Whitman Mystery Stories - Tom Harmon and the Gridiron Plot

This is definitely a book I would have never imagined myself reading under any circumstances.  I am not now, nor have I ever been, a fan of professional sports or college sports.  I do not like football, basketball, baseball, or any other sport of that kind.  (I will, however, watch an ice hockey game, if I can see it live!)  That being said, reading a book about sports would never be on my radar - and yet, here we are.  In recent years, I have discovered that quite a number of the Whitman Authorized Editions actually contain some pretty solid stories, and the illustrations in some of them are actually very well done (better than many of the later line illustrations in the Nancy Drew, Bobbsey Twins, and Hardy Boys books from Grosset & Dunlap).  Thus, when I happened across this book at a local bookstore for just $4.99, and the dust jacket was in such great shape, I thought:  why not?

 

Tom Harmon and the Great Gridiron Plot was written by Jay Dender.  Who is Jay Dender, you may ask?  Well, that's a really good question, and quite frankly, I have no idea.  From everything I could find online, this appears to be the only book written by Mr. Dender, and there is nothing I could find to even indicate whether "Jay Dender" is a real person or just a pseudonym.  I found this odd, since many of the Whitman books I have read have had authors who wrote more than just one book for the company.  (There are some exceptions, where the creator of a particular comic strip character may have written the Whitman book based on their character; but that's an exception, and not a rule.)  The one thing I can say is that Mr. Dender (or whoever was using that nom de plume) was very well versed in the area of football, as the story contains quite a bit of details regarding not only how the game is played, but very specific plays and descriptions of the various plays during the games.  Only someone well versed in the game (or a super-uber-fan) would have that kind of detailed knowledge of the game!

 

The story is set at the fictional university, Stockton, where Tom Harmon is a senior and is the star player of their football team, the Panthers.  While there is a real Stockton University in New Jersey, it is doubtful, based on the descriptions in the book, that this is supposed to be that particular campus.  And while the various colleges against whom the Panthers play reflect the names of real colleges and universities in our world, Webster, Harper, Douglas and the others are also fictionally created within the story.  As the copyright page specifically indicates, with the exception of the authorized use of the name "Tom Harmon," all names and places within the story are entirely fictional.  As far as the main character goes, Tom Harmon was apparently an all-around sports star, both in high school (in Indiana) and in college (University of Michigan).  According to the brief bio of Harmon on the dust jacket flap, Harmon managed to score "33 touchdowns, kicked 33 points after touchdown, kicked two field goals for a total of 237 points - the best scoring record in Big Ten history [at that time]."   While I am unfamiliar with the man or his fame (not being a sports fan), I have no doubt he was extremely popular at the time, for Whitman to seek out and license his name for use in a book like this.  And, as it turns out, he was the father of actor Mark Harmon (who, coincidentally, played in an episode of the Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries back in the 1970s - "The Mystery of the Solid Gold Kicker," which was about a successful football player that is framed for murder!  Coincidence?  I think not!).

 

While the main focus of the story is Stockton's goal of winning the "Big Seven" title in order to save their coach's job (his job is in jeopardy because a group of alumni were offering a rather large sum of money to the university to build additional buildings on campus - but the catch is, either the team wins the Big Seven this year, or the coach must be let go!), there are a couple of subplots that play into the story.  One is the obvious dislike that one of the players has for Tom, whether it be out of jealousy of his fame or for other reasons.  The other concerns attacks made on Tom just prior to games - the first, a physical attack when he and a fellow player are taking a shortcut through the woods; the second, an attempt to make it appear Tom cheated on an important test to have him expelled so he can no longer play for the team.  Everyone begins to wonder - is someone out to get Tom personally, or are all these tactics merely a way to keep Stockton from winning the Big Seven, so that the coach will be ousted from the university.

 

Honestly, I had to force my way through a lot of the story where the focus was on the football strategies and plays out on the field.  Dender goes into some excruciating detail that might be fun for fans of the sport, but was rather tedious for me.  The college antics of the students made for much better reading, and the tiniest bit of mystery is what kept my interest in the story.  That being said, Dender does manage to write the characters in such a way as to have you rooting for them, particularly when Tom keeps getting singled out for these attacks.  Nearly his entire team, as well as most of the students and faculty, all support Tom (as if they wouldn't, considering he is the title character, after all), and you know that, in the end, it is all going to work out for everyone - but it is the getting there that makes for enjoyable reading.  

 

The illustrator for this book is Henry E. Vallely (1881-1950), who has provided illustrations for quite a number of the Whitman Authorized Editions.   Vallely also provided illustrations for Big Little Books, women's magazines, in addition to his work for Whitman.  His illustrations are distinctive, with beautifully rendered scenes that truly stand out.  I'm always thrilled when I find a book that identifies him as the illustrator, as I know I am in for a treat with the internals.  The endpage spread is a nicely rendered scene from one of the many games played within the book, and thankfully, it does not spoil anything from the story (as some of the endpages for these Whitman books have a habit of doing).

 

While the football aspect is definitely not my cup of tea, the overall story was not bad, and I managed to make it through without getting overly bored.  A nice addition to my ever-growing Whitman collection.

 

RATING:  7 stolen brass canons out of 10 for plenty of college hi-jinks, locker room antics, and last minute winning touchdowns to craft a halfway decent story. 

