The Brownie Scouts at Silver Beach - Book Five of the Brownie Scout Books

It's a week at the beach for the Brownies in Mildred Wirt's fifth Brownie Scouts adventure (I hesitate to call this a "mystery" series, as the books are more about the young girls' adventures and learning experiences than they are about the actual mystery aspect of the stories).  I have to admit, this series has been a much more enjoyable read than I had originally anticipated.  A series about a group of pre-teen girls who are enjoying outings as Brownie Scouts did not exactly scream out to me as readable stories, and the only reason I actually bought them was because (a) they were all purchased relatively cheap, with their dust jackets in tact, and (b) it was another Mildred Wirt series.  I just assumed they would sit on my shelves, unread.  But, when a friend suggested I read and post about them, I thought, "Why not?"  And, quite frankly, I'm glad I did.

 

The Brownie Scouts at Silver Beach finds out favorite little Brownies enjoying the sun and fun at Silver Beach, said to be "along the Atlantic Coast" (p. 3).  Veve (whose spelling is changed to "Vevi" in this book for some reason) McGuire and Connie Williams are once again front and center in the story, with Jane Tuttle, Sunny Davidson, and Rosemary Fritche rounding out the troop.  Miss Gordon, the troop leader, is, of course, on the scene, as is Mrs. Williams, Connie's mother, who is helping to chaperone the girls.  Vevi and Connie are bunked with Mrs. Williams in the rental, Starfish Cottage, while the other girls are staying with Miss Gordon in a "vine-covered cottage overlooking Silver Beach" (p. 3) that the troop leader owns.  By the end of the first chapter, we get the beginnings of a mystery, when Miss Gordon's watch, which she left in the pocket of her beach robe with the rest of the troop's belongings on the sandy beach while they enjoyed the ocean water, is stolen!

 

Readers quickly learn there have been other thefts recently in that area of the beach, which has caused a number of summer visitors to migrate over to the beach belonging to a nearby hotel.  That mystery, however, is put to the side as the girls begin to explore the beach, discover shells, discuss the various types of water birds seen in the area, watch a turtle race, and discover a small house built to look like a ship not far from their cottages.  Along the way, Vevi and Connie get lost in the fog (which is when they stumble across the ship-shaped cottage and discover another mystery - who is using the small house as a place to stay?), the girls have fun adventures trying to catch a turtle so they can enter the next turtle race, they collect shells so that they can put together and showcase a shell display, and they learn all about carrier pigeons, with Vevi nearly getting her very own pigeon that she names Snow White!  And during all of these fun activities, the girls also hear about more thefts and inadvertently witness the thief on more than one occasion attempting to steal items from tourists who are visiting the beach.  Even worse, poor Vevi and Connie wind up on a boat put adrift at sea, with no one knowing where they are!

 

The mysteries, as usual, are not overly complicated, nor are they difficult to solve (at least, for the discerning reader).  The identity of the thief is not at all hard to spot, pretty much from the get-go.  The identity of the person using the ship-shaped cottage is also easy to figure out, as Wirt does not make it hard to see where the story is going.  The mixture of the two lifeguards, the former ship captain, the young boy whose father is a lifeguard at the other hotel, and the man who handles the homing pigeons are fairly straight-forward characters who may be able to hide all of their secrets from the Brownie Scouts, but none of them are so subtle that even a casual reader could not spot them a mile away.  None of that detracts from the enjoyment of the story, though - it's not about actually solving the mysteries; rather, it's more about following along with Vevi, Connie, and the other Brownies as they hop from one exciting escapade to another.

 

Wirt casually included a moment in the story that is definitely a very valuable teaching lesson for young children.  When Vevi and Connie venture out to find Cabell's pond, where there are said to be lots of turtles to be found, a layer of mist begins to roll in from the ocean as dusk draws near.  As they are walking, a "driver stopped for a moment offering the girls a ride.  Vevi and Connie did not know him, so they turned down the offer" (p. 23).  A shining example of the old maxim, "never get in a car with a stranger."  I smiled when I read these lines, thinking how smart Wirt was to integrate a moral lesson into the story without making it overly obvious and beating you over the head with it.  One has to wonder how many children read this back in the day and took this lesson to heart.

 

There is another scene, however, that caught my attention more than the "stranger danger" scenario.  When Miss Gordon and Mrs. Williams take the girls to Brant's Point for a picnic and for an opportunity to search for more shells, the tide starts to come in before they realize it, and soon enough, Mrs. Williams' car is stuck in the sand, unable to get any traction.  As the tide gets closer and closer, my mind kept telling me, "I've read this scene before - but where?"  Thanks to the memory of a very good friend, I found it - in Wirt's Penny Parker mystery, Voice from the Cave.  In that book, Penny and Louise are on a beach near a lighthouse (same as the Brownies are in this book), and like the Scouts, Penny's car gets stuck and the high tide keeps coming in with no help in sight.  The similarities do not stop there:

 

PP 95 - "Even if the car isn't washed away, the salt water will ruin it."

BS 88 - "Salt water ruins a car very easily ... We must get out somehow."

 

PP 95 - The motor began to labor.  Then the car stalled completely.

BS 85-86 - Slower and slower crept the car, its engine laboring ... The car would not budge...

 

PP 95 - "I'll run to the lighthouse," Penny decided desperately...

BS 88 - She glanced hopefully toward the lighthouse.  Connie offered ro un there and ask for help.

 

PP 97 - Penny and Louise seek help from a man they know who is wading through the reef; he sees them, but he turns and walks away

BS 90 - The Brownies seek help from a lifeguard they see in a boat out in the ocean; he sees them, but he turns and speed away in his boat

 

PP 99 - Jerry Livingston shows up on the beach and helps the girls push the car out of the sand

BS 91 - Captain Tarwell shows up on the beach and helps the girls push the car out of the sand

 

The scenes so closely resemble one another, only the names have been changed and some of the wording.  As the Penny Parker book was published in 1944, and this one in 1952, so perhaps Wirt "borrowed" the scene from the earlier book with the thought that readers of this particular book (who would be younger than the intended audience of the Penny Parker book published eight years prior) would not recognize the passage.  (Wirt seems to have had no problem in lifting scenes from previously published books of hers and retooling them into later stories - her Madge Sterling series provided her with a plethora of scenes that she later used in her Penny Parker books, her Mystery Stories for Girls books, and others.)

 

Marguerite Gayer provided both the cover art and interior illustration (the frontis piece being the only interior art) for this book.  The cover art actually depicts a scene related to the mystery surrounding the thefts at the beach, as the girls find a stolen purse buried in the sand (p. 146).  Meanwhile, the interior illustration merely shows the scene where Vevi and Connie happen across the small cottage in the mist while trying to find the pond (p. 34).

 

RATING:  8 dusty old Bibles out of 10 for keeping the Brownies faithful to their code, always helping others, while also learning about nature and valuable lessons at the same time.

Barnabas Collins - the 6th Paperback Library Gothic Novel based on ABC-TV's suspense drama (Dark Shadows)

And we finally reach the introduction of Barnabas Collins in the Paperback Library Gothic book series.  Published in November 1968, well over a year after Jonathan Frid first appeared as the vampire on the television show back in April 1967.  I'm not really sure why it took the book series so long to catch up to the television show, character-wise; perhaps because the character was never intended to be long-lasting (originally he was intended only for a 13-week stint, and then he was to be killed off), or maybe it was simply that the books were more Gothic than supernatural.  Whatever the reason, it was clear the character of Barnabas Collins was a huge hit on the TV show, so thus, it would only make sense the publisher would want the best-selling character to appear in the books.  Of course, this meant reducing the role that Victoria Winters plays in the books, and to me, that was a major loss...

 

(It should be noted that the month this book was published was the same month that Alexandra Moltke, the actress who originated the role of Victoria Winters in the television show, left Dark Shadows, being replaced briefly by Betsy Durkin anJod then Carolyn Groves, before the character was completely written out in January 1969.)

 

Barnabas Collins is the sixth book in this series, and it introduces readers to the Barnabas Collins of this book series, which I have come to believe is simply another of the many parallel times that exist within that room deep within Collinwood's haunted halls.  Rather than introducing Barnabas by having Willie Loomis try to rob his gave, only to get an unexpected surprise, we get instead a story told by the ghost of Elizabeth and Roger's grandmother of events that took place at the turn of the 20th century.  In the book universe, there is no Willie Loomis, there is no Mrs. Johnson, and we barely see David Collins and Carolyn Stoddard.  Victoria Winters, who has been the main focus of the first five books, now takes a back seat, as she appears only in the prologue and epilogue, as she sits with Elizabeth to listen to the story of "Barnabas Collins," a name she happens to see while reading a journal of one Jonas Collins.  Elizabeth knows scant details, only what her grandmother told her. With the first chapter, we get a brief introduction of Margaret Collins, whose spirit speaks from beyond the grave to tell the full story of what happened back in 1902 and the ensuing years...

