Vicki Barr Air Stewardess Mystery # 12 - The Clue of the Gold Coin

Here we go with another first - the first Vicki Barr book I've ever read.  I've had the complete series for some time, mostly due to a wonderful friend who lives in Australia who was able to locate some of the last books I needed to complete the set; however, I have just never gotten around to reading them.  Since I made the decision to start reading some of these various series I've had sitting on my shelves, and since this one happens to be set in Florida, I figured I might as well start with this one.  And yes, it was not an easy choice, since I'm a stickler for reading series in order (in fact, I usually won't read any books in a series until I have all the books in the series!), but it's time I started breaking tradition and trying some new things.  So with all of that in mind, I sat down to see what all the hub-bub is about when it comes to this blonde-haired stewardess!

The Clue of the Gold Coin is the 12th book of The Vicki Barr Air Stewardess Series (I note that they do not refer to it as a "mystery" series, but seem to focus more on the career aspect of her being a stewardess).  The book is written by Helen Wells, who wrote eleven of the sixteen books in this series (according to Jennifer White's website, Wells wanted to pursue other projects, so she quit writing the series after book 4, at which point the series was written by Julie Tatham; however, Wells came back to write the series starting with book 9 - Vicki Barr Air Stewardess Series).  It seems these same two authors also took turns writing the Cherry Ames nursing stories around the same time period.  

In any event, this book find Vicki receiving a Florida run as her latest assignment, for flights going back and forth between New York and Tampa.  Vicki is thrilled, since it will allow her to escape the cold and enjoy the sunshine and beaches of Florida - but, of course, what she does not expect is to be thrust into the middle of a mystery (one would think that these amateur sleuths would realize that no matter where they go, they are always going to stumble across a mystery...).  It starts on the plane with an elderly man who appears sick and the slick travel agent who seems nice enough to assist the man. But when the elderly man leaves behind a brochure for Ybor City, Vicki begins to wonder if he was sending her a message.  Well, soon enough, she discovers she is in Tampa right as the Gasparilla festival is about to begin, so she is able to share in those festivities - but a damper is put on them when she learns a crate of priceless gold coins that were shipped down to Tampa from New York on the very plane she came down in have disappeared!  A trip to Ybor City only leaves Vicki with more questions than answers, as she not only sees the old man and the travel agent, but meets a debonair business man by the name of Raymond Duke (referred to by many as simply "the Duke"), all of whom seem to know each other and are desperate to keep Vicki from finding out exactly how.  Throw in an FBI agent who is working the case, an airport warehouse employee that Vicki helped get the job there, along with the young man's cranky supervisor, and you've got yourself a rather complicated case to solve.  After all, how were the gold coins that were placed in a protective container and shipped inside of a sealed container - all of which was carefully monitored in New York and unopened until the festival committee received it and opened it - suddenly turn in to worthless pieces of metal?!

For my first Vicki Barr mystery, I will say I picked the right one.  This mystery was extremely well written, and it even had me questioning things as I went along.  There is one rather subtle clue that Vicki sees while in Ybor City that gave away (to me, at least) how the gold coins were switched out, but of course, she does not pick up on that right away.  If she did, it would have been a pretty short mystery!  Instead, it isn't until she takes a small jaunt down to Havana with the family she is staying with in Tampa that Vicki figures out exactly what has been going on, who is really involved, and how they managed to steal all of that gold.  The final chapters include a rather interesting chase scene involving not cars, bicycles, or even on foot - no, this chase scene involved two airplanes! - one taken over by one of the crooks and the other being flown by none other than Vicki Barr as she fights to keep the other plane from taking off the ground!  It was actually pretty intense, and I would love to see that scene played out in a live action film.

