Penny Parker Mystery Stories No. 15 - Whispering Walls

As I finished this fifteenth mystery in the Penny Parker series, I realized with sadness that there are only two books left before I take leave of Mildred Wirt Benson's perky little amateur sleuth.  This truly has been a wonderful series to read, with only one or two stories lacking the strength that most of the series has.  As the series has progressed, I also noticed that Benson's writing also matured - the stories became more adult and darker in nature, and the writing became less geared towards young adults and more similar to adult mysteries.  Benson never shied away from having her characters carry and use guns; poor Penny faces some truly life-threatening situations; and, in some instances, characters actually died as a result of their actions (as I found out in this book!).  I would love to know the real reason why the Penny Parker series ended after the seventeenth book - had sales truly decreased?  Did Benson simply not want to write any more?  Did the publisher decide the series had run its course?  Or were there other factors that contributed to the demise of the series?  I suppose that nearly 80 years later, we will likely never know for sure...

Whispering Walls is definitely much darker, dealing with black magic and its affects on people (regardless of whether the "magic" itself was real or not).  The story begins innocently enough, with Penny using her press card (p. 3) to get into a bank where the police are investigating the disappearance of the bank president, Hamilton Rhett (p. 5).  And before we go any further, let's take a look at that name - my friend, Pam, pointed out to me that the name "Hamilton Rhett" appears to be a combination of Ashley "Hamilton" and "Rhett" Butler, the two loves of Scarlett from the novel/film, Gone with the Wind.  Having never read the book, nor seen the movie, I would not have caught this, but since the book came out just 10 years prior to this book, and the film was only 7 years prior to this book, it is possible Benson had read the book or seen the film, and the names just stuck with her.  In any event, back to the story at hand - it seems Mr. Rhett's disappearance happens to coincide with the disappearance of $250,000 in negotiable government bonds (p. 6), which would equate to well over $4.2 million in today's cash!  While Penny is trying to get the story, she happens upon a piece of paper with the drawing of a "crude and sinister looking winged serpent" (p. 10), which thus begins her descent into the world of black magic.

From the president's secretary, Albert Potts, Penny (and the reader) learns that Mr. Rhett collected weird trophies of ancient cults from around the world (p. 12), and the drawing was that of a plumed serpent - which, in the real world, may represent Quetzalcoatle from the pre-hispanic Mesoamerica (Central Mexico).  When Penny goes back to the newspaper to tell the editor what she has learned, DeWitt sends her to the Rhett mansion to "get all the dope you can from Mrs. Rhett" (p. 15).  The mansion is described in typical gothic terms - discolored, with trees and bushes overgrown from lack of care, while the house itself has on each side a circular tower room with two small windows "which resembled human eyes" (p. 21).  That last description seems to give the Rhett house a life of its own, as it if were its own character in the story, watching over the other characters as the drama unfolds.  Mrs. Rhett is a recluse who refuses to admit anyone to the house and is adamant about not wanting the police or reporters anywhere near her.  Penny, however, meets Rhett's step-daughter, Lorinda (interesting name!) when the girl shoots an arrow that barely misses Penny's head in an effort to keep Penny out of a thatched-roof cottage located behind the house (p. 24).  Of course, Penny befriends Lorinda and offers to help her and her mother find out what really happened to Mr. Rhett.

Penny meets Anton and Celeste, the Rhetts' handyman and housekeeper, who are oddly enough described as "dark-skinned" (p. 38) rather than colored, black, African, or any other term.  And I say "odd" not because the characters are black, but rather because Benson has never shied away from using derogatory terms to refer to non-white characters, so to see her not use them to describe Anton and Celeste seems a bit out of the ordinary for her.  Penny (and the reader) quickly learns that Anton and Celeste were brought to America by Mr. Rhett, and that they are "natives" from an unnamed country that practices voodoo and other dark rituals.  In fact, Benson points out in the story that Celeste is wearing "one of those heathenish ouange charms" (p. 39).  I was curious as to what "ouange" meant, and a search for that word revealed it was actually the name of a movie from 1936 that is heavy with voodoo.  In the film, one of the characters use a death charm known as a "wanga."  Also, one of the character is named Klili, but on the movie poster for a renamed cut of the film called "The Love Wanga," the character's name is spelled "Clelie."  Interesting that Benson would choose to name her character "Celeste" and have her wear an ouange charm!

