Samantha Wolf Mysteries, Book Twelve - The Mystery at Ocean Side

This twelfth book in the Samantha Wolfe Mysteries series, written by Tara Ellis, appears to be the last.  It was first published in 2022, which was four years ago, and I'm not finding any indication that another book was solicited or even hinted at by the author.  In today's market, a 12-book run is not bad; however, I can't deny my fondness of ongoing series (such as Nancy Drew, which has been ongoing for more than 90 years at this point!).  That being said, if this book is to be the final Samantha Wolf mystery, then Ellis did a bang up job of going out on a high note.  The mystery is creative, the new characters engaging, and the danger just enough to give the book some suspense.  Plus, Ellis does something surprising with the narrative form of this book - after 11 books written in the present tense, Ellis offers readers a break with this final mystery, as it is written completely in past tense!  As soon as I starting reading the first page, my mind immediately picked up on the difference - it was a smooth read without that initial jarring I usually felt when reading present tense tales.  I thought perhaps this first part would be a flashback, and she would switch to her standard present tense narrative, but nope.  Ellis maintained the past tense narrative throughout the entire book, making it the easiest read of the series!

 

That being said, The Mystery at Ocean Side introduces readers to Sam's new neighbor, Tanner Hobbs. He and his father have just moved to Ocean Side for two reasons: one, Mr. Hobbs has taken a new position with the same company who employs Mr. Parker (the father of Sam's best friend, Ally); and two, Mr. Hobbs has inherited the land in Ocean Side known as "Hobbit Hollow" - where an old resort owned by Tanner's grandfather burned down years ago, and the residents of Ocean Side believe is haunted by the ghost of the one person who died at the time.  Sam and Ally, and their brothers (Hunter and John, respectively), find young Tanner to be a bit off-putting, but gradually he warms up to the teens, and soon all five of them are camping with Mr. Hobbs on the land he has inherited.  Sam is excited at the prospect of exploring and, maybe, catching a glimpse of the so-called ghost.  Of course, the haunting of Hobbit Hollow is not the only mystery afoot.

 

Ellis throws in a bigger mystery involving the death of Mr. Hobbs' father and his Will.  It seems he left most of the land to Mr. Hobbs, but a small island just off the coast he has bequeathed to a woman named Stephanie Davis, who arrives in Ocean Side with her daughter, Alayna, to claim her inheritance!  Hobbs is taken by surprise, especially when Mrs. Davis claims to have no knowledge of Hobbs' father and no understanding of why he would leave her the island.  Sam senses there is much more here than meets the eye, and even though she has promised her parents not to get involved in any more mysteries, she cannot help herself.  She offers Tanner her help, and before you can blink an eye, Sam and the gang are assisting Tanner in his search for the truth - a search that leads them to a small cabin located in the woods of the Hobbs' property, where Tanner finds a journal left there by his grandfather.  A journal that has a number of drawings, all of which are clues to help Tanner "right a wrong" done generations ago!

 

It's a well-crafted mystery with fun clues, and while the culprit sort of comes out of left field (no one even knows this person exists until half-way through the book!), it is still an enjoyable read.  The missing treasure, the heart-breaking backstory, and the climactic confrontation with a gun-toting villain whose greed sees him threatening young teens without a second thought are all part of this dramatic story, and, of course, Sam's quick thinking is what manages to put the clues together to reveal the location of the long-lost treasure.

 

I'm kind of disappointed to see this series reach its end.  While it was not necessarily my favorite must-read series, it consistently offered decent mysteries with main characters that evolved and matured as the series progressed, gradually adding to the supporting cast (adding Hunter and John, as well as Cassie, along the way), and I though the addition of both Tanner and Alayna in this book would have offered some fresh blood into the series for future stories.  Who knows?  Two years passed between books 11 and 12, so perhaps sometime in the near future, Ellis will get inspired to revisit the world of Ocean Side and share another Samantha Wolf mystery with her fans.  If not, at least she can rest easy knowing she gave readers a solid 12-book series that is worth the read.

 

RATING:  8 plush armchairs with stuffing hanging out of 10 for offering up one final mystery for Samantha Wolf to solve, filled with ghosts, treasures, and wills - all the makings for a great story! 

Secret of Pirates' Cave - a Thorne Twins Adventure Book

This is a book I picked up for a couple of reasons.  First, the title is reminiscent of the second Bobbsey Twins mystery published back in 1980 under the Simon & Schuster "Wanderer" imprint, with even the cover art bearing a slight resemblance to that book.  Second, the book features twins (a brother and sister), and I'm always picking up books about twins - although, unlike the Bobbseys, this series features only one set of twins, not two.  Now, normally, I would not pick up just one book in a series - my OCD would force me to go find all of the other books in the series, so I can have a complete set!  In this case, however, I made an exception, since my main reason was the similarity in title and cover art - the fact that it features twins is merely a bonus.  I could not find out anything about the author, Dayle Courtney, and it appears this series is the only books written by the author.

 

Secret of Pirates' Cave is the 19th, and from what I could find, final title in the Thorne Twins Adventure Book series. Interestingly, the book opens not with the title characters, but with one of their ancestors, Eric Thorne, and his family, who are sailing along the California coast, preparing to settle and start a new life in America in the year 1850.  Their ship inadvertently runs into a pirate ship, and the band of pirates - led by one known only as Scarab - take over the ship, stealing all of the family's belongings, as well as those belonging to the Roberts family, who has joined them in their adventure to the New World.  It is not until the second chapter where we flash-forward 130 years to the present, where young Eric Thorne and his twin sister, Alison, are sitting down to dinner, and Eric is telling his father about a boy in his class that shared a story about his ancestors having been robbed by pirates along with another family by the last name "Thorne."  It is here that the twins learn from their father the history of Eric's namesake, and how the stolen good were never recovered - however, the pirate reformed later in life and wrote a letter that he sent to both the Thorne and Roberts families, giving each half of the directions as to where they could find their stolen valuables (hmmm, what other story have I read where there are two pieces of a "map" that must be put together to lead the sleuths to a lost treasure...?).  The two families never found each other, and so the treasures were never recovered.  Until now...

 

As with all good series books, it's a series of coincidences that puts Terry Roberts in Eric Thorne's class, and provides them the opportunity to join forces to locate their family's heirlooms.  As Mr. Thorne is heading to Africa for his work, he sends Eric and Alison to California with Terry to visit Terry's aunt and cousin, who live in a large house on a hill, just outside of Monterey.  While the Thorne family had kept and preserved the pirate's letter and half-instructions, those sent to the Roberts family had been lost over the years, and no one knew where to find them.  Thus, the children plan to inspect every inch of the Roberts' ancestral home in the hopes of finding the other half to those instructions so they can find the treasure. The house is filled with plenty of hidden compartments and secret passages, and after some false starts, they happen across the missing half of the instructions in the pocket of a pair of pants they find inside an old trunk hidden away in a cave far beneath the great house.  Now, armed with both halves of the instructions, Eric, Alison, and Terry firmly believe they will find their families' missing heirlooms!

The author does not make it easy on the kids.  With a letter written over a century before, the places mentioned in the letter are certain to have changed considerably.  The old church was long destroyed after an earthquake.  The stained glass through which the light points the way is no longer there.  The walled fort, the boulder in the shape of a lion's head ... such cryptic clues made all the more hard to decipher, since the landscape has changed so much over the past hundred years.  But the twins are determined, especially Eric, whose growing desire to find that treasure and become rich seems to increase in strength the closer they get to finding it.  He refuses to give up, even if that means breaking a few laws to find the lost heirlooms - such as sneaking into a cemetery at night, breaking into a caretaker's shack, and opening a long-sealed crypt, all in the hope of recovering the Thornes' and the Roberts' stolen belongings.

