A Zebra Mystery Puzzler #16 - The Final Guest

It's been six books since Marcia Blair's (a/k/a Marc Baker's) last Zebra Mystery Puzzler, rather than the standard four between each of her Tory Baxter mysteries; but she's back with another wickedly good murder mystery.  While the interior art seems to change with each one of her stories, the characterization remains consistent and the plots are well done.  This one not only had me guessing up until the very end when I reached that sealed chapter, but it took my by surprise who the killer turned out to be (and I thought I had it all figured out!).  That, of course, made for a great read.

 

The Final Guest, the fourth nurse Tory Baxter mystery, finds our intrepid young sleuth playing nursemaid to an elderly woman with a somewhat weak heart at a boarding house not far from home.  It does not take long before her patient turns up dead of an apparent heart attack.  But what explanation is there for the position the body was found?  Or the pillow on the floor next to the bed?  Or the small red spot on the pillow case?  Tory is not sure what to think, even after the local doctor assures everyone in the house it was simply a weak heart.  Then the phone calls start.  Someone is sure Mrs. Vestry did not die of natural causes and wants to ensure the truth comes to light.  Tory begins to wonder, but her police lieutenant friend, Jay Thorpe, is certain the phone calls are nothing but pranks.  Then another death occurs - it could have been an accident, but then again, maybe it was not.  Then Mrs. Maxwell's young daughter goes missing, only to be discovered locked in the basement refrigerator, having been drugged.  Then Mr. Wickerson is discovered on his bed, drugged, his pillow on the floor next to him.  There is no doubt a murderer in the house, but who is it?

 

Blair (Baker) did Agatha Christie proud with this mystery.  A house full of suspects, murders that appear otherwise, and an amateur sleuth that the police refuse to believe.  And with the kooky cast of characters in this story, the reader is in a real quandary of sifting through clue after clue to determine who the killer is.  Essie Cabot is the old woman with the beginning stages of dementia; but is she merely faking it so she can add to her growing collection of jewelry?  Mrs. Maxwell is the single mother, whose obsession with daytime soap operas leave her young daughter Suzy free to roam the house, causing havoc with the other residents; but is her daughter merely a distraction while she commits crimes? Cristen Page is the actress, who has set her eyes on Jay Thorpe; but is her interest in him merely a ruse to keep him from uncovering the truth?  Colonel McGuire seems stuck in the past, retelling stories of his glory days and trying to maintain some peace among the residents; but is his affinity for his heroic past a mask to hide the villainy he is doing today? Mrs. Wickerson is an overbearing, bossy, rude kleptomaniac who, despite her great wealth, cannot help but steal what she wants; but does the obscene control she has over her husband hide a much darker side?  And then there is Mr. Wickerson, who is resolved to bowing to his wife's every demand; is he truly that weak-willed, or is he covering up more than anyone realizes?  Of course, we also cannot forget Lucinda Prescott, who runs the boarding house - her concern for her tenants and her anxiety over the deaths seems real enough; but is it all a smokescreen for a devious plan to steal her tenants' fortunes?

 

I will readily admit the mystery had me stumped.  I had my suspicions about a couple of the characters, but it turned out I was way off!  The ultimate revelations as to the killer's identity came as a surprise; although, looking back over the story, the clues were there to point to this person - you just have to dig them out from all of the red herrings.

 

While the previous Marcia Blair books featured cover art by Bruce Emmett, the art on this book does not have a signature or other identifying mark; however, Nurse Tory looks considerably better than she did on the cover of her last book.  That being said there are a couple of things about the cover that stand out right away - the first being that doll (?) lying on the bottom right hand corner of the cover.  I question whether it is supposed to be a doll with no clothes, or whether it is to represent the first murder victim, found face down on her bed.  It seems out of place on the cover and would be more appropriate on a men's pulp novel than on a cover like this!  The second item of note is the young girl - Suzy.  The girl on the cover is shown with short brown hair; yet, in the book, Suzy is described as having long blond hair, and even the internal illustrations support that description.  So, I'm not sure why the cover artist depicted her this way, unless he or she simply was not provided any character descriptions upon which to use for the art.

 

The internal illustrator is also unidentified, and based on the style of art, I believe this is the artist's first book.  As with prior books, there are inconsistencies between the illustrations and the story - such as Nurse Tory always being depicted in her nurse's uniform, yet, in the story, she is wearing regular clothes in those scenes.  Additionally, there are no real clues to be found in any of the illustrations for this book, except the one on page 131, which depicts Tory in one of the tenants' bathroom, looking at all of the bottles in the medicine cabinet, one of which is clearly marked as "poison."  Otherwise, while the illustrations depict important moments in the story, there are no clues that would point to the identity of the killer.  It is the cover that holds the biggest clue for that.

 

One final thing I want to mention is the continued tension between Tory and Jay - from the very beginning, it was clear that these two belong together - yet Blair (Baker) has managed to keep the tension strong between them, keeping the reader guessing, will they or won't they?  I hope they do manage to make it official before the end of the series.  And the killer's ominous threat at the end - "I won't forget this," the killer says to Tory.  Does this mean we might see this person in a later book come back for revenge? That would make for a thriller!

 

I think this, by far, was my favorite Tory Baxter mystery in the series up till now.  Well written, well plotted, and a surprise reveal - everything one could want in a great murder mystery!

 

RATING:  10 fringed paisley shawls out of 10 for giving readers of this series an outstanding mystery well worth the read!