 

Jonas Collins is the head of the family, and his wife Margaret is the mistress of Collinwood.  Their grown son is off on his own, and the only other member of the family on the estate is their invalid daughter, Greta.  Ross never actually states what disease the poor girl has, but she is confined to a wheelchair and said repeatedly to be in poor health.  While not a happy household, there is no real unhappiness - merely melancholy and acceptance.  An elderly housekeeper remains on the property (Granny Entwhistle), as do the sister maids, Ada and Patience Griffin.  The family retains a houseboy, Luke Sinnot, who is mentally handicapped, as well as an unnamed groom.  All is normal and routine on the estate until the day he appears.  While standing at Widow's Hill, looking out over the ocean, she feels his presence, before she sees him.  Barnabas Collins.  An enigmatic man who claims to be the descendant of the original Barnabas Collins, who has come home to the family estate for some peace and quite to conduct "experiments" without interruption (this is the excuse he gives why they will never see him during the day, and why he cannot be disturbed in the Old House).  As you might suspect, once Barnabas arrives, everything changes.

 

Greta is instantly drawn to her cousin, particularly when he shows her special attention, remarking on her resemblance to Josette Collins (gee, can you see where this is going?).  Jonas is just happy to have someone renting the Old House.  Margaret, on the other hand, cannot make up her mind about their new found family member.  He is cordial enough, but there is something about him that unsettles her.  And his servant, Hare, is an ogre of a man, said to be both deaf and mute and rather rough when it comes to strangers.  Then there is Granny Entwhistle.  She is old enough to just barely remember stories of the original Barnabas Collins.  She knows the rumors.  She knows the stories.  And she knows evil when she sees it.  She tries to warn them.  She tries to help them.  But in the end, it does her no good - especially when she ends up dead at the bottom of the stairs to the third floor!

 

This book definitely has a body count.  The Barnabas Collins of this book is similar in nature to the Barnabas Collins as he was originally introduced on the television show.  He has a welcoming, cordial facade that hides a determined, sinister nature that is willing to do anything necessary to achieves his goals.  What did surprise me was how Ross integrated Barnabas' origin into the book, providing just a few scattered details here and there about Angelique being a witch, tricking Josette into believing she loved Jeremiah, and ultimately cursing Barnabas with eternal life as a vampire after he shoots her and she believes she is dying.  Ross even references the duel between Barnabas and Jeremiah - but in this parallel universe, Ross reveals that Jeremiah did not die, and neither he nor Barnabas were severely wounded (p. 73).  And that's it.  While the show spent weeks in 1795, giving viewers a detailed look at how Barnabas came to be the man he is, the book spends only a few sentences.  Clearly, Ross (and likely the publishers, as well) believed those who read these books would already be familiar enough with the television drama that they did not need to repeat what was already.

 

There are some things in the story that are worth mentioning.  When Barnabas first arrives at Collinwood, he talks about how little the estate has changed, saying "Still the sad setting for the widow's wail and the appearance of the Phantom Mariner" (p. 15).  The legend of the phantom mariner was used as a plot device in the fourth book in this series, The Mystery of Collinwood.  It is actually pretty great to see that Ross manages to keep some continuity in his books.  There is also the moment when Margaret discovers the truth about Barnabas' real nature, when she sees him and Greta go past "the great mirror by the door" and is shocked to see that "there had been no reflection of Barnabas Collins at all!" (p. 39).  This is obviously a nod to the television series, in which Dr. Julia Hoffman uncovers Barnabas' secret when she finds he has no reflection in the mirror of her compact she is using (Episode 288).

 

One aspect of the story that really bothered me while reading this was the introduction of young Judith, a child who Barnabas decides he is going to adopt, mostly because of her strong resemblance to a young Josette DuPres Collins.  This was extremely uncomfortable, because Ross has Barnabas inform Margaret of his reason for adopting her:  "In ten years, little Judith could become my bride.  In the interim I'll see she has the life of a rich man's daughter.  Every luxury and advantage will be given to her.  So in the end she will be the same great lady Josette was" (p. 77).  I don't know about you, but the fact that a grown man is looking at a little girl (no more than 8 or 9 years old!) and envisioning this child as his future wife bothers me considerably.  I am surprised not only that Ross would incorporate such a thing into his story, but that the publisher / editor would allow it be stand as written!  It almost makes Barnabas come across as a sexual predator, and I think the story would have been better without this aspect in it.

 

The story was a definitely different take on the introduction of television's greatest vampire, and aside from that one uncomfortable plot element, it was a fairly good read.

 

RATING:  7 sapphire star pendants out of 10 for providing readers an entirely new tale of Barnabas Collins' arrival at the great house of Collinwood, riddled with vampire attacks and coffins in the basement! 

Nancy Drew Mystery Stories # 145 - The Missing Horse Mystery

"Danger's riding high ... and Nancy's in its path!" (cover blurb)

 

"A search for a missing horse leads Nancy to a dark discovery!" (back cover blurb)

 

I've noticed a trend in recent digests that I have read that seems to lean toward more mature mysteries, often using deadly weapons and individuals within the stories becoming gravely injured.  Two of the last three books that I've read involved serious attempts on Nancy's life, well beyond the normal foibles of getting knocked unconscious or run off the road - and this book is no exception.  I've often heard people say that once the Nancy Drew Files ended in 1997, some unused manuscripts and plots were integrated into the digests; and, after reading these recent bout of Nancy Drew Mystery Stories (142, 143, and now 145), I would have to agree.  These plots definitely seem more fitting for the older audience at which the Files were aimed.

 

The Missing Horse Mystery takes Nancy, Bess, and Ned to the Illinois Horse Park for the Midwest Grand Prix Dressage Championship. Surprisingly, there appears to be an actual Illinois Horse Park located in Triumph, Illinois, made up of approximately 80 acres of historic farmland about an hour away from Chicago.  Not too often does the Nancy Drew series use actual locations such as this (excepting the use of real cities).  Whether the author intended this to be the same "Illinois Horse Park" or not is unknown.  However, the fact it is specifically set in Illinois once again gives rise to the ongoing consensus that River Heights is located somewhere near Chicago (and since The Case of the Capital Intrigue specifically indicated Chicago is the nearest big city to River Heights, this book simply reiterates it).  George is off-screen in this book, said to be "having a great time teaching at a soccer clinic" (p. 2).  This is another aspect I have been noticing about the series as it progresses:  the ghostwriters appear to prefer using either Bess or George in the stories, not as often using both of Nancy's best friends.  Perhaps the authors simply don't know how to utilize both characters alongside Nancy with these shorter mysteries (this book clocks in at only 147 pages), and so it is easier to use one cohort rather than two.  Even at that, Ned is actually more involved in this mystery than Bess - she meets a foreign competitor named Gunter and spends most of the book going out with him instead of helping Nancy!

 

As with most of these "vacation mysteries," Nancy has come to Illinois Horse Park to enjoy a weekend getaway, not to be involved in a mystery.  Even when she catches wind of a fire in the stables by the end of the first chapter, she resolves not to look for a mystery where there may not be one.  But, of course, as always, there is a mystery, and soon enough, Nancy is in the middle of it.  A valuable horse vanishes, and the groomer is seriously injured and taken to the hospital, where she lies in a coma.  The night before, however, the groomer had given Nancy a small bit of information that plays a very large part in this mystery - in fact, for me, it basically gave away the entire plot and the culprit.  But, I am not the intended age group for reading this kind of mystery, so perhaps the intended readers might not find the clue quite so revealing.

 

The author does throw in a number of possible suspects.  From one of the competitors who has made it clear that he will do anything to win the competition to one or more of the security guards who are not necessarily all they appear to be to rival horse owners who want to win the big prize.  It seems there is quite a lot of money on the line, and the question Nancy must figure out is who benefits the most from the prize horse's disappearance?  Nancy and Ned must face off against some violent rottweilers, and they find themselves at gunpoint, their deaths certain as the real villain lets them know in no uncertain terms that they will not foil his plans.  The grievous blow to the groom's head, the rottweiler attack, the beating of an accomplice, and the threat of gun violence definitely set a much darker tone for this mystery.  The stakes are higher than Nancy Drew's normal cases, and Nancy and Ned take some dangerous chances by sneaking into the security guard's offices, as well as the private offices of another suspect,  However, despite all that danger, Nancy reveals the true criminal by the end of the story (although, surprisingly, she actually believes the crook's excuses several times before realizing what he was truly up to, which is something the Nancy Drew everyone knows and loves is not prone to do!).

