Whitman Mystery Stories - Ginger Rogers and The Riddle of the Scarlet Cloak

While I am familiar with the name of Ginger Rogers (knowing she was an actress back in the day), I am honestly not at all familiar with her work.  I don't believe I have ever seen a movie with her in it, nor do I really know anything at about her life - other than the fact she was paired with Fred Astaire in a number of films.  Thus, going into this book, I had absolutely no preconceived ideas about the character; however, after reading the book, I get the impression Whitman, as with the other authorized editions I've read, is simply using the actress's name and the story is not intended to represent Ms. Rogers as she was in real life.  What is surprising about this book is that it is written by Lela E. Rogers, who, as it turns out, is the mother of actress Ginger Rogers!  How often does a parent get to write a fictional story about their own child?

Ginger Rogers and the Riddle of the Scarlet Cloak was published in 1942, and so it should come as no surprise that the plot of the story revolves heavily around World War II.  The "Ginger Rogers" in this book is not an actress, but rather, she is a night telephone operator at a posh hotel located on the California coast.  A beautiful young woman, she is the envy of every woman around her, and she is pursued by all of the men who stay at the hotel (as well as the young neighbor, for whom her mother is always trying to match her up!).  It's all of this attention that ultimately lands poor Ginger right in the thick of things.  She gets roped into going on a date with a man of whom she is not that fond, but she is willing to give him a chance.  Before the date, however, she receives an anonymous gift of a beautiful scarlet cloak.  Her date asks ... no, begs ... no, he quite literally demands that she wear the cloak for their date (movie and dinner after), and it is at this point that I realize the direction the mystery is going to take.

Thus begins a story of spies and romance, as Ginger notices the strange man watching her in the movie theater, she observes her date drop a cigarette package that is picked up (and swapped!) by that strange man, gets abandoned at the restaurant by her date, and ultimately, with the aid of the man she really likes and one of the hotel guests, finds her evening date left for dead behind the hotel!  There is clearly a lot more going on that what she first thought, and Ginger soon learns that all the men around her are harboring secrets.  Who can she trust, and who is an enemy spy?  Lela Rogers writes a crafty tale of mystery, as Ginger must use her wits and intuition to figure out what is really going on and what she can do in order to stop the plans that are being put in motion!

The romance side of the story does not take away from the mystery at all - in fact, in some ways, it enhances the story, as the romance has a mystery of its own!  Ginger's mother is dead set against her daughter dating any man of wealth, and it just so happens that Gregg, the man Ginger likes (and decides to marry after only one date!), is one of those men.  But she will not tell Ginger why she is so against rich men, and the reader is left to surmise that it has something to do with Ginger's missing father (who is not on the scene, and about whom Ginger's mother will not talk).  Well, what would one of these children's books be without coincidences - and sure enough, it turns out Gregg not only knows Ginger's father, but he knows where the man can be found!  So, daughter and father are reunited after so many years apart, and Ginger is left to figure out how to restore her parents' marriage, while at the same time, figure out how to stop the enemy spies from stealing the plans from the nearby military factory!

The book is filled with illustrations (22 of them, in fact!) by Henry E. Vallely, who provided illustrations for quite a few of the Whitman books.  He does a great job of capturing Ginger Roger's look, from the style of her hair to the way her smile just lights up her face (which is a pretty good feat, considering the illustrations are simply black-and-white line drawings).  None of the pictures depict overly dramatic scenes, and for the matter, the only one that actually has any "action" to it is the final one on page 237, in which one of the spies demands to know the price it will take for Ginger to tell him all she knows.  Otherwise, the other illustrations are rather tame scenes of Ginger at her night desk, or talking with her mother, or other such mundane scenes.  It's a good thing the story is filled with the suspense it is, as the pictures add no excitement whatsoever to the book (but they are beautifully rendered).

 

Okay, I do have to take back what I just said - as I completely forgot about the end pages at the front and back of the book.  This is definitely a dramatic scene, and surprisingly, it is the very climax of the story, when Ginger is taken by the criminals and very nearly led to her demise!  The scene is taken from the cliffhanger at the end of Chapter 15, before the final chapter brings the story to its satisfying conclusion.  While it definitely gives readers some excitement to look forward to, I am rather surprised they would spoil the final edge-of-your-seat moments with splashing it on the end pages like this.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable read, and made all the more surprising by the fact the main character's real-life mother wrote the book!

RATING:  9 folded bits of paper out of 10 for taking a well-known actress, placing her in a mundane setting, and creating a well-written mystery filled with suspense, romance, and at times, danger!