 

 

Peggy Lane Theater Stories No. 1 - Peggy Finds the Theater

What better way to start a new month than with a new series (well, new to me at least ... well, new for reading purposes ... anyway ...).  With my love of theater, my love of vintage series books, and my love of stories with female protagonists, it should come as no surprise that I have all eight books in the Peggy Lane Theater Stories series.  Published from 1962 to 1965, the series follows the adventures of a nearly twenty-year old Peggy Lane, whose desire to become an actress leads her to forego a college education and head off for New York City to fulfill her dreams.  The author is given as "Virginia Hughes," which is actually a house pseudonym.  According to Jennifer White's website, the only known author is Geraldine Wallis, who wrote the third volume in the series; the other four books were likely written by four different men.  It would be interesting to learn just who those men were that authored the books (although judging from the information provided on Jennifer White's website, John Ott may have been one, based on his own background as an actor and director).

 

Peggy Finds the Theater is the first book in the series, introducing readers to the dark-haired protagonist and her rather large supporting cast.   Peggy Lane and her best friend, Jean Wilson, live in the fictional town of Rockport, Wisconsin (p. 6).  While there is a Rockport Park in the State of Wisconsin, and there is a city called Rock in Wisconsin, there is no actual Rockport.  The book indicates the travel time by plane from Rockport to New York City is approximately three hours (p. 22), which would place the town somewhere along the western portion of the state (since standard flight time from Wisconsin to New York City is only about two-and-a-half hours).  The story opens with Peggy working hard to convince her parents to allow her to step back from Rockport Community College, where she has finished her first year, and move to New York City to pursue her dream of becoming an actress.  In the end, she makes a bargain with them that will allow her a year to pursue her dream, and if she has not achieved any level of acting goals in that time, she will return home and finish college before attempting it again.  

 

This was very reminiscent of the Carol Page theater series written by Helen Dore Boylson, who makes a very similar deal with her parents in order to get permission to pursue an acting career.  The Carol Page series was released a decade prior to this series, so it seems the attitudes of parents towards their daughters who want to pursue theater as a career did not change much over that time.

 

This first book deals very little with the theater itself and more with Peggy making the move to the big city, starting a very prestigious acting school, making new friends, and joining an off-Broadway theater group who are working to put together their first play.  While there is mention of Peggy's previous experience on the stage while she was in high school, we never actually get to see Peggy perform (other than a couple of scenes where she is rehearsing the monologues she plans to use when she auditions to be admitted into the acting school).  The author does reference real plays, however, including the classic Twelfth Night (p. 23), a play by Shakespeare; the satire Skin of Our Teeth (p. 24), a play by Thornton Wilder; and the drama, Winterset (p. 24), a play by Maxwell Anderson.  The author also makes reference to Variety magazine, with which anyone in the acting community is well acquainted.  However, in the book, one of Peggy's new housemates indicates the magazine has casting call pages for the theater (p. 70); yet, some quick research online reveals Variety never really had theater casting calls, but focused more on the entertainment industry, i.e. television and film.  Backstage or Broadway World are the magazines more easily recognized for theater casting call notices.  Perhaps the author just felt readers might more easily recognize the Variety name than the others.

 

The rather expanded cast of characters are introduced in chapter six, which is aptly titled "Cast of Characters."  It is here we learn all about the girls with whom Peggy will be sharing a house while in New York.  First, there is Gaby (Gabrielle), whose father works for the UN, is French and learning English so she can hopefully break into the acting world; then there is Dot, a native of California who is a comedienne and eccentric dancer; next is Greta, who is from Boston and is working as a script editor while waiting for her big break;  following her is Irene (not her real name!), who previously acted in some television shows and is currently supporting herself as a model; also in the house is Maggie, a dancer from Ireland, who has been dancing since she was three years old; and then comes Amy, a small town girl from North Carolina who, like Peggy, has just arrived in New York hoping to find success on the stage.  May Berriman is the house mother, who takes care of the girls.  (This set up is also similar to the Carol Page series, where Carol lives in a boarding house with a number of other actresses.)

 

In addition to their housemates, Peggy (and by default her new best friend, Amy) become involved with a group of students at New York Academy who are putting together a play that they hope to have produced off-Broadway.  These students include Peter Piper (yes, they acknowledge the source of the name in the story), known to his friends as "Pip," and Connie Barnes, another comedienne; also a part of the group is Mallory Seton, the director, and Randy Brewster, the producer.  Rounding out the group are Mona Downs and Thomas Galen, both of whom are older actors (neither of whom are students, but both of whom are seasoned actors who do not mind doing off-Broadway shows [p. 91]).  They have the script, the actors, and the financing - all they need to do is find an available theater, which is next to impossible in New York City.  This is where Peggy comes in!  Peggy volunteers to find a theater.  "I used to help out as a reporter on my father's newspaper, and I'm used to digging up facts," she tells the group (p. 99).  Thus, not only is Peggy an actress, but she is a reporter as well!  Talk about your well-rounded career girl! All she needs to do is add amateur sleuth to that resume ... oh, wait, she does!

