That Girl - a gothic based on the popular ABC-TV comedy series...

"She's a frightened young maiden pursued on a haunted moor by a wrathful wraith.  Would you believe she's THAT GIRL" (from the front cover blurb)

 

Of all of the television shows in the world that I would have ever thought could be made into a gothic romance / mystery, the 1966-71 television show That Girl is probably one of the last that would come to mind.  I mean, let's be serious - a comedy television show about an aspiring young actress in New York City, who is forced to take a variety of odd jobs to temporarily make ends meet in between auditions and bit parts.  She is always hoping to make it "big," but never seems to land that starring role in any show.  It was pure comedy that lasted five season, and so it is surprising that someone would take such a premise and turn it into a gothic novel.  But that is just what happened.  In 1971, just shortly after the television show wrapped, Ann Marie appeared in her first, and only, novel (loosely - VERY loosely) based on the show ... 

 

That Girl, besides being the name of the television show and featuring the actress, Marlo Thomas, on the cover, has very little ties to its small screen counterpart upon which it is allegedly based.  While author Paul W. Fairman uses the names - Ann Marie and Donald Hollinger - and the fact that Ann is an aspiring actress, the characters themselves are a far cry from those viewers watched on their television sets each week for the previous five years.  Don't get me wrong.  The story itself is actually pretty good and most definitely gothic in its setting and scenes; however, it feels almost as if Fairman simply replaced the name of his title character with the name of that girl (get it?) in order to create a TV tie-in novel.  Which leads me to question - did he already have this story written (or at least in mind) when he was asked to do the tie-in novel; or did he come up with the idea after he took the job?  In either event, if you can read the story without thinking of Marlo Thomas or the television show, then I think you'll find the story is quite creative and fun to read!

 

I do have to give Fairman some credit with regard to the story - it is definitely a creative twist.  Ann Marie gets a chance to play the role of Cathy in Wuthering Heights in a small Maine town known as Berkeley Heights.  It's a summer stock show, and Ann will have the opportunity to play a lead role - a chance she has been longing for; and the icing on the cake is that all expenses are being paid!  Despite her fiance's misgivings, Ann boards the bus for Maine (where one little old lady looks at her Ann and immediately asks another old lady, "Who is that girl?" - a nice nod to the opening of each episode of the television show.  But it is only the first two chapters that are somewhat light-hearted.  Once Ann reaches Berkeley Heights, she begins to realize something is very wrong.  First, the bus drops her off on an empty stretch of highway, no crossroad, no house, no indication of civilization anywhere near it.  Then, a mysterious stranger on horseback shows up and tells her she is late, before taking off, leaving her to await a coach.  A coach?  Wait, what year is this...?  And why does this set up sound vaguely familiar...?   (Hmmm, perhaps because the same thing occurred during the opening of An Innocent Madness by Dulcie Hollyock nearly a decade later.)

 

Well, Ann soon discovers that someone has gone to great lengths to recreate Thruscross Grange and Wuthering Heights, including the moors, gardens, and grounds.  And what is even more strange is everyone is wearing costumes from the 1800s, and they are all referring to themselves as the characters from Emily Bronte's novel.  At first, Ann thinks they are simply rehearsing for whatever play is going to be performed.  Until she discovers there is no theater.  And the "actors" are afraid to step out of character for even one second.  And there are no dates for any performances of the play.  No, in this secluded part of Maine, someone is determined to bring Wuthering Heights to life and to keep it going ... and going ... and going.  Every actor has literally become their character, and it is expected that Ann will literally be Cathy!  Suddenly, Ann starts wishing she had listened to Donald and never taken the role!

 

In true gothic style, the story takes some dark turns, with a mysterious stranger appearing and disappearing - saving Ann from a deadly fall and leaving her a warning on her bathroom mirror.  Then there is the mysterious woman out on the moors.  And why is it that Ann is so tired all the time?  It seems the more tea she drinks, the more tired she becomes... Gradually, her fellow actors begin to let down their guards, and Ann begins to discover the truth about everyone there and what is really going on - and she realizes there is truly only one way to escape.  But then she comes face to face with the woman she replaced, and let's just say the original "Cathy" is none to pleased about her replacement!  This leads to probably the only disappointing thing about the story - the climactic confrontation with "Cathy" - and unlike most gothic heroines, Ann blacks out and is rescued by Donald in one of those last minute saves.  I was really rooting for Ann to not only solve the whole mystery, but also to conquer the villains; sadly, she becomes nothing more than a helpless victim who has to be rescued (thus, taking away all of the credit she deserves for all of the hard work she put into uncovering the truth about what was really going on there).

