Flash Evans, Camera News Hawk (Flash Evans #2)

Alas, with the second book in the Flash Evans series, we come to the end of this short-lived series by famed Nancy Drew ghostwriter, Mildred Wirt Benson (writing under the pseudonym Frank Bell).  It's rather a shame this series did not last beyond these first two books, as the stories are quite exciting, fast-paced, and filled with both mystery and adventure.  Benson definitely pulled out all of the stops in this series, constantly putting her title character in some of the most dangerous (and outrageous!) situations; yet, like any good, plucky series book hero, he always manages to come out of each scrape pretty much unscathed.  Both books are great reads, and even for those who are not necessarily fans of boys' series books (like me!), the stories are very enjoyable, and I would definitely recommend them.

 

Flash Evans, Camera News Hawk is set nine months after the events in the first book, and Jimmy, or "Flash" as he is called by his fellow photographers, is now seventeen-years old. As seems to be his habit of being in the right place at the right time, Flash is invited by his fellow photographer, Joe Wells, to watch Bailey Brooks, a famed aviator and parachute jumper, test out a brand new parachute of his own design.  Joe now works for a newsreel company, filming the scenes rather than simply taking still photographs.  He and Flash snag images of the successful test of the parachute, but Flash grows uneasy when he sees Brooks talking with a man named Albert Povy, who Joe says is an unsavory character that has been suspected of being a spy.  With a scar running down the side of his face, he has the typical appearance of a series book villain!

 

Similar to the first book, this one has an overarching mystery (involving a government agent and a potential theft of important papers), while at the same time putting poor Flash through the ropes with one harrowing adventure after another.  The first is a horrific train wreck (how does Flash always manages to survive these disasters with barely a scratch?!?!), in which his friend Joe Wells is injured, placing Flash in a position to take his place as a cameraman to help out his rather contentious partner, George Doyle. Doyle and Flash take an instant disliking for each other, but to help his friend, Flash agrees to do the camera work.  Their first assignment is to video the Indianapolis auto race (which may have been a vague reference to the famous "Indianapolis 500," which began as far back as 1911), and while they arrive late and other film crews have all the prime spots, Flash's luck aids them out, as their not-so-great spot turns out to be the very place a horrible racing accident occurs, which they capture it all (p. 44)!

 

From there, Flash and Doyle just happen to be at the right spot when a bridge gives out, with a speeding car going down with it (pp. 100-01).  They catch it all on film, of course; however, the driver of the car is caught in the raging waters, so Flash risks his life to dive in and save the man.  As it turns out, the man is a wanted criminal, and when Flash gets him to shore, the police are there to arrest him - and to thank Flash for catching him before he could escape!  After that, Flash finds himself on the wrong end of an oar, and he is left by a villainous cretin (and I won't spoil the story by telling you who that is!) in a river that is surrounded on both sided by an out of control forest fire (pp. 136-39)!  As can be expected, he manages to swim under the water to avoid the intense heat of the fires and swim far enough downstream to get up on shore and get away - only to wind up kidnapped by the villain and held locked in an isolated house.  The poor kid just can't catch a break!

 

All of the stories tie into the aviator and his new type of parachute, and the government agent and the attempt to rob him during the train wreck.  It is one of Flash's photographs from the night of the train wreck, as well as his keen sense of observation and a fortunate find while locked up in that house that lead to the identity of the villain being revealed and his machinations put to an end.  And along the way, Doyle and Flash manage to earn one another's respect and let go of all the animosity between them.  But Flash is nothing but loyal, and despite both Joe and Doyle trying to convince him to join them on the newsreel crew, he sticks with his job at The Brandale Ledger.  However, he admits Doyle in the last paragraph of the book that "[t]aking ordinary pictures will seem pretty tame after this.  One of these days I'll probably be back" (p. 211).  Obviously, this was an open door for Benson to later have her photographer protagonist return to newsreel filming in a later adventure, had the series continued.