 

Yes, Peggy stumbles across a very minor mystery while searching for a theater.  She and Amy find the perfect location in a building that houses a theater on the top floor; but the janitor gives them the brush off, which makes Peggy automatically suspect something criminal is going on at the building (because no one would ever be rude in NYC, right?).  She convinces the theater troupe, and before you know it, they are staking out the back alley to see if anything criminal takes place.  Soon enough, Peggy and Amy witness a truck delivering boxes into the building late at night, with an armed guard.  Convinced there is something criminal about the whole affair, they tell the police, who not only give credence to her story, but manage to catch the crooks in the middle of delivering their next shipment of stolen goods into the building!  Not only does the insurance company provide the girls with a rather substantial reward for recovering thousands of dollars worth of furs and silverware and liquor (as well as $20,000 worth of nylon stockings - as the book says, that "is an awful law of nylon stockings" [p. 172]), but the owner of the building, who lives in Florida (of all places!), is only too happy to rent the troupe not just the top floor for a theater, but the whole building (p. 173)!  So, Peggy's three-chapter mystery ends up solving all of the acting troupe's problems - way to go, Peggy!

 

The title of the book has a double meaning:  Peggy does "find" the theater, inasmuch as she takes off to New York City to pursue her dream of being an actress on the stays; at the same time, she literally "finds" the theater that the other students have been so desperately seeking for their play.  The art for the book is provided by Sergio Leone - and no, that is not the Italian film director of the same name.  I could find no information whatsoever about Mr. Leone, other than the apparently provided art not only for children's books in the 1960s and '70s, but he also apparently provided some painted covers to paperback Gothic novels from that same time period.  The painted cover for this book is rather simple, with a headshot of Peggy, and the lights of New York City in the background.  The internal black-and-white illustrations are not overly exciting scenes, but instead pictures of Peggy and Randy dancing, Peggy with her parents at the airport, Peggy and Amy with their dates eating a late dinner.  About the only illustration that could be said to contain any "suspense" at all is the final image of Peggy and Amy on their stakeout, as a cat jumps out beside them, startling them (p. 163).  Oddly, the frontis piece and the first internal (p. 25) are the only two that are full page with captions; the remaining illustrations are half to three-fourth page with no caption.  The end page are by far my favorite, as it depicts Peggy and her friends in a theater and on the stage, in what appears to be a moment from a rehearsal (this scene, however, appears nowhere in this book).

 

While I would not say this was an exciting story, and the mystery was so limited as to barely be there, I did thoroughly enjoy the story. This series might not appeal to mystery enthusiasts, but for those who enjoy career girl stories, or those who love good theater tales, this book will definitely satisfy those tastes!

 

RATING:   10 servings of pheasant under glass out of 10 for providing readers with a somewhat true-to-life look at what life is like for a theater actor trying to break into the field in New York City!

Short(est) Lived Comic Series #38 - Emergency Doctor (Charlton Comics)

Here's another one-issue series that should have had more issues.  It's a shame when you find a comic, you enjoy it, and you discover that it only had the one issue - and it seems that a number of the golden, silver, and bronze age independent companies (such as Gold Key, Dell, Charlton, and others) were infamous for this.  While I ignored the whole genre of medical comics (as well as romance comics) back when I was a kid, I have developed a new appreciation for these books as an adult.  I have discovered that they have some truly great art by some well-known comic artists who were just getting their start back in the day ... plus, the stories are actually pretty good, quite often episodic in nature like a daytime soap opera (in fact, Charlton published two short-lived titles that reprinted earlier work under soap opera names:  the five issue Soap Opera Romances and the three issue Soap Opera Love).  Alas, so few of those medical / romance titles lasted, and this one is certainly no exception.

 

Emergency Doctor was published in the summer of 1963, with the indicia indicating it was to be published on a quarterly basis.  While the title seems fairly generic, it actually refers to a specific doctor - one Dr. Jerry Starr, a resident doctor at the County General Hospital.  And, yes, if you look at the cover, you will see that his name is misspelled as "Terry" rather than "Jerry" in that caption under the title.  The cover art is allegedly by Dick Giordano, who was working at Charlton when this comic was published, so it the credit is potentially correct.  The cover depicts a rather dramatic scene of surgery being performed on a patient of indeterminable gender, which scene was taken from the second story in this issue to feature Dr. Starr and his faithful nurse, Anne Adair.  I find it amusing that the lower portion of the cover is taken up by an add for a contest being run by Bonomo Turkish Taffy, in which readers could potentially win "sensational prizes," with pictures of board games, a television, and a bicycle as what I am guessing to be potential prizes.  The details about this contest are in the middle of the comic, right across from a prose story entitled "Recluse Pattern" (whose author is unidentified and remains a mystery today).

 

This comic features two main stories starring Dr. Jerry Starr and Nurse Anne Adair.  The first 10-page story is titled "Fatal Holiday," and it opens with a scene of excitement and danger as the doctor is seen climbing a ladder to get into a burning building.  Readers are quickly taken back to the previous morning, when Jerry and Anne are preparing for the day ahead of them - the day before the Fourth of July!  From a drowning boy (who does not survive, which is surprising to see in a comic like this!) to a horrible car accident involving a pregnant woman about to give birth; from a child who burned her eyes to a gunshot victim who is bleeding out; from a man who swallowed his car keys to that final emergency of men trapped in a burning building - in which Dr. Starr must make a daring rescue that ultimately requires him to jump three stories before the building collapses - readers are given the reality of the lives of emergency room doctors and nurses, who are forever rushing to save one life after another!  Of course, there is time to sneak in a bit of romance, as Jerry more than hints that he would like to make Anne his wife!  Joe Gill is credited with the script for this story, and Norman Nodel is given credit for the art chores.  Gill is best known for co-creating Charlton heroes such as Captain Atom, Peacemaker, and Judo Master; Nodel is recognized for the large amount of work he did for Classics Illustrated comics.