 

Nevertheless, I did enjoy the story (especially when I set aside any thought of this being a part of the TV show continuity) and loved the unusual plot twist - a gothic within a gothic, so to speak.  I've heard others speak highly of Fairman's work, and after reading this story, I would have to agree. 

 

8 disappearing telephones out of 10 for taking a television comedy and turning it into a serious gothic mystery with a unique and unexpected turn of events!

V is for Victorine

When I finished reading Daring Darleen, Queen of the Screen (Daring Darleen), it was my hope that the "cliffhanger" ending was a sign that another book would be forthcoming.  But each month that went by, and then each year that went by, and I saw no advertisements or solicits for another Darleen Darling book, my chances of getting a sequel seemed less and less likely.  Flash forward several years, and as I was scrolling through Amazon (I seem to do that quite a bit, don't I?), I happened across a book by Anne Nesbet with cover art that seemed awfully familiar.  Well, lo and behold, it turned out the cover seemed familiar, as that girl on it was none other than Daring Darleen, along with that young heiress, Victorine Berryman! Finally, after all this time, I got my long-awaited sequel to Daring Darleen, Queen of the Screen!

 

V is for Victorine picks up some time after the conclusion of Anne Nesbet's previous book.  After saving Victorine ("Vee" as Darleen calls her) from unscrupulous people posing as her family in order to steal her inheritance, the Darlings have taken Vee into their home and allowed her to take part in their many films as an extra.  But Vee is not really interested in acting.  With her Grandmother gone and her inheritance still years away, she must rely on a monthly stipend from her granny's estate and the kindness of the Darling family until she can determine exactly what it is she does want.  One thing she knows for sure - she does not like lying, and she is tired of hiding under the assumed name "Bella Mae Goodwin."  She does not even know who she really is any more - is she losing her real identity?  Is Victorine Berryman slowly disappearing?  Well, thank goodness for the silent film serials - for when Darlene and Vee a/k/a Bella Mae go to the local theater to watch the 13th episode of The Vanishing of Victorine (a very fictional account of her life since she disappeared),  a title card appears after the film which provides viewers the opportunity to write the final chapter to the serial and explain just how Victorine's story ends!  Who better to write that story than the missing girl herself!

 

Nesbet offers up another thrilling adventure in the world of the early 1900s (1915 to be exact!), when silent films and serials with their exciting cliffhangers were all the rage.  And while this book does offer up some behind the scenes filming of various movies, Nesbet focuses more on Victorine's efforts to stay under the radar, particularly now that the whole world is looking for her.  In the last book, readers learned all about Darleen and got to experience the world through her adventurous, daring eyes; in this book, we get the opportunity to see the world through the eyes of a debutante who is thrust into a normal (well, okay, somewhat normal as can be expected in the world of films) world where every penny is pinched and no one has hired help to answer to their every whim.  And I love the way Nesbet provides Victorine the chance to evolve, not only as a character, but also as a writer - from a shy girl who thinks she has no imagination and no ability to see the world as her best friend, Darlene does into a rather self-aware, strong young woman who realizes the real world around her offers her plenty of fodder for her imagination and her writing!  I think that is a lesson many of us would be well-advised to heed.

 

There is a slight mystery in the story involving a mix-up with a black bag carried by Darleen's uncle as he, Darleen, and Victorine head out to the new-fangled Hollywood (which was only just getting off the ground as a site for film studios in 1915) to see if the Darlings can find a place in this new film world.  Darleen and Victorine are both curious as to the secret "treasure" that Uncle Dan has hidden away in the satchel, and they must match wits with a rather dastardly thief who has his own black bag filled with stolen Egyptian treasures. This sub-plot is superbly resolved in true serial-cliffhanger style, with a surprise mastermind and a dangerous confrontation with a gun-wielding villain.

