The Penny Nichols Series - #3 - Penny Nichols and the Black Imp

And now we come to Mildred Wirt (Benson)"s third Penny Nichols story, published in 1936 alongside the first two books.  It seems back in the day, "three" was the magic number for what was commonly referred to as "breeder" sets - any time a publisher wanted to try out a new series, it would publish the first three books simultaneously.  So many series, including Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, started in this manner, and while some managed to go on for quite a while, others seemed to barely make it past those first three books.  Sadly, Penny Nichols is one of those unsuccessful series.  There were only four books in this series (although some may argue there are five, if you include the single story Connie Carl book, which some have said was originally intended to be a fifth Penny Nichols books - whether that is true or not, I have no idea), and the fourth book was not published until three years after these first three.  It's a shame really, as these first three books, at least, offered some truly great mysteries, and, Wirt's writing prowess was definitely apparent in these stories.

Penny Nichols and the Black Imp was previewed in the previous book as "Penny Nicholas and the Secret of the Black Imp."  Interesting that the title was changed for publication, yet the text was not corrected in the previous book prior to it being published.  Perhaps Goldsmith simply did not want to spend the money required to change the text of that page.  In any event, the Black Imp of the story turns out to be a small, clay statue created by Amy Coulter, an aspiring artist.  Penny and her best friend Susan meet Amy at an art show at the Gage Galleries, where artists have an opportunity to win a five thousand dollar award should their piece be selected by the judge's as the winning work of art.  Penny and Susan are positive that Amy's statue will win, so they are shocked when the judge instead chooses a piece that is far inferior to that of Amy's - a decision that does not set well with anyone in attendance!  And that's when the gallery is locked down, because it seems a nearly priceless work of art has been stolen - a Rembrandt painting!

Once again, Wirt creates a complex mystery with plenty of moving parts.  Penny gets into a fender-bender with a none-too-pleasant man on the way to the gallery, who turns out to be the judge of the art competition.  Once there, Penny and Susan pass a rather rude gallery employee on their way into the viewing, unaware he is carting off a stolen painting.  Later, at the party of a social climber in town, Penny discovers the woman has purchased the stolen painting!  That same woman later has a very valuable (and only recently insured) pearl necklace stolen from her.  While trying to figure out what is going on, Penny discovers the art critic, Hanley Cron, who judged the art competition, has crafted his own copy of the Black Imp - but for what purpose?  An empty office space on the fourth floor of a building ... a carefully forged Rembrandt ... a lying social climber ... a wrongfully accused artist ... and a deadly team of counterfeiters all lead Penny on a dangerous adventure that ultimately leads to her being tied up and left in an empty building that is set on fire!

Interestingly enough, Wirt used this same situation in other books - in Penny Parker No. 2, The Vanishing Houseboat, Penny and Louise are trapped in a burning house (1939); then, just for books later in Penny Parker No. 6 - The Secret Pact, Penny is trapped in her father's newspaper office after a villain sets the building on fire (1941).  I suppose Wirt found this type of dangerous situation one that would be exciting for readers and create suspense (much as she did with bad storms, that seem to come up in so many of her books).

A small editing error that I caught can be found in the first chapter.  On the second page of the story, Penny and Susan are rushing to get to the gallery so they are not late.  Page 12 reads:

    "The winning statue is to be unveiled at three o'clock," Penny declared.  "What time is it now, Susan?"

    "Then we'll never make it," Penny groaned, stepping harder on the gasoline pedal.

Somehow, Susan's response to Penny was inadvertently omitted, so we'll never know what time it actually was that Susan told Penny to make her rush to get to the gallery!

Overall, this was another great tale.  The fact that Penny worked hard to assist Amy Coulter hide from the police placed Penny in a very precarious position, since she was aiding and abetting a wanted suspect in the theft of the Rembrandt painting.  (And it's funny that Penny Parker No. 3, Danger at the Drawbridge, also features a painting by a famous artist, only it's Van Gogh in that book, instead of Rembrandt, as in this one - leads one to wonder if perhaps Wirt enjoyed art of that nature...)  Penny rightfully could have been charged with aiding and abetting, harboring a fugitive, and obstructing justice - but I supposed that proving Amy's innocence and catching the real crooks counted in her favor.

As a final note, I did enjoy the ending to this story.  Penny and her father are bantering, and Mr. Nichols acknowledges that he could increase profits by taking his daughter into his firm.  "Nichols and Nichols" he says.  "How does that strike you?"   Penny playfully responds, "I think it would look grand in print ... Let's paint it on the door right now!" (p. 249)  Penny's relationship with her father reads much more natural than that of Nancy Drew and Carson Drew.  I think Wirt managed to make Penny and her father come across as believable and real, and it makes the stories much more enjoyable to read!

RATING:  10 large thermos bottles of coffee out of 10 for another intriguing and engaging mystery that centers around the art world.