Jane Withers and the Phantom Violin - the third Whitman Authorized Edition

This third, and final, Whitman Authorized Edition to feature actress Jane Withers is so far removed from the previous two books - the title character, while referenced in the book as "an actress," is completely and utterly different than the version featured in the previous two books.  Thus, for three stories claiming to star the same person, the characterization in all three books, as well as the tone of the overall stories, are completely different.  Obviously, the fact that three different authors wrote the books plays some part in the variation; however, one would think if Whitman was going to produce more than one book on a particular actor or actress, they would put some effort into keeping the character consistent throughout the stories.  This was clearly not the case for poor Ms. Withers.

 

Jane Withers and the Phantom Violin was written by Roy J. Snell, who wrote a number of books for young readers.  His books were mostly aimed at boys, but he did write eighteen books advertised as "Mystery Stories for Girls," or sometimes as "Adventure Stories for Girls."  A number of those books featured a color in the title (such as The Blue Envelope, The Purple Flame, The Crimson Thread, and so on).  As far as I can tell, this book was the only "Authorized Edition" that Snell wrote for Whitman, although he did write three books from the "Fighters for Freedom Series" for Whitman.  I have heard a lot about Roy J. Snell over the years, but I believe this is the first books I've ever read that was written by him.

 

As indicated above, the Jane Withers of this novel, who is at one point identified as "an actress" (p. 206), is quite different from the Jane Withers portrayed in the previous two books.  In fact, the Jane Withers of this story is but one of three main characters, and so she shares the spotlight with her character's two friends - Greta Bronson (a gifted violinist) and Petite Jeanne (a young French gypsy girl).  The story alternates between the three girls, with the point of view shifting often, particularly when Jeanne separates from her friends to join her gypsy family as they travel the area to perform for locals.  The story takes place in Michigan, on the shores of Lake Superior.  Jane, Jeanne, and Greta are staying on an old wreck of a ship on the shore line of Isle Royale (which, by the way, is a real island in the Great Lakes, just northwest of Lake Superior).  The girls also make their way over to Greenstone Ridge (also a real location!) on the island, which is where the "phantom violin" comes into play - literally.  Greta is the first to hear its soft notes being played, but Jane also eventually hears it, leading the girls to seek out the "phantom" who is playing the instrument.

 

The mystery does go beyond just the phantom violin; there is also a strange black schooner that the girls see around their wrecked ship, as well as a diver who seems to be searching for something under the water around their ship.  In addition, there is a poacher on the island who is none too happy with the girls' interference with his attempts to bag a wild moose for its antlers.  On top of that is the isolated cabin deep in the woods, where a plane is seen dropping off a person.  Is it a victim of foul play or something else?  And, probably the most important one of all to Jane, Jeanne, and Greta is the possible "barrel of gold" they believe to be buried somewhere on the island.  The girls definitely have plenty to keep them busy, and unlike most children's series books, the mysteries do not eventually connect - they are all completely separate, and the one (the black schooner and diver) is left unsolved.  As Snell writes at the end, "Just who the men were on the schooner, with the diver on board, will probably never be revealed ... No one ever found out just who they were" (p. 247).  Very odd to leave something open-ended like that.

 

The story contains some very unusual names for the characters (although, perhaps for the time, the names were not as odd as they seem now).  Greta Bronson ... Swen Petersen ... Percy O'Hara ... Mr. Van Zandt ... Bihari (one of the gypsies) ...  definitely not very common names by any means.  Snell also uses some lyrics from "a half forgotten poem" (p. 180) titled Snow-Bound: A Winter Idyl, by John Greenleaf Whittier, a poem first published back in 1866.  On top of that, Snell also has Greta recognize the notes of "Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana (p. 139), a one-act opera from the late 1800s.  Snell's use of real locations and actual poems and musical compositions gives the story a bit of grounding so as to not make it too overly fantastic and unbelievable.  