 

Astute readers will begin to pick up on some subtle clues along the way that someone is working against them - someone wants the kids to find the treasure only so they can take it away from them.  There's the sudden appearance of the "ghost" that haunts the cemetery.  There's the odd reluctance of the elderly caretaker to provide the twins and their cousin with any information regarding the old pirate and his family (as it seems the pirate changed his ways, turned to God, and worked hard to make amends for his old life - including sending that letter to the two families, in the hopes they would forgive him if they got their heirlooms back!).  There's the strange feeling that someone is always watching them, following them, always just out of sight.  But, as with any good teen detectives, these three persevere, ultimately finding the missing treasure - which discovery also brings to light some secrets about the two families that have repercussions on a number of members of the families!

 

From what I have been able to learn about the Thorne Twins series, this is the last book in the series.  It is a rather unique series, in that it is a Christian-based series, with the main characters devout in their faith; yet, the mysteries involve chasing UFOs (book 17), saving a captive girl from a drug ring (book 16), finding a foreign dignitary (book 15), chasing down bigfoot (book 13), outwitting terrorists (book 12), and even fighting to stop a civil war on an island in the Aegean Sea (book 11)!  These are some rather adult themes for a young adult series, and definitely some themes I am surprised to find in a Christian-based series.  Although, if the rest of the series is anything like this book, right always conquers wrong, and any temptations the twins may face (such as the idea of riches in this book), by the end of the story they see the folly of their ways and realize their faith in God is more important than anything else.

 

As indicated above, I picked up this book because of the similarity in title and cover art to the second Bobbsey Twins books published back in 1980. Since this book did not come out until four years later, one is left to wonder if the Courtney, or the cover artist for this book (who is unidentified, although could be John Ham, who provided the interior illustrations), was influenced by the earlier Bobbsey Twins' book.  The stories are not overly similar, since this book is set in California and the Bobbseys travel to Bermuda in their book.  However, both stories involve pirate thieves and hidden caves under a property that is used for smuggling.  It is the covers that are more similar, with the boat heading for a cave, and the girl standing/seated above the boys, looking toward the dark entrance of the cave ahead of them.  What's funny about this is that the Bobbsey Twins' book, Secret in the Pirates' Cave, is actually taken from an even older book written by Andrew Svenson (using the pseudonym Alan Stone), The Mystery of Pirate Island, which was the second of the three-book Tollivers series published back in 1967.  When the Stratemeyer Syndicate needed new titles for their new Bobbsey Twins series being published by Simon & Schuster, they simply took the three Tollivers books and replaced the names of those characters with the names of the Bobbsey Twins and published them as "new" books in the Bobbseys' series!  Thus, we have one basic story, and three books...

 

While I did enjoy the story for the most part, it was not engaging enough for me to want to go out and hunt down the entire series.  I'll simply put this with my Bobbsey Twins collection as a knock-off of one of their books.

 

RATING:  7 broken lanterns out of 10 for combining pirate legends, hidden treasures, secret passages, and torn maps into a fun little mystery! 

Trudy Phillips, Headline Year - the second Trudy Phillips book

This two-book series has been my introduction, of sorts, into the world of "malt shop" stories, and I must say, I rather enjoyed them.  The first book offered up a slight mystery mixed in with plenty of school days adventures and teen angst, and the second book pretty much followed the same form, albeit with an even slighter mystery.  Written by Barbara (S.) Bates (1919-2002), the series follows the life of its title character after her family moves to Tylertown. In the first book, Trudy is trying to find out where she belongs in this new town and new school; now, in this second book, she has adjusted to life in Tylertown and is ready to forge ahead with plans for her future and a brand new friend!

 

Trudy Phillips, Headline Year picks up literally where the first book left off.  For those who may not remember,  Trudy not only made friends with the very popular Gloria Holden, but she welcomed her into her home (as Gloria's parents were never really present, leaving the young teen by herself most of the time).  Now, as this book opens, Trudy is helping Gloria carry her many suitcases into the Phillips home, where Gloria will share a room with Trudy.  Quite frankly, this book is almost as much about Gloria and her growth as it is about Trudy's.  One would think that after finally admitting her loneliness by the end of the previous book, Gloria would have been somewhat humbled - but, no, in this book, Trudy finds herself at odds with her new friend a/k/a roommate a/k/a "sister," as Gloria has taken a dislike to Trudy's dog, Tucker, and even worse, she has a clear disdain for Alice Johnson, the new girl at school!  Trudy finds herself caught between the two, as she remembers what it was like to be the new girl (after all, that was just in the last book!), and she wants to make Alice feel welcome, but at the same time, she does not want to alienate Gloria after spending most of the last book trying to win her friendship!

 

Bates takes the characters from Christmas, through the New Year, on to Valentine's Day, before reaching the end during the St. Patrick's Day celebration - and during that time, Trudy and her friends face a number of challenges.  When one of the journalism students moves away, there is a spot open on the school's newspaper, The Sentinel, and Trudy decides she wants to try for the position.  She manages to win the coveted spot, and now finds she must learn to balance her time between school, the newspaper, her dog, her family, and her friends! And speaking of her dog ... poor Tucker has his own set of challenges, as Trudy desperately tries to train him, but finds herself at a loss to teach the dog to obey.  The shy new girl takes a liking to Tucker and agrees to help, but she is frightened away time and again by Gloria's actions towards her, as well as towards the dog.  Then there is the overcrowding on the school busses and in the lunch room that leads to a student revolt, inadvertently spurred on by the school paper!  On top of all of this, there are two mysteries that weave their way through the story:  (1) who is the anonymous writer who provides the paper with some well-written and though provoking articles, and (2) why does Alice always  wear a turban and never invited anyone to her house?

 

The various storylines provide Bates with plenty of opportunity for drama and teen angst, particularly since these kids are just at the age where they are starting to like the opposite sex.  Thus, everyone is worried about dates for the New Year's parties, for the Valentine's Day dance, as well as for the St. Patrick's Day celebration.  I, for one, was glad to see Trudy remains faithful to her glasses-wearing, college-level word spouting friend, Steve (the two of them made it to the cover of the book!), and does not fall sway to Alice's rather handsome older brother - a young man who Gloria sets her eyes on!  I also enjoyed reading Trudy's repeated attempts to make friends with Alice, despite her constant brush-offs and her secretive nature surrounding her family and her turban.  The mystery surrounding the latter is actually revealed about half-way through the book, and it is Trudy's mother who uncovers the reason the girls is always wearing something over her hair (p. 173).  I won't spoil it, but let's just say the reason given is factually accurate, as I did some research to see if it was real or not - and it was definitely real!

 

The student strike due to overcrowding was a bit much, as I can't imagine any school, particularly back in the 1950s, would have so easily given in to student demands when most of the school walks out and begins to picket rather than attending class.  Perhaps I am looking back with rose-colored glasses, but it seems to me that school authorities (principals, teachers, administration, etc.) had a much more firm control over the student body than to allow what takes place in this book.  And I do realize that a lot of it was for dramatic purposes, and part of it was a fictionalized telling of what junior high school students would probably love to be able to do in order to get their way.  At least Bates gave her title character and her friends some backbone to stand up to the strikers and find a way to get everyone back in class before things get too far out of hand. 