 

The second story featuring Dr. Starr and Nurse Adair is another 10-pager that focuses more on romance than medical drama.  In "The Perfect Doctor's Wife," Jerry saves the life of a rather beautiful woman who turns out to be Sandra Rees, daughter of the industrialist Alvin Rees.  Mr. Rees is so grateful to Jerry that he offers to fund whatever dream Jerry has - which happens to be the establishment of small neighborhood clinics for the poor.  Before you know it, Jerry is swept into the world of the rich and powerful, and he finds himself drawn to Sandra (much to Anne's chagrin!).  Before the two can marry, however, Jerry learns exactly what it will cost him to marry into such a wealthy family, and he's unwilling to leave his desire to help other behind.  The story has a very strong lesson for its readers, and a happy ending for Jerry and Anne.  The last two panels feature an intercom page for Dr. Starr to report to surgery - and a final caption that reads, "He heard and he answered the call ... just as he does every time an ambulance rolls!  This is Dr. Starr, the Emergency Doctor ... and he's doing a hard, dangerous job ... and he loves it!"  Gill and Nodel are credited with the writing and art for this story as well.

 

In-between the two stories, there is a 3-page story that is a reprint from Sweetheart Diary (another Charlton title), issue 34 from July 1956.  The story is "Last Chance for Love," and it shows readers what could happen when a woman cannot make up her mind between two men that she would love to have for different reasons.  When she finally agrees to make a decision, it turns out both men walk away before she can decide!  There is uncertainty as to whether Joe Gill authored this tale, but the art chores are credited to Charles Nicholas (pencils) and Rocco "Rocke" Mastroserio (inks), with lettering by Joe D'Agostino.  It's funny to think that an entire story can be told in three pages, when today's creators cannot seem to fit a complete story into just one full issue!

 

As indicated above, there is a two-page prose tale about a doctor at Mercy General Hospital who must take drastic action in order to convince a wealthy woman that she must eat in order to survive.  There is also a one-page comic strip at the end of the book titled "The Wilderness Scout," which provides some details about the life of Christopher "Kit" Carson.  The writer and artist are not identified, but online sources indicate Gill could have been the writer, and Maurice Whitman might have been the artist.

 

Overall, I would say this was a winning issue for me.  The two main stories kept my attention, with art that, while not exactly eye-catching by today's standards, definitely appeals to me as perfect for the content of the story.  The writing was a bit fast-paced, but Gill superbly integrates just enough of Jerry and Anne's personalities into the story that by the end of those first 10 pages, you feel like you know the characters, and by the end of the second 10-page tale, you are truly rooting for them.  I would have liked to have seen more stories with these two, but alas, that was not meant to be.

 

RATING:   9 cocktail parties in a hospital suite out of 10 for well-written and nicely drawn medical stories with just the right mix of drama and romance!

Fire of the Witches - a Queen-Size Gothic

This is only the third "Queen-Size Gothic" novel that I've read, but it is definitely the longest of the three, weighing in at 319 pages.  The author, Lyda Belknap Long, is a pseudonym used by horror and sci-fi author Frank Belknap Long (1901-1994), who also wrote comic books back in the day.  This is now the second Gothic novel of his that I have read, the first being To The Dark Tower nearly a year ago.  And there is no doubt the same author wrote both books - the style of writing and plotting is exactly the same - even though the plots may differ slightly (although both stories deal with cults), Belknap Long has a very bad habit of spending way too much time focused on the inner fears of his characters without actually moving the story along.  While I can see that he is attempting to build some level of suspense, in order to keep the reader on edge, it does not work very well when it is basically the same repetitive fear discussed ad nauseam, without actually advancing the plot.

 

Fire of the Witches, which is rather unique title, I must admit, has very little to do with witches; rather, the reader finally learns nearly half-way through that there is a Satanic cult operating in the vicinity of the house that features in the story, and the cult is involved in some very grotesque rituals.  But I am getting ahead of myself.  The book tells the story of Janice, who gives up her life in New York City to join her brother-in-law, Kenneth, in moving her sister, Marna, out to an old, abandoned mansion outside the small town of Lynnbrook.  You see, Marna has been ill (of course, that illness is never actually defined anywhere in the story; rather, readers are simply to accept that Marna is paranoid to the point of near-delusion, and her recovery depends solely on moving to a dark, isolated house surrounded by woods on all sides), and at her doctor's direction, Janice and Kenneth are moving to a quiet area to give her peace.  Janice and Kenneth arrive ahead of poor Marna, with plans to get the house cleaned up and ready for Marna's arrival.  But, as one might expect in a Gothic novel like this, nothing goes according to plan.

 

While Belknap-Long's previous book that I read dealt with a witch cult, this one (despite the name) deals with a Satanic cult.  Just as soon as Janice and Kenneth arrive at the mansion, they are confronted by a hideous man on the property ... then Janice is nearly attacked by another grotesque man who overpowers and outwits Kenneth before escaping ... then Kenneth is attacked by robed men wearing animal masks ... then Janice "sees" more of those masked men nearly setting fire to the house (of course, that last one turns out to be a vision, for readers learn that Janice may very well be clairvoyant, as she sees furnished rooms that are actually empty, and she sees people that are not actually there ... yet).  When Marna does finally arrive, along with her nurse and chauffeur, before they can even get into the house, they are attacked by the animal-headed cultists, with the nurse and chauffeur being dragged off into the woods, while a conveniently placed squatter by the name of McGowan manages to be there at that exact time to save Marna and bring her in the house to safety.