 

Interestingly, when talking with their friend, Lee Anne Suna, who invited the girls to come watch the show, Bess makes the comment, "Nan and I have been riding since we were about eight" (p. 9).  I automatically assumed this was a references to the Nancy Drew Notebooks series for young readers, which began about four years prior to the publication of this book in 1998.  In that series, Nancy and her friends are eight years old, and at least two books in that series deal with horses (books 26 and 37).  And, since this book has advertisements in the back for the Nancy Drew Notebooks series, it is an easy assumption that the author, and potentially the publisher as well, wanted to promote that series. 

 

Another somewhat factual point raised within the story is the distance from the Illinois Horse Farm to the Iowa state line, which Nancy and Ned must cross over in order to follow-up on a clue.  Nancy casually mentions to Bess that "Ned and I are going to tour a farm in Iowa," (p. 103), leading one to believe it could not be far, if they planned to simply "visit" the farm and be back the same day.  When the two actually head out, it is stated the farm was only about "a half hour's drive" (p. 110).  In reality, Triumph, Illinois (the home of the Illinois Horse Farm) is approximately 83 miles from the closest point of the Iowa state line - so, for Nancy and Ned to make it to that point in a half hour would have to mean they were driving nearly 160 miles per hour!  (Of course, they are not in the real world, so in the book, the Illinois Horse Farm must have been located considerably closer to the state line...)

 

The ghostwriter for this particular mystery is Alison Hart.  If this is the same Alison Hart who has written a number of horse-related novels, including books in the Horse Diaries series, then it would not be surprising, considering the subject matter of this book.  This is actually the fifth of six books that Ms. Hart has written for the series (the other being Magnolia Mansion, Stranger in the Shadows, Masked Rider, Twin Teddy Bears, and Gold Doubloons).  The cover art is again provided by Ernie Norcia, depicting a scene early on, when Nancy smells smoke and releases a horse from its stall where the first has been set (p. 11).

 

Not a bad read, but as indicated above, the solution was given away too early.  Better than a number of the digests, but not within my top ten.

 

RATING:  7 long metal rasps with blood on it out of 10 for trying to mislead readers with several very unlikable characters who you would almost want to be the villain of the story! 

A Zebra Mystery Puzzler #33 - Who's Next?

This thirty-third entry into the Zebra Mystery Puzzler series is the second book authored by Joan Allan, whose true identity remains a secret (although there is a clear connection with author Martin A. Grove, who wrote a number of books in this series under the pseudonym "Marjorie Grove").  While the first book by Allan, Who Killed Me?, has a dedication to "Marjorie, Martin and Geoffrey Eric Grove," this book has a dedication to Marjorie and Geoffrey - with Martin noticeably missing!  Once again, this begs the question as to whether "Joan Allan" is just another pseudonym for Grove himself.  In any event, this book sees the return of advertising executive Valerie Lambert, who must play amateur sleuth once again when faced with an ever-growing pile of dead bodies!

 

Who's Next? takes Valerie and her assistant, Oscar Fryman (known simply as "Fry"), to Paris, France, where they are to meet with the owner of her agency's latest client, Abbe-Roi, a vineyard famous for its champagne that is hoping to break into the American market.  Joining Val and Fry for the trip is wine expert Franklin Hertford, an Englishman who has agreed to offer his expertise to assist Val in coming up with a campaign for Abbe-Roi.  While there for the weekend, the trio are staying with their host at a rather lavish - and, coincidentally, very isolated - chateau that once belonged to the original owner of the land - Pierre Alexandre Saulnier, who was brutally murdered on the property and who is said to still haunt the halls of the somewhat worn down homestead.  No one believes in ghosts, of course, but for Val, it does set the mood for what is about to be a terrifying weekend!

 

Allan eases readers into the story, with 60 pages of build-up as Val and Fry first meet Hertford, and the three travel more than a couple of hours by limousine to the chateau.  They are welcomed and introduced to their hosts, Henri-Robert Verlaine and his wife, Claudine.  At the lavish wine-tasting being held down in the wine cellar, Val and Fry also meet the other guests for the weekend:  Michael Rochambeau, the vineyard's chef de caves; Edouard Cherbourg, the vineyard's advertising director; Nicole Courteline, who is Edouard's secretary; Roger Saint-Benoit, head of sales for the vineyard; and Alexandre Saulnier-Carpeaux, descendant of the original owner of the chateau.  Of course, there is also Gerard (the butler), Caroline (the maid), and Alain (the cook).  With the cast fully introduced, Allan wastes no time at that point getting to the murder we've all been waiting to happen.

 

Rochambeau is the first to be killed, before the wine tasting can even get off to a good start.  With everyone there in the room, it's next to impossible to figure out who the killer is.  Then Cherbourg's secretary is killed rather gruesomely, with a mess left behind (hint: this is the scene from the cover of the book).  After that, Saint-Benoit literally has his brains beaten out of his skull, making him victim number three.  Before the night is even over, Hertford is nearly killed, saved only by the fortunate turn of his head at the most opportune moment!  One of the survivors of the group disappears, leaving everyone else to wonder if perhaps this points to the guilt of that person - but that suspicion comes into question when two more dead bodies turn up, bashed in their heads by a heavy tree branch (with a rather horrific image of those bodies depicted in one of the internal illustrations, page 171!).  With everyone being picked off so quickly, over the span of one evening, it leaves Val and Fry wondering - who's next?  (Hence, the book title!  In fact, the author asks this question three times in the story:  pages 82, 108, and 143.)

 

I was actually rather surprised by the rather explicit descriptions of the bloody deaths.  "Roger Saint-Benoit's skull had been cracked open ... The sight of his brains splattered among the bedclothes was sickening..." (p. 103).  The last two victims "had been bludgeoned to death ... and now lay in a shallow pool of blood that trickled directly across the narrow trail" (p. 165).  This is a murder mystery, so I would certainly expect some description of the crime scene; but I believe this is the most horrific descriptions I have seen to date in any book in this series.  And the illustration on page 171, with those last two victims - definitely not for the faint of heart!

 

Speaking of illustrations,  Sanford Hoffman once again provides the internal illustrations, and interestingly enough, three of the six internals are horizontal, rather than vertical.  Normally, we might see one or two in this way, but to see half of them depicted in this form is a bit unusual.  What is not unusual is the framing around the illustrations, since that seems to be a standard for Hoffman in this series, which, to be honest, I rather like.  Especially when he has part of the illustration extend beyond that frame (as he does with that gruesome scene on page 171).  The clues in the illustrations are not obvious at all, except maybe for the one on page 151, which becomes extremely clear once you know the identity of the killer.

 

There was a part of me, as I was reading the story, that was hoping this would all turn out to be some elaborate hoax, such as the film April Fool's Day (1986), and in the end, it would turn out no one was dead, but it was all staged just to test the analytical and detecting skills of the guests.  But, alas, it was not.  Instead,we got a replay of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, in which ten individuals at a secluded estate suddenly find themselves being picked off one by one (with the only obvious difference being not everyone dies in this tale!).

 

There are a few things worth pointing out about this book.  Published in October 1979, I was surprised to see a reference to Star Wars (p. 14).  Yes, the movie had been out for two years at this point, but normally I would not expect a pop cultural reference like this to appear so soon.  The author also throws in a number of real newspaper columnists, such as Dorothy Kilgallen and Louis Sobel from the New York Journal-American; Frank Farrell from the World Telegram; Earl Wilson and Leonard Lyons from the New York Post; and Walter Winchell from the New York Daily Mirror (p. 44).  These came up as Val revealed her original dream of becoming a columnist, before changing direction and working in advertising.

 

9 shattered bottles of champagne out of 10 for piling up the bodies, subtly laying out the clues, and providing readers with a creative climax to the story! 

Ghost of Dark Harbor - the first Dark Harbor Gothic Novel

"Visions of a terrifying phantom sent her to an institution.  Cured, she returns ... only to be tormented again!"  (cover blurb)

 

Having finished the Lucifer Cove series by Virginia Coffman, I decided to try a Gothic series by one of my favorite authors, W.E.D. Ross - this time, writing under his pseudonym Clarissa Ross.  The Dark Harbor series consists of six books, published between 1974 and 1975.  The books are set on "Pirate Island," a fictional island said to be set 30 miles south of Cape Cod (p. 12).  Ross goes on to describe the dimensions of said island as "fourteen miles long and three miles wide at its widest point" (p. 12).  The specific distance from Cape Cod, and the specific dimensions for the size of the island clearly indicate Ross was using Nantucket for his "Pirate Island," as Nantucket is literally 30 miles south of Cape Cod, and it is 14 miles long and approximately 3.5 miles wide.  An online search reveals that Ross's other series, Fog Island, also appears to be based on the island of Nantucket, leaving one to wonder if Ross regularly visited the often fog-shrouded island and found it the perfect setting for his stories.

