The Pine Barrens Mystery - an Augusta Huiell Seaman mystery story

After reading my first mystery by author Augusta Huiell Seaman, I wasn't quite sure what to expect with this next book I found.  The first one seemed heavily steeped in historical references and was a mystery from the past, rather than the present.  But I had enjoyed it, and so I went into this book with relatively high expectations.  Having written more than 40 books for young readers, it's likely she's had some hits and misses over the course of her years of writing, but fortunately, the two books I have of hers are both hits!  Yes, this one turned out to be a winner as well, and, in fact, I liked this one more than the first one I read.

The Pine Barrens Mystery is set in New Jersey and follows the adventures of Roxanna Thatcher and her older brother, Christopher, as they head for the coast in hopes of finding a better climate for Christopher's health (he had been sick with pneumonia and developed a bad cough).  While their initial goal is Atlantic City, Christopher (affectionately referred to as "Chub") takes them on a side through the Pine Barrens, which he describes as "the queerest stretch of ground you've ever seen ... a patch of about fourteen square miles inland ... covered by [pine trees] so stunted that none of the trees are over five feet tall, most of them less" (pp. 4-5).  Since he is studying plant biology and chemistry of soils at Princeton, he intends to write his thesis about the land int that area.  Roxanna is reluctant at first, as she does not want to sidetrack her trip to Atlantic City, but she agrees - and when they arrive, Roxanna discovers it like being in another world - "I've never seen anything like it!" she exclaims (p. 9)  While Chub takes their dog, Pepper, off to explore and take some plant and soil samples, Roxanna explores an old, abandoned house nearby ... and while inside, she hears ominous footsteps overhead!  When she explores, no one is there, and thus, the mystery begins...

While the brother and sister do eventually go to Atlantic City, their stay is short lived, as Chub cannot take the sea air, and they end up returning to the Pine Barrens area to stay for their vacation.  In the very small town of Harwood, they take rooms at the home of Mrs. Kramer, whose thirteen year old daughter Alma reveals she was the one Alma heard in the house the previous day - she loves to explore the old mansion, but when Roxanna and her brother showed up, she snuck away to avoid being seen.  Despite the four year age difference in the girls, Roxanna and Alma strike up a rather good friendship, so while Chub focuses on his study of the Pine Barrens, Roxanna and Alma become determined to solve the mystery behind the old house that fascinates them both.  Alma reveals a hidden compartment in the fireplace upstairs, and she shares with Roxanna an old, tattered diary she found inside along with a "beautifully executed miniature painted on ivory set in a gold frame and studded all around with small but wonderfully perfct emeralds and diamonds" (p. 61).  Alma shares the history of the old house, such as she has learned from locals who have lived in the area for awhile - the house was built years ago by a man and his wife, believed to be from somewhere in Europe, before the town even really existed.  It seems the couple were happy for several years, but after the birth of their child, something happened, and one winter, the family disappeared, taking all of their belongings, and never returned.  No one knows what happened, and Alma was hoping the diary would shed some light, but it is written in another language. Roxanna recognizes the French writing, and ultimately has her brother (who is proficient in the language) interpret it for them!

The mystery may sound somewhat tame, but it is definitely anything but!  Seaman manages to squeeze in every possible Gothic trope imaginable to keep the story intriguing and forcing the reader to turn page after page to find out what happens next.  The mysterious disappearance of the original owners ... the old grave marker hidden under the tree near the house ... the scientific papers hidden somewhere on the estate that Chub is desperate to find for his thesis ... the strange old lady who lives alone in a shack in the woods, but who visits the house on a regular basis when no one is around ... the stormy night that leaves one of the siblings stranded away from the town ... the tattered old diary that holds cryptic clues to what really happened all those years ago ... and a case of mistaken identity that leads to the revelation of a lost fortune ... it truly has all the wrappings of a great mystery!

One thing I found odd about the story, though, is the fact that Alma seems to be more able to figure out the clues than Roxanna, despite being younger.  She is the one who found the secret hiding place, she is the one who figures out the identity of the elusive 'Anna' from the diary, and she is the one who persists in re-reading the diary again and again to uncover more clues.  As a reader, I found myself more drawn to Alma and her excitement about solving the mystery than to Roxanna or her brother.  And, I will admit, I was mislead into believing Alma herself might actually have a connection to the old house and the family that lived in it, so I have to give Seaman some credit here for some creative storytelling.

Now, as far as the Pine Barrens themselves, it does turn out that such a thing exists in New Jersey. Known as the "Pinelands," or the "Pines," according to online sources, this area of New Jersey is one of the largest remaining pine barrens ecosystems along the Atlantic coast.  It cross move than seven counties of New Jersey, and to this date, it remains fairly rural and unpopulated.  As accurately described in the book, the Pine Barrens are just off the Atlantic City Expressway.  It seems the Pine Barrens is also associated with a number of legends, such as the Jersey Devil, the ghost of the "Black Doctor," the ghost of "Captain Kidd," the "Black Dog," and a number of other stories.  Thus, it is easy to see how Seaman would have chosen this particular area of the Eastern coast to set this mystery of an old abandoned house and its many secrets.

Another truth brought out in Seaman's book is the cranberry industry.  There are several references in the book to the cranberry farms and plants in the town and its surrounding communities; and it turns out that New Jersey actually produces the third-highest number of cranberries in the country.  Since Seaman lived in New Jersey at the time this book was published, it stands to reason she would have knowledge of the area to be able to include it in her book.

***NOTE - I do not have a copy of the book with the dust jacket, so I have to say a special thanks to George Beatty for allowing me to use his image of the dust jacket for this post.

 

As with Bitsy Finds a Clue (the other book of Seaman's that I own and have read), the internal illustration mirrors the cover art.  The scene shows Roxanna and Alma as they find the odd old lady at the abandoned mansion, sitting on the front porch crying (which happens later in the story).  It is at this moment that Roxanna and Alma are firmly convinced that the old lady has a connection to the house that they have yet to figure out.  The end pages, on the other hand, provide a scene from early in the story, when Chub is digging in the soil while Roxanna, an artist at heart, is busy with her watercolors, painting the beautiful scene before her.  The illustrations are by Carolyn Haywood, who was also an author who wrote more than 40 of her own children's books (mostly famous for her "Betsy" and "Eddie" stories, which I remember reading when I was a child).

I really did enjoy this book, and it has made me want to hunt down and read more of Seaman's mysteries - just hope I can find them at some reasonable prices!

RATING:  10 old 'cabinet' photographs out of 10 for a wonderfully plotted mystery with engaging characters and an exciting story!