 

It may sound like there is a lot of action going on in this story, let me make it clear - the author spends an inordinate amount of time inside Janice's head, reminding readers over and over again of all her fears, her suspicions about the house and its surroundings, and her concerns about whether the supernatural is real or not.  In fact, nearly 300 of the 319 pages of story relate only about eight hours worth of "real" time - from the evening that Janice and Kenneth arrive until the wee hours of the next morning when the true villains are revealed and Janice is saved from certain doom.  And the revelation as to the true culprits of this story is somewhat of a cheat - there are literally no clues whatsoever to lead you to the identity of these individuals, and, in fact, much of the story is actually one huge red herring that misleads you to believe one thing is going on, when in reality, that has nothing to do with what is happening to poor Marna!

 

Something else that left me puzzled is the description on the back of the book.  The back proclaims:  "STRANGE, SINISTER LOVE ... Janice came to the old estate to save her sister's sanity.  Instead she found strange witchcraft, sinister love, and her sister dead.  And yet Janice stayed?  What kept her there? Was it the secret allure of the old mansion? The eerie mystery of her sister's death?  Or was it the darkly attractive charm of the young stranger, the gold young man she'd grown to love so much ... yet did not understand ...?"   Wait, what?  Did the person who wrote this synopsis even read the book, or did they get bored of Janice's constant rambling thoughts and gave up half-way through?  Janice's sister never dies!  And there is no young stranger, unless they are referring to the police lieutenant (MacGrath) who comes on the scene - but he does not become a love interest (despite my expecting to see that happen).  So where in the world did the publisher come up with this description for this book?  The only "love" in this book is the love Kenneth feels for Marna and his desire to see her sanity restored.  Talk about misleading the reader with false advertising!

 

The cover art is provided by the ever-talented Hector Garrido, who always manages to paint some of the most beautiful women on these covers (I just wish his art was as well presented on the covers he painted for the Nancy Drew books back in the late '80s).  What is funny about the cover is the house in the background - not at all how the house is described in the book.  In fact, any fan of Alfred Hitchcock will readily be able to identify that house from one of his greatest films - Psycho!  There can be no mistaking Garrido took his inspiration from the house in the 1960 film - from the porch, the stairs leading up to the house, even the planters on the stair corners.  I'm guessing there is no way to copyright or trademark an image of a house like that, but since this was published just 11 years after the film, I can't imagine too many people would miss recognizing the house on the cover.

 

It took me a bit to get through this book - since it was nearly twice the length of Belknap Long's other book I read, the stream of consciousness writing got tiresome very quickly.  Both books dealt with cults - the first a witch cult, this one a Satanic cult - and both books feature some gruesome deaths and some misdirection as to the cult members and the true culprits.  This leaves me to wonder if the author simply cashed in on a single story idea and merely retread it throughout a number of books by changing setting and character names.  I suppose we will find out the next time I read one of his Gothic novels.

 

RATING:  6  waxen witch dolls out of 10 for stepping outside some of the normal tropes to avoid romantic entanglements and direct the danger to someone other than the protagonist.

The Mystery of the Chimeric Cornucopia - the Third (new) Three Investigators Mystery

I honestly have given this series a whole-hearted try, as I wanted to like the series, since I enjoyed Robert Arthur's Three Investigators' books so much as a pre-teen.  But this book merely reinforced many of the things that I do not enjoy about the series, and as such, it is the last book that I will read in the series (thankfully, I did not purchase any books beyond this first three breeder set).  I know nothing about the authors, Elizabeth Arthur and Steven Bauer, other than the fact she is the daughter of the original author, Robert Arthur, and is married to Steven.  The author bios in the back of the book provide the authors' educational backgrounds and some writing history; however, none of that supports either Arthur's or Bauer's ability to carry on Robert Arthur's legacy with these characters.  It is a real shame, too, as I would have loved to have seen a truly great series of Three Investigator mysteries for the present day.

 

The Mystery of the Chimeric Cornucopia follows the sequential lettering of the series' titles, with this book being the letter "C."   The main mystery in this book seems to surround Jupiter Jones' family and the real identity of the woman he believed to be his mother.  However, there is a secondary mystery that has a very familiar plot - a counterfeiting scheme, where the counterfeiters have their equipment set up in a cave located at the edge of a property line.  Gee, sound familiar?  (And if it does not sound familiar to you, then clearly you need to go read the early Nancy Drew mystery stories, and you'll quickly learn from where this plot appears to have been derived.)  Honestly, the sub-mystery felt completely unnecessary to the overall story, and while portions of it were weaved into the mystery surrounding Jupiter's mother and her ancestors, they were not so intricate that the same result could not have been had without them.  Instead, it felt as if the counterfeiter elements were inserted to add some "excitement" and "danger" to the story, as the boys go into the cave, are startled by bats, discover the engraving equipment, and face off against a truly vile counterfeiter who had killed his criminal partner nearly thirty years prior!