 

Ghost of Dark Harbor is the first book in the series, and introduces readers to the island community, which was said to have been named Dark Harbor because its original settlers had left the mainland under the suspicion of being in league with the devil (p. 13).  The reader is brought to the island along with the main character for this story, Joyce Mills.  Poor Joyce has just been released from a mental hospital, where she was being treated after a complete breakdown following the death of her young daughter, Lucie.  The doctor has proclaimed she is sufficiently of sound mind to return home, but Joyce is not so sure.  Even her husband, Derek Mills, seems to be unsure, with his attitude towards her somewhat distant.  Without a doubt, her mother-in-law (Regina Mills) and sister-in-law (David's adopted sister, Mona) believe she is still mad, and they make it clear they do not want her back on the island, with their constant quips and smart remarks regarding her mental state.  The only understanding she receives is from the young David Chase, a painter who is staying at Mills Castle while he uses his talent to paint some ships for the Dark Harbor Museum (where Derek works).  While the household staff are nice enough, Joyce can see it in their eyes and in the quiver of their voice that they are wondering about her mental state.

 

Of course, it doesn't help that when she first arrives home, the black cat, Timmy, appears out of nowhere, startling her so that she screams in terror - after all, Lucie had been chasing after Timmy when she fell to her death from atop the high cliff behind the great house.  Then the ghostly apparitions start to appear.  Joyce is sure that she sees the ghost of Captain Peter Mills, that sea-faring man who build the castle for his new wife, then killed her and her lover when he returns home to find him in bed together, after which he took his own life by hanging himself in the basement.  No one believes her, but Joyce knows what she saw.  Only David Chase listens to her without judgment, as he admits that he was once in a mental hospital following a horrific car accident in which a friend of his was killed.   Ross slowly builds the suspense in the story, as Joyce's visions become more frequent, and it is not until she speaks with Zachary Miller, an elderly man who used to be a ship captain many years ago, that she begins to wonder if the apparitions are not ghosts at all, but a real person who is purposefully trying to scare her away.

 

Is it her own husband doing this?  After all, she did find an old captain's uniform hidden in the chapel near Mills Castle, and he was upset that she had discovered it.  Could he be trying to get rid of her so he would be with Faith Patterson, the woman with whom everyone says he is having an affair?  Or is it Regina and Mona, working together to remove a woman they do not see mentally fit to be a member of their prestigious family?  With her gone, Mona would have a chance with her adopted brother (since they are not blood related).  Or, as much she hates to think it, could it be Uncle Henry Mills, her husband's uncle who lives with them at the castle, and who spends most days drinking more alcohol than he should while living off of his relatives' money.  He seems to be in the right place at the right time whenever Joyce has a scare.  Could he have some secret reason for wanting her gone?  And what about David Chase?  She really knows nothing about him, and although he has declared his love for her and wants nothing more than to rescue here from the taunts and terrors of the Mills family, could he be trying to scare her so that he can have her all to himself?

 

Ross certainly provides the readers with plenty of suspects, plenty of motives, and plenty of questions as to whether Joyce is really seeing anything at all, or if it is all in her imagination.  Regina and Mona are downright nasty, and I kept waiting for Joyce to stand up for herself against them (the few times she does, I nearly cheered!).  Even Derek, her own husband, comes across as cold and pretty much heartless, constantly berating her for expressing what she sees, threatening to send her back to the mental hospital if she does not stop.  I found Joyce to be an extremely weak-willed character, and maybe Ross intended her to be that way; but all the while I was reading, I kept waiting for Joyce to grow a backbone and finally stand up to all these people.  She had the support of David Chase, Uncle Henry, and even Captain Miller, who listened to all of her problems every time she visited him and offered her sound advice.  Sadly, although she has a few moments of strength, Joyce remains the helpless victim through most of the story, even reaching the point where she begins to question her own sanity and believe maybe she does need to go back to the hospital. 

 

In true W.E.D. Ross style, the big reveal and climactic revelations and battle all occur within just the last few pages of the story, with no huge fanfare at all.  After spending nearly 175 pages building up the suspense to the point where you think you are going to burst if the story doesn't break, Ross gives readers a quick reveal of the culprit behind everything, with a paragraph, maybe two, that explains why the person did what they did.  Then, it's all over, Joyce is safe, and it turns out she is not crazy after all.  Sadly, Ross does not give the reader any satisfaction when it comes to seeing the people who treated Joyce so poorly eat crow for thinking she was making up everything she saw.  I would have liked to have seen some sort of recompense, but instead, we simply get a closing scene of Joyce realizing that the horrors are all behind her, and everything "is going to be different!" (p. 190).  But, Ross is pretty much consistent in his writing, as every story I've read of his ends in this same manner.

 

One thing Ross does do in the story is give readers a quick look at some of the members of the community in Dark Harbor, which makes me wonder how many of these inhabitants will become the focus of future books in the series.  We get brief glimpses and information about Matthew Kimble, who came home after being in prison to run the local inn and tavern (p. 19).  There is also the unnamed New York playboy who purchased the old monastery up on the hill, which used to be a place where monks cared for lepers and is now rumored to be a secret house of debauchery and partying (p. 20).  Captain Zachary Miller, on the other hands, names off a list of the island's more colorful characters:  Crevecoeur, the French nobleman; Ruben Chase and Long Tom Coffin, who cared for nothing but the sea; Ratliff, the British bluejacket; Billy Clark, he town crier; Mary Starbuck, the queen among women; her ruthless maid, Keziah Coffin; and the rather rotund Deborah Chase, who literally threw suitors up on rooftops!  There was also Maria Mitchell, the astronomer, and Lucretia Mott, the crusader (p. 124).  It leads me to wonder how many of these "legends" will appear and play a role in the remaining five books.

 

The cover art is provided by the Italian artist extraordinaire, Lou Marchetti, who was quite well known for his cover art for paperback novels and more than a few Gothic novels.  The cover scene, however, is quite deceptive.  At first glance, once would think this was a period piece, as the clothing and hairstyle, and quite frankly, the whole scene, appears to be something of the 18th or19th century.  Yet, the story takes place in modern times (well, modern at the time it was written).  The woman in red is meant to be Joyce Mills, and the dress is one that she is given by her sister-in-law to wear from a grand ball; but the dress is ripped to shreds before she ever has a chance to wear it.  Thus (as with so many Gothic paperback covers), the scene never actually appears anywhere in the story.

 

Overall, I'd say this was a fairly decent start to this series, and I look forward to seeing what's up next in Dark Harbor!

 

RATING:  8 slashed up crimson gowns out of 10 for a ghostly story of mental madness, sinister spirits, and terrifying torments that create a true Gothic tale of suspense and mystery!

Whitman Mystery Stories - Tom Harmon and the Gridiron Plot

This is definitely a book I would have never imagined myself reading under any circumstances.  I am not now, nor have I ever been, a fan of professional sports or college sports.  I do not like football, basketball, baseball, or any other sport of that kind.  (I will, however, watch an ice hockey game, if I can see it live!)  That being said, reading a book about sports would never be on my radar - and yet, here we are.  In recent years, I have discovered that quite a number of the Whitman Authorized Editions actually contain some pretty solid stories, and the illustrations in some of them are actually very well done (better than many of the later line illustrations in the Nancy Drew, Bobbsey Twins, and Hardy Boys books from Grosset & Dunlap).  Thus, when I happened across this book at a local bookstore for just $4.99, and the dust jacket was in such great shape, I thought:  why not?

 

Tom Harmon and the Great Gridiron Plot was written by Jay Dender.  Who is Jay Dender, you may ask?  Well, that's a really good question, and quite frankly, I have no idea.  From everything I could find online, this appears to be the only book written by Mr. Dender, and there is nothing I could find to even indicate whether "Jay Dender" is a real person or just a pseudonym.  I found this odd, since many of the Whitman books I have read have had authors who wrote more than just one book for the company.  (There are some exceptions, where the creator of a particular comic strip character may have written the Whitman book based on their character; but that's an exception, and not a rule.)  The one thing I can say is that Mr. Dender (or whoever was using that nom de plume) was very well versed in the area of football, as the story contains quite a bit of details regarding not only how the game is played, but very specific plays and descriptions of the various plays during the games.  Only someone well versed in the game (or a super-uber-fan) would have that kind of detailed knowledge of the game!