 

The book is chock-full of real Hollywood and film references - from Miss Mary Pickford (p. 71), a Canadian-American film actress and producer who worked in Hollywood for nearly half a century, to Lillian Gish (p. 128), an American actress who got her start in silent films in 1912 and continued to work in Hollywood all the way to 1987 and her sister, Dorothy Gish (p. 128), who was also an actress of the stage and screen.  The girls are also told about a party for Anna Pavlova, "[a] wonderful Russian ballerina" (p. 145), who also happens to be a real life ballerina who was a principal artist of the Imperial Russian Ballet and who is most well-known for her role of The Dying Swan.  There is also an interesting reference to The Conquest: The Story of a Negro Pioneer by Oscar Micheaux (p. 82), which book an African-American train porter asks the girls to give to his sister, Ruth Waller, at Universal studios in Hollywood, with the hopes it might get made into a film. Well, in the real world, the book was made into a film in 1919, the first feature-length film made by an African-American!

Finally, the author also makes mention of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition (p. 89), which was a world's fair, of sorts, held in San Francisco during most of 1915 (the year in which this book is set).  The girls talk about their desire to visit the exposition to see "a whole tower simply covered with jewels" (p. 89).  And, wouldn't you know it, there was a "Tower of Jewels" at the exposition, which rose to 435 feet and was covered with over 100,000 colored gems that sparkled in the light of the sun (Tower of Jewels).  It is all of these factual references from the real world that makes Nesbet's story all that more engaging, as it blurs those lines between reality and fiction, breathing some "real life" into the characters on the page.

 

Darleen Darling and Victorine Berryman have become two of my favorite little adventuresses, and I hope Nesbet has not put them on the shelf.  These two girls deserve many more stories and adventures, and I have no doubt there are plenty of fans out there like me who are anxious to read more!

 

RATING:  10 Egyptian cylinder seals out of 10 for making the 1915 silent film world come alive with mystery, adventure, cliffhangers, and all of the excitement one would expect from the movies of that era!

Florida Antiquarian Book Fair - 2025 - Part Two

The book-gasm that is the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair continued its two-day extravaganza in St. Petersburg today.  Words simply cannot possibly convey just how magnificent this show really is - it is a book lover's ultimate dream, to be able to spend hours and hours in a room filled with more books than you could possibly look at in a year!  The show is put on by FABA (Florida Antiquarian Booksellers Association), who realize just how important it is to preserve ideas and our cultural heritage of the history of civilization as we know it - they see significance in context, finding books that contain histories and first accounts; but they also study fiction and how it reflects and influences its cultural context - and how the ways in which we put things on a page have changed, how language has morphed and patterns of thought have shifted.  Great books preserve, for us, humanity in its most basic and in its loftiest forms.  As Bettina Drew wrote, "The past reminds us of timeless human truths ... and is the basis for self-understanding."  And there is no greater reminder than those books we hold so dear!

 

One of the things I love about the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair is that, while it does offer a plethora of books of all kinds, it also provide attendees with other paper ephemera, such as maps, postcards, art, prints, photographs, and numerous other paper products from throughout history.  New World Maps, Inc., from Lake Worth, has been selling original antique and collectible maps for over thirty years, with some of the maps in their inventory being over 400 years old!  While some of maps they had for sale depict the world as we know it now, others are so old they show the "Old World" as man thought it existed hundreds of years ago!  Along with the many maps of all sizes and colors, they also had a limited number of books for sale which, not surprisingly, dealt with maps and the history thereof.  This just goes to prove that at the FABF, no matter where your interest lies, you are definitely going to find it there!

 

And speaking of finding interesting things, over the years that I have been coming to the Book Fair, I have had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know Mike Cotton, with Back in Time Rare Books.  Mike is members of both FABA (the Florida Antiquarian Booksellers Association) and ABAA (not the singing group, which is spelled slightly different, but rather, the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America), meaning he has a wealth of knowledge and a superb selection of great books!  Some of his favorite items that he brings to the show are his pulp paperbacks and special magazines - "I'm a sucker for magazines which feature first appearances of authors such as Stephen King," he says.  But one of the select items that caught my eye upon entering is booth was the first printing of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird that he had for sale!  Now that's a true classic that would make a great addition to anyone's collection!  (While I did not pick up that first printing, I did walk away from his booth with one of those pulp novels, as well as an unused coloring book and a Crazy! magazine!)