What is more intriguing about the writing of this mystery is Benson's use of the Zudi Drum as a major plot point in the story.  This book is not the first Benson book to have a mystery involving a Zudi Drum.  Back in 1932, some 14 years prior to this book, the second Madge Sterling mystery, The Deserted Yacht, also featured a Zudi Drum at the center of the mystery.  What is especially interesting to note is that Benson not only utilized the same plot device, but she also lifted an entire scene from that earlier book and re-purposed it in this book (compare the description of Enid removing the Zudi Drum from her father's wall safe in The Deserted Yacht at pages 81-82 with the description of Lorinda removing the Zudi Drum from her father's wall safe in Whispering Walls at page 49).  But Benson goes much further with this story into the superstitions and omens that Anton and Celeste have brought with them - from an evil ouange of two burnt matches with their ends tied together with a bit of scarlet string (p. 40) to an effigy doll of Mrs. Rhett, intended to frighten her (p. 98).  Penny and Lorinda even uncover dark rituals being performed in a cave not far from the Rhett mansion (p. 172), where Anton and Celeste, with some others, are chanting and performing weird rites to their Serpent God (pp. 171-72).

 

The thing that probably surprised me most about this story is the event that takes place during the hurricane.  And yes, you read that right.  Benson, who is famous for utilizing storms to create tension within her stories, brings a hurricane far enough inland to affect Riverview.  During the storm, Penny, Jerry (yes, he's back!), and Mr. Rhett chase Celeste down to the docks.  The storm becomes so intense, Penny and the others take shelter in a shed - but poor Celeste remains out in the storm, and the strong winds sweep her off the dock ... she tries to cling to a dock post, but she loses her grip and "with a scream, topped over the edge into the churning water" (p. 198).  I don't believe I've read such a horrific description of a villain dying in any children's mystery before, and it came as a shock to read it in this one.  At least when the dam burst in Hoofbeats on the Turnpike, the characters we thought died actually turned up alive in the end.  But not this time.  Celeste meets her demise, and such a tragic way to go.

K.S. Worner is back to provide both the cover art and the line illustration in the front of the book.  The cover art gives us a overly-dramatic confrontation between Penny and Celeste, while the frontis piece inside marks the moment when Penny discovers the hidden staircase that leads them down to the cave where Celeste and Anton hold their dark rituals.  In both illustrations, Penny is missing her trademark bow in her hair that so many of Worner's earlier illustrations had, leaving me to wonder if this was perhaps a way of showing how Penny has grown up over the course of the series (from being simply an amateur sleuth who happened to have the good fortune to fall into mysteries to a determined young reporter who, even though she is still in school, knows how to scoop out a story when she sees one!).  

One final observation is that regarding the budding romance between Jerry Livingston and Penny Parker.  While it was hinted at in prior books, there's been no opportunity for Benson to explore that avenue, since she sent Jerry off to fight in the war.  But in this book, Jerry is back full time, and he assists Penny in some of her detecting.  At the end of the story, after all has been resolved, and Mr. Rhett restored to his family and the truth behind the missing bonds revealed, Jerry and Penny have a rather amusing moment

"My reward or tonight's work.  Girl reporters, even cute little numbers like you, can't snatch my by-lines without paying the piper."

 

"And what fee do you require?" Penny asked with pretended innocence.

 

"We'll go into that later," [Jerry] chuckled, pinning her neatly into a shadowy corner of the vestibule. "Just now, I'll take a little kiss on deposit!"  (p. 212). 

I have to say, this scene has quite a bit of innuendo and some not-so-subtle subtext that could make even an adult slightly blush.  Between the dark tone of the mystery, the horrific death of Celeste, and this scene, this story could easily have been written and marketed to adults rather than young adults!  It leaves me anxious to see what the last two books in this series has in store!

RATING:  10 whispering, drum-pounding walls out of 10 for a superbly-plotted tale of magic, mystery, and mischief!