 

The story is set at the fictional university, Stockton, where Tom Harmon is a senior and is the star player of their football team, the Panthers.  While there is a real Stockton University in New Jersey, it is doubtful, based on the descriptions in the book, that this is supposed to be that particular campus.  And while the various colleges against whom the Panthers play reflect the names of real colleges and universities in our world, Webster, Harper, Douglas and the others are also fictionally created within the story.  As the copyright page specifically indicates, with the exception of the authorized use of the name "Tom Harmon," all names and places within the story are entirely fictional.  As far as the main character goes, Tom Harmon was apparently an all-around sports star, both in high school (in Indiana) and in college (University of Michigan).  According to the brief bio of Harmon on the dust jacket flap, Harmon managed to score "33 touchdowns, kicked 33 points after touchdown, kicked two field goals for a total of 237 points - the best scoring record in Big Ten history [at that time]."   While I am unfamiliar with the man or his fame (not being a sports fan), I have no doubt he was extremely popular at the time, for Whitman to seek out and license his name for use in a book like this.  And, as it turns out, he was the father of actor Mark Harmon (who, coincidentally, played in an episode of the Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries back in the 1970s - "The Mystery of the Solid Gold Kicker," which was about a successful football player that is framed for murder!  Coincidence?  I think not!).

 

While the main focus of the story is Stockton's goal of winning the "Big Seven" title in order to save their coach's job (his job is in jeopardy because a group of alumni were offering a rather large sum of money to the university to build additional buildings on campus - but the catch is, either the team wins the Big Seven this year, or the coach must be let go!), there are a couple of subplots that play into the story.  One is the obvious dislike that one of the players has for Tom, whether it be out of jealousy of his fame or for other reasons.  The other concerns attacks made on Tom just prior to games - the first, a physical attack when he and a fellow player are taking a shortcut through the woods; the second, an attempt to make it appear Tom cheated on an important test to have him expelled so he can no longer play for the team.  Everyone begins to wonder - is someone out to get Tom personally, or are all these tactics merely a way to keep Stockton from winning the Big Seven, so that the coach will be ousted from the university.

 

Honestly, I had to force my way through a lot of the story where the focus was on the football strategies and plays out on the field.  Dender goes into some excruciating detail that might be fun for fans of the sport, but was rather tedious for me.  The college antics of the students made for much better reading, and the tiniest bit of mystery is what kept my interest in the story.  That being said, Dender does manage to write the characters in such a way as to have you rooting for them, particularly when Tom keeps getting singled out for these attacks.  Nearly his entire team, as well as most of the students and faculty, all support Tom (as if they wouldn't, considering he is the title character, after all), and you know that, in the end, it is all going to work out for everyone - but it is the getting there that makes for enjoyable reading.  

 

The illustrator for this book is Henry E. Vallely (1881-1950), who has provided illustrations for quite a number of the Whitman Authorized Editions.   Vallely also provided illustrations for Big Little Books, women's magazines, in addition to his work for Whitman.  His illustrations are distinctive, with beautifully rendered scenes that truly stand out.  I'm always thrilled when I find a book that identifies him as the illustrator, as I know I am in for a treat with the internals.  The endpage spread is a nicely rendered scene from one of the many games played within the book, and thankfully, it does not spoil anything from the story (as some of the endpages for these Whitman books have a habit of doing).

 

While the football aspect is definitely not my cup of tea, the overall story was not bad, and I managed to make it through without getting overly bored.  A nice addition to my ever-growing Whitman collection.

 

RATING:  7 stolen brass canons out of 10 for plenty of college hi-jinks, locker room antics, and last minute winning touchdowns to craft a halfway decent story. 

 

 

Peggy Lane Theater Stories No. 1 - Peggy Finds the Theater

What better way to start a new month than with a new series (well, new to me at least ... well, new for reading purposes ... anyway ...).  With my love of theater, my love of vintage series books, and my love of stories with female protagonists, it should come as no surprise that I have all eight books in the Peggy Lane Theater Stories series.  Published from 1962 to 1965, the series follows the adventures of a nearly twenty-year old Peggy Lane, whose desire to become an actress leads her to forego a college education and head off for New York City to fulfill her dreams.  The author is given as "Virginia Hughes," which is actually a house pseudonym.  According to Jennifer White's website, the only known author is Geraldine Wallis, who wrote the third volume in the series; the other four books were likely written by four different men.  It would be interesting to learn just who those men were that authored the books (although judging from the information provided on Jennifer White's website, John Ott may have been one, based on his own background as an actor and director).

 

Peggy Finds the Theater is the first book in the series, introducing readers to the dark-haired protagonist and her rather large supporting cast.   Peggy Lane and her best friend, Jean Wilson, live in the fictional town of Rockport, Wisconsin (p. 6).  While there is a Rockport Park in the State of Wisconsin, and there is a city called Rock in Wisconsin, there is no actual Rockport.  The book indicates the travel time by plane from Rockport to New York City is approximately three hours (p. 22), which would place the town somewhere along the western portion of the state (since standard flight time from Wisconsin to New York City is only about two-and-a-half hours).  The story opens with Peggy working hard to convince her parents to allow her to step back from Rockport Community College, where she has finished her first year, and move to New York City to pursue her dream of becoming an actress.  In the end, she makes a bargain with them that will allow her a year to pursue her dream, and if she has not achieved any level of acting goals in that time, she will return home and finish college before attempting it again.  

 

This was very reminiscent of the Carol Page theater series written by Helen Dore Boylson, who makes a very similar deal with her parents in order to get permission to pursue an acting career.  The Carol Page series was released a decade prior to this series, so it seems the attitudes of parents towards their daughters who want to pursue theater as a career did not change much over that time.

 

This first book deals very little with the theater itself and more with Peggy making the move to the big city, starting a very prestigious acting school, making new friends, and joining an off-Broadway theater group who are working to put together their first play.  While there is mention of Peggy's previous experience on the stage while she was in high school, we never actually get to see Peggy perform (other than a couple of scenes where she is rehearsing the monologues she plans to use when she auditions to be admitted into the acting school).  The author does reference real plays, however, including the classic Twelfth Night (p. 23), a play by Shakespeare; the satire Skin of Our Teeth (p. 24), a play by Thornton Wilder; and the drama, Winterset (p. 24), a play by Maxwell Anderson.  The author also makes reference to Variety magazine, with which anyone in the acting community is well acquainted.  However, in the book, one of Peggy's new housemates indicates the magazine has casting call pages for the theater (p. 70); yet, some quick research online reveals Variety never really had theater casting calls, but focused more on the entertainment industry, i.e. television and film.  Backstage or Broadway World are the magazines more easily recognized for theater casting call notices.  Perhaps the author just felt readers might more easily recognize the Variety name than the others.

 

The rather expanded cast of characters are introduced in chapter six, which is aptly titled "Cast of Characters."  It is here we learn all about the girls with whom Peggy will be sharing a house while in New York.  First, there is Gaby (Gabrielle), whose father works for the UN, is French and learning English so she can hopefully break into the acting world; then there is Dot, a native of California who is a comedienne and eccentric dancer; next is Greta, who is from Boston and is working as a script editor while waiting for her big break;  following her is Irene (not her real name!), who previously acted in some television shows and is currently supporting herself as a model; also in the house is Maggie, a dancer from Ireland, who has been dancing since she was three years old; and then comes Amy, a small town girl from North Carolina who, like Peggy, has just arrived in New York hoping to find success on the stage.  May Berriman is the house mother, who takes care of the girls.  (This set up is also similar to the Carol Page series, where Carol lives in a boarding house with a number of other actresses.)

 

In addition to their housemates, Peggy (and by default her new best friend, Amy) become involved with a group of students at New York Academy who are putting together a play that they hope to have produced off-Broadway.  These students include Peter Piper (yes, they acknowledge the source of the name in the story), known to his friends as "Pip," and Connie Barnes, another comedienne; also a part of the group is Mallory Seton, the director, and Randy Brewster, the producer.  Rounding out the group are Mona Downs and Thomas Galen, both of whom are older actors (neither of whom are students, but both of whom are seasoned actors who do not mind doing off-Broadway shows [p. 91]).  They have the script, the actors, and the financing - all they need to do is find an available theater, which is next to impossible in New York City.  This is where Peggy comes in!  Peggy volunteers to find a theater.  "I used to help out as a reporter on my father's newspaper, and I'm used to digging up facts," she tells the group (p. 99).  Thus, not only is Peggy an actress, but she is a reporter as well!  Talk about your well-rounded career girl! All she needs to do is add amateur sleuth to that resume ... oh, wait, she does!

 

Yes, Peggy stumbles across a very minor mystery while searching for a theater.  She and Amy find the perfect location in a building that houses a theater on the top floor; but the janitor gives them the brush off, which makes Peggy automatically suspect something criminal is going on at the building (because no one would ever be rude in NYC, right?).  She convinces the theater troupe, and before you know it, they are staking out the back alley to see if anything criminal takes place.  Soon enough, Peggy and Amy witness a truck delivering boxes into the building late at night, with an armed guard.  Convinced there is something criminal about the whole affair, they tell the police, who not only give credence to her story, but manage to catch the crooks in the middle of delivering their next shipment of stolen goods into the building!  Not only does the insurance company provide the girls with a rather substantial reward for recovering thousands of dollars worth of furs and silverware and liquor (as well as $20,000 worth of nylon stockings - as the book says, that "is an awful law of nylon stockings" [p. 172]), but the owner of the building, who lives in Florida (of all places!), is only too happy to rent the troupe not just the top floor for a theater, but the whole building (p. 173)!  So, Peggy's three-chapter mystery ends up solving all of the acting troupe's problems - way to go, Peggy!