As for the locale, Wells had either visited the Tampa area at some point or she did some extensive research, as she does a pretty good job of nailing down the area.  From the Tampa International Airport (p. 4) to the description of Ybor City (p. 33), and a number of things in-between, she makes the reader feel like they are actually there.  And her history of Gasparilla (pp. 17-18) is accurate - and having lived in Tampa for eight years, I can attest to just how much impact that festival has on the Tampa Bay area!  And the illustration that crosses over pages 80 and 81 depicting a drawbridge raised so that the ship, Ye Mystic Krewe, can come into the Bay, resembles the Cass bridge, which has a railway drawbridge next to it.

Now, I will say some of the actual details in Ybor City were changed (likely to keep from being accused of directly using actual places and names without permission).  The Granada Restaurant that Vicki visits in Ybor is most certainly the fictitious name for the Columbia Restaurant, probably the most famous restaurant in Ybor City (Columbia Restaurant).  While reading the description, it is easy to tell that she is describing the Columbia, with the bright mosaic tiles on the floor and wall, and the fountain in the foyer, as well as the arched doorways (p. 86).  The book indicates the restaurant is on Fifth Avenue (p. 85), but the real restaurant is actually on Seventh Avenue.  Additionally, when Vicki learns the Duke's house is on Columbus Drive at the corner of Thirteenth Street, it is said to only be "two streets up" (p. 91).  This is a bit of a misnomer, as Columbus Drive is actually eight streets up from Fifth Avenue, not two.  But these are minor details that definitely do not detract from the story at all.

Humorously, Wells also makes a quick mention near the end that "a light rain was falling, one of those sudden showers so peculiar to southern Florida that seem to come out of nowhere and stop as suddenly..." (p. 160).  This pretty much proves Wells visited at some point, as Florida is very well known for those sudden showers that come and go very quickly, particularly in the early afternoons (usually as you are just getting ready to leave work!). 

Another humorous moment is when Vicki is in New York with her apartment mates, and they play a game of charades.  Vicki is left pondering how to act out the line, "A horse ... a horse ... my kingdom for a horse!" (p. 70).  This is a line from the Shakespearean play, Richard III (Act 5, Scene 4, Line 13); however, it is also a line from Ken Ludwig's farce, Leading Ladies, when two con-men put together a horrific play-within-a-play combining scenes from various Shakespeare plays - and a line that I actually had to say when I was playing the part of Jack Gable in that play!  Thus, when I read the line in the book, I could not help but laugh out loud (and also repeat the surrounding lines I had in the play!).  It brought back some wonderful memories.

 

Finally, I would be remiss if I did not make mention of the cover art for this book.  I am not sure who the cover artist is, but it is uncanny how closely this art resembles that of Rudy Nappi for the original text cover of Nancy Drew #30 - The Clue of the Velvet Mask, which was published in 1953, just five years prior to this one.  In both covers, the title character is dressed in Spanish garb, with a red dress and a black lace head covering.  In both covers, the female sleuth is holding one hand up to her chin.  In both covers, there is a man that she is staring at, whose back is to the viewer.  In both covers, the man has a black cape.  And in both covers, there are costumed revelers in the background.  This naturally raises the question of whether the artist for the Vicki Barr cover was influenced in any way by Nappi's cover to Velvet Mask, because the similarities are just too great to overlook.  If it is, indeed, nothing more than a coincidence, then I'd have to say this is a bigger coincidence than any I've ever seen in the myriad of series books, whose mysteries are greatly dependent on coincidences for these young sleuths to be able to solve the mysteries!

As indicated above, this book was certainly a fantastic introduction into the world of Vicki Barr.  I do like the title character, I enjoyed Well's writing, and the mystery was not easily solved, even for an experienced reader.  All of these things combined made it a very good read, and I look forward to reading more of her adventures.

(SIDE NOTE - our beloved and esteemed Michael Cornelius has written a scholarly paper about Vicki Barr, which was recently published in the collection, Beyond Nancy Drew: U.S. Girls' Series Fiction in the Twentieth Century - Beyond Nancy Drew - definitely provides some interesting insight into the character of Vicki Barr and the series as a whole.)

RATING:  10 solid gold replicas of the Gasparilla pirate ship out of 10 for an extremely engaging, well-written series book mystery!