 

One surprise I found while reading the book was a pop culture reference, when Alice finally invites Trudy over to her house and they listen to some records - including a "new" version of "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" by Frank Bye (p. 259).   While the song is definitely a real one, made famous by The Platters back in the late 1950s (four years AFTER this book was published!), and was covered by numerous artists thereafter, I was unable to find any version by someone named "Frank Bye."  The first recorded version was by Gertrude Niesen in 1933, then recorded by Nat "King" Cole in 1946, and after that, it was performed in the 1952 film adaptation of Roberta.  Numerous others have covered the song since.

 

Dorothy Grider once again provides the art for this book.  The end pages are the same as the first book, with all of the students milling outside of the school and Trudy running up to the steps on her first day at the new school.  The illustrations feature black and white line drawings with splashes of color, either pink or a pastel blue/green. Nearly every chapter has an illustration to complement the story taking place therein, and while there is nothing too exciting in the scenes (after all, this is not a fast-paced Stratemeyer series book that is dependent on lots of action and cliffhangers!), it is fun to see some of the choices made - from Trudy and Gloria carrying all of Gloria's things into the Phillips house to Alice's budding affection for Trudy's dog (in no less than three of the illustrations!) to couples at the various parties.  One particular illustration I thought was well done was where Trudy is upset by her father's reaction regarding the events unfolding at her school (p. 209) - I felt Grider really captured Trudy's emotion exceptionally well on the girl's face, such that it was clear to see just how upset she was without even having to read the story!

 

It's rather a shame this series ended with this second book.  Sure, they are not the most exciting stories in the world, but they are fun with some endearing characters that quickly grow on you (yes, even Gloria).  Trudy, Spooky, Gloria, Doug, Steve, Mike, Ginger, and now Alice - a better group of friends you are unlikely to find in any other series book!

 

RATING:  8 heavy white wool mittens out of 10 for expressing the ups and downs of a teenagers life with realistic and fictional drama woven into an engaging story that never drags nor bores! 

Whitman Mystery Stories - Gene Autry and the Thief River Outlaws

This book is definitely a far cry from what I would normally read.  As I mentioned in a recent post about the Judge Colt comic book series (Judge Colt - Gold Key Comics), I am not a fan of westerns.  The only reasons I picked this book up is because (a) I have grown to realize that a number of these Whitman Authorized Editions actually contain some really good stories, (b) the book came with its original dust jacket in pretty good shape, and (c) the price was right.  I set it on my "to be read" pile some time ago and left it there.  Well, after enjoying the Judge Colt series from Gold Key comics, I thought I might as well give this book a try and see how it holds up.

 

Gene Autry and the Thief River Outlaws is one of two Whitman Authorized Editions about the western movie star, both written by Bob Hamilton. This book, copyright 1944, appears to be the first of the two, with the second being published two years later in 1946 (Gene Autry and the Redwood Pirates).  While the book uses Autry's name and likeness, and while the character is quite well-known to the people in the story, it is not the actual Gene Autry in the tale (which makes sense, since the story takes place in the 1800s and the Old West, and the actor was clearly not around then - he simply make films about that time!).  Autry is basically a drifter, going from town to town, sometimes serving as a special deputy for law enforcement, other times simply helping out those in need, such as takes place in this book.  Like the real Gene Autry, the book-Autry has a horse named Champ, clearly modeled after the real Autry's horse, Champion.  

 

The story is the typical western fare, which you would have likely seen on the big screen.  Autry has been asked to come to Thief River Canyon to help out a friend of a friend.  It seems Jim Farnsworth is have some difficulty with the construction of a bridge that is to cross the canyon, which would allow trains to save time by taking a direct route rather than going around the canyon.  But Farnsworth has been laid up after an accident has left him with an injured leg.  On top of that, strange accidents have been taking place - the workers were all made sick through food poisoning; necessary parts were delivered to the wrong place, delaying work; a nearby fire resulted in the men being called away to help put it out; and the donkey engine broke down, resulting in more lost time while they waited for a new part.  (And for those wondering, like me, what is a donkey engine?  well, that happens to be a steam or internal combustion engine with a winch and drums used for pulling cables to move heavy loads!)

 

Farnsworth and his right-hand man, Tennessee (his real name is never said) are certain someone is behind all of these mishaps, and Gene Autry has been called in to investigate.  Autry is concerned an old enemy of his, Trig Marsden, might be involved, but the workmen have to wonder if the new engineer, Dude Dudley, is not the cause.  (Man, you just gotta love these names!)  One of the workers winds up dead when the cables on the donkey engine snap, and Farnsworth has to struggle to keep men from walking off the job.  Autry starts to look into things, and he learns that if Farnsworth does not complete the job within a specified time, the government will take it away from him and turn it over to Mr. Hind, a competing engineer who is only ready to take the job (and the money that comes with it!) away.  But will he really sabotage the work being done just to make a buck?  What do you think....?

 

Surprisingly, there are no gunfights or showdowns at sunrise as one would expect in a western tale. However, there is plenty of kidnapping, brawls, and horseback riding to remind you that this is definitely an Old West tale.  Plus, we have the one obligatory woman thrown into the mix - Betty Jackson.  A not-so-near neighbor who has been coming over to cook and keep house for Farnsworth while he is down and out.  She has plenty of playful banter with Tennessee, and she's got quite the backbone, not being taken in by Dudley's plays for her.  Of course, as anyone with common sense can figure out, when a woman in a story like this is determined to keep a particular man away from her, it is pretty much a given she will end up with him by the end of the story ... and, wouldn't you know it, this book is no different.  

 

While the story was somewhat entertaining, I have to say that the climax is what I would consider the saving grace for this book (at least for those, like me, who don't really enjoy westerns). The villains have sabotaged the bridge itself on the night before the train is set to cross for the first time - just when they think they are going to win, Autry shows up with Hind in tow, forcing Hind on to the train to take the ride with them.  Well, you can pretty much guess what Hind's reaction will be, seeing as how he knows exactly what's been done to the bridge!  I found myself cheering Autry's ingenuity in turning the tables on the crooks and forcing them to reveal their own dirty work before any damage is done!

 

The interior art is provided by Dan Muller.  I can't say for certain, but it appears Muller is likely the same Dan Muller (1889- 1976) who was a real-life cowboy, known for his art depicting scenes of the American West.  It would only make sense that an artist such as Muller would be chosen to illustrate a book like this.  His line drawings give the reader a definite feel for the period and location, making it evident the artist was quite familiar with the subject matter.  His end pages provide a rather tame scene where Autry goes into town to see what he can find out about Trig Marsden, and it even accurately shows "Pete Lonergin's Cafe" as referenced in the story itself.  Unlike many of the end pages in Whitman books, this one does not spoil any of the action or surprises from the story.  The book came with two different dust jackets - one, which I have, showing a group of cowboys galloping across the plane with an inset of the actor, Gene Autry; the other is a full wrap around cover, which shows a full-figure of Autry, holding his gun and lasso on the front, and standing beside Champ on the back.  Not sure what prompted the change in covers, and honestly, I can't say which one came first (although some sellers online list what they call "first printings" of the book with the dust jacket I have, so perhaps that is the case).

 

While not exactly my cup of tea, I will say that the story was well-plotted and had its moments.

 

RATING:  7 orders of hydrochloric acid out of 10 for a western adventure filled with plenty of action and a bit of mystery, along with a few surprise twists at the end.

Trudy Phillips, New Girl - the first Trudy Phillips book

This series is the first "malt shop" series that I've read (even though I have quite a few of them in my collection).  For those unfamiliar with the term, "malt shop books" refers to books from the mid-20th Century with female protagonists that addressed teen problems in a very clean, wholesome way.  Many were romances and/or career girl stories, but some (like this one) feature a certain element of mystery.  Popular authors from this genre were Janet Lambert, Rosamond du Jardin (my mother's favorite author when she was a teenager), among others.  Whitman Publishing actually published several series in this genre:  Donna Parker, Ginny Gordon, Polly French, and our very own Trudy Phillips.  Trudy only had two books, while Polly had three, Ginny had five and Donna beat them all with seven books in her series.  Since poor Trudy only had two, I figured I would start with hers.

