House of Dark Laughter - an Avon Gothic Original

Any fan of the Gothic novels from the 1960s and '70s knows that the plots to these books all follow a similar formula - a young woman goes to a mansion/house/castle for whatever reason, and she faces multiple dangers from unknown sources, all while fending off two men, one of whom is good and one of whom is bad - but which is which?  Sure, the settings change, the characters change, and some plot elements same, but they all basically boil down to the same story when you get down to it.  This particular book, published by Avon Books in July 1972 under their "Avon Gothic Original" line, not only follows that pattern, but it shares a lot of story elements with other Gothic novels that I have read in recent years.  Two are The Dornstein Icon and The Ravens of Rockhurst (in which the main character goes to a house to evaluate antiques, like our young heroine in this book does); and the other is ... well, if I said which book it was, it would definitely spoil the big surprise in this one!

 

House of Dark Laughter was written by Melissa Napier.   I was unable to find any information about the author online, so it is uncertain whether "Melissa Napier" is the author's real name or simply another pseudonym.  The copyright page for this book does not offer any aid, as the copyright is to Script Associates, and not the author.  (And as a side note, the copyright page indicates this book was "Published by arrangement with Script Associates," which was a book packaging agency back in the day.)  This might tend one to believe the author's name is merely a house pseudonym for this agency.  In any event, the story itself is not half-bad, although the main character is certainly put through the wringer!  Betsy Vaughn is a young woman who is about to start a new job.  Hired by Carter Willard, Betsy heads off to a remote town in Pennsylvania where she will be cataloguing antiques in the stately Dalton Mansion.  Old Man Dalton has been ill for some time, and he wants all of his possessions catalogued and valued before he dies.  Carter, as the man's secretary, has brought Betsy to the great house, as she is an expert in her field.  The only problem is, the members of Dalton's family do not want her there (big shock)!

 

Dalton's wife, Alice, is a nasty piece of work who makes it clear from the moment Betsy arrives that she runs the household and Betsy had better not be snooping and better stay out of her way!  Dalton's nephew, Derek, and his niece, Lorna, are spoiled and want nothing more than to see their uncle die so they can get their hands on his money.  Even Edith Austin, the Daltons' housekeeper, runs hot and cold - one minute she is friendly, and the next she is spewing nothing but hatred.  Betsy quickly learns no one can be trusted in the house - not even Carter, for whom she is beginning to develop feelings.  Everyone seems to simply be biding their time until Mr. Dalton dies.  But the mystery lies in the question - why is everyone so dead set on getting rid of Betsy?  She is simply there to catalogue, evaluate, and value all of the contents of the house.  Wouldn't they want to know the value, so that when they do get their grubby little hands on the countless antiques, they will be able to sell them for what they are really worth?  What possible reason could they have for trying to get Betsy to leave?  And who is so dead-set against her being there that they would be willing to kill her?

 

Yes, poor Betsy suffers more in this book than even Nancy Drew did in any of her mysteries.  Betsy gets conked on the head not once, not twice, not even three times - but on four separate occasions over the span of just a week or so, the woman is knocked unconscious by the cruel culprit determined to rid the house of her presence!  She is also attacked in the basement, nearly electrocuted, and near the end, she is almost buried alive!  All of this because of a secret of which she has absolutely no knowledge.  Oh, the reader surely will begin to suspect about half-way through the story when there is a passing mention of a certain incident from the Dalton family's past; but Betsy does not make the connection, as it is so far-fetched and not within her realm of knowledge that she would never even suspect the key that she holds.  Overall, the mystery and suspense are built at a pretty rapid pace, which makes the story much more engaging than it might otherwise be.

 

The title is somewhat misleading, as there is only one very brief moment in the book where there is any "dark laughter."  With that title, I was expecting Betsy to hear laughter reverberating through the house and the hallways late at night or when no one else was around, but that is not the case.  Rather, the only time the laughter is heard is for a brief second before Betsy falls unconscious after being struck on the head (twice, to make sure she goes out!) when she is about to enter a dark room where she was lured by the villain.  The woman's laughter, combined with the smell of perfume that Betsy remembers lingering in the air just before she was knocked out, is what helps our young heroine figure out who is trying so desperately to get her out of there. 

 

As with so many of these books, there is no credit given for the cover art, and the art itself shows no signature.  However, a quick online research reveals the artist is Robert McGinnis (1926 - 2025), who only recently passed away last year.  McGinnis was quite the busy artist, painting covers for countless paperback novels - including men's adventure series, romance books, historicals, westerns, and Gothic novels - as well as a large number of movie posters and art for magazines.  You can check out his work at the official Robert McGinnis Artwork website.  The one thing I should note about the cover for this book is that the woman running away from the house is definitely NOT our heroine, Betsy Vaughn.  The cover depicts a young blonde beauty running fearfully from that mansion in the background; yet, in the story, Betsy is described as having hair that is "thick and as luxuriantly black as a raven's wing" (p. 6).  Thus, either the artist was not given any description of the characters from the book when commissioned to do the cover, or the publisher simply chose an already completed painting and slapped it on as the cover for the book without any regard as to whether it matched the story or not (which, as we all know, happened quite often during this period).  Despite this discrepancy, the cover art is beautiful in its own right and can be appreciated for the gorgeous work that it is.

