is having to study in her English class (p. 10).  The book is mentioned several times throughout the story, and in one instance, makes a point of discussing the tempest scenes from the book, with Jean shuddering at "what a squall that was" (p. 72).  This is a bit of foreshadowing (given McFarlane in the outline), since the girls, along with their Uncle Ned, later face quite a dastardly squall of their own while going up and down the river next to Hilton in search of Miss. Tisdale (pp. 98-99).  Of course, that buffeting snowstorm is not their only danger, because they are also faced with a speedboat heading straight for them, threatening to crash right into them (p. 99).  It is quite the coincidence, since McFarlane had a similar near-miss of a boating accident in The Hardy Boys' The Mystery of Cabin Island, only that was with ice boats instead of speedboats.  However, the boat incident in this book is detailed in the outline, so one cannot say McFarlane was simply recycling ideas - he was merely following the outline.

 

One thing NOT in the outline that McFarlane seems to enjoy doing is inserting the title of his mysteries into the story itself.  If you recall, at the end of the first book, the comment was made how the Danas would never forget how precious the jewels looked "by the light of the study lamp."  In this book, not only does Uncle Ned remark at the end that they must hurry home to Aunt Harriet because she will want to hear all about "the secret at Lone Tree Cottage" (p. 218), but earlier in the book, the author has the girls find their uncle waiting for them in their dorm room, reaching a newspaper "by the light of the study lamp" (p. 154).  I will be curious to see if, in the third book, McFarlane manages to find a way to integrate all three titles into his story!

 

Finally, something that takes place in the story I can't ignore is when Jean and Louise, along with Mrs. Crandall, come across a cabin deep in the woods, not far from the river.  They see Miss Tisdale in an upstairs window, but they are too far away to hear her or for her to hear them.  So, Jean quickly says, "I'll try sign language" (p. 130), at which point she holds "up her hands and [makes] motions with her fingers such as deaf mutes use" (p. 130).  At no time has it ever been mentioned that Jean knows actual sign language, nor do I ever recall her using it again over the course of this series.  I know people often joke about how Nancy Drew can do anything, knows every language, etc.; but I was not aware that the Dana Girls also had that same gift.  Being an interpreter for the deaf and knowing American Sign Language, this scene stuck out to me, and I wish the Stratemeyers had made use of this talent in Jean and wrote a story that actually did involve some deaf characters, so that Jean could have truly made use of her gift.

 

The internal illustrations are once again provided by Ferdinand E. Warren, and a couple of them offer up some dramatic scenes - from Miss Tisdale narrowly missing a man waiting in the road, to the girls and Mrs. Crandall facing off against some rather vicious guard dogs, to Jean being pushed off of a moving vehicle!  The details of the illustrations from these early series books are so vibrant, and it is a shame they eventually moved away from fully painted illustrations to simple like pictures that eventually began to resemble nothing much more than stick figure drawings.  Warren also provided the "shadow" illustrations for the cover collage. I am not sure who provided the cover art when the format was changed to the wrap-spine edition; however, this book did have a brief run as a free volume during Grosset & Dunlap's "This Volume Free" promotion, where anyone buying the first book in the series would get the second volume for free.

 

This second volume of the Dana Girls Mystery Stories proved to be just as entertaining as the first, and I am enjoying reading a series where the girls do not necessarily have all of the freedoms of their contemporaries, such as Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys - while the girls do seem to come and go as they please quite a bit, those choices are not always without consequences, and often times it takes begging and pleadings, or for intervention by their Uncle Ned, before they can gain permission for their excursions.  I also am enjoying the playfulness of Jean, the spitefulness of Lettie, and the sternness of Mrs. Crandall.  These characters feel a bit more than just cardboard, copy-cutouts of Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys.  The Dana Girls have their own personalities with restrictions that seem similar to Trixie Belden than other Stratemeyer sleuths!

 

One final note - it appears there was a spelling error on one of the internal illustrations with the first printing.  The scene where Jean jumps on the running board of Tepper's car, and he then pushes her off before he gets going (page 186) - in the first printing, the tag line below the illustration says he "threw JOAN from the machine" rather than "JEAN."  It was obviously caught right away, because the printings thereafter show the correct spelling her name as "JEAN."   As you can see from the illustration to the right, the name is "JOAN" rather than "JEAN." Compare that with the corrected illustration shown above in this blog post.  Not sure if this was a publisher error or an editor's error (honestly, I'm not even sure who creates these tagline for the internal illustrations); but I think this is the first time I've ever seen a series book with a glaring error like this on an illustration.  Definitely an oddity to keep en eye out for!