 

Trudy Phillips, New Girl was written by Barbara (S.) Bates (1919 - 2002).  According to the Pennsylvania Center for the Book, Bates was a prolific author, penning quite a few books before her death in 2002, both in the realms of fiction and non-fiction.  In addition, Bates also authored articles about books for literary journals. (Author - Barbara S. Bates) Surprisingly, her books for young readers were published under her own name, rather than a house pseudonym.  The two Trudy Phillips books appear to be the only two she wrote for Whitman Publishing.

 

This first book of the two-book series introduces readers to  14-year old Trudy Phillips, whose family has recently moved to Tylertown where her father has been transferred by his job.  Trudy is very unhappy, as she is having to start a new school.  She bemoans the fact that at her previous school, she was very popular and was a shoe-in as class president for the year.  Now, as a "new girl," she would not know anyone and would have to catch upon several weeks of school work she missed due to the move.  The story's focus is on Trudy's status as the "new girl" at school, the problems she faces, the difficulties she overcomes, the friendships (and enemies!) she makes, and the successes she enjoys as she navigates this new school and its students.  While the book does feature a minor mystery involving various thefts of money, that is more of a sub-plat than the main story.

 

Bates provides Trudy with quite a large supporting cast - besides her parents (Mr. and Mrs. Phillips), there is her younger brother Johnny, a precocious red-headed prankster; there is "Spooky" Ruddle (a/k/a Gwen Ruddle), a young tom-boyish girl in her class who quickly becomes her best friend; there is Mike, the foreign boy who is also new to the school and shares Trudy's concerns about people liking him; there is Stephen, the class nerd who is everyone's go-to if they need help with classes; there is Doug, the editor of the school newspaper; then there are Susan, Ginger, Debby, Dick, Bob, Cynthia, and plenty of other classmates, including Gloria Holden -  the most beautiful, most talented, and most popular girl in the class, who always knows how to make an entrance and who is always the center of attention.  Trudy decides right away she would like to get to know Gloria and hopefully become friends with her.  And this is how the story begins...

 

The book finds Trudy facing any number of teenage problems - from being the only one not invited to Gloria Holden's big party (to be held on Halloween, the same day Spooky holds her annual birthday party!) to inadvertently beating Gloria during a class debate, making an immediate enemy of the girl.  She also must figure out a way to save up $20 in order to purchase this puppy from the town's pet store, while at the same time working on the class play, worrying about whether anyone will ask her to the Thanksgiving dance, and deciding whether she should run for class secretary, as all her friends want her to do.  In addition to all of these, Trudy is also determined to make friends with Gloria, even going so far as to invite her to a party she throws, over all of her friends' objections (which causes a brief rift between Spooky and her).

 

The mystery asserts itself in various places throughout the book.  Money from the ticket sales for the play goes missing.  Stephen's envelope filled with his savings to buy a new bike disappears from his locker.  Debby loses her silver dollar at the school dance.  Money from the school store's cash box is taken.  The more incidents that occur, the more it becomes obvious that one of the students is stealing money.  Stephen and Trudy work with one of the teachers to try and set a trap for the thief, but that goes awry, and the money used as bait disappears, but the thief is nowhere to be seen.  The mystery is not really that difficult (from the very first theft, it was obvious who was doing it and why), but it does add a unique element to the story (and since I'm more of a mystery reader than a romance reader, it definitely made reading this book more enjoyable!).

 

Something I thought was interesting was Bates gave Trudy a "collection of foreign dolls" in her room (p. 32).  It's not too often you come across a series book character who is a collector, and particularly, as in this instance, someone who collects foreign dolls.  It immediately brought to mind the Nancy Drew book, The Clue in the Old Album, as well as the Meg book, Mystery in Williamsburg, both of which featured mysteries that centered around doll collections.  Only, in this book, the dolls are mentioned in passing and never become a part of the story.  Leaves one to wonder why Bates even mentions them at all, unless it is to give Trudy a stronger feminine side to her character (since collecting dolls could be seen as more of a female hobby).

 

The book is illustrated by Dorothy Grider (1915 - 2012), who happens to be a Kentucky native (my home state!).  She got her BA at Western Kentucky State College and went on to study art in Paris.  Grider illustrated a large number of children's books, including the Trudy Phillips books for Whitman.  Her two-page endpapers depicts a scene that coincides with the cover art (also provided by Grider, based on what I was able to discern online) - both scenes reflect Trudy's arrival of her first day at Tylertown Junior High School (finally! endpapers that do not spoil any of the story, as so many of Whitman's books seem to do!).  The endpapers show her hurrying towards the front doors, with groups of students standing around (and it's amazing how easily one can pick out the various characters in their scene, as Grider definitely utilized the character descriptions for her art - with Dick talking to Gloria on the bottom right, while Steven is chatting with Ginny (or Debby) on the bottom left side, while Mike and Spooky are hurrying through the gate).  The brightly colored cover shows the same scene moments later, as Trudy climbs those front steps, with Steven and Spooky seated on the steps and Mike leaning against the wall.  Trudy is even wearing the red sweater and plaid skirt (p. 11) described in the book.  The cover wraps around to the back, where we find Gloria talking with one boy, while another is watching them from the window.  

 

While I've seen mixed reviews about the book online, I rather enjoyed the story.  The mix of theater and mystery, swirled around with all of the other teen antics, made for a rather fun drama.  And I actually found myself identifying with characteristics from several of the characters, which endeared me to pretty much all of them (except Gloria - the typical mean girl!).  Overall, I think this was a great introduction to the Malt Shop Book genre, and I am looking forward to reading the second book in this series.

RATING:  8 yards of glimmering brocade in the palest shade out of 10 for terrific tale of teen angst, romance, mystery, parties, theater, elections, and everything else that would make for an enjoyable read! 

The Mystery of the Brobdingnagian Beast - the Second (new) Three Investigators Mystery

It has taken me a few months, but I finally picked up the second book in this new series of The Three Investigators.  Elizabeth Arthur, the daughter of Robert Arthur (the writer of the original series), and her husband, Steven Bauer, are clearly trying to re-establish these characters and this series in the 21st century, and it is evident from the stories that they are making certain changes in the hope to appeal to today's readers.  In some ways, I am fine with that.  Obviously, the use of technology (cell phones, internet, etc.) makes obvious sense, since kids today would likely not know how to function without these things.  But other changes, such as the change in heritage for each of the investigators, feel forced and unnecessary, as if the authors are making the changes simply to show that Pete, Jupiter, and Bob are not simply "white, American boys."  Whatever the reason, I hope the authors move away from the constant emphasis on their family heritage and move back to what made these stories great back in the day - the great mysteries and the fun interaction between the boys!

 

The Mystery of the Brobdingnagian Beast picks up not long after the conclusion of the first mystery.  The three boys are excited at the prospect of receiving money from Isabella Change, for whom they helped clear up some mysteries surrounding her family's past (and find some long-lost gold in the process!) - see the previous book, The Mystery of the Abecedarian Academy.  They have ideas on how to not only save that money for college, but to use part of it to buy a car and hire a chauffeur (since their time with Worthington was now over).  But fate has a way of keeping these boys busy, and before the first chapter is over, Pete's father, who is working a set construction supervisor for a historical film about John Fremont, and his impact on California and the old west, wants Pete, Bob, and Jupiter to come visit the set with him to help solve a mystery.  It seems ever since a man named Daniel Hernandez has published a book that disputes the claims of Dr. Phillipa Paxton, upon whose book the film is based, the movie has been plagued with problems.  Small mishaps, such as stolen equipment and break-ins, have been happening, and there is a group known as OUTLAW (Outing Lawbreakers from Past Centuries) that has been loudly protesting at the film site.  The Three Investigators are only more than happy to look into it!