 

While not necessarily one of the best written Gothics of the period, it is a fairly enjoyable read.

 

RATING:  7 original manuscripts of Samuel Clemens out of 10 for crafting a wickedly fun tale filled with absolutely vile people, a determined young heroine, and a house filled with more danger than you can shake a stick at! 

The Boxcar Children: Endangered Animals

Following the Boxcar Children's 5-book "Great Adventure" and their 4-book "Creatures of Legend" saga, Albert Whitman & Company offered up a third mini-series entitled "Endangered Animals."  The tagline for this planned 4-book series reads:  "Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny are helping endangered animals all around the world!"  The first two books were issued in April 2022, with the second two books set to be published thereafter.  Having grown up reading The Boxcar Children in my school library, and having recently re-discovered the enjoyment of this series with the two animated movies and the 5-book and 4-book mini-series, I figured I would give this series a go as well.  It did not disappoint.

 

The Big Spill Rescue sets the stage for the Alden children to develop a desire to help save endangered animals. The four kids are visiting Port Elizabeth, a city in an unnamed state, but one that must be along the coast, as there is a lighthouse that is still used to ensure ships do not come too close to shore at night and run aground.  (Note:  there is a Port Elizabeth, New Jersey, but it is unlikely this is the town, since this unincorporated town is not located along the ocean coast.)  The children are introduced to the daughter of their father's friend, who shares with them her love for helping protect endangered animals.  When an oil spill occurs as a result of a tug boat running aground one night - the very night the lighthouse somehow malfunctions, it gives the Alden children an opportunity to not only help rescue the birds and other animals affected by the spill, but it also gives them the chance to solve the mystery of why the lighthouse was not working properly.  The mystery, as with most Boxcar Children stories, is fairly basic, and while there are a couple of suspects, there is one very obvious ones - it is simply the matter of Henry, Jessie, Violet, and Benny finding the right clues to lead them to the culprit.  Henry is the one who actually figures it out, with a little observational help from Jessie and Violet.  By the end of the story, Kayla (the daughter of their grandfather's friend) invites the Alden children to travel with her and help other endangered animals around the world - hence, the name of the mini-series!

 

Mystery of the Spotted Leopard takes the four young sleuths to India, where they will assist Kayla with research she and her organization, Protectors of Animals Worldwide ("PAW"), are doing on the spotted leopard population that live up in the Himalayan mountains.  This time, the region used for the story (the city of Leh in Ladakh) actually exists in the real world.  The group actually travels to a small village higher up into the mountains, where, realistically, the children must adjust to the lower levels of oxygen at such high altitudes.  It is here that one of the spotted leopards the research time has been monitoring disappears, its GPS collar cut away from its neck.  The research team is concerned that one of the local farmers may have killed the leopard to keep it from stealing any more of their stock, or that a poacher had come to claim the endangered animal as a prize for its beautiful coat of fur.  Once again, these four very self-sufficient children step in and follow the clues that lead them from suspect to suspect, until they narrow it down to the only possible culprit - the least likely of people for them to have believed would commit such a crime!  Of course, the leopard is rescued with little harm done, the culrpits arrested, and the Alden children are ready to return home to their grandfather and their dog - but not before they are told that there are more adventures yet to come!

 

Unfortunately, those last two adventures in the Endangered Animals mini-series never saw print.  Books 3 (Mystery of the Vanishing Forest) and 4 (The Great Reef Rebuild) were both solicited, with covers provided and all; however, before the date of publication hit, both books suddenly became "unavailable," and the release dates were changed to 2079!  I'm not sure why, but the print version of these books never saw the light of day, and the only versions available are audio books.  A very small portion of the third book (and when I say "small," I am talking about only 4 pages!) was available as a preview at the end of Spotted Leopard; but, other than that, no hard copies were ever printed or sold.  This is a real shame, as it left readers with an incomplete series (only 2 of 4 books) in printed form.  One has to wonder if the series was no longer profitable for Albert Whitman & Co., or if the publisher itself was simply not doing well, which could have been the reason the entire Boxcar Children property was sold (see below for more information on that subject).  

 

Craig Orback provided the art for Big Spill and Spotted Leopard, and it appears he also painted covers for books 3 and 4, which can be seen on sites such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble, but only available now as audio books.  Orback also did the internal illustrations for the first two books, so one has to wonder if he did any internals for the last two books, which, because the books were never published, are sitting on someone's desk unused at this point.  I'm not a fan of audio books (I prefer holding books in my hand as opposed to listening to them while I drive), so I am unlikely to ever purchase the last two books in the series - which is disappointing, as I would have liked to have seen where the next two books were planning to take the Alden children.  The descriptions on Amazon indicate the third book would take the kids to Sumatra, where they have to stop the destruction of part of the rain forest there, which is the habitat to many endangered species.  The fourth book would take them down under to Australia, where they have to fight to save the lives of underwater creatures and their natural habitat there.  But, alas, it is unlikely either of these stories will ever see a print version, in which case, I am left with an unfinished mini-series that will have to remain incomplete on my shelf.

