The Jade Necklace - a Mystery Story for Girls

Pemberton Ginther (series-book.com) is the pen name of Mary Pemberton Heyler, who was an artist as well as an author of children's books. She wrote three books in the "Mystery Stories for Girls" series published by Cupples & Leon: The Thirteenth Spoon, The Secret Stair, and this one that I am reviewing here - The Jade Necklace. All three were apparently published way back in 1932.

I have all three of Ginther's books in my collection, but The Jade Necklace is my most recent acquisition. I have read The Thirteenth Spoon and The Secret Stair, but quite frankly, neither of those books were very thrilling.  I did notice, however, that all three books are titled in the same format - the word "The" followed by an adjective followed by an object/noun. Not sure if this was intentional or just happened that way based on the stories. Regardless, I did not have high hopes going in to read The Jade Necklace. And it's a good thing I didn't get my hopes up, otherwise, they would have come crashing down as I struggled to get through the book.

Perhaps it was the time period in which the book was written, or perhaps it was simply Heyler's (nee, Ginther's) writing style, but the story was rather dull, the mystery tame at best, and the characters a bit too stereotypical (the timid heroine, the cruel and conniving guardian, the weak wife, the boisterous son, the pretty but dim daughter, the gossipy maid, the mysterious stranger, the underhanded foreigner, the odd neighbor, etc.). The mystery surrounding the jade necklace (for which the book was named, after all) doesn't truly come into play until the last few chapters, and even then, the mystery is not all that exciting.

Roslyn Blake, the central character in the book, is the stereotypical orphan, living with an overbearing and greedy guardian, who refuses to provide for her from the funds with which he was entrusted to care for her. She wishes to study music, but her guardian says no, as he "invested" her funds. While the author does not reveal it until much later, it is obvious from the beginning that the new house he moves the family into was funded with Roslyn's money. (Don't worry - that's not really a spoiler, since, as I say, it is more than obvious even to the most casual of readers.)  The Honorable James Chilton (as her guardian refers to himself and requires others to call him) was a friend of Roslyn's father, so when her father died, he entrusted his friend with the care of his only child. Chilton, of course, abuses that trust. He is a conceited, self-serving man who is ever vigilant for reasons to insult and degrade his own family, meanwhile putting on airs to all those around him.

The mystery (sort-of) begins when Roslyn's birthday arrives, and she opens a gift that her father had left for her when she reaches this age. It is a jade necklace that he claims is a reproduction, as well as a Chinese snuff bottle that appears to be quite valuable. (NOTE - I had to look up what a snuff bottle is, as I had never heard of it. Apparently, these were used by the Chinese to hold powdered tobacco back in the day.)  She wraps them both back up and at various times throughout the book, she pulls them out and looks at them, considers selling them, and puts them back.  An Easterner comes to stay with the family, along with his adviser, Mr. Han, and his servant, Hop Kee. Han and Kee both show an interest in Roslyn and her jade necklace at various points in the book, but several times, the box goes missing; but, each time, Roslyn finds it and vows to keep it safe. She ultimately discovers the truth about the jade necklace, which results in the only real suspenseful moment in the book - when Roslyn gets a sack pulled over her had and she is taken to the cemetery and tied to a stone angel.

The dialects in the book are difficult to read - - not because of the way they are written, but because, with today's mentality, seeing the foreigners, as well as those of certain ethnicities, portrayed as being unable to speak naturally makes me cringe. Again, I realize this book is a product of its time, and back in the '30s, it was likely acceptable to portray Chinese and African-Americans in this way. But the fact that the author comes right out and calls certain individuals (such as the maid's mother) fat and an elephant is vulgar, and I am surprised the publisher allowed such insults to be published in a children's book.

Along with the mystery of the jade necklace, there are elements of mystery surrounding Mr. Wong, who has a Chinese name but looks very much European, as well as surrounding the Childtons' neighbor, Miss Bump, who is an author of romance novels with a flair for the dramatic.  Neither of these truly go anywhere, and the revelations regarding both near the end of the book were very bland. By the time the main mystery gets going in the last couple of chapters in the book, I had already grown tired and was ready for the book to end.

Having now read all three of Ginther's books in this series, I can say with all sincerity that I would not recommend them to anyone looking for an engaging, well-written mystery.

RATING:  4 gas-saving inventions out of 10 for giving readers a few humorous moments with Ling-Loo (Kee's pet monkey), Bob's driving antics, and Gladys's blunt observations.