 

From the beginning, it is not really hard to see who is causing all the problems, and even the three boys are fairly certain who the criminal is - it's just a matter of proving it.  Thus, the mystery is focused less on who is committing the crimes and more on how and why he is committing the crimes.  John Fremont, who is the central figurehead of the mystery, was a real person (January 21, 1813 - July 13, 1980), and as related in the book, he did, with the help of Kit Carson, explore the new country, deep into the western area - and, just like stated in the book, there was an incident where three unarmed men were murdered by Carson and a couple of other men, and it still remains a mystery today whether they murdered the men of their own volition, or if it were on the orders of Fremont.  Elizabeth Arthur and her husband use this as the focal point of their mystery, as Dr. Paxton is said to have two letters in her possession from Kit Carson that exonerate Fremont, while Hernandez has a letter that lays the blame right at Fremont's feet.  Someone has a forged letter, and it is up the Three Investigators to figure out who.

 

Not all of the historical information in the book is on point, however, so one has to be careful to take all of the "history" given in the story as factual.  While Mallory (remember that Scottish girl the boys met in the first book?) tells Pete that John Fremont's wife made a bear flag for him as a present, measuring 15 feet by 20 feet; however, the legend is that his wife made him a flag with an eagle in the upper corner, which Fremont carried with him on his first expedition into Wyoming.  Thus, Arthur and Bauer fudge the facts a little bit to keep in theme with the mystery (and her alleged 15 x 20 flag does play an important part of the mystery, as the boys are commissioned with locating someone who supposedly has a replica of the flag, which, when they find it, turns out to be the original and not a copy!).

 

I did enjoy the reference that Pete makes to "an old science fiction TV show he'd seen a couple of times on late night TV" (p. 157); although, I'm not sure if I like the idea that it is considered an "OLD" science fiction show!  Pete describes it as "a show in which the aliens looked just like regular human beings, though if you ripped off their skin, they were really lizards underneath" (p. 157). That's a great way of describing the NBC television show V without actually naming it. Again, I just hate the idea that the show is labeled as "old" (although, looking at the facts, the show did come out in 1984, which was over forty years ago now!).  Yet, despite omitting the name to this show, Arthur and Bauer had no problem name-dropping Jurassic Park, The Terminator, The Fifth Element, and The Deer Hunter as movies Pete had seen with his father.

 

I also agree with the authors' view on news reporting, which is expressed by Mr. Andrews (Bob's father) when he and Bob's mother are discussing how everything has become politicized - from teaching at universities to news reporting.  "News reporting at least used to try to be objective, but now every article reads as though it belongs on the Opinion page," he says, going to say that journalists "need to work as hard as we can to present facts, not opinions - to stick to the objective truth" (p. 197).  Mrs. Andrews even pipes in with the comment that "Anything else is basically propaganda" (p. 197).  This is clearly a commentary on the state of teaching and reporting in today's society, and quite frankly, I could not agree more.

 

What I do have to question about the authors' choices, though, is the imprinting of previously never stated ethnic backgrounds for the boys.  As we learned in the first book, Bob's mother is Chinese, and people have sometimes commented that they see it in Bob's eyes.  In this book, we learn that Jupiter's mother had been Serbian, and, thus, he was able in this mystery to determine that a particular character was Serbian and how to pronounce his name (p. 125).  We also find out that Pete's father is Mexican-American (p. 90).  The author's webpage (The Salvage Yard) reveals that she wanted to build upon the boy's backgrounds, to more fully flesh out the characters as befitting of the "melting pot" nature of America, and therefore, Bob, Jupiter, and Pete suddenly have a mixture of ethnic heritages.  Unfortunately, the expression of these ethnicities feels forced and does not read naturally within the stories.  Nor does the fact that Pete's family is Catholic, yet his mother is caught up in "other interpretations of the invisible world" (p. 1), such as I Ching, serve any real purpose.  I am all for diversity, and I love for the stories I read to represent the reality of different people that exist in our world; but I am not overly thrilled when new authors take existing characters and change them simply for the sake of wanting to promote "diversity."  If there were a compelling reason to reveal these "new" backgrounds (say, for instance, a mystery was to take the boys to Serbia, where they had to solve a mystery involving one of Jupiter's distant relatives), that would be one thing.  But imprinting the boys with these new backgrounds without reason feels unnecessary and forced.

 

Oh, for those wondering about the title - the word "Brobdingnagian" comes from the book, Gulliver's Travels, which Mallory reads during the course of the story.  "Gulliver goes to another country called Brogdingnag, which has a race of giants, and where everyone is huge," she tells the boys (p. 87).  At the end, when Bob is trying to come up with a "B" word to go with Bear or Beast, Pete suggests the name.  Bob likes it, commenting, "in a way, it's been there all the time ... something large and menacing..." (p. 310). 

 

Aside from that, the mystery itself was fairly entertaining, and the boys do retain their natural instincts for working together to solve a crime.  I have the third book in the series (I bought the first three at one time when they came out), and I'm going to give the series another chance - but, to be completely honest, I'm not really overwhelmed by the stories, and they do not have the same feel that the originals had.  The next book will determine whether I continue buying and reading the books, or whether I shelve these alongside the originals and simply re-read the originals for my TI fix!

 

RATING:  7  Ghost-to-Ghost hookup e-mails out of 10 for navigating the worlds of movie-making, history, publishing, and social media and mixing them into a relatively enjoyable mystery to read!

A Ted Wilford Mystery, no. 14 - The S.S. Shamrock Mystery

With this fourteenth Ted Wilford mystery, I have reached the penultimate book in this series.  I have to say, when I started reading this books, I certainly never thought I would make my way to the end of the series, but here I am, just one book away from finishing it.  For the most part, the stories have been much more enjoyable than I ever expected.  Sure, some have certainly been better than others, but I think I like the fact these mysteries are more cerebral and less about adventure, as most boys' series are.  I also like the fact that Ted and his best friend, Nelson Morgan, have aged and matured through the stories, going from high school to college and expanding their knowledge and experience in the world of newspaper reporting.  The particular story definitely took the boys in an unexpected direction, and not necessarily for the better (in my opinion).

 

The S.S. Shamrock Mystery opens with the boys being hired, more or less, by one Mrs. Dundee, who runs a rather successful shipping company.  One of her ships, the Shamrock MI, has been having a number of small incidents happen lately that, by themselves, do not mean much, but when added all together, it raises the question of whether someone is trying to sabotage the freighter and keep it from completing its deliveries on time. Mrs. Dundee is afraid it is a competitor who is vying for some very important shipping rights, which, if she were to lose, could cost her company considerable money.  Ted and Nelson readily agree to assume a new role as sailors for a few weeks during the break from college and see if they can uncover anything while on board.  They are told only the captain and one crew member will know who they are and why they are really on board, so the must be discreet in their investigation.