 

Now, as for the story itself ... well, Snell actually recycled a book he had previously written in his own "Mystery Stories for Girls" titled - you guessed it! - The Phantom Violin!  Originally published by The Lee & Reilly Co. in 1934, the story in this book is identical in nearly every word to the original Snell novel published nearly a decade prior - the only changes are in the name of the main character (in the original novel, it was Florence Huyler; in this book, that name is changed throughout to Jane Withers) and in the title to Chapter XVIII, which is shortened from "At the Bottom of the Ancient Mine" to simply "The Ancient Mind."  Otherwise, all of the title chapters, the character names, and the words in the story are exactly the same as the original version.  This re-use of a previous story predates the Stratemeyer Syndicate's recycling of The Tolliver books for Bobbsey Twins stories by nearly 40 years!  It certainly leads one to wonder if there are other examples of authors re-using earlier stories for later publications, simply changing names to lead readers to believe they are new stories...

 

The interior illustrations are once again provided by Henry E. Vallely, who provided the art for a number of the Whitman Authorized Editions, including the previous two Jane Withers books.  His art is truly beautiful to look at, and the illustrations add so much more to the stories - it makes me long for the days when children's series books featured interior illustrations.  I wish today's books offered interior art, because for me, this adds something extra to the book (and when the story itself is not all that great, the illustrations can help make the story bearable!).  The end pages, thankfully, do not spoil anything for the story as some have done for other Whitman books; rather, Vallely gives readers a dramatic scene where Jane, Jeanne, and Greta are facing a horrific storm in a small boat, taken from Chapter XXVI where the girls are escaping the old ship wreck before the storm tears it apart (p. 232).

 

The story is a bit disjointed, with so many small mysteries, it basically jumps from one to the other and then back again.  In addition, the constantly shifting points of view can be a bit jarring, as you grow used to one character, only to get switched out to another one, and then another one, and then back to the first, to the point where you never really feel like you get to know any of the characters.  That being said, it is not an overall bad read - just not one of the better reads, and definitely the weakest of the three Jane Withers mysteries published by Whitman.  It also leaves me wondering if I want to read any other Roy J. Snell books...

 

RATING:  6  large, crippled loons out of 10 for at least trying to create a spooky atmosphere with mysterious music in the dead of night and a dark schooner with unknown assailants coming and going.

Jane Withers and the Swamp Wizard - the second Whitman Authorized Edition

The second Whitman Authorized Edition mystery to feature actress Jane Withers has some easily discernible differences from the first book.  There is a different author for this book - Kathryn Heisenfelt takes over the writing chores -  you may recognize her name, as she wrote quite a few of the Whitman Authorized Editions, including mysteries starring Ann Rutherford, Ann Sheridan, Betty Grable, Bonita Granville, and even the Powers Model girl.  I have done reviews of a number of these books, and if you look back, you'll see Ms. Heisenfelt's writing has never gotten more than a 5 out of 10 (in some cases, only 4, and in one case, as low as a 3!) rating.  I am definitely not a fan of her writing, so I went into this book with quite a bit of trepidation.  The story also has no seeming relation to the previous book - there is no mention of any of the characters from the previous book, and while Jane was a student in the first book, it is implied that she is an actress in this book (just like her real-life namesake).  The tone is completely different as well - much, MUCH darker.  The question in my mind as I started reading - how bad is this going to be?

 

Jane Withers and the Swamp Wizard takes young Jane Withers to a small town named Burley (the state is left unnamed) to spend some time with her best friend, Miss Cordelia Champlin (affectionately referred to as "Cokey"), and her mother, Alice Champlin.  The two women, along with Cokey's younger brother, Eddie, have moved into a farm to start a new life.  "Dad is still in Washington," Cokey tells Jane (p. 14), adding that they do not expect to see much of him, "[b]ut then, we didn't anyway - lately" (p. 14).  Thus, with the man of the house out of the picture, and with the younger brother off-screen, so to speak, going into the next village to buy a tractor, it is just these three women left to face the mystery that lies ahead.  It begins when Cokey tells Jane about a strange feeling she got after being told of the Simmering Springs and the legend of the "Swamp Wizard" that is said to haunt the springs.  Jane puts no stock in the story, but Cokey reminds her friend that her hunches have always come true in the past, and she is certain there is trouble ahead for the girls.  Needless to say, her premonition turns out to be true.