 

The title of the book has a double meaning:  Peggy does "find" the theater, inasmuch as she takes off to New York City to pursue her dream of being an actress on the stays; at the same time, she literally "finds" the theater that the other students have been so desperately seeking for their play.  The art for the book is provided by Sergio Leone - and no, that is not the Italian film director of the same name.  I could find no information whatsoever about Mr. Leone, other than the apparently provided art not only for children's books in the 1960s and '70s, but he also apparently provided some painted covers to paperback Gothic novels from that same time period.  The painted cover for this book is rather simple, with a headshot of Peggy, and the lights of New York City in the background.  The internal black-and-white illustrations are not overly exciting scenes, but instead pictures of Peggy and Randy dancing, Peggy with her parents at the airport, Peggy and Amy with their dates eating a late dinner.  About the only illustration that could be said to contain any "suspense" at all is the final image of Peggy and Amy on their stakeout, as a cat jumps out beside them, startling them (p. 163).  Oddly, the frontis piece and the first internal (p. 25) are the only two that are full page with captions; the remaining illustrations are half to three-fourth page with no caption.  The end page are by far my favorite, as it depicts Peggy and her friends in a theater and on the stage, in what appears to be a moment from a rehearsal (this scene, however, appears nowhere in this book).

 

While I would not say this was an exciting story, and the mystery was so limited as to barely be there, I did thoroughly enjoy the story. This series might not appeal to mystery enthusiasts, but for those who enjoy career girl stories, or those who love good theater tales, this book will definitely satisfy those tastes!

 

RATING:   10 servings of pheasant under glass out of 10 for providing readers with a somewhat true-to-life look at what life is like for a theater actor trying to break into the field in New York City!

Fire of the Witches - a Queen-Size Gothic

This is only the third "Queen-Size Gothic" novel that I've read, but it is definitely the longest of the three, weighing in at 319 pages.  The author, Lyda Belknap Long, is a pseudonym used by horror and sci-fi author Frank Belknap Long (1901-1994), who also wrote comic books back in the day.  This is now the second Gothic novel of his that I have read, the first being To The Dark Tower nearly a year ago.  And there is no doubt the same author wrote both books - the style of writing and plotting is exactly the same - even though the plots may differ slightly (although both stories deal with cults), Belknap Long has a very bad habit of spending way too much time focused on the inner fears of his characters without actually moving the story along.  While I can see that he is attempting to build some level of suspense, in order to keep the reader on edge, it does not work very well when it is basically the same repetitive fear discussed ad nauseam, without actually advancing the plot.

 

Fire of the Witches, which is rather unique title, I must admit, has very little to do with witches; rather, the reader finally learns nearly half-way through that there is a Satanic cult operating in the vicinity of the house that features in the story, and the cult is involved in some very grotesque rituals.  But I am getting ahead of myself.  The book tells the story of Janice, who gives up her life in New York City to join her brother-in-law, Kenneth, in moving her sister, Marna, out to an old, abandoned mansion outside the small town of Lynnbrook.  You see, Marna has been ill (of course, that illness is never actually defined anywhere in the story; rather, readers are simply to accept that Marna is paranoid to the point of near-delusion, and her recovery depends solely on moving to a dark, isolated house surrounded by woods on all sides), and at her doctor's direction, Janice and Kenneth are moving to a quiet area to give her peace.  Janice and Kenneth arrive ahead of poor Marna, with plans to get the house cleaned up and ready for Marna's arrival.  But, as one might expect in a Gothic novel like this, nothing goes according to plan.

 

While Belknap-Long's previous book that I read dealt with a witch cult, this one (despite the name) deals with a Satanic cult.  Just as soon as Janice and Kenneth arrive at the mansion, they are confronted by a hideous man on the property ... then Janice is nearly attacked by another grotesque man who overpowers and outwits Kenneth before escaping ... then Kenneth is attacked by robed men wearing animal masks ... then Janice "sees" more of those masked men nearly setting fire to the house (of course, that last one turns out to be a vision, for readers learn that Janice may very well be clairvoyant, as she sees furnished rooms that are actually empty, and she sees people that are not actually there ... yet).  When Marna does finally arrive, along with her nurse and chauffeur, before they can even get into the house, they are attacked by the animal-headed cultists, with the nurse and chauffeur being dragged off into the woods, while a conveniently placed squatter by the name of McGowan manages to be there at that exact time to save Marna and bring her in the house to safety.

 

It may sound like there is a lot of action going on in this story, let me make it clear - the author spends an inordinate amount of time inside Janice's head, reminding readers over and over again of all her fears, her suspicions about the house and its surroundings, and her concerns about whether the supernatural is real or not.  In fact, nearly 300 of the 319 pages of story relate only about eight hours worth of "real" time - from the evening that Janice and Kenneth arrive until the wee hours of the next morning when the true villains are revealed and Janice is saved from certain doom.  And the revelation as to the true culprits of this story is somewhat of a cheat - there are literally no clues whatsoever to lead you to the identity of these individuals, and, in fact, much of the story is actually one huge red herring that misleads you to believe one thing is going on, when in reality, that has nothing to do with what is happening to poor Marna!

 

Something else that left me puzzled is the description on the back of the book.  The back proclaims:  "STRANGE, SINISTER LOVE ... Janice came to the old estate to save her sister's sanity.  Instead she found strange witchcraft, sinister love, and her sister dead.  And yet Janice stayed?  What kept her there? Was it the secret allure of the old mansion? The eerie mystery of her sister's death?  Or was it the darkly attractive charm of the young stranger, the gold young man she'd grown to love so much ... yet did not understand ...?"   Wait, what?  Did the person who wrote this synopsis even read the book, or did they get bored of Janice's constant rambling thoughts and gave up half-way through?  Janice's sister never dies!  And there is no young stranger, unless they are referring to the police lieutenant (MacGrath) who comes on the scene - but he does not become a love interest (despite my expecting to see that happen).  So where in the world did the publisher come up with this description for this book?  The only "love" in this book is the love Kenneth feels for Marna and his desire to see her sanity restored.  Talk about misleading the reader with false advertising!

 

The cover art is provided by the ever-talented Hector Garrido, who always manages to paint some of the most beautiful women on these covers (I just wish his art was as well presented on the covers he painted for the Nancy Drew books back in the late '80s).  What is funny about the cover is the house in the background - not at all how the house is described in the book.  In fact, any fan of Alfred Hitchcock will readily be able to identify that house from one of his greatest films - Psycho!  There can be no mistaking Garrido took his inspiration from the house in the 1960 film - from the porch, the stairs leading up to the house, even the planters on the stair corners.  I'm guessing there is no way to copyright or trademark an image of a house like that, but since this was published just 11 years after the film, I can't imagine too many people would miss recognizing the house on the cover.

 

It took me a bit to get through this book - since it was nearly twice the length of Belknap Long's other book I read, the stream of consciousness writing got tiresome very quickly.  Both books dealt with cults - the first a witch cult, this one a Satanic cult - and both books feature some gruesome deaths and some misdirection as to the cult members and the true culprits.  This leaves me to wonder if the author simply cashed in on a single story idea and merely retread it throughout a number of books by changing setting and character names.  I suppose we will find out the next time I read one of his Gothic novels.

 

RATING:  6  waxen witch dolls out of 10 for stepping outside some of the normal tropes to avoid romantic entanglements and direct the danger to someone other than the protagonist.

The Mystery of the Chimeric Cornucopia - the Third (new) Three Investigators Mystery

I honestly have given this series a whole-hearted try, as I wanted to like the series, since I enjoyed Robert Arthur's Three Investigators' books so much as a pre-teen.  But this book merely reinforced many of the things that I do not enjoy about the series, and as such, it is the last book that I will read in the series (thankfully, I did not purchase any books beyond this first three breeder set).  I know nothing about the authors, Elizabeth Arthur and Steven Bauer, other than the fact she is the daughter of the original author, Robert Arthur, and is married to Steven.  The author bios in the back of the book provide the authors' educational backgrounds and some writing history; however, none of that supports either Arthur's or Bauer's ability to carry on Robert Arthur's legacy with these characters.  It is a real shame, too, as I would have loved to have seen a truly great series of Three Investigator mysteries for the present day.