 

Thus, within the first few pages of the book, author Norvan Pallas sets up the mystery that Ted and Nelson will be trying to solve.  The only problem I had with the story is that Pallas gets sidetracked way too often with his descriptions of the water routes taken by the Shamrock.  Not only do we get overly detailed descriptions of boating regulations in the shipping lanes, but explicitly outlined routes taken by the ship as it traverses the rivers around the Great Lakes.  Harriet Stratemeyer Adams could have taken a cue from Mr. Pallas when it comes to providing readers with some real-life facts about the setting of the story.  Unlike most of the other mysteries, Ted and Nelson do not take a very active role in solving this mystery.  Instead, they just seem to constantly ponder the things that happen around them - the missing crew member, the boat that appears without lights in the middle of the night, the seemingly random stolen items on board the ship, the false directives given to the communications officer, and so on.  Rather than taking the initiative to hunt down clues and ferret out information, they basically go over the same questions repeatedly until the answers fall in their lap!

 

Pallas does scatter a few obscure clues throughout the story to help the reader along, but the first three-fourths of the book reads more like a boys' adventure tale of life on the sea rather than a mystery.  It is not until the final quarter of the book that things start to really come to a head, and the mystery finally moves to the forefront.  At least then we start to get some excitement, as Ted and Nelson finally begin to do more than question everything and start to put the pieces together regarding the mysterious night boat, the missing crewman, and all of the other strange occurrences.  There is a rather clever misdirect involving a criminal that one crew member's father is investigating, as well as some doubt regarding another crew member's real identity.  The saboteur's true identity eventually comes to light, and Mrs. Dundee's ship and her contract are saved by the end (as if there were ever any doubt).

 

Interestingly, the scene depicted on the cover never actually occurs anywhere in the story.  I'm assuming the two boys are meant to be Ted and Nelson, and if so, at no time were they watching the Shamrock from a distance when they spot to mysterious boat making its way to the bigger ship. Every time Ted saw the night boat, he was aboard the Shamrock, looking out over the water.  Thus, I'm not sure why the cover artist drew the scene this way, but I suppose one can chalk it up to artistic license.

 

I was not overly thrilled with this story, and I hope the next, and final, book in the series gives readers a much better mystery to sign off on!

 

RATING:  6  tales of the Lake Superior sea serpent out of 10 for, at the very least, providing a uniquely different type of mystery for a series book like this.

Dana Girls Mystery Stories No. 4 - A Three Cornered Mystery

The fourth and final Dana Girls Mystery Story ghost-written by Hardy Boys author Leslie McFarlane was a bit better than the third book, thankfully.  It has been somewhat interesting to read all four of McFarlane's books in this series, especially comparing them with the outlines for the books provided by the Stratemeyer Syndicate - finding the commonalities among the books, seeing what aspects were provided by McFarlane and what was required by the outline, and reading how the stories varied in tone and style based upon his circumstances at the time he was writing the books. There is a consistent timeline for the books (from autumn to Thanksgiving to Christmas, and now to springtime with this fourth mystery), which is rare to see in series books where the protagonists never age - it's almost a shame the Syndicate did not keep with that timeline as the series went on under different ghostwriters.

 

A Three Cornered Mystery bears a very unusual name, leaving the reader to wonder exactly what it means.  I have to give them credit for the creativity, as even I was curious as to the meaning.  By the final chapters of the story, the reason for the title becomes clear, and it is extremely clever (you don't really think I'm going to give it away and ruin the surprise, do you?).  But let's start at the beginning, shall we?  The story starts off innocently enough - Jean and Louise are out riding horses when they chance to meet a real estate man from Oak Falls by the name of Taylor Lott (and if you know anything about real estate, you'll get that pun right off the bat!).  It turns out Mr. Lott is quite upset, as a gentleman who was working for him turned out to be a crook - stole quite a large sum of rental income from various properties Mr. Lott manages, as well as other important documents (p. 4).  The Dana Girls immediately smell a mystery!  Well, as it turns out, this mystery has so many coincidences in it, there was simply no way the sisters could not solve it!

 

Here there girls are told that Mr. Lott is looking for Edward Carrillo, and coincidentally enough, as soon as Mr. Lott and his assistant leave the tea room, who should show up but Mr. Carrillo (p. 9)!  They ply him with innocent questions to learn where he is headed, so they can pass the information along to Mr. Lott.  Upon returning to Starhurst, they read a letter from their Aunt Harriet who informs them her old school chum, Elizabeth Flower, is staying at the Danas' home because a man named Carrillo stole her money (p. 16)! As if that coincidence were not surprising enough, when a reporter by the name of Edith Darrow shows up at Starhurst and invites the Danas to spend the weekend at her farm, the girls are shocked to discover that Carrillo was a former border at the farm (p. 29)!  In the barn where Carrillo spent his time, the girls discover some hidden papers, which include a lottery ticket (p. 30), which plays an important part in helping the girls track down Mr. Carrillo later on.

 

Well, the coincidences keep coming - when the girls find the Darrows have disappeared from their own farm, a policeman shows up looking for the victim of a car accident who was hit near the farm - not only does that police officer turn out to be a distant relative of Aunt Harriet's friend, Elizabeth Flower (p. 50), but the mysterious man who showed up after the Darrows went missing is the car accident victim!  Later in the story, when the girls are staying with Mrs. Flower to assist her while she is allegedly ill, they make the connection that the accident victim is actually Mrs. Flower's nephew, James (p. 80).   And when Mrs. Flower's housekeeper quits, the Dana Girls just happen to be at the Darrow farm when Mrs. Carrillo arrives looking for her son - and she just happens to be a housekeeper who is looking for work (pp. 111-12).

 

Oh, but wait!  That's not all!  A detective hired by Mrs. Flower to locate Mr. Carrillo reveals to the Dana Girls that he has bigger fish to fry, as he is on the trail of an international spy by the name of Kurt Hassell (p. 148).  Well, when Uncle Ned takes the girls with him to New York City for their spring break, they stop at a hotel in New Jersey along the way where Uncle Ned accidentally enters the wrong room.  As fate would have it, the woman in that room has a photo of a man she says is Raymond Del Mort, but who the girls immediately recognize as the criminal, Kurt Hassell (pp. 158-59)!  "Odd coincidence, isn't it?" the woman in the room comments (p. 160).  Yes, I'd certainly say so!  Then, of course, when tracking down Carrillo in New York City, they are super-surprised to learn the address they find for Carrillo is the same address as the one given them by the woman for Kurt Hassell (p. 164)!  I mean, I know coincidences always play a large part in any mystery - let's face it, without them, it is unlikely these teenage sleuths in series books would ever be able to solve a mystery!  But this book is filled with so many, perhaps the title should have been "A Multi-Coincidence Mystery"!

 

Aside from the way-too-many coincidences, there is a fairly decent underlying mystery.  Two women (mother and daughter) go mysteriously missing from their house, while the Dana Girls are staying out in the barn (hoping to catch themselves a criminal), and Jean and Louise have no explanation.  Jean sneaking into the empty house in the middle of a storm, the unexplained disappearance of the women, and the unexpected appearance of the police, together with the mysterious stranger who showed up in the barn and then disappeared when the girls take the cops out to him all add up to a laudable attempt at integrating some gothic elements into the mystery.  Adult readers will likely figure out what happened to the women, but I can imagine young readers will be spooked by the entire scene - after all, a stormy night always adds that terrifying element to any story.

 

I did find several aspects of the story humorous, particularly the disguises the girls don in order to trick Edward Carrillo.  While in New York, the girls buy "two cheap dresses, which were extra long and undeniably dowdy" as well as "two paid of cheap spectacles" (p. 171).  Simply by donning unflattering dresses and glasses, the girls are able to visit Carrillo without him recognizing them as the Dana Girls.  What was so funny is that when Carrillo leaves, and the girls confront Mrs. Darrow and her daughter, Louise "removed the spectacles and tossed her hat onto the divan.  Jean did likewise" (p. 177).  They second they remove those glasses, Edith Darrow cries out, "The Dana girls!" (p. 177).  This is especially amusing to any comic book fan, as Superman has hidden his identity for 90 years behind a pair of glasses as Clark Kent, with no one recognizing him - so why shouldn't the Dana Girls use the same trick?