 

What is even more disappointing than all of this is the fact that another mini-series was solicited to begin the very next year (2023), which was called the "Summer of Adventure."  The first book, Legend of the Hidden Treasure, would have had the Alden children helping their Aunt Jane move to the coast, where a boat called the Alden Explorer washes ashore.  In the boat, they find a mysterious journal that talks of hidden treasure and a secret society, which sends the kids off on another mystery-solving adventure.  A cover, painted by illustrator Karen De La Vega, was provided with the solicitation.  A second volume to the series, titled Secret of Superstition Mountain, would have followed, wherein the children are led by the journal to return to the site of their very second book - Surprise Island!  There, they learn more about the secret society and what it really means.  What is odd is that there is no image of the cover to this second book in the Summer of Adventure series; however, a search online reveals a Boxcar Children mystery of this title with a cover by De La Vega, but it is listed on The Concord Bookshop website as book 164 of the ongoing series (The Concord Bookstore - Boxcar Children 164).  There, it lists the date of publication as 2079 (same as that of books 3 and 4 of the Endangered Animals series), which means the book will likely never see print.  Such a shame, as the titles and brief synopses for these two books actually sounded fun!

 

I do note that there are two graphic novels being solicited to be released in August 2026.  The first appears to be a retelling of the children's very first adventure, simply titled The Boxcar Children.  The second graphic novel is titled Shipwreck! and potentially could be a retelling of the second book in the series, Surprise Island.  With my love of both children's mystery series and graphic novels, you can rest assured I will be getting both of these graphic novels.

 

Some searching online does reveal that Random House Children's Books purchased The Boxcar Children property from Albert Whitman & Company, which is likely why those last solicited books never saw print.  As it currently stands, the only new items coming from Random House at this time are the scheduled graphic novels.  Some further digging reveals that the ongoing series did continue past book 160 (or, at least, was scheduled to), with books numbered up to 164, including:

 

160 - The Mystery in the Magic Shop (alleged release date of 2022)

161 - The Raptor Rescue (alleged release date of 2022)

162 - The Code-Breaking Mystery (alleged release date of 2023)

163 - X Marks the Spot (alleged release date of 2023)

164 - Secret of Superstition Mountain (alleged release date of 2023)

165 - The Supermarket Mystery (simply says "coming soon")

166 - Sports Day Sabotage (simply says "coming soon") 

 

Based on this list, it appears the two "Summer of Adventure" stories were integrated into the ongoing series as books 163 and 164, with Legend of the Hidden Treasure retitled as X Marks the Spot.  Books 160 and 161 are available in print form, as well as audio, on Amazon.  However, beginning with book 162, the release dates show as "2079," the indicator that they are likely not to be published any time soon, if ever at all.  Random House has established a new website for the series (The Boxcar Children), where the graphic novels are advertised, as well as early books from the series and repackaged specials are offered.  I see no indication yet of whether books 162 through 166 will be offered, and whether the series will continue after that; nor do I see anything that might indicate Random House is looking to reboot the series (aside from the graphic novels).  I supposed we will simply have to wait and see what the new publisher has in store for this long-time children's series.

 

RATING:  7 cups of dirt tea with salt and yak butter out of 10 for taking the Boxcar Children on an all-new world-hopping adventure to save endangered animals, giving readers an opportunity to learn about numerous animals that have nearly gone extinct! 

The Brownie Scouts in the Cherry Festival - Book Three of the Brownie Scout Books

With this third book, we reach the half-way point of The Brownie Scouts series written by Mildred A. Wirt (Benson).  As Wirt progresses with the series, she is starting to give the girls some more distinct personalities and develop the characters into more than just cookie-cutouts hanging around in the background while the main two (Veve and Connie) take up all the screen time.  In fact, with this third book, Veve McGuire actually moves more into the spotlight, with Connie taking a more supporting role.  Jane Tuttle and Eileen Webber actually have more involvement than in previous stories, and even Rosemary Fritche and Sunny Davidson speak more than just a few lines.  This story actually gives readers a well-rounded group of Brownie Scouts, with all of them involved, in some fashion or another, with the overall story.

 

The Brownie Scouts in the Cherry Festival opens not with any plans for a cherry festival, but rather, with the girls absorbed with the tedious task of sewing blocks for a "crazy quilt" that the troop is making in order to auction it off to raise money for their group.  However, as anyone can imagine, these fourth-grade girls are not overly thrilled with spending every troop meeting sewing, sewing, and more sewing.  Veve, who is, of course, the first one to voice her dissatisfaction with the project, eagerly sets about finding a way for the girls to earn money faster and easier - and she finds it with an ad in the paper looking for people willing to pick cherries!  Before you can blink your eye, Veve and Connie - two fourth-graders, mind you! - take the bus by themselves to a cherry orchard outside the city limits to ask if they, along with the rest of their scout troop, could get a job as cherry pickers.  Right.  Because every parent would willingly let their 9 to 10 year old child go off by themselves with no adult supervision to try and get a job.  Makes perfect sense.

