The Headland Mystery - a Children's Press Mystery

This book is the third, and final, book that I brought back with me from Ireland.  Sadly, I found very little in children's mystery series in the used book stores I visited while touring Ireland, but I did manage to pick up three books that caught my eye - The Three Spaniards, Kit and the Mystery Man, and this one.  The other two books were not bad at all, so I went into this one hoping the same would be true.  Not only was it true, however, but it actually exceeded my expectations.  After all, the main reason I bought this book was for the cover, which has a very gothic feel to it (the two girls in the foreground, and a castle-like structure high atop a cliff in the background).  And while the story is not gothic in nature, it has a well-written mystery filled with suspense and plenty of danger!

The Headland Mystery is written by Arthur Groom (1898 - 1964), who, from everything I can gather online, was quite the prolific children's author, writing more than 100 books for children during his lifetime.  He is not to be confused with the Australian author by the same name (1904-1953), who was also a conservationist, journalist, and photographer.  The book was published by Children's Press under their "The Boys' and Girls' Library" of titles, and it features one glossy internal frontis piece.  (According to one source I found online, there is a later reprint of this title published by Collins, which has a glossy black and white frontis.)  The inside front flap for the book indicates that Groom (the first one) is a "newcomer" to the Boys' and Girls' Library, but indicate he "has written a really thrilling story, which will grip the reader from start to finish."  Well, not sure about how gripping the start of the story is, but I can attest to the fact that once it does get going, there's literally no stopping!

Jean Wensley and Patricia ("Pat") Bolton are the two lead characters in the story.  The girls are the best of friends, and the story opens with them heading off to Cliffside Cottage to spend their summer holiday with their godmother, Mrs. Bertha Heal.  Now, before I go on, I must make an observation here.  The girls' mothers are referred to as Mrs. Wensley and Mrs. Bolton, and of course, their godmother is referred to as Mrs. Heal.  At no time during the story is there any reference to any "Mister" for any of these older women - the girls' fathers are never mentioned, and nothing is said about Mrs. Heal's husband.  Thus, readers are left with the impression that Mrs. Heal is a widow, and the girls' fathers are simply not invested in their daughters' summer vacation.  Okay, enough about that.  Cliffside Cottage is situated in the peaceful village of Somerset, which is fine with Pat - but Jean is looking for excitement.  What's the old saying?  Be careful what you wish for...

The mystery begins when the girls arrive by train and try to make their way to Mrs. Heal's cottage - they take a wrong turn and end up at a rather large house "practically on the point of the headland ... it contained at least ten bedrooms, probably three or four sitting-rooms, and other accommodation in accordance with its quite imposing appearance" (p. 18).  The girls find a way into the great house when a storm breaks upon them, and while no one is there, it is clear someone has disturbed the furniture inside.  When they eventually make their way to Mrs. Heal's, they are warned to stay away from the house - it's owner, one Mr. Pink, would be arriving soon to re-open the place.  But Jean can't get enough of the place, and keeps convincing Pat to go back - which ultimately leads to them discovering a man tied up in the basement!  (More on that later...)  And here is where the story really heats up - three men show up and kidnap not only the man that the girls rescued from the basement, but also Jean and Pat!  The entire second half of the book deals with the girls' attempts to escape the clutches of these criminals, and just when you think they are free - BAM!  Right back in the crooks' clutches again!

Groom definitely knows how to write suspense, because once those girls get kidnapped, there's not one pause in the action, and there is literally no way to put the book down until the very end.  The danger for the girls is very real, and even innocent bystanders get caught in the crossfire.  Groom holds nothing back, and we even get a fog-filled get-away on the side of a cliff, where one wrong step could mean death for Jean or Pat - or both!  But these girls are not helpless by any means - Pat may be a bit timid, and Jean may be a bit spunky, but together, they make quite a good team.  And before the end of the tale, even Mrs. Heal gets a moment to shine (and I have to say, I really enjoyed her character - wish there had been more of her in the book!.

Now, back to that man in the basement.  As mentioned earlier, the girls do rescue Mr. Pink's right-hand man, who they find tied up in the basement - and that entire scene is rather dramatic, with a dark basement, broken stairs, a dangerous fall, and a shocking reveal.  But the most interesting part of it all (to me, at least) is the fact that the frontis art is VERY reminiscent of the frontis from the revised text of Nancy Drew's The Bungalow Mystery (go check it out, if you don't believe me!).  Both pictures feature a man tied up in a basement, discovered by the young sleuth(s) who have descended the stairs.  Sure, there is a bit of a difference (Nancy Drew is actually walking down the stairs, while Pat and Jean are already at the bottom of the stairs); but, the entire scene is so similar, it could be a knock-off.  The revised version of The Bungalow Mystery was published in 1960, and this book appears to have been published somewhere around 1949 or 1950 (depending on which site you look at), so The Headland Mystery would have come out first.  It could just be pure coincidence (after all, children's mysteries depend on those coincidences!), but then again...

 

A few points worth mentioning.  I find it interesting the use of the word "ass" in the story, as Pat refers to her best friend as a "blessed ass" (p. 46) when they are discussing why someone would build a fire in the fireplace in the middle of summer.  I can only assume the term does not have the negative connotation that it does here in the States. Another term I was not familiar with was when one of the crooks tells Mr. Pink's man that, "I reckon you're potty" (p. 93).  Took me a bit, but discovered a British encyclopedia of slang online that indicates "potty" means silly, crazy, or eccentric.  The final thing was the hidden room that Mr. Pink's man discovers in the upstairs of the old house - which is described as a "three-cornered recess with a filthy dirty window..." (p. 110).  Needless to say, that description immediately brought to mind a certain Dana Girls book (if you know, you know), and since there is a Jean here and a Jean there ... well, my mind made the connection instantly.

Of the three books I brought home with me from Ireland, I would have to say this is by far my favorite.  Love the characters, love the writing, love the suspense, and love the setting.  Too bad poor Pat and Jean never got a continuing series of books.  Or, maybe Pat changed her name to Louise and they crossed the ocean ... nah, never happen!

RATING:  10 swiftly rising tides out of 10 for a fantastic tale of a mysterious house high atop the cliffs of the English countryside with two very likable young sleuths!