 

Ferdinand Warren once again provides the art for the internal illustrations; however, the four illustrations in this story have a distinctly different feel to them when compared with the prior books.  The black and white illustrations are much heavier on shadows, and the lines are not nearly as succinct as previous books in the series. Not sure what caused the difference, but if I hadn't seen Warren's name listed on the title page, I would have assumed it was a different artist.

 

A few other tidbits I noticed in the story - one being the name of the lawyer that Mrs. Flower calls upon to draw up her will.  His name is Josiah Jarvis (p. 77), which struck me as odd - for those who are Nancy Drew fans, you may recall that Nancy Drew's first case involved a missing will of a man named Josiah Crowley!  To have two stories only five years apart use the same name for a character connected with a will is a bit of a coincidence (hmmmm.....).  Another name that caught my eye is the last name of the reporter and her mother - "Darrow."  Fans of Mildred Wirt Benson will easily recognize that name, as Benson wrote a four book series (published in 1930 and 1931) whose title character was named Ruth "Darrow."  The name appears in the outline, so it was not created by McFarlane; rather, it was used by the Stratemeyers (leading one to wonder if perhaps it was a way of poking at Benson, who was writing the Nancy Drew series at the time this fourth Dana Girls book was published).  Outside of names, the book reveals that the Danas used to collect cigar bands for a brief period of time, and as such, they happened to have a book on the various bands (another coincidence!) that they use to disprove Lettie's attempt to make the other girls at the school think she is receiving letters from an important Count (p. 63).  I suppose it was good fortune they used to have that hobby, and that they happened to have that book at the school with them in order to reveal Lettie's lies!

 

Finally, the second cover art for this book is less than stellar - it merely shows a close-up of Louise and Jean against a dark green background, with Louise holding an oil lamp.  I'm not really sure what the scene is supposed to represent (unless it is from when the girls are exploring the empty Darrow house, looking for their hosts). It is probably the most lackluster cover of the entire series!  While the collage covers of the original editions are not my favorite art style, I have to admit, those scenes depicted for this book are a far cry more exciting than the art used for the wrap-spine dust jacket!  Not sure who the artist was, or who gave the artist the instructions for the scene, but if it were me, I definitely would not be claiming it as my work!

 

While not the best of the series, I will say this book was certainly a better (and a bit more believable) story than the last one! And with this book, we reach the end of Leslie McFarlane's writing of the Dana Girls Mystery Stories, for with the fifth book, Mildred Wirt (Benson) took over the writing chores.  It will certainly be interesting to see how her writing of the sisters compares with version established by McFarlane in the first four books.

 

RATING:   7 beds of rattlesnakes sunning themselves on a rock out of 10 for an interesting tale, if for no other reason than the variety of unique characters thrown together for one story!

Dana Girls Mystery Stories No. 3 - In the Shadow of the Tower

Book three of the Dana Girls Mystery Stories is author Leslie McFarlane's third entry into this girls' series from the 1930s, and I can see from this book how McFarlane was struggling with his writing of this series.  In the first two books, the stories flowed fairly well, and there was plenty of excitement and fun to move the story along; however, this book had considerably more unnecessary exposition that was not readily seen in the first two.  Perhaps he was simply more comfortable writing stories about boys, or maybe he simply could not settle into a groove with the Dana Girls; whatever the reason, this third book falls a bit short from the first two, with too many mysteries and too many convenient coincidences.

 

In the Shadow of the Tower continues the time line of the Danas, with this story being set in December (after the first book was September and the second was November).  The story center around a young girl who the Danas not only befriend but offer to help after accidentally causing her to lose a very important letter that also contained a thousand dollar bill (yes, you read that right!).  I have to admit, I was rather surprised to think that this girl, still in her teens, would be carrying around a thousand dollar bill in the early 1930s!  In today's money, that bill would be worth nearly $24,000!  Can you imagine carrying that amount of money with you everywhere you went?  But, that's exactly what Josephine "Josy" Sykes was doing when the Dana Girls happened upon her in the woods near Mohawk Lake.  Now, it is up to Jean and Louise to find that letter and the missing money and restore them to their rightful owner.

 

The story has some very odd elements to it.  First, when the Danas first see Josy, because of her deformity, "a hump that distorted [her] back, giving [her] a grotesque and dwarfed appearance" (p. 3), and the tattered clothes she is wearing, they mistake her for a boy.  They quickly learn Josy is a girl who ran away from the Home for Crippled Children at Bonny Lake (p. 13).  She ran away because at the same time she received the letter from her uncle with the money in it, the cash proceeds from a charity to benefit the Home was also stolen, and Josy was afraid she would be accused.  The sisters agree to help her, of course, but they find it will not be easy, because upon their arrival at Starhurst, Lettie Briggs and Ina Mason are the first to see Josy and immediately make fun of her, causing her to run off.

 

Throughout the entire book, there is an emphasis on Josy's hunchback and deformed nature, causing people to shun her, make fun of her, be shocked at her appearance, and fear her.  In fact, one of the characters in the book - Mammy Cleo, a cook - describes her as a "supernatural creature" that is "twisted and deformed" (p. 56).  McFarlane goes on to write how "the colored folk in the vicinity ... built up monstrous and weird legend" about Josy and her appearance (p. 71).  All of these descriptions and reactions would lead the reader to believe that Josy is horridly disfigured and frightening to look at, and so, I thought it admirable that the Danas overlooked her physical appearance and offered her their friendship and their aid in finding the missing money.  But then, at the end of the book, once the girls have successfully solved all the mysteries (and there are plenty of them in this book!), we suddenly learn that Josy's deformity is not so bad after all - "[w]ith the help of the Dana girls she had done some shopping ... New dresses had been chosen so that her deformity was scarcely noticeable. Happiness and good fortune had erased the pitiful lines from her face, and her natural attractiveness had been given a chance to assert itself" (p. 205).  Utterly amazing what a beautiful dress can do for a girl - transform her from a grotesque girl with a distorted back to a naturally attractive girl whose deformity was barely noticed!  (I realize there is a high level of sarcasm there, but such a transformation defies all ability to believe - and we cannot blame McFarlane for this one, as the change was specifically dictated in the outline from Edna Stratemeyer Squier.

 

Another strange thing about this book is the mystery surrounding the stolen money at the children's home. The Danas assure Josy they will find a way to clear her name and solve that mystery, and more than once, a nurse taking care of Constance Melbourne (an artist who lives next to Bessie Marsh, the Danas' cousin with whom they visit during the Christmas holidays), tells Jean and Louise she believes a Mrs. Rita Rye, a Trustee for the home, is the guilty party.  At no time during the entire book do the Dana girls actually visit the Home for Crippled Children at Bonny Lake, but suddenly, in the very last chapter on the next to the last page, the Danas announce that Josy has been cleared and the "real thief has confessed" (p. 216).  The thief did, indeed, turn out to be Rita Rye, who admitted to taking the money to pay overdue bills (p. 216).  For something that played such an important factor in Josy running away, one would have thought it would have made for a good mystery for the girls to solve; instead, it merely becomes an afterthought, mentioned only in passing at the very end to tie up that loose end.