 

Anyway, suspending that disbelief for the time being, the girls end up meeting the vile Carl Wingate, who is berating a young Mexican boy when the girls first walk up.  He rudely tells them he does not hire inexperienced children and tells them to get lost.  As luck would have it (and when do these series book characters not have luck?), Veve and Connie see a sign at the orchard right across the street that says the owner of that farm is looking for pickers.  Pa Hooper is much nicer and, in fact, is greatly appreciative of the help the girls offer him, as he has been unable to get pickers due to Wingate underhandedly monopolizing all of the hired help for the season.  Thus, the Brownie Scouts find themselves waking up early each day to pick cherries (for one-and-a-half cents per pound!) in order to earn money for their group.  And this is where their adventures begin.

 

The first mystery seems to be what happened to the Brownies' quilt that disappears from Pa Hooper's grounds, where Miss Gordon had brought it to show the girls the completed product.  It disappeared without a trace!  The second mystery is discovered by Veve, who learns that Pa Hooper is going to lose his orchard to his cousin, Carl Wingate (that's right - turns out they are cousins!), all because of a second will that Wingate claims to have found.  Pa believes it is a forgery, but he cannot find anything with his sister's signature on it to prove it is a fake.  Thus, Veve makes it her mission to find that needed evidence!  The first mystery is solved fairly quickly (as it turns out the missing quilt was not stolen as originally thought, but found by someone who did not realize it belonged to the Brownies).  The second mystery, however, takes quite literally until the last few pages to reveal the solution - and although an intelligent reader will see that solution pretty early on, I give Wirt credit for coming with a rather ingenious way to provide the sister's needed signature.

 

Wirt goes into quite a bit of details about the various types of patterns used in quilting, as well as the various types of stitching and the manner in which the final quilt if put together.  While the girls put together a "crazy" quilt (one made of block of various shape, color, and size, sometimes even with various styles of stitching), there are references to numerous other patterns, such as "the Hand of Friendship," the "Pine Cone", and the "Album" (p. 5); the "Sunburst" pattern (p. 7) and the "Sawtooth" pattern (p. 16); an "Evening Star" pattern, as well as a "Pine Tree" design (p. 65); there is also a "dogwood blossom" quilt (p. 68) and one with a "Ship's Wheel" pattern (p. 76), as well as one with a pattern called "Duck's Foot in the Mud" (p. 101); and, finally, there is the most important quilt of them all - an old, faded quilt, which provides the girls with an example of an "Autograph Patch" quilt (p. 108).  It is this last quilt that provides the girls with the solution to their second mystery and helps Pa Hooper save his orchard.

 

The story also deals with a rather dark theme involving bigotry and how Mexican workers were seen and treated by people.  Veve befriends a young boy named Juan, whose family and other Mexican migrants are working for the wicked Carl Wingate.  Veve and her friends see first hand how the Mexicans are treated poorly and denied access to public areas, simply because of who the are.  I thought Wirt handled this nicely, as Veve, Connie, and the other Brownies do not see Juan or his family as any different, and they are appalled at the way the Mexicans are treated.  In the end, it is because of the Brownies that the town changes their view and welcomes the Mexicans and their traditions into the big cherry festival. 

 

Marguerite Gayer once again provides both the cover and interior art.  The cover art merely showcases the girls' work at the cherry orchard; however, the interior frontis piece actually displays the scene at the very end of the story, when the girls discover the all-important clue on the quilt that saves Pa Hooper's orchard from his conniving cousin!  It was actually rather nice to see an illustration related to the mystery, instead of simply a scene of the girls' adventures that have no relation to the mystery.  In fact, that is one thing I enjoyed more about this book than the previous two - the fact that the mystery actually plays a larger part of the story.  Sure, we've got the whole cherry picking shenanigans, and the planning of the cherry festival.  But it is the girls' wanting to find their missing quilt and their desire to help Pa Hooper save his land that makes the story truly engaging.  (And the ending seems to provide a lead-in to another story, but whether we actually get that in the next book or not, we'll have to see...)

 

RATING:  8 handsome red-and-white hand-woven blankets out of 10 for a story filled with lessons about friendship, bigotry, responsibility, and generosity - with a fun mystery added in for good measure! 

The Mystery of Collinwood - the 4th Paperback Library Gothic Novel based on ABC-TV's suspense drama (Dark Shadows)

We now come to the fourth novel in the Dark Shadows series by Marilyn Ross (a/k/a W.E.D. Ross) published by Paperback Library.  This particular novel was published in January 1968, which is when the television show was starting what I consider to be one of its best storylines (and by far my favorite one on the show) - when a seance was held at Collinwood ... a seance that transcended time and space and sent Victoria Winters on a journey back into the past ... back to the year 1795!  It was there that viewers learned the origin of how Barnabas Collins was cursed and became a vampire.  So, it seems rather odd that by this point in the novels, we have yet to see any sign of Barnabas Collins, and the stories continue to focus on Victoria Winters as the young Gothic heroine who constantly finds herself being threatened by some dark force (that, like in all the Scooby Doo mysteries, turns out to be a real person in disguise!).  Of course, I have no idea just how far in advance the stories were written, so there is the possibility that the book was written months before it was published...