 

The Mystery of the Chimeric Cornucopia follows the sequential lettering of the series' titles, with this book being the letter "C."   The main mystery in this book seems to surround Jupiter Jones' family and the real identity of the woman he believed to be his mother.  However, there is a secondary mystery that has a very familiar plot - a counterfeiting scheme, where the counterfeiters have their equipment set up in a cave located at the edge of a property line.  Gee, sound familiar?  (And if it does not sound familiar to you, then clearly you need to go read the early Nancy Drew mystery stories, and you'll quickly learn from where this plot appears to have been derived.)  Honestly, the sub-mystery felt completely unnecessary to the overall story, and while portions of it were weaved into the mystery surrounding Jupiter's mother and her ancestors, they were not so intricate that the same result could not have been had without them.  Instead, it felt as if the counterfeiter elements were inserted to add some "excitement" and "danger" to the story, as the boys go into the cave, are startled by bats, discover the engraving equipment, and face off against a truly vile counterfeiter who had killed his criminal partner nearly thirty years prior!

 

Now, as to the mystery surrounding Jupiter Jones' family - for me, this was not especially enjoyable.  This sudden impulse of Arthur and Bauer to superimpose all of these overly-diverse cultural backgrounds into not only the Three Investigators, but also in every single person they know, meet, and come in contact with is tiresome.  As I mentioned in my reviews of the last two books, the authors' decision to imprint these characters with multi-cultural ethnicities is wholly unnecessary and does nothing to "flesh out" the characters, as the authors' website indicates.  Instead, it feels like the same old forced diversity for the sake of diversity and does not in any way make these characters more relatable or more relevant.  Bob is half-Chinese.  Pete is half-Mexican/American.  Jupiter is half Serbian.  Mallory is Scottish.  Worthington is British.  Mallory's friend, Califia, is half-Spanish, half-African-American.  Arthur and Bauer spend so much time reminding readers of the ethnic background and heritage of each character, that you wonder how short the book would be without all of this extraneous material.  Don't get me wrong - I don't mind knowing that each of these characters has a multi-cultural background; what I do mind is having it thrown in my face repeatedly, and having the characters talk about it pretty much every time they open their mouths.  The Three Investigators are supposed to solve mysteries, not give readers a history lesson on the countries from which their ancestors came.

 

Additionally, the mystery (aside from the threat of the counterfeiter) was a bit too convenient.  Jupiter knows he has a Serbian background.  The family he met in the last book happen to be Serbians.  They go to visit that family, meet another family who happens to turn out to be related to his mother, and Jupiter suddenly discovers he has a ready-made family consisting of his mother's aunt, her son and his wife, and her grandchildren.  Granted, series books rely heavily on coincidences for their sleuths to solve the mysteries, so this really shouldn't be that far-fetched.  However, it may have had a bit more impact if Arthur and Bauer had held off on this reveal for several books, to allow it to build a bit before making such a revelation.  Perhaps if this book had been more about the counterfeiters (even if the plot was borrowed from Red Gate Farm) and less about pushing Jupiter's Serbian roots and missing family, I might have enjoyed it more.

 

With all of that being said, there were some things I did like about the story.  I enjoyed the moments with Bob as he was researching Jupiter's family tree, and his discovery of how Jupiter's mother changed her name.  With the advancements of technology, it would make you think that solving mysteries would be much easier than it was back in the 1930s when Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys were first getting their start; but Arthur and Bauer show that even with all the technology we have at our fingertips, it still requires someone with the knowledge and ability to work with that technology to dig up the information you need.  And Bob was able to do just that.  I am glad Arthur and Bauer gave some of the details of what Bob had to do in order to locate the information and connect the dots, as THAT gives readers a lot more definition of Bob's character and personality than any ethnic background imprints.

 

I also liked the exploration of the cave, the discoveries made therein, and the unexpected turn of events when they come face to face with the counterfeiter.  I think it was these scenes that really allowed Pete to shine as the one who stays calm in the face of danger and is quick-thinking when it comes to defusing what could be very volatile situations.  His attempts to talk down and "make friends" with the counterfeiter, despite having a knife held to his throat, really made me appreciate just how mature he can be when needed - while, at other moments in the story, he embraces his child-like nature with playing games of Go Fish and Slapjack,  Again, these are the things that truly define the boys' characters - not their cultural and family histories.

 

Finally, I did rather find the boys' new car to be fun - the Flex with the Chimera sticker on the back of the car.  Since they no longer had use of the Rolls Royce (after all, that contest won wayyyyyyy back in the first book of the original series) was bound to run out sooner or later.  And this new car is unique in it own way, and the chimera sticker gave the boys a new way of looking at their partnership, even helping them create a new logo to go right alongside the three question marks that have been their trademark for so long.

 

I am disappointed that the series did not meet up with my expectations, but with the cost of each book being what it is, it is simply not worth it for me to continue buying them when I have no intention of reading them.  Perhaps if I ever find them second hand for a few dollars, I might pick them up; otherwise, this is one series that will end with the third book on my bookshelf.

RATING:  5 wax-sealed barrels of wine out of 10 for at least making an attempt to keep the Three Investigators series alive and well. 

The Brownie Scouts and Their Tree House - Book Four of the Brownie Scout Books

After the hints of what was to come with the third book, I have to admit that I was very disappointed with what took place in this fourth entry in the Brownie Scouts series by Mildred A. Wirt (Benson).  For those who read the last book, the Scouts were voted to be Rosedale's representatives in Washington, D.C. after being elected as the "queens" of the cherry festival, and as the story ended, the Scouts were all excited about heading to Washington and the opportunity to meet the President of the United States!  Since the book ended with this huge announcement, it would only stand to reason the next book would share with readers that fantastic trip!  But, alas, such is not the case.  I wonder if, back in 1951 when this book was published, those young readers who bought this book (or, perhaps, were given this book) opened up the pages to the first chapter and discovered that this book has absolutely nothing to do with the Scouts' trip to Washington!  Somehow, it feels like Wirt cheated her readers out of what could have been a very exciting story...

 

The Brownie Scouts and Their Tree House, instead, focuses on the mysterious tree house that the girls discover built in the limbs of a sturdy tree within the metropolitan national part in Rosedale. Wirt opens the book with the girls exploring the various trees of the part, only to discover that the signs identifying the types of trees do not match what the girls and their scout leader know the trees to be.  Someone has been messing with the signs - but who could it be, and why? That mystery is soon forgotten when Veve McGuire wishes that the brownies (fairies) on which the name of their group is based would provide them with a tree house that they could enjoy whenever they visited the park.  Oddly enough, a stone is thrown at them, which bears an odd message - come back in two days to see if her wish comes true!  No one actually believes it will happen - but sure enough, when the girls come back in two days, there is a tree house built right there in the limbs of the very tree where they stood and made the wish!  Thus, the second mystery takes root (see what I did there?), and the Brownies have two questions before them - who is messing with all the signs around the park, and who built their tree house?

 

Wirt does not make the mysteries complicated, and the reader is easily able to discern who is doing what throughout the course of the story.  Even when more wishes are granted (furniture in the house, a warm meal cooked on a cold afternoon, etc.), the girls remain oblivious to the identity of their benefactor (even though they meet him during their many trips to the park).  And, with all of this going on, Wirt manages to throw in a third mystery involving Minnie Myles, an old woman who comes into the park with an empty sack, but leaves with it full.  The girls soon discover that she is extremely poor and about to lose her house - the one person who can help her is her brother, but she refuses to allow it, choosing rather to go to the poor house than to accept a dime from him!  Connie, Veve, and the rest of the Brownies decide they have to help the poor woman before she is thrown out on the street!

 

While Wirt tries to keep the mysteries an integral part of the story, it reads more like a Brownies' adventure tale than a mystery story.  The girls take no real active part in tracking down clues or unlocking secrets in an effort to solve the mysteries; instead, their story involves surviving a storm in the tree house, collecting buttons, figuring out ways to provide food to Mrs. Myles, and the farewell ceremony for Eileen, as she "flies up" to the Rosedale Girl Scout Troop (having aged out of the Brownies).  Yes, all three mysteries get resolved, but very little of those resolutions have anything to do with the Brownies.  In fact, the only one that has any input by the Brownies is the secret that has kept Mrs. Myles from accepting help from her brother - a resentment that gets resolved when Veve buys a pillow from the auction of Mrs. Myles' home that turns out to hold the very thing that clears up a misunderstanding and reunites Mrs. Myles an her brother after all these years.

 

For those who read the previous book, you'll recall Wirt described a number of different quilts that the girls obtained for their quilt show; well, in this book, it's all about collecting old and unusual buttons - from embroidered taffeta buttons made in a star pattern (p. 79) to opaque glass buttons (p. 80) to a coat cuff button in the shape of a horse head (p. 80) to a tintype button popular in the Victorian time (p. 87) to a glass swirlback button, a Czechoslovakian button, and an old Sheffield silver button (p. 164).  Just as Veve was the last one to find a quilt in the prior story, she is the last one to locate a button in this one.