 

Yet another mystery in this book centers around a stolen piece of art, painted by Ms. Melbourne.  A scam artist by the name of Claude Fayle, steals the portrait and passes it off as his own at an art show in the city of Majestic.  As it just so happens, Mrs. Crandall has plans to take the girls of Starhurst to that very art show.  And, by pure coincidence, Mrs. Crandall has invited Mr. Fayle to the school to discuss his art, unaware that the Dana girls have already met him and know he is a thief and a fraud.  This part of the mystery actually plays up nicely, as the sisters have a difficult time meeting Mr. Fayle and accusing him of his theft, and it ultimately becomes a climactic revelation made at the art show itself, just as Mr. Fayle is about to be awarded a medal for the portrait.  Of all the mysteries in this story, this one was probably the one I most enjoyed reading. 

One thing I do want to make note of is that this book features the internal illustration upon which the end pages for these early Dana Girls books was based.  The illustration by Ferdinand Warren inserted between pages 66 and 67 of the story features Jean and Louise finding a note from Josy left under their door at their cousin's house (see illustration to the left here).  It depicts Jean kneeling down to pick up and read the strange note, while Louise stands behind, looking over her shoulder.  The same scene was redrawn (whether by Warren or not is a good question) and expanded upon for the double-spread end pages (see above).  The end pages go beyond the door shown in the illustration and give way to a chair, a painting on the wall, and a grandfather clock standing beside them.   We also get a better view of Louise in the end pages, as she is closer to the wall, so that we can see her full face rather than a hidden profile as in the internal illustration.  

Last, but certainly not least, I must point out McFarlane's habit of inserting the name of the book into his mysteries.  In the first two books, the titles were casually inserted into dialogue at the very end of the story.  In this book, however, McFarlane really outdid himself - he managed to work the title into the story not once, not twice, but a total of NINE TIMES!  And this does not even count the title to Chapter XVI ("The Shadow Beneath the Tower").  

        p. 56 - in the snow "in the shadow of the tower"

        p. 86 - transpiring "in the very shadow of the tower"

        p. 93 - I wonder if she is down there "in the shadow of the tower"

        p. 93 - there was no one "in the shadow of the tower"

        p. 140 - "in the shadow of the tower" Josy was restored

        p. 143 - girls were standing "in the shadow of the tower"

        p. 214 - "shadows" fell across ... "beneath the shadow of the tower"

        p. 214 - down "in the shadow of the Tower" she saw movement

        p. 214 - I just saw them "in the shadow of the tower" 

I almost had to wonder if perhaps this phrase should not become a drinking game (although, if it did, I think most readers would become quite drunk before they finished the book!).  

Of these first three books in the Dana Girls' series, I have to admit, this was my least favorite.  There was too much going on, a couple of the mysteries were solved as mere afterthoughts in the last three pages of the book, and the miraculous manner in which Josy went from grotesque to attractive by just donning a beautiful dress was too much for me. Plus, I miss the practical jokes / pranks that the Danas and Lettie pull on one another.  This particular book only had one attempt at a joke, and the sisters easily defeated it.  We will have to wait and see what McFarlane's final Dana Girls book has in store when we read the next book in this series!

 

RATING:  7 radio dramas set on the Florida coast out of 10 for at least trying something different with this mystery - a handicapped child, a village of superstitious folk, a sleazy con artist, a missing relative, and a thousand dollar bill!

Surfside Girls, Graphic Novel No. 3 - The Clue in the Reef

Hard to believe it has been three years since the last Surfside Girls graphic novel.  Although, considering the length of this mystery is pretty much double the size of the last one, I can imagine it took writer/artist, Kim Dwinell, some time to get this one done.  I've also learned, since purchasing this third volume of the series, that the Surfside Girls was made into a television show on ApplePlus TV.  I don't have that streaming service, unfortunately, so I haven't been able to watch any episodes, but I did catch the trailer on YouTube, and I must say, it looks just as fun as the graphic novels!  And after the girls uncovering the secret of Danger Point in the first book, and solving the mystery at the Old Rancho in the second book, I could not wait to see what the third graphic novel held in store!

 

The Clue in the Reef finds Sam Taylor and her best friend, Jade Lee, trying to figure out how a pack of small hedgehogs ended up stranded on an outer reef.  With the tide quickly coming in, Sam and Jade surf out there and rescue the poor animals.  The only clue they uncover is an odd tag with a clover and diamond on it.  Of course, their investigations into this mystery is limited, as both Sam and Jade are helping out Sam's father in the Surfside Days Festival, working in Mr. Taylor's burger hut.  In the last mystery, it was a surfing competition, but in this mystery, it's a celebration of the town of Surfside's founding back in 1853.  Everyone is dressed up in fashions from the 1850s, including poor Sam and Jade - "How did women do ANYTHING dressed like this?" Sam rightfully asks (p. 3), as she is being fitted for her costume.  But the uncomfortable clothes soon become unimportant, when Sam and Jade realize there is something strange going on in Surfside - because not only were the hedgehogs abandoned, but it also seems there is a ring-tailed lemur loose in Surfside, stealing mangos from unsuspecting vendors at the festival!  Where are these exotic animals coming from?  That is mystery Sam and Jade intend to solve!

 

While this particular mystery does not center around any of the ghosts that the girls have befriended and helped in the past, that is not to say they are not present.  Robert, and his fellow pirates, are on the scene, willing to help out where they can (although that does not amount to much).  Dwinell does spend some time, however, focusing on Sam and Robert's human/ghost relationship, and it's rather sweet to see how these star-crossed lovers are trying to find a way to make it work.  There is also an interesting part of the story where Sam and Jade listen to an old-timer spin a beautiful tale of how her people migrated from the mountain in the ocean to the mainland, only to have some of them fall off the "rainbow bridge" and into the ocean, where Mother Earth transformed them into sea dolphins.  It turns out this was a tale Dwinell herself held from a Chumash woman when she and her family were camping at the Malibu Creek State Park, and she incorporated it into this story.  While having no real connection to the mystery itself, it does provide some beautiful background to the fictional town of Surfside and its inhabitants, fleshing out the world in which Sam and Jade live.

 

While the girls do have cell phones and computers, I applaud Dwinell on keeping their usage to a minimum.  She has Sam and Jade do their detective work the old fashioned way, searching for clues outside of the internet!  Yes, they do ultimately use Sam's cell phone as a tracking device to follow the crook who is smuggling the exotic animals into Surfside, they are more reliant on Jade's mystery notebook, where she writes down all the clues, all of their suspicions, all of their ideas and plans, and everything else connected with the mystery.  Keeping the technology to a minimum definitely makes for a better read!

 

Dwinell does through in a surprise character in the form of "Amichelle," a famous pop star who is trying to lay low in Surfside to avoid being mobbed constantly by avid fans.  She plays an important part of the mystery, and she provides readers a clear reminder that although Sam and Jade are successful amateur detectives, they are still teenagers at heart.  With this in mind, it makes the climax of the story somewhat shocking, as the girls are placed in an extremely dangerous situation when they confront the criminal, and their very lives are at stake!  Of course, their quick-thinking and athletic prowess help them escape certain death, and the villain of the story is brought to justice by the end.

 

Dwinell's art remains consistent with the previous two books, for which I am glad.  In the beginning, it felt a bit cartoony, but as the series has progressed, I'm learning to appreciate and enjoy it more and more.  It has now established this world firmly for me, and I could not picture Sam, Jade, and their world drawn any other way!  I hope Dwinell is hard at work on a fourth mystery, as I do not want the adventures of the Surfside Girls to ever end!

 

RATING:  9 tubes of fake gold from an Old Prospector out of 10 for another superbly told mystery with a world that gets more and more fleshed-out with each book!