 

The Mystery of Collinwood (and yes, they finally start calling it Collinwood at least, and have dropped the whole "Collins House" moniker) is more or less a repeat of the previous stories, which is a bit disappointing.  How many times can we have strangers / relatives show up at Collinwood, strange events start to happen that all seem to target Victoria, no one believes Victoria when she tells them what is happening, and Victoria is nearly killed before the villain is finally caught and unmasked?  Don't get me wrong - most of the Gothic novels from this period have many similar plot elements; but for a series of novels utilizing the same characters and setting to repeat the same basic story over and over again feels a bit redundant.  Now, I love Victoria Winters - always have since the very first episode of Dark Shadows that I ever watched - so I absolutely love reading more stories about her that take her beyond what we saw on the television show.  But after three books of her facing off against alleged ghosts/demons/phantoms and finding out they were actually one of the numerous strangers that were staying on the Collinwood estate, once would think that by this fourth book she would have wised up and not fallen from any more ghostly haunts.  I would like to think that at some point, her character would have grown, and she would not always play the helpless victim.  But, alas, Ross apparently did not see her that way.

 

With all that being said, the "mystery" of this book revolves around the rather odd Professor Mark Veno and his daughter, Linda, who have come to stay at Collinwood.  The Professor and his daughter travel the world, putting on show that highlight his mental abilities to supposedly read minds.  Roger Collins thinks it is a hoax, but Elizabeth Stoddard seems to think otherwise, so he is always welcome to stay at the great house when he is in the area.  Meanwhile, down at Ernest's cottage on the property, an ill woman, Margaret Lucas, and her deformed caretaker, Carlos, have been renting the cottage so she can be isolated in what Elizabeth and Victoria believe to be the final months of her life.  Margaret is a loner, but she does enjoy Victoria's company - in fact, Victoria is the only one she will allow to visit her.  Until she hears about Linda, at which point, she invites that girl to pay her visits as well.

 

Oh, did I mention that Linda bears a remarkable resemblance to Victoria?  And that Professor Mark Veno is actually Mark Collins, a previously never mentioned brother of Elizabeth and Roger (say what?!?!)?  And that Mark Collins was married before he met Linda's mother, but the first wife and her newborn baby both died?  Or did they?  Yes, it's another potential parentage for Victoria to fret about (she seems to have a new one in every book, doesn't she?).  While Victoria does not like the Professor - in fact, she can't stand him and is afraid of him! - she firmly believes his first child did not die, and she is that child.  Everyone she confides in tries to dissuade her of this theory, but she is persistent to the point of having Burke Devil hire a private detective to look into the matter.

 

And as far as the mystery - well, that involves the strange phantom mariner that the Professor tells the family about.  As the story goes, whenever the phantom mariner would appear to wives of sea-faring men back in the day, it meant the men would not be coming home, or that the women themselves would die!  To see the phantom mariner means death!  And, wouldn't you know it, the same night Victoria hears the story, she sees the phantom out on the grounds.  And again later in the house.  Again.  And again.  Poor Victoria is taken through the ringer in this story.  Knocked down the well outside (remember the one she almost fell into back in the first book, but Ernest saved her?).  Locked down in the dark cellar. Locked in an upper room with a bottle of gas thrown in for good measure.  Locked in the attic with something moving around.  Nearly hypnotized into jumping off Widow's Hill. Nearly hypnotized into jumping off the Captain's walk atop Collinwood.  And, finally, poor girl is nearly strangled to death before she gets the bead on that phantom mariner and shoots the villain with a gun provided her by Burke Devlin (good for you, Burke!).

 

One continuity error I caught while reading this book:  once again, David and Carolyn are out of the picture.  Even though summer is over (this book is explicitly said to take place in September), Ross writes off David by sending him to a boarding school, and he writes out Carolyn by having her return to Ellsworth to finish her final year of high school.  How convenient.  In any event, when Elizabeth plans a big party toward the end of the story, she mentions that Carolyn will be able to come home for that week to be there for the party.  Upon her return, she and Victoria and Linda go up into the attic to look for old dresses to wear for the costume party (p. 140), and Carolyn is the one who actually finds Victoria locked in the attic (p. 143).  That's all good and dandy.  But then the very next chapter begins by saying "Carolyn returned from school in Ellsworth on Friday evening and so was able to assist Linda with the last minute decorations (p. 147).  So, if Carolyn did not return until Friday, then how was she there earlier in the week to look for costumes for the party and to free Victoria from the attic?  Time travel, perhaps?  Parallel time?  Let's face it, stranger things than that have happened on the television show!

 

Just as the previous four books had two covers, so does this one.  The early printings had a painted cover that features Victoria in the forefront, looking over her shoulder (a very striking image of her, I must say!), with a mysterious man in the background - that could be Roger, Ernest, or even the Professor.  Collinwood looms in the background, menacing as ever.  The later printings feature yet another image of Alexandre Moltke and Jonathan Frid as Victoria and Barnabas, again working to cash in on the popularity of Barnabas Collins, even though he has not even been mentioned in the book series up to this point.