 

Just across the aisle from Mike's booth, I discovered another ABAA member. Keith Botelho and his Crow Hop Rare Books traveled to Florida from Woodstock, Georgia to provide book lovers with a wide selection of African-American and LGBTQ+ material, some of them dating back quite a few decades!  Talk about having history right there in your hands!  Keith showed me a signed Muhammed Ali playbill for a play the boxer performed called Buck White in the George Abbott Theatre in New York back in 1969.  He also had a collection of 64 African-American Inmate Cards (including one female prisoner) from the Atlanta Prison Farm (1947-77), which operated from the 1930s until (shock!) the middle of the 1990s and in which the manual labor of the inmates on the farm produced food for themselves and those at the main penitentiary.  Where else in the world can you find such unique looks at our history like this?

 

This year also provided me the opportunity to meet Eric Albritton, with Ed's Editions Bookstore.  Another dealer with a wide selection of books, including a signed copy of With the Old Breed by Eugene Sledge.  He also had photo albums from the 1800s and World War I era, along with other military books, such as a 1918 book about the Red Baron (look out, Snoopy!).  Eric indicated the most popular books that people have been looking at are those about the clans and tartan of Scotland, as well as a Jerusalem Bible illustrated by Salvador Dali!  Now there's something you don't see every day!  But Eric had something at his booth that held special interest for me - a Free Mason's Handbook by William H. Drew that was barely bigger than the height and width of a man's hand, dating back to 1867; and right beside that was a pair of Masonic hymn books from 1916.  As my Dad is a Mason, I am always intrigued when I find antique books about the brotherhood - my dad would have loved to see those items.

 

Another dealer that caught my eye was Reagan Bisharat with Reagan's Rare Books out of Virginia.  His booth was filled with beautiful leather-bound books of all kinds, and I have to admit - I'm a sucker for the beauty of those old leather-bound volumes.  They simply do not craft book bindings like that any more!  One book in particular was the two volume set of The Marquis de La Fayette in the American Revolution by Charlemagne Tower, Jr., LL.D., published by J.B. Lippincott Company back in 1895. Just looking at that dark red/brown leather binding is enough to get a collector excited - but to look inside and find a handwritten letter (in French, which neither Reagn nor I could read!) signed by La Fayette himself (!!!!) that dates back hundreds of years, perfectly preserved in between the pages of the book - now that, my friend, is a true treasure, indeed!  Reagan got his start when he received an 1880 copy of Charles Spurgeon's autobiography, which inspired him to find and restore antiquarian books for others to enjoy.  As Reagan said while we were talking, the 19th century bookbinding is a snapshot of history, when they actually took care in binding books.  He also had a collection of Virgil's works in a rare quarto size edition with copper plates, beautifully bound in leather.

 

With so many dealers and so many books, it was virtually impossible to talk with each and every one at the show,  as much as I would have loved to; but, of course, that would have taken a week or longer!  I did manage to sneak in a few moments with my friends, Kerry Johnson and Sharon Kissell, both of whom offered up some wonderful children's series books for sale, and I also had a long chat with Charlie over at Intergalactic Trading Company, from whom I used to buy comics nearly 35 years ago!  Obviously, we had a lot to catch up on.  I also made a quick stop by the Cardtique booth, from Osprey, Florida, where they had a wide selection of old cards, booklets, and pamphlets of all kinds - another reminder that the FABF is more than just books.  And, of course, there was Michael Tormey Books from Fort Pierce, offering up a superb selection of old mystery novels in stunning condition; the Book Bazaar, who had a huge selection of original Oz novels by L. Frank Baum; the Rio Verde Co., which displayed some great children's books (The Tough Coughs as He Ploughs the Dough - read it out loud, and you'll catch the meaning of the title!), and the Bookleggers Fine Books, another ABAA member who came to Florida all the way from Park Ridge, Illinois!

 

Last, but not least, I would be remiss if I did not mention one particular book that I saw at the show that I would absolutely love to have for so many reasons.  I saw a copy of the book at last year's show, and I was attracted to it because the cover art reminds me of the original cover to The Hidden Staircase (1930), the second Nancy Drew mystery.  However, the copy that I saw at this year's show has an even greater reason to be sought after - it is a copy that was owned and signed by H.P. Lovecraft, most famously known for creating the Cthulu Mythos!  The book alone, with its cover art and uncanny tales of horror inside, is worth finding - but add to it an autograph by Lovecraft, and you have something that I was literally salivating over (well, okay, not literally, as I would not want to dribble on the book and damage it, but you get my drift).  Something like this only shows up once in a lifetime, and while I was not able to purchase it, I definitely felt privileged by just having the opportunity to see it!