 

As much as I have not liked any of the previous books written by Heisenfelt that I have read, this one turned out to be quite different and quite readable.  Perhaps a large part of that is because of the gothic feel she gives to the story.  The girls run an errand for Cokey's mother, and end up taking a side trip to deliver a message for a sick woman.  As they say, no good deed goes unpunished, and the girls go out of their way, get lost, and mistakenly end up in the house of a bitter woman who makes it clear she does not want them there!  But a storm is unleashed, which takes out the bridges that are the only way across the raging river, leaving Jane and Cokey stranded at this lonely old farmhouse with the woman, her cantankerous father, and her brooding son.  All three want the girls gone, insistent that the Swamp Wizard does not like strangers near the springs - which is exactly where the farmhouse is located!  Jane and Cokey are not able to rationalize this family's fear, but when they hear the strange cries in the night, and when the woman's son appears to be missing, they have to wonder if there is some supernatural force at work.

 

  

 

The gothic tropes abound in this story - the secluded house, the family with secrets, the visitors who are not wanted there, the whispers of supernatural creatures, and the dire warnings of impending doom.  The night seems to be endless, and the storm unrelenting.  The girls are shuffled off to an upstairs room at the end of the hall, with strict instructions to not leave the room.  Of course, Jane is much too curious to remain locked in the room, and she and Cokey venture out in the hopes of learning some of the secrets behind the animosity this family had towards them and why they are so afraid of a superstitious wives' tale about a wizard in the swamp.  Heisenfelt does a decent job of building up the tension, of keeping the secrets right there on the edge of everyone's thoughts, and instilling terror in her characters, leaving the reader to wonder who really is the bad guy of this tale. There is even a scene where the woman's father takes the girls to the edge of the springs, claiming he wants them to understand why they need to leave and never come back - but Cokey loses her balance (or was she pushed?) and nearly falls into the deadly quicksand that makes up the swampy springs!  This scene is depicted on the endpages, with Jane reaching out desperately to save her friend!

 

The conclusion builds up nicely, as the secrets are not so quickly revealed, even after Cokey's mother finally arrives with some others, who were out searching for the missing girls (remember - they had simply gone on an errand to buy eggs, yet never came home for more than 24 hours!).  These villagers, who know the woman, are given the same harsh welcome that Jane and Cokey endured, and it is from the most unlikely of sources that the truth behind the Swamp Wizard is finally revealed. Once that truth comes out, and once the secrets of the past are laid bare, the woman is finally freed from all that has been haunting her for so many years, and Heisenfelt provides a very satisfying conclusion to the story and its characters.  The book even concludes with Jane observing that, "I've a hunch we're going to have a lot of fun this summer!" (p. 248).

 

Henry E. Vallely, who has provided the art for so many of these Whitman Authorized Editions, does the line illustrations for this book.  For this, I am glad, as he does a fantastic job of drawing expressions that help strengthen the scene depicted, so that even if there were no words given, you would get the impression of what was going on.  In one such instance, where Jane has left the upstairs bedroom to learn more about the secrets of this hose, Vallely shows Jane hiding behind the couch as Alma Frieson and her father prowl around in the night - just by looking at Jane's face, you can see the fear she feels at the thought of being discovered; while, at the same time, the harsh expressions on Mrs. Frieson and her father give you a clear sense of just how fierce this family can be. The mood created fits perfectly with the gothic nature of the story, and I can't imagine a better artist to provide the illustrations for this one than Vallely.

 

This was an unexpectedly good book to read, and I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it.  Now I am curious as to the third Jane Withers mystery, as it is written by yet another author (Roy J. Snell) - I wonder how it will compare to these first two...

 

RATING:  9 bowls of strawberry preserves out of 10 for a suspenseful story of gothic terror mixed with young adult mystery. 

A Zebra Mystery Puzzler #15 - Time to Kill

This fifteenth book in the Zebra Mystery Puzzler series introduces readers to a new author and a new crime solving young woman (yes, at this point it is pretty obvious that this series will always have a woman as the lead character).  This is author Miriam Lynch's first entry into the series, but it is certainly not her first mystery novel.  Lynch, who has written under the pseudonyms Dolores Craig, Claire Vincent, Moira Lord, and Mary Wallace, was first published in 1957, and between then and the early '80s, she wrote more than 35 novels - mystery, romance, and gothic.  She only wrote two Zebra Mystery Puzzlers - this book and no. 25 (You'll Be the Death of Me).  She had books published under a number of various lines - Candlelight, Ravenswood, Ace, Paperback Library, Coventry, Lancer, Pyramid, and others.  I notice on the blogs I have read which feature reviews of her books, all of them raved about her writing. While this particular book put forth a fairly decent mystery, I'm not sure I would hold her in the same high standard as these other bloggers (although, to be fair, they were reviewing her gothic work, and this is a mystery).