 

The cover art is the same as that on the first book - but after reading this, it becomes clear that the top and bottom of the four scenes are taken from this book, while the two scenes on either side of Flash's headshot in the middle were taken from the first.  I would be curious to know if this same cover art would have been continued to be used on future books, if more had been written and published.  The interior art depicts the scene of the car pile-up from the Indianapolis raceway.  With so many thrilling moments in the story, I am sure it was hard for the publisher to decide which scene to depict on the frontis piece!

 

And with that, we reach the end of this short-lived, two-book series.  One has to wonder if Benson had any other ideas for stories in this series, and whether it was her idea, or the publishers, to end it so quickly.  In any event, poor Jimmy "Flash" Evans was put on the series book shelf, a mostly forgotten character that only die-hard collectors seek out and read!

 

RATING:  9 nail files and rusty razor blades out of 10 for keeping the danger high, the mystery exciting, and the hero resourceful - all the great trappings for a fantastic read! 

 

 

 

A Wells & Wong Mystery, Book 3 - First Class Murder

This series keeps getting better and better. Author Robin Stevens is getting a better feel of her characters as the series progresses, and with each book, it's easy to see that Stevens is becoming more comfortable with writing these murder mysteries. Hazel Wong and Daisy Wells have never come alive as much as they did in this book - and to see the characters beginning to grow (Hazel not only shows more backbone when it comes to Daisy, but she also begins to realize that she is becoming her own person and that she has to take a stand now and then when justice and fairness demands it) is thoroughly entertaining.

First Class Murder is an homage to Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express. The author admits in the acknowledgements at the back of the book that when her publisher suggested doing a book where a murder occurs on a train, her first thought was Christie's mystery. So, as a way of honoring the great mystery writer, Stevens has her two teenage sleuths take a trip on the Orient Express, as the bequest of Hazel's father. It is meant to be a vacation, a chance for Hazel and Daisy to get away from the events that had recently unfolded (in the last book, Poison is Not Polite) and for Hazel to try and influence Daisy to not be quite so focused on solving murders. Of course, fate has other plans when Miss Livedon, the undercover officer from the previous mystery, unexpectedly arrives on the train under an assumed name and ultimately reveals to the girls that she is searching for a spy who intends to turn over government plans to the Germans. She warns the girls to stay out of it, that it is none of their concern.  Daisy, needless to say, decides they simply must find the spy before Miss Livedon...

Until the murder happens.

Poor Mrs. Georgiana Daunt is murdered in her cabin, behind locked doors.  No one could have gotten in or out of the room, and yet she is found with her throat slit, her expensive necklace gone, and a train full of first class passengers who had motive to kill the poor woman.  Her husband, who was broke before her met her and has been using her money to fund his business.  Her maid, who is much more interested in Mr. Daunt and her lady's material possessions.  Her brother, who was left out their parents' will and has always held a grudge.  Her medium, who may or may not be real, who stood to inherit a considerable sum of money upon her death.  The Russian aristocrat, who claimed the ruby in Mrs. Daunt's necklace was actually her family's heirloom.  The magician who seems to be the only one with the capability of getting into and out of a locked room without any trouble.  Even Miss Livedon, who possibly discovered that Mrs. Daunt was the spy she was after.

In good ol' fashioned Agatha Christie style, Daisy and Hazel work their way through all of the suspects, narrowing it down one by one.  And with the help from an unexpected sidekick (the Russian aristocrat's grandson), they manage to work they way through a number of red herrings, exonerate a wrongfully accused suspect, and get the clues they need to solve the crime - but it leads to a rather unexpected solution!  By the end, both Mr. Wong and Miss Livedon have to admit that Wells & Wong make a pretty good crime-solving pair.

Oh, and in this book, we may not learn who "M" is yet, but we do learn who Wong Fung Ying is - but don't think I'll be revealing that secret here...

I'm relieved to see that Amazon has the fourth book in this series listed with a publication date of 2018, so I already have something to look forward to next year!

RATING:  10 forged birth certificates out of 10 for keeping young adult mystery series as they should be - fun, suspenseful, and engaging!