 

Each year, it is always bittersweet to reach the end of another show.  I could spend another week or more going through all of these booths, breathing in the smell of those antique pages, taking in the beauty of those painted covers and leather bindings, talking with fellow collectors and dealers about our shared passions.  Of course, with one show over, it just means we only have one year to wait until the next show and our next opportunity to find some amazing books! To stay updated, you can check out the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair website (Florida Antiquarian Book Fair) or follow them on Facebook (FABF - Facebook) or Twitter (@FloridaBookFair).  

RATING:  10 hard-to-find copies of Who P-P-P-Plugged Roger Rabbit? out of 10 for another amazing show with the opportunity to purchase some new additions to my own ever-growing collection of books!

Florida Antiquarian Book Fair - 2025 - Part One

For a number of years now, I have been attending the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair in St. Petersburg, Florida.  The Book Fair celebrates the written word and its important role in the human experience.  Their mission is to encourage the collection and preservation of written and printed materials, to promote literacy, and to support educational programs and research into the study of rare books.  At the Book Fair, attendees can see, touch, evaluate, and discuss fine books, maps, manuscripts, ephemera, photographs, and prints, and discuss with the sellers the history, condition, and special qualities of each book.  As someone who has loved books since the first moment I could get my hands on one, there is no way I could NOT be in attendance each year!  Simply put, browsing at the Book Fair is a true (although some might say "old fashioned") pleasure that can be re-discovered by people who have been confined to looking for books solely by means of electronic lists and search engines!

 

For the 2025 Florida Antiquarian Book Fair, there were 88 distinguished booksellers and specialists who gathered together on Saturday, March 1, 2025 and Sunday, March 2, 2025.  It was a book-lover's paradise inside the walls of The Coliseum, the location of the Fair in downtown St. Petersburg in the local historic district.  The unique design of the building only adds flair and a special feel to the already spectacular event.   When you walk through those doors and onto the showroom floor, you almost get a sense of being transported back in time - the smell of all those books, the feel of those bindings and pages in your hands, the gorgeous painted covers, the hardbacks, the paperbacks, the autographed copies, the first editions, the centuries-old manuscripts, and so much more.  In this age when more and more people seem to have become dependent on electronics and technology, it is absolutely wonderful to be able to experience the joy of holding the physical copies of these books, maps, cards, manuscripts, etc. in your hands.  Truthfully, for anyone who loves books, there is no greater feeling in the world!

 

Matt Whalon, hailing from Lakeland, Florida, has been a vendor at the FABF for a number of years now, and his family were there with him to share the weekend of bookselling!  Whalon Books specializes in children's series books (such as Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Tom Swift, Judy Bolton, Cherry Ames, etc.), as well as history, science fiction, and horror.  This year, Matt was celebrating Stephen King, with his booth showcasing a number of King's books for sale, including hardbacks, paperbacks, trade size editions, early printings and special editions.  But most noticeable was a beautiful red leather bound set of the master of horror's novels ("Stephen King Library") that are stunning to see on the shelf!  I can't imagine any Stephen King fan not wanting that amazing set as a part of their collection!

 

Just a few aisles away, you'll find some great pirate treasures at The Unbound Bookery booth! Here, you'll meet Sandy Silverman and her lovely assistant, who take joy in dressing up each year with a different theme.  This year, Sandy focused on books with beautiful Margaret Armstrong illustrated covers, among other exciting pieces - including a gorgeous antique set of Egyptian history books that are stunning to behold in person.  Sandy is another dealer who has been coming to FABF for some time, and her booth (as well as her store in Lakeland) always offers something for everyone.  Thus, whether you are looking for art, for history, or for some great reading, Sandy and The Unbound Bookery offer it all up for you to find!