 

Now, as to the mystery surrounding Jupiter Jones' family - for me, this was not especially enjoyable.  This sudden impulse of Arthur and Bauer to superimpose all of these overly-diverse cultural backgrounds into not only the Three Investigators, but also in every single person they know, meet, and come in contact with is tiresome.  As I mentioned in my reviews of the last two books, the authors' decision to imprint these characters with multi-cultural ethnicities is wholly unnecessary and does nothing to "flesh out" the characters, as the authors' website indicates.  Instead, it feels like the same old forced diversity for the sake of diversity and does not in any way make these characters more relatable or more relevant.  Bob is half-Chinese.  Pete is half-Mexican/American.  Jupiter is half Serbian.  Mallory is Scottish.  Worthington is British.  Mallory's friend, Califia, is half-Spanish, half-African-American.  Arthur and Bauer spend so much time reminding readers of the ethnic background and heritage of each character, that you wonder how short the book would be without all of this extraneous material.  Don't get me wrong - I don't mind knowing that each of these characters has a multi-cultural background; what I do mind is having it thrown in my face repeatedly, and having the characters talk about it pretty much every time they open their mouths.  The Three Investigators are supposed to solve mysteries, not give readers a history lesson on the countries from which their ancestors came.

 

Additionally, the mystery (aside from the threat of the counterfeiter) was a bit too convenient.  Jupiter knows he has a Serbian background.  The family he met in the last book happen to be Serbians.  They go to visit that family, meet another family who happens to turn out to be related to his mother, and Jupiter suddenly discovers he has a ready-made family consisting of his mother's aunt, her son and his wife, and her grandchildren.  Granted, series books rely heavily on coincidences for their sleuths to solve the mysteries, so this really shouldn't be that far-fetched.  However, it may have had a bit more impact if Arthur and Bauer had held off on this reveal for several books, to allow it to build a bit before making such a revelation.  Perhaps if this book had been more about the counterfeiters (even if the plot was borrowed from Red Gate Farm) and less about pushing Jupiter's Serbian roots and missing family, I might have enjoyed it more.

 

With all of that being said, there were some things I did like about the story.  I enjoyed the moments with Bob as he was researching Jupiter's family tree, and his discovery of how Jupiter's mother changed her name.  With the advancements of technology, it would make you think that solving mysteries would be much easier than it was back in the 1930s when Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys were first getting their start; but Arthur and Bauer show that even with all the technology we have at our fingertips, it still requires someone with the knowledge and ability to work with that technology to dig up the information you need.  And Bob was able to do just that.  I am glad Arthur and Bauer gave some of the details of what Bob had to do in order to locate the information and connect the dots, as THAT gives readers a lot more definition of Bob's character and personality than any ethnic background imprints.

 

I also liked the exploration of the cave, the discoveries made therein, and the unexpected turn of events when they come face to face with the counterfeiter.  I think it was these scenes that really allowed Pete to shine as the one who stays calm in the face of danger and is quick-thinking when it comes to defusing what could be very volatile situations.  His attempts to talk down and "make friends" with the counterfeiter, despite having a knife held to his throat, really made me appreciate just how mature he can be when needed - while, at other moments in the story, he embraces his child-like nature with playing games of Go Fish and Slapjack,  Again, these are the things that truly define the boys' characters - not their cultural and family histories.

 

Finally, I did rather find the boys' new car to be fun - the Flex with the Chimera sticker on the back of the car.  Since they no longer had use of the Rolls Royce (after all, that contest won wayyyyyyy back in the first book of the original series) was bound to run out sooner or later.  And this new car is unique in it own way, and the chimera sticker gave the boys a new way of looking at their partnership, even helping them create a new logo to go right alongside the three question marks that have been their trademark for so long.

 

I am disappointed that the series did not meet up with my expectations, but with the cost of each book being what it is, it is simply not worth it for me to continue buying them when I have no intention of reading them.  Perhaps if I ever find them second hand for a few dollars, I might pick them up; otherwise, this is one series that will end with the third book on my bookshelf.

RATING:  5 wax-sealed barrels of wine out of 10 for at least making an attempt to keep the Three Investigators series alive and well. 

The Brownie Scouts and Their Tree House - Book Four of the Brownie Scout Books

After the hints of what was to come with the third book, I have to admit that I was very disappointed with what took place in this fourth entry in the Brownie Scouts series by Mildred A. Wirt (Benson).  For those who read the last book, the Scouts were voted to be Rosedale's representatives in Washington, D.C. after being elected as the "queens" of the cherry festival, and as the story ended, the Scouts were all excited about heading to Washington and the opportunity to meet the President of the United States!  Since the book ended with this huge announcement, it would only stand to reason the next book would share with readers that fantastic trip!  But, alas, such is not the case.  I wonder if, back in 1951 when this book was published, those young readers who bought this book (or, perhaps, were given this book) opened up the pages to the first chapter and discovered that this book has absolutely nothing to do with the Scouts' trip to Washington!  Somehow, it feels like Wirt cheated her readers out of what could have been a very exciting story...

 

The Brownie Scouts and Their Tree House, instead, focuses on the mysterious tree house that the girls discover built in the limbs of a sturdy tree within the metropolitan national part in Rosedale. Wirt opens the book with the girls exploring the various trees of the part, only to discover that the signs identifying the types of trees do not match what the girls and their scout leader know the trees to be.  Someone has been messing with the signs - but who could it be, and why? That mystery is soon forgotten when Veve McGuire wishes that the brownies (fairies) on which the name of their group is based would provide them with a tree house that they could enjoy whenever they visited the park.  Oddly enough, a stone is thrown at them, which bears an odd message - come back in two days to see if her wish comes true!  No one actually believes it will happen - but sure enough, when the girls come back in two days, there is a tree house built right there in the limbs of the very tree where they stood and made the wish!  Thus, the second mystery takes root (see what I did there?), and the Brownies have two questions before them - who is messing with all the signs around the park, and who built their tree house?