 

Read by itself, the story is a fairly well-written Gothic.  Read as a part of this series, however; well, it just feels like a repeat of the same plot with different characters.  

 

RATING:  6 new bottles of sherry out of 10 for keeping Victoria Winters alive and giving her considerably more spotlight than the TV show was doing at this time. 

Nancy Drew Mystery Stories # 143 - Mystery on Maui

 "Surf's up - and so is the crime on Nancy's Hawaiian holiday!" (cover blurb)

 

"Nancy rides a wave of danger in pursuit of a surfing saboteur!" (back cover blurb)

 

Published in June 1998, it turns out this particular Nancy Drew mystery was written by the same author as the last book - Elizabeth Nugent (or so it says on Wikipedia, so take it for what it's worth).  While I can find no real information regarding this particular author online, it does not surprise me that the same person wrote books 142 and 143.  Both books have more of a Nancy Drew Files feel to them, rather than the standard digest stories.  Both books have considerably more high-stakes danger, and the mysteries themselves are definitely more adult themed - with villains who will not hesitate to kill in order to keep their activities from being brought to light!  Since the Files series ended in 1997, it makes sense that there were some left over stories, perhaps even some completed manuscripts, that simply got repurposed for the digest series in order to meet deadlines.

 

Mystery on Maui takes Nancy, Bess, and George to Maui, the second largest of Hawaii's islands, for a vacation (and we all know how vacations always turn out for Nancy!).  They were invited by an old friend of Nancy's, Danny Takemura, "who had spent his junior year of high school in River Heights" (p. 3).  The author indicates Nancy and Danny had become good friends and stayed in touch as "E-mail pen pals" (p. 3).  This poses an interesting question - if Nancy and Danny have stayed in touch via e-mail since they completed their junior year (and if Nancy is eighteen, as stated in the previous book, which means they just finished their senior years), then they would have been in communication via e-mail for a little over a year.  So, in all the time that Nancy has been solving mysteries (142 of them in just the span of a year!), why was this "good friend" of Nancy's never mentioned before?  Of course, this series boasts countless "good friends," for whom Nancy solves mysteries, and who we never see or even hear mention of ever again - so how good of friends could they really be?  But, I digress...

 

Now, about the mystery itself. It involves the Golf Coast Surf-Off, in which one of Danny's friends, Josh Brightman, is a contender (p. 5).  Nancy indicates "Golf Coast" is what the western part of Maui is called, and Josh tells them it is also the name of a big chain of stores in Hawaii and California; however, neither of those things are true.  (While the book does contain fictional locations, the city of Lahaina, used in the book [p. 17], is an actual city, located on the northwest coast of the island of Maui; however the reference to the run-down harbor town of Point Guerre [p. 116] is purely fictional.)  Nevertheless, Josh is predicted to be the big winner of the contest, with the chance to win $75,000!  When Josh explains that his two top competitors have both had to back out - one due to food poisoning, and the other due to a fall that injured his leg - Nancy starts to wonder if someone is eliminating the competition in the hopes of winning themselves.  Josh scoffs at the idea until his surfboard is stolen ... and then he receives a note warning him to drop out or else ... and then he finds a deadly snake in his gym bag ... and ultimately he is kidnapped before he can finish the tournament!  With a huge and potentially deadly storm ready to strike Maui, Nancy realizes she must race against time to find her new friend before someone decides to eliminate him from the contest - permanently!

 

Nugent (a/k/a Carolyn Keene) provides the readers with several likely suspects.  First is a fellow competitor, Hank Carter, who is cocky and determined to win at all costs, even if he has to use underhanded tactics to do so.  Second is Manny Monolo, a lifeguard who has an ax to grind with Josh after a fight they had that cost Manny his chance to become a paramedic.  Third is the stranger who tries to steal Josh's surfboard, a man they refer to as "the Snake" because of a tattoo he has of a snake going around his arm.  Fourth is Ruby Blackwell, a former surfer who has opened a surf shop on the beach and is trying to market a new surfboard - and who also happens to be a former girlfriend of Hank Carter.  Last, but not least, is the unsavory Russell Frye, a boat captain who takes tourists out for shark watching, illegally dumping chum into the water to attract sharks.  It seems Josh had reported him to the police, and Frye is none-too-happy with him, vowing to get revenge one way or another.  Thus, with all these suspects, Nancy must find out every thing she can about each of them in order to narrow down her list to the real culprit.

 

As with the last book, the danger levels and violence in this book definitely give it the feel of a Files rather than a standard digest Mystery Story.  For instance, near the start of the story, George is out surfing and gets pulled out by the riptide and knocked unconscious in the water.  By the time they get her to shore, she is not breathing and it appears touch-and-go for a moment before a lifeguard is able to revive her (p. 35).  Later in the story, when Josh finds the snake in his gym bag, it turns out to be a death adder (p. 87), a very venomous snake that originates from Australia (as accurately referenced in the book).  Near the end of the book, when Nancy is tracking down the Snake, she finds him facedown on the floor, with a knife next to him and "a tiny trail of blood" (p. 118).  Finally, near the climax of the mystery, when the real villain has Nancy and her friends trapped, the villain splashes kerosene all over Nancy's clothes and holds a plastic lighter with the threat of burning her alive (pp. 134-35)!  These type of scenes are definitely not the kind one would normally find in a standard Nancy Drew Mystery Story.