 

Now, if you are looking specifically for children's books, then you definitely have to stop by Jennifer Mentzer's booth, which is "Roses and Onions."  The name comes from something her grandmother used to say: "Everyone's life has both roses and onions; things that make you happy and things that make you cry."  And let's face it - books will do both of those things, and so much more!  Jennifer, who retired after working in a children's library for quite a while, specializes in children's books - everything from Elizabeth Taylor paper dolls, to series books such as Nancy Drew, the Bobbsey Twins, and the Hardy Boys, to picture books, to Dr. Seuss books, to a first edition of Little Rascal, the story about the famous raccoon! Jennifer says if you are looking for a specific children's book, they just might have it at their booth (and, honestly, I can attest to that, since I was able to pick up the third Connie Blair book in picture cover format, a book I've been trying to find for some time now!).

 

As you stroll through the showroom, make sure you check out those alcoves along each side, as they have some excellent treasures to find! In the last alcove on the right side of the hall, you'll find Mallory Books, where Kenneth Mallory (who travelled all the way from Decatur, Georgia to be here!) has a huge collection of vintage Dell paperbacks for sale, from authors such as Agatha Christie, Mignon G. Eberhart, John MacDonald, and countless other names you might recognize.  Kenneth also had on display some nice pulp magazines, such as Weird Tales, as well as a number of African-American pieces of literature.  He has a wide variety of books from a wide range of decades, so you would be hard-pressed to walk away without buying something.  And I have to admit, I looked through those Dell paperbacks again and again, there were so many there, I felt as if I were going to miss something if I was not thorough enough!

 

Not far from the entrance is Cathy Graham's booth.  Cathy, who runs the Copperfish Bookstore in Punta Gorda, Florida, sells both new and used books in her store; however, for the FABF, she brought mostly her older books.  She has been attending the Book Fair for 15 years, and she brought a few gems with her this year - one of them being a very early copy of The Federalist!  While not a first edition, it is definitely an early printing in really nice shape with the original leather binding.  It is a beauty to behold!  She also has a signed Maya Angelou book, she has Florida circus programs, all kinds of Florida cookbooks, some pop-up books and other children's literature.  Cathy's love of books just bubbles to the surface when you get her talking about them, and you cannot help but share in that excitement as you browse her booth!  She got me so excited, I just had to buy one of the Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators books she had on her shelves!

 

With nearly 90 booths full of books and other ephemera, it is nigh impossible to see everything the show has to offer in just one day. There are so many leather-bound copies just asking to be taken home; there were plenty of L. Frank Baum Oz books just calling my name; and countless first printings, early editions, signed copies, and special editions, that your eyes cannot possible take it all in.  I think I walked the showroom floor at least three times, if not four, and I talked to so many wonderful dealers, shared the love of books with quite a few of my fellow attendees, and managed to find a few treasures for myself, as well as some friends of mine (including a first printing of the very first Hardy Boys book, The Tower Treasure!!!).  But wait!  That's not all ... the show is far from over!  After all, it does run for two whole days...

 

RATING:  10 hard-to-find copies of Beloved Belindy out of 10 for providing book lovers and collectors with an oasis of books, books, and more books to bring a level of joy only fellow book lovers will ever understand!

A Zebra Mystery Puzzler #13 - Epitaph for Emily

The thirteenth Zebra Mystery Puzzler introduces readers to a new protagonist, as well as a new author to the series.  D.W. Christner is actually David W. Christner, a Navy veteran who served in Vietnam; he is not only an author of novels, but also of stage plays, a number of which were finalists or winners in national and international playwriting competitions.  More about Christner can be found on his Amazon biography page (David W. Christner).  I am assuming the publisher used the "D.W." to avoid readers thinking the book was written by a man, since all of the books in this series are published under female author names.  This was Christner's only entry into the Zebra Mystery Puzzlers, so this is the only story we have with female sleuth, Jenny Wick.

 

Epitaph for Emily is definitely the darkest mystery I have read in a long time (if not ever!).  The story opens on a depressing note, with the funeral of Emily Abbott, and it pretty much keeps getting darker and darker with the turn of every page.  The story's protagonist is Jenny Wicks - but before I can proceed to talk about the character and her story, I must first point out a major inconsistency with her name.  The synopsis for the book on the back cover identifies her as "reporter Jennie Wicks," spelling her name with an "ie" instead of a "y" - yet, throughout the entire book, her name is spelled "Jenny" with a "y."  To confuse matters more, the illustration on page 93 has an envelope that is addressed to her, and it shows her name as "Jennie" with an "ie."  So, this begs the question: was the story originally intended to have her name spelled "Jennie," but somewhere along the way in the writing or editing process, the name was changed to "Jenny," or was the individual at the publisher in charge of the synopsis and illustrations simply unaware of the spelling of the main character's name?  That is one mystery I'd love to see solved!