 

RATING:  8 games of mental algebra out of 10 for a fairly challenging mystery that was less about the "whodunnit" and more about finding the missing person!

Goddess - a Vertigo comics mini-series

I vaguely remember this series being solicited back in the mid-90s when it was originally published; however, it was not something that fit within my "likes" of comic reading back in the day, so I passed on it.  A few weeks back, a local comic store was having a huge sale on back issues, $1.00 each or 50 for $25.00.  A friend and I went and managed, between the two of us, to find 50 comics that would cost us only $0.50 an issue!  Included in those 50 comics was the full eight-issue run of this series - I figured since they had the entire run, and at only $0.50 per issue, I might as well pick them up.  After all, my taste in comics have moved far beyond just superheroes these days, and if it turned out I didn't like it, then I could always just trade them in somewhere later on.  Well, the comics are staying in my collection, so that should tell you what I thought of them!

 

Goddess was the creation of writer Garth Ennis and artist Phil Winslade. I was familiar with Ennis, having read some of his work on The Boys, Hellblazer, Crossed, and others; but I had never heard of Phil Winslade.  Or so I thought.  It turns out Winslade provided the art for DC's Wonder Woman: Amazonia graphic novel from back in the day (which I have), but I suppose I never paid attention to the artist's name when I read that book (either that, or it's simply been so long that I had forgotten it).  In any even, both of these creators have some magnificent work out there, so just imagine combining the two for an eight-issue mini-series!  And Ennis being who he is, you know the book is going to have a certain level of violence - which it does!

 

While Goddess is definitely the story of Rosie, a beautiful, young Scottish redhead who has unbelievable powers that she cannot seem to control - such as literally ripping her own country in half or blowing the heads off of government agents or even calming a ferocious tiger to save a young boy's life.  However, it is also the story of Mudhawk, Samantha Flint, and Jeff - a tough guy, and even tougher girl, and a weak-kneed man who may just be in love with Rosie.  Sure, they may only be the supporting cast in the story, but without them, Rosie would never get where she needs to go - she would never figure out who she really is - and she would never be able to make the decisions she does to put things right in the world again!  Oh, and we certainly can't forget the government agent who will stop at nothing get his hands on Rosie and her powers, even if that means killing anyone and everyone who gets in his way.  

Jeff in the narrator of this tale, so it might be a little slanted from his google-eyed point of view.  But through his eyes, the reader is able to see all of the characters for who they really are.  None of them are perfect by any means, but each of them has heart in their own ways - even Mudhawk (whose real name turns out to be "Walter Gaylord"), who manages to save this motley crew on more than one occasion.  And while Jeff points out the flaws of everyone, he also manages to give readers a clear delineation of who the good guys are, who the bad guys are, and, well, there quite literally is no in-between.  And as the story progresses, we get to see Rosie become stronger and more confident, gaining more control of her powers, and ultimately making her way to the top of the world where she discovers the truth about her identity, her powers, and her destiny.  The question is - will she fulfill the destiny established for her, or will she create her own path?  (Let's just say, I love the answer to that question!  And if you are really wondering who she is, well, quite honestly, the answer is right on the cover of each issue, staring you in the face!)

 

The art is absolutely stunning.  Winslade paints some beautiful long-rage shots of the planet earth, while also some superb close-ups, with character expressions that provide clear insight into the characters and their motivations without the need for any dialogue whatsoever (although, Ennis certainly provides plenty of that).  From the bloody shark attack in the first issue, to the full-page window-breaking scene near the end of that same issue, to the gorgeous panels of Rosie's first meeting with the spectral "Jenny," to the otherworldly scenes in the final issue - Winslade proves that he can give readers a visual experience they will never forget.  I think he was the perfect fit for Ennis' story here, since it goes from peaceful beauty to bloody violence in just a matter of panels or pages, and then slides into normal, everyday life scenes before once again turning right back to some graphic violence.  Winslade does it with apparent ease, keeping the story moving without any jarring breaks at all.  That's not an easy feat for any artist, but Winslade succeeds, and then some!

I was not sure what to expect with this series, but I went into it with an open mind and came out of it with the satisfaction of knowing I had just read something well worth the read.  

RATING:  10 giant water horses out of 10 for a different kind of story with a different kind of heroine for a different kind of comic reader!