 

The cover art, yet again, is provided by Ernie Norcia.  The scene appears to be taken from the moment near the beginning when George is knocked out while surfing, with Nancy running to her aid.  The scene does not really have any connection to the mystery, other than to provide a way for the author to introduce the lifeguard, Manny Monolo.  It truly amazes me how life-life Norcia is able to paint Nancy and her friends.  The art almost appears as if it were a photograph taken at a real beach, with those waves crashing down on the sand. Simon & Schuster definitely picked the perfect artist for these covers - it is a shame they eventually moved on to a different artist.

 

RATING:  9 squadrons of shadowy sea creatures with dorsal fins out of 10 for a fast-paced mystery filled with ever-increasing danger and deadly villains! 

A Zebra Mystery Puzzler #31 - Death on the Circuit

I am now on the downhill side of this Zebra Mystery Puzzler series, with 31 books read and 29 still to go (not counting the four-book "You Solve It" series by Zebra for young adults, which were published around the same time, but aimed at a younger audience and without the internal illustrations).  This book introduces readers to another new author and another new sleuth - but with a catch!  This is the first of four books by Jan Ellery; yet, this is the only one to feature Navy Lieutenant Marsha Lenox as the amateur sleuth.  In fact, each of Ellery's novels in this series boasts a different protagonist, which is unique, since all of the other authors who wrote more than one book in the series continued the adventures of their main character.  And as far as the author goes, I could find nothing on Jan Ellery.  One website gives credit to both Jan Ellery and Jean Ross Ewing; however, Ewing's personal website does not indicate she had any involvement with this book.  Thus, the true authorship of this book is left a mystery...

 

Death on the Circuit is a different type of mystery, since it involves members of our armed forces - particularly, the Navy. Marsha Lenox is a Lieutenant who has been assigned to a USO tour with the famous comedian, Harry Carras.  Only, she learns very quickly that Carras may be funny onstage, but he's anything but funny off-stage.  The Hollywood actress, Cindy Carlson can't stand him.  His manager, Hal Squires, has every reason to hate him, as Carras is constantly berating and firing him.  Even the men and women of the Navy who are acting as escorts have nothing good to say about the man.  Carras even managed to avoid any long-term bad publicity for the suicide of a model years ago who killed herself when the egotistical man tossed her aside for another woman.  So, when Carras is electrocuted on stage when he grabs hold of the microphone, prepared to start his act, there are any number of suspects.  Because Marsha is nearly killed herself when she tries to lend aid to the man, she makes it her mission to uncover what really happened.

 

The mystery of whodunnit becomes a lot more complicated when the chain of command in the Navy hand down the decision - the death was simply an accident, and all investigation into what happened must stop.  Marsha cannot understand the decision, as she has a witness that will testify to the fact that the electrocution was caused deliberately.  Someone wanted Carras dead, and now someone is trying to sweep it all under the rug.  Marsha finally learns from a fellow officer that there is more going on than meets the eye.  Near where the concert was to be performed is an ongoing search for some nuclear weapons, and there is the possibility the Russians are involved.  Marsha does not see how this involves Carras until Lt. Jeff Harris explains that Carras was actually working for the government - and, worse than that, he was also working for the Russians as a spy!  Thus, the number of possible suspects just multiplied.

 

Ellery crafts a truly ingenuous murder mystery, once that had me going back and forth with who I though did it.  I even had a difficult time picking out clues from the cover and internal illustrations, as I could never definitively determine who the killer was.  Which is a good thing, as it kept me on my toes and offered me a surprise reveal at the end.  Once the killer was identified, and that person's motive was revealed, then looking back over the illustrations, I was suddenly able to spot the clues (although, to be honest, there are two internal illustrations that offer up no clues whatsoever, which makes them nothing more than red herrings).  I will say, however, that the way in which the story is told, literally ANYONE (other than Marsha) could have been the killer.  Everyone had a motive, and most everyone had the opportunity as well.  It all boiled down to the question - who had the skill and knowledge to set up the electrocution to take place, and who truly hated Carras enough to want him dead.  

 

There are no credits for the cover artist and the internal illustrator, so I have no clue who did either.  The style of the internals is familiar enough, though, with the full page art and tons of shading.  This artist likely provided some of the internals for earlier books in the series; it is just a shame the publisher never thought fit to give credit to the artists.  Plus, this new cover design with the small amount of artwork appearing in the glass area of the magnifying glass limits just how much you can actually see.  I wish Kensington / Zebra had kept the original cover style with full page art.

 

It's a shame this is the one and only Zebra Mystery Puzzler to feature Navy Lieutenant Marsha Lenox.  I like the character, and the limitations placed upon her by her position within the military made for an interesting read as she fought to navigate between her own curiosity and determination and the orders from her superior officers.  Nevertheless, despite this being her one and only mystery, it is a story definitely well worth the read!