 

Wirt does not make the mysteries complicated, and the reader is easily able to discern who is doing what throughout the course of the story.  Even when more wishes are granted (furniture in the house, a warm meal cooked on a cold afternoon, etc.), the girls remain oblivious to the identity of their benefactor (even though they meet him during their many trips to the park).  And, with all of this going on, Wirt manages to throw in a third mystery involving Minnie Myles, an old woman who comes into the park with an empty sack, but leaves with it full.  The girls soon discover that she is extremely poor and about to lose her house - the one person who can help her is her brother, but she refuses to allow it, choosing rather to go to the poor house than to accept a dime from him!  Connie, Veve, and the rest of the Brownies decide they have to help the poor woman before she is thrown out on the street!

 

While Wirt tries to keep the mysteries an integral part of the story, it reads more like a Brownies' adventure tale than a mystery story.  The girls take no real active part in tracking down clues or unlocking secrets in an effort to solve the mysteries; instead, their story involves surviving a storm in the tree house, collecting buttons, figuring out ways to provide food to Mrs. Myles, and the farewell ceremony for Eileen, as she "flies up" to the Rosedale Girl Scout Troop (having aged out of the Brownies).  Yes, all three mysteries get resolved, but very little of those resolutions have anything to do with the Brownies.  In fact, the only one that has any input by the Brownies is the secret that has kept Mrs. Myles from accepting help from her brother - a resentment that gets resolved when Veve buys a pillow from the auction of Mrs. Myles' home that turns out to hold the very thing that clears up a misunderstanding and reunites Mrs. Myles an her brother after all these years.

 

For those who read the previous book, you'll recall Wirt described a number of different quilts that the girls obtained for their quilt show; well, in this book, it's all about collecting old and unusual buttons - from embroidered taffeta buttons made in a star pattern (p. 79) to opaque glass buttons (p. 80) to a coat cuff button in the shape of a horse head (p. 80) to a tintype button popular in the Victorian time (p. 87) to a glass swirlback button, a Czechoslovakian button, and an old Sheffield silver button (p. 164).  Just as Veve was the last one to find a quilt in the prior story, she is the last one to locate a button in this one.

 

Wirt does not forget to include some Brownie and Girl Scout history within the book.  In the first chapter, we get a very brief re-telling of The Brownies, the 1865 story written by Juliana Horatia Ewing (incorrectly identified as "Julianna" in the book) from which the organization took its name (p. 7).  Near the end, when Eileen is inducted into the Girl Scouts, she must recite the Girl Scout Promise (p. 193), which is almost identical to the actual promise one can find at the Girl Scouts website (Girl Scouts Promise).  The Girl Scout Law (which can be found at that same website) is set forth rather differently in the book (p. 194); however, that could have been what is was back in 1951, or it could simply be Wirt taking some artistic liberties in setting forth the characteristics of a Scout.  In either event, Wirt makes an effort to keep her Scout stories grounded with some real Scout history.

 

Marguerite Gayer continues to provide the cover art (her signature is clearly seen on the bottom right hand corner of the cover).  The internal frontis piece does not contain a signature, but it appears to have the same style as Gayer's previous internal illustrations for this series, so one can assume that she also did the internal, as well as the cover. 

 

While not my favorite book in the series (that would be The Cherry Festival volume), this one does have its merit and is a fairly enjoyable read, particularly when one considers the age of the audience for which the book was originally intended.

 

RATING:  7 neat piles of wood and kindling out of 10 for a smidgen of excitement (during the storm), a small bit of drama (with Mrs. Myles' situation), and a successful family reunion!

The Curse of Collinwood - the 5th Paperback Library Gothic Novel based on ABC-TV's suspense drama (Dark Shadows)

And with this book, the tone and direction of the Dark Shadows series by W.E.D. Ross (writing under one of his many pseudonyms, Marilyn Ross) changes to include the supernatural.  By the time this book was published in May 1968, the television show had long been dealing with supernatural themes:  from the ghost of Josette, to the phoenix Laura Collins, to the ghost of Sarah, to the introduction of the vampire Barnabas Collins, to the trip in time back to 1795, to the witch Angelique, and was just reaching the point with the evil Dr. Lang and his Frankenstein-type creation, Adam.  Thus, it was only natural that the book series would begin to introduce supernatural elements, which would go beyond the standard Gothic tropes and enter the realm of full-on horror in its stories.  But the addition of the supernatural was not the only change Ross brought into the series, as we will quickly discover...

 

The Curse of Collinwood is the story of Derek Collins and his wife, Esther Collins, who died over a hundred years ago under strange circumstances. Derek had engaged in slave trade in order to make his fortune, and his wife was horrified to learn this about her own husband.  With the help of a voodoo / witch doctor, she had her husband killed and embalmed, as well as orchestrated her own death, with the idea that her husband could never be rid of her.  Their bodies were returned to Collinsport and locked away in the Collins' family masoleum, forever to remain sealed.  Only a shaft of moonlight could unlock the curse placed upon their dead bodies, giving them new life as part of the living dead!  For a century, their coffins remained in darkness inside the cold, cement crypt, never seeing daylight nor moonlight, trapped in an eternal sleep.  But events are about to transpire that will change all of that!