 

Time to Kill (not to be confused with John Grisham's novel of the same name, which came out 10 years after this one) introduces readers to Nell Willard, a young woman working hard to make it as a reporter. Unfortunately, her editor seems to think she is only capable of handling obituaries or simple social functions and refuses to give her any assignments that could give her a chance to shine.  I suppose that even in 1979, when this book was published, women were still fighting for their equal rights in professions that had been male-dominated for so long (after all, 9 to 5 came out a year after this book, and that film was all about how men continued to hold women back from succeeding in the work place).  So much has changed since then, so in reading this story and the manner in which the men treated poor Nell, I had to keep reminding myself of the time period the book was written.  Lucky for Nell (but not so lucky for the victim), she happens to be in the right place at the right time (or the wrong place at the wrong time, depending on your perspective) when a not-so-famous actress' longtime friend is murdered!

 

When Nell is assigned to interview an aging actress who has returned to her small town after years in Hollywood, Nell expects to have to sit through photo albums of memories and hours of boredom.  Instead, she meets an agitated older woman who seems nervous about something.  When they discover the body of the actress's friend at the bottom of the cellar stairs - shot in the back! - Nell goes into action, calling the police and the newspaper.  Suddenly, Nell is thrust into the limelight as a possible witness for the murder investigation.  Nell feels sorry for the actress and takes time off from work to stay with her so she is not alone in the house.  From there, things only escalate.  A strange man is seen watching the house from the shadow of the trees out back.  The actress disappears for hours at a time without any explanation (or, at least, without explanations that make sense).  And Nell is knocked unconscious by an intruder in the house - was it because someone mistook her for the actress, or is someone wanting Nell to stop looking into the murder?  And how does any of this connect to a young teenager who disappeared years ago after attempting to rob a bank, a case that the local police were never able to solve?

 

Lynch does provide readers with a determined young detective in Nell Willard, as nothing deters her from getting to the bottom of all the mysteries thrown into her lap.  A grouchy detective who does not want her interfering ... a self-absorbed actress who does not want Nell to leave for even one second, yet disappears herself without explanation ... a chauvinistic editor who is making snide remarks about Nell at every turn ... and a house that holds more secrets than Nell can possibly count.  A torn up photograph, a hideous lamp, some old receipts, and a secret staircase provide important clues that lead Nell (and the reader!) to figure out what is really going on in that house - but will she put it all together before it is too late and the killer strikes again?

 

While the cover artist is not identified, the interior illustrations are signed simply by "Hoffman."  A little research reveals this interior artist to be Sanford 'Sandy' Hoffman (1937 - 2017), who was a commercial illustration in New York for most of his life.  Hoffman did the art for a lot of album covers back in the late '60s and into the '70s, as well as concert posters of that era.  This is the first Zebra Mystery Puzzler for which he provided interior illustrations, and they are very distinct in their style.  Hoffman tends to "box in" his images, and the characters are defined with dark lines and shading, with considerable detail in the picture itself.  Interestingly, the clues in the illustrations are pretty straightforward (when viewed in conjunction with the story), and so it does help in solving the mystery (which, honestly, was not overly difficult to figure out - like any good Nancy Drew book, the two mysteries that appear unrelated are ultimately tied together at the end).

 

The story does contain a number of gothic elements, leading me to believe Lynch was more comfortable with the gothic romance tales than a straight up mystery story.  We have the dark house where the protagonist goes to stay; we have the two men fighting over the young protagonist; we have all of the secrets surrounding the house and its inhabitant; we have the secret panels and hidden staircases, the stranger outside watching, and the creepy attic filled with cryptic clues as to the past of the aging actress.  I could easily seen this book having been published as a gothic story just five or ten years prior (and with only a few minor revisions, such as Nell's relation to the actress).

 

While not exactly the best book in the series, it was still a decent enough read, and I am curious as to where Lynch will take Nell in her next mystery (10 books from this one...).

 

RATING:  8 bouquets of red roses out of 10 for a fast-paced mystery that provides the necessary clues to figure it all out before the end (although several are a bit too obvious).