 

RATING:  10 outdated issues of Vogue magazine out of 10 for a uniquely different murder mystery and a super-crafty tale that keeps readers guessing to the end!

A Rather Charming Invitation - third in a series of "Rather" mysteries

I did not even realize it had been nearly eight months since I read the previous book in this series, so it was definitely time to delve back into the world of Penny Nichols and her ever-so-charming fiance, Jeremy Laidley. I absolutely love these characters - not just because the title character shares the name of a vintage sleuth written by Mildred Wirt Benson (under the pseudonym Joan Clark), but also because Penny and Jeremy truly come alive on the page.  Their banter, their reactions, their choices - they are all filled with every normal human trait that we experience in real life - humor, fear, tenderness, anger, love, and pretty much every other emotion.  Author C.A. Belmont truly draws you into their lives and adventures, making each of these books a true page-turner that you literally cannot put down until you finish!

 

A Rather Charming Invitation takes readers on a wild ride leading up to Penny and Jeremy's wedding day.  (Which is rather amusing, since the most recent Posie Parker mystery I read also involved the main couple facing adventure and mystery leading up to their wedding day!)  It all starts with the surprise visit from a French cousin that Penny never knew she had.  It seems there is a whole side to her father's family of whom she had been unaware - until now.  With the arrival of Honorine, Penny's world widens all that much larger, as she comes to meet her very prim and proper aunt Leonora, her somewhat more relaxed uncle Phillipe, and her all-business cousin, David.  Much to her dismay, she quickly learns that her aunt expects her to have her wedding to Jeremy at their chateau - and Leonora even "allows" Penny to use a rather elaborate bridal tapestry for the backdrop of her wedding.  But who said she even wanted it?  Well, the more Penny studies the antique tapestry, the more she realizes there is more to it than anyone realizes.  The intricate designs, the exquisite details, and the beautiful images all form a rather unique message ... and more than that, they hide a map to a long-lost dowry that could change all of their lives!

 

Belmond takes Penny and Jeremy all over Europe in this adventure, as they travel from London to Mougins to Antibes to Paris to Grasse to Lake Geneva to Monte Carlo - so many cities, so many clues to follow up on, so much adventure, so much danger - so much fun!  Despite the trouble between the families (Jeremy's English relatives want the wedding in London their way, Penny's French relatives want the wedding in France their way, and Jeremy thinks they should just elope and avoid it all!), Penny and Jeremy manage to keep up the usual banter that will make the reader smile.  And while the mystery surrounding the tapestry and all the danger that comes with it once the tapestry is stolen and Penny learns the true message it holds, Belmond never lets the readers forget that Penny and Jeremy have a wedding to plan.  The question is - will they ever actually find time to sit down and plan it?  For that matter, does Penny even really want a wedding?

 

I enjoyed the fact that Belmond did not make it obvious from the get-go just what was so important about the tapestry.  It was obvious there was going to be some sort of secret it held, particularly once it is stolen.  For Penny's relatives, it is the historical significance and its potential high value if it were to be sold that made them so determined to get it back.  For Penny, it was simply her natural curiosity about the man who wove the tapestry and the history surrounding its creation.  But for someone, the tapestry held the clue that could lead them to a long-lost treasure that could be worth more than anything else in the world.

 

It is fun to see some of the previously introduced supporting cast make their appearances - even cousin Rollo seems to have turned over a new leaf - well, a little bit, at least.  Penny's parents are always a hoot, and Jeremy's mother and her beau (a clockmaker named Guy) are quirky in their own ways.  Even Penny's former co-workers, Erik and Tim, put in an appearance to help with the wedding plans.  But it is the introduction of Penny's French relatives and Jeremy's stern and controlling grandmother who really take center-stage in this book, and they help Penny grow as a character as she must find ways to not only satisfy both sides of the family, but to also stand up to them and not allow them to take control of a day that is meant to be hers and Jeremy's.  I think every reader will be thrilled with the final wedding adventure - oh, and believe me, it is an adventure!  It's the kind of wedding that middle-class people like us could only dream about, but the multi-million dollar American heiress who is living in London can afford to get married in style, and boy, does she!

 

The one new character that really packs a punch in this story is Parker Drake - an obscenely wealthy collector who is so crazy rich that his parties are the ones anyone who is anyone are dying to get invited to - and only so few are chosen!  Well, as fate would have it, Penny and Jeremy just have to get into one of his parties to follow up on a clue regarding the missing tapestry.  Needless to say, they manage to worm their way into some tickets, and they sneak onto the Drake property and manage to connive their way into a yacht party for some deadly snooping and tricks that nearly cost them their lives!

 

At more than 400 pages, this mystery is quite lengthy; yet, it is so engaging from the very first page, that it won't take long for you to work your way through it (I finished it in two days, I just could not put it down!).  The only sad thing about the book is the fact that this is the next to the last book in the series.  Book four concludes the adventures of Penny Nichols and Jeremy Laidley, and I do not look forward to seeing their sleuthing tales come to an end!

 

RATING:  10 gold Lunaire coins out of 10 for keeping the romance, mystery, adventure, suspense, and danger all so equally balanced as to make for superb reading!