 

Just as Victoria's love interest in the television show, Burke Devlin, was killed (allegedly) in a plane crash while on a business trip to Brazil, suddenly in this book we learn that Victoria's love interest, Ernest Collins, has died in a plane crash en route to Rio de Janeiro (p. 7) for a concert he was to perform (and for those who do not know, Rio de Janeiro is located in Brazil - meaning Ernest was killed in identical fashion and in the same location as Burke!).  Readers also learn that Elizabeth is no longer locking herself away in Collinwood, as she has learned the husband she thought dead for so many years has actually been alive and is pursuing a career on the high seas (p. 6).  David, who had been sent away to a boarding school as revealed in the last book, is back home; and Carolyn, who had been attending school in nearby Ellsworth, had a nervous breakdown and has returned home to recuperate (p. 6).  It seems quite a bit has happened in the Collins' household between books 4 and 5, and readers are brought up to date within just a few pages in the first chapter.  Surprisingly, there is no mention of Victoria searching for the truth about her past and her own identity - Ross apparently dropped that entire plot thread, much as the television show did as it moved further and further into the realm of the supernatural.  (And this is a true shame, as I always hoped it would have been revealed that Victoria was really Elizabeth's daughter - although, Ross did have an outline planned for a book that would have revealed Victoria's parentage and reunite her with her love, Ernest; but, sadly, that book never got written, as Ross was required to write Victoria out of the books, just as she had been written out of the television show - a brief version of that unwritten novel can be found on Craig Hamrick's website: The Secret of Victoria Winters)

 

Ross manages to keep the reader guessing for a good portion of the book as to whether the "large man" and "young woman" who seem to be terrorizing Collinsport are the escaped criminal Big Tim Mooney and his girlfriend, Nora or whether they are Derek and Esther Collins, brought back from the dead to roam the area as zombies.  Victoria, who at first discounts the stories of "Mad Man" Martin, an elderly spiritualist who warns her and Burke about Derek and Esther, soon believes that she and Burke accidentally released  the Collins' ancestors when they went into the mausoleum to satisfy Burke's curiosity regarding the two long-dead members of the family.  When Victoria, Carolyn, and Elizabeth are all terrorized by the large man and the woman with him, Burke and Vicki go back to the crypt and find both coffins destroyed - and the bodies are gone!  Burke insists it was Mooney looking for the treasures supposedly buried with Derek Collins, but Victoria thinks the supernatural is at work and zombies are now walking in the night.  In true Gothic fashion, Ross builds the suspense with disembodied hands, shadowy figures attacking, chases up the steep cliffs in the middle of the night, and plenty of appearances of these two horrors of the night.  Even I was curious as to whether they were actually zombies, or would it all be explained away by the end (as had been done in the four previous books).

 

I enjoyed seeing David and Carolyn back in this book, and I rather liked the fact that Victoria was paired more with Burke Devlin in this story (as I always loved the two of them together in the television show).  Even Roger was back to his nearly-always drunk, belligerent self in this story.  Matthew Morgan is mentioned but never actually appears (and he is referred to as "Matt" Morgan, which I found weird).  And, I know I will probably get some flack for this, but I was actually happy Ross got rid of Ernest Collins.  I never liked the character, and I certainly did not like the romance between him and Victoria.  Yes, his abrupt death and the myriad of changes that took place "off screen" between books 4 and 5 definitely tells the reader that the series is headed in a completely different direction now.  At the time it was published, Alexandre Moltke was still playing Victoria Winters on the television show, so there was no reason for anyone to think Vicki would not continue to play a major role in the books; however, this was actually the last full-length novel written by Ross to feature Victoria Winters as a major protagonist.  Beginning with the next book, Victoria becomes a supporting character, with Barnabas Collins becoming the lead character (much as he did in the television show).

 

The family history truly deviates from that established in the show with this book, as Ross introduces Derek and Esther Collins, who are both said to have died in 1859, which would have made them both contemporaries of sorts with Daniel Collins, a cousin of the Collins family who inherited Collinwood after the events of 1795 (when most of the immediate family was killed).  There is no mention of Derek or Esther in the television show, making them both original creations of Ross.  I am aware that the books play very loose with the family lineage, and from what I can remember, the stories that are told in later books in various time periods do not match up between themselves as to the names of family members living at various points in time.  While I realize the television show played a bit loose with the family tree, particularly once Barnabas came into the picture, the books (from what I have been told) do not even bother with a coherent timeline (which, technically, could be explained by the fact that Barnabas' frequent trips through time messes with the timeline, creating multiple alternate realities with different family trees!).

 

This is the first book to feature only one cover, and it is a hodge-podge to say the least!  The background takes the same painted image of Victoria Winters that was used for the first book of this series, and superimposed over that is a very recognizable photo of Jonathan Frid as Barnabas Collins, baring his fans and holding that wolf's head cane of his.  Obviously, the use of Barnabas' image is to cash in on the success he was having in the television show, because his character does not yet appear in the books - although, the idea that his character was a vampire could hint at the supernatural part of the story within.  But the re-use of the first book cover art is questionable - perhaps it was done merely to save the expense of hiring an artist to paint an entirely new cover.  This is the last book to feature any painted artwork on the cover - all of the books hereafter feature photo covers, with images of the actors from the television show. 

 

Overall, I would say I liked this book far more than I did the previous one.  The story was refreshingly different from the previous four, and Victoria was a bit stronger of a character than Ross has portrayed her in the last couple of stories.  Plus, the actual supernatural elements were an added bonus!

 

RATING:   8 ornate silver snuffboxes from the 1800s out of 10 for increasing the Gothic terror with the reality of the walking dead!