 

Wirt does not forget to include some Brownie and Girl Scout history within the book.  In the first chapter, we get a very brief re-telling of The Brownies, the 1865 story written by Juliana Horatia Ewing (incorrectly identified as "Julianna" in the book) from which the organization took its name (p. 7).  Near the end, when Eileen is inducted into the Girl Scouts, she must recite the Girl Scout Promise (p. 193), which is almost identical to the actual promise one can find at the Girl Scouts website (Girl Scouts Promise).  The Girl Scout Law (which can be found at that same website) is set forth rather differently in the book (p. 194); however, that could have been what is was back in 1951, or it could simply be Wirt taking some artistic liberties in setting forth the characteristics of a Scout.  In either event, Wirt makes an effort to keep her Scout stories grounded with some real Scout history.

 

Marguerite Gayer continues to provide the cover art (her signature is clearly seen on the bottom right hand corner of the cover).  The internal frontis piece does not contain a signature, but it appears to have the same style as Gayer's previous internal illustrations for this series, so one can assume that she also did the internal, as well as the cover. 

 

While not my favorite book in the series (that would be The Cherry Festival volume), this one does have its merit and is a fairly enjoyable read, particularly when one considers the age of the audience for which the book was originally intended.

 

RATING:  7 neat piles of wood and kindling out of 10 for a smidgen of excitement (during the storm), a small bit of drama (with Mrs. Myles' situation), and a successful family reunion!

The Curse of Collinwood - the 5th Paperback Library Gothic Novel based on ABC-TV's suspense drama (Dark Shadows)

And with this book, the tone and direction of the Dark Shadows series by W.E.D. Ross (writing under one of his many pseudonyms, Marilyn Ross) changes to include the supernatural.  By the time this book was published in May 1968, the television show had long been dealing with supernatural themes:  from the ghost of Josette, to the phoenix Laura Collins, to the ghost of Sarah, to the introduction of the vampire Barnabas Collins, to the trip in time back to 1795, to the witch Angelique, and was just reaching the point with the evil Dr. Lang and his Frankenstein-type creation, Adam.  Thus, it was only natural that the book series would begin to introduce supernatural elements, which would go beyond the standard Gothic tropes and enter the realm of full-on horror in its stories.  But the addition of the supernatural was not the only change Ross brought into the series, as we will quickly discover...

 

The Curse of Collinwood is the story of Derek Collins and his wife, Esther Collins, who died over a hundred years ago under strange circumstances. Derek had engaged in slave trade in order to make his fortune, and his wife was horrified to learn this about her own husband.  With the help of a voodoo / witch doctor, she had her husband killed and embalmed, as well as orchestrated her own death, with the idea that her husband could never be rid of her.  Their bodies were returned to Collinsport and locked away in the Collins' family masoleum, forever to remain sealed.  Only a shaft of moonlight could unlock the curse placed upon their dead bodies, giving them new life as part of the living dead!  For a century, their coffins remained in darkness inside the cold, cement crypt, never seeing daylight nor moonlight, trapped in an eternal sleep.  But events are about to transpire that will change all of that!

 

Just as Victoria's love interest in the television show, Burke Devlin, was killed (allegedly) in a plane crash while on a business trip to Brazil, suddenly in this book we learn that Victoria's love interest, Ernest Collins, has died in a plane crash en route to Rio de Janeiro (p. 7) for a concert he was to perform (and for those who do not know, Rio de Janeiro is located in Brazil - meaning Ernest was killed in identical fashion and in the same location as Burke!).  Readers also learn that Elizabeth is no longer locking herself away in Collinwood, as she has learned the husband she thought dead for so many years has actually been alive and is pursuing a career on the high seas (p. 6).  David, who had been sent away to a boarding school as revealed in the last book, is back home; and Carolyn, who had been attending school in nearby Ellsworth, had a nervous breakdown and has returned home to recuperate (p. 6).  It seems quite a bit has happened in the Collins' household between books 4 and 5, and readers are brought up to date within just a few pages in the first chapter.  Surprisingly, there is no mention of Victoria searching for the truth about her past and her own identity - Ross apparently dropped that entire plot thread, much as the television show did as it moved further and further into the realm of the supernatural.  (And this is a true shame, as I always hoped it would have been revealed that Victoria was really Elizabeth's daughter - although, Ross did have an outline planned for a book that would have revealed Victoria's parentage and reunite her with her love, Ernest; but, sadly, that book never got written, as Ross was required to write Victoria out of the books, just as she had been written out of the television show - a brief version of that unwritten novel can be found on Craig Hamrick's website: The Secret of Victoria Winters)

 

Ross manages to keep the reader guessing for a good portion of the book as to whether the "large man" and "young woman" who seem to be terrorizing Collinsport are the escaped criminal Big Tim Mooney and his girlfriend, Nora or whether they are Derek and Esther Collins, brought back from the dead to roam the area as zombies.  Victoria, who at first discounts the stories of "Mad Man" Martin, an elderly spiritualist who warns her and Burke about Derek and Esther, soon believes that she and Burke accidentally released  the Collins' ancestors when they went into the mausoleum to satisfy Burke's curiosity regarding the two long-dead members of the family.  When Victoria, Carolyn, and Elizabeth are all terrorized by the large man and the woman with him, Burke and Vicki go back to the crypt and find both coffins destroyed - and the bodies are gone!  Burke insists it was Mooney looking for the treasures supposedly buried with Derek Collins, but Victoria thinks the supernatural is at work and zombies are now walking in the night.  In true Gothic fashion, Ross builds the suspense with disembodied hands, shadowy figures attacking, chases up the steep cliffs in the middle of the night, and plenty of appearances of these two horrors of the night.  Even I was curious as to whether they were actually zombies, or would it all be explained away by the end (as had been done in the four previous books).

 

I enjoyed seeing David and Carolyn back in this book, and I rather liked the fact that Victoria was paired more with Burke Devlin in this story (as I always loved the two of them together in the television show).  Even Roger was back to his nearly-always drunk, belligerent self in this story.  Matthew Morgan is mentioned but never actually appears (and he is referred to as "Matt" Morgan, which I found weird).  And, I know I will probably get some flack for this, but I was actually happy Ross got rid of Ernest Collins.  I never liked the character, and I certainly did not like the romance between him and Victoria.  Yes, his abrupt death and the myriad of changes that took place "off screen" between books 4 and 5 definitely tells the reader that the series is headed in a completely different direction now.  At the time it was published, Alexandre Moltke was still playing Victoria Winters on the television show, so there was no reason for anyone to think Vicki would not continue to play a major role in the books; however, this was actually the last full-length novel written by Ross to feature Victoria Winters as a major protagonist.  Beginning with the next book, Victoria becomes a supporting character, with Barnabas Collins becoming the lead character (much as he did in the television show).

 

The family history truly deviates from that established in the show with this book, as Ross introduces Derek and Esther Collins, who are both said to have died in 1859, which would have made them both contemporaries of sorts with Daniel Collins, a cousin of the Collins family who inherited Collinwood after the events of 1795 (when most of the immediate family was killed).  There is no mention of Derek or Esther in the television show, making them both original creations of Ross.  I am aware that the books play very loose with the family lineage, and from what I can remember, the stories that are told in later books in various time periods do not match up between themselves as to the names of family members living at various points in time.  While I realize the television show played a bit loose with the family tree, particularly once Barnabas came into the picture, the books (from what I have been told) do not even bother with a coherent timeline (which, technically, could be explained by the fact that Barnabas' frequent trips through time messes with the timeline, creating multiple alternate realities with different family trees!).

 

This is the first book to feature only one cover, and it is a hodge-podge to say the least!  The background takes the same painted image of Victoria Winters that was used for the first book of this series, and superimposed over that is a very recognizable photo of Jonathan Frid as Barnabas Collins, baring his fans and holding that wolf's head cane of his.  Obviously, the use of Barnabas' image is to cash in on the success he was having in the television show, because his character does not yet appear in the books - although, the idea that his character was a vampire could hint at the supernatural part of the story within.  But the re-use of the first book cover art is questionable - perhaps it was done merely to save the expense of hiring an artist to paint an entirely new cover.  This is the last book to feature any painted artwork on the cover - all of the books hereafter feature photo covers, with images of the actors from the television show. 

 

Overall, I would say I liked this book far more than I did the previous one.  The story was refreshingly different from the previous four, and Victoria was a bit stronger of a character than Ross has portrayed her in the last couple of stories.  Plus, the actual supernatural elements were an added bonus!

 

RATING:   8 ornate silver snuffboxes from the 1800s out of 10 for increasing the Gothic terror with the reality of the walking dead!