 

In any event, Jenny Wicks is truly the focal point of this entire mystery.  It is her grandmother, Emily Abbot, who dies and is revealed to have been murdered.  This start Jenny on her journey to uncover the truth - but in so doing, she begins to realize the truth may not be what she wants.  Along the way, she discovers her grandfather was murdered in much the same way as her Emily.  And then a witness disappears, believed to have been washed out into the ocean.  Then her own mother, Sarah, dies.  Poor Sarah, who had her own issues, making it difficult to be a mother, leaving Jenny to be raised by her grandmother.  A grandmother who lied to her about pretty much everything.  Her father.  Her grandfather.  Her mother.  As I said, the story is very dark, and as the reader learns more and more about Jenny's family history and the truth begins to unravel, you realize that V.C. Andrews had absolutely nothing on D.W. Christner!  (And if you get my meaning here, then you'll have a clue as to what kind of family truths I'm referring to in this story!)

 

Christner does a fairly decent job of misdirecting the reader numerous times as Jenny digs deeper into the truth about Emily Abbott's murder and the identity of her real father.  It could be the family doctor that Jenny has known all of her life; it could be the unbalanced man who was (perhaps wrongfully) accused and convicted of her grandfather's murder; it could be the war hero turned attorney living in Tennessee whose photo Jenny finds among her mother's possessions; and upon learning that Sarah was sexually abused by Emily's husband, it could potentially have been her own grandfather!  But there is a simple clue that the author makes a specific point of mentioning about half-way through the story (and has an illustration to go right along with it) that pretty much gave it away for me.  Despite all of the other possibilities, that one clue pretty much cinched the case in my book.

 

The book gives readers a much more flawed protagonist than any of the prior books.  Jenny smokes pretty heavily, even though everyone around her is trying to get her to kick the habit (the author even mentions the whole "cigarettes cause cancer" line, which was only just becoming a big thing in the late '70s when this book came out). Jenny is also not tied down to one man.  She is dating two different men, both of whom ask her to marry him, and both of whom she turns down.  She even makes it clear to one of them that he is not the only man with whom she is having sex!  I cannot say whether these traits made the character more relatable to women reading the book back when it was first published in early 1979, but it definitely struck me as out of the ordinary while I was reading it for the time in which it was set.

 

On another note, the author uses a number of actual locations as settings for the mystery.  From the description of Narragansett Bay, Conanicut Island, and the Newport Bridge (p. 34), all of which are located in Rhode Island, to this historical founding of Newport by William Coddington (p. 50), as well as its use by the Vanderbilts and other wealthy families (p. 50).  There is also mention of Jenny driving down Bellevue Avenue and Ruggles Avenue (p. 64), both of which are actual streets in Newport.  Later, the author makes reference to the Tavern, "an old English style pub located on Memorial Boulevard, just around the corner from the famous Newport Casino..." (p. 76).  Again, there is a "Tavern" located at 3 Memorial Boulevard, which is right near the corner of Memorial and Bellevue; and the Newport Casino is located at 180-200 Bellevue Avenue, just a block or so from Memorial.  Thus, the author nailed the directions exactly. Finally, when Jenny decides to track down a man she believes to be her father in Tennessee, the author has her driving down I-95, where she picks up old U.S. 501 until she reaches I-81, which takes her into Tennessee.  Looking at a map, those are the directions needed that would take her down the East Coast and then westward into Tennessee.  It is these type of factual references that give a level of believability to a fictional story such as this.

 

Finally, I have no idea who provided the art for the interior illustrations, but they are similar enough to the artist who did illustrations for a couple of the Maxine Reynolds stories by Marjorie Grove to make me believe it is the same artist.  While Jenny is not unattractive on the cover, in the interior illustrations, Jenny is looks considerably older and, in fact, bears a striking resemblance to actress Carol Ann Ford, who portrayed "Susan" in the original seasons of Doctor Who. Additionally, the character who is described as an "old man" (p. 10) and later as "older than [Jenny] remembered..." (p. 172); yet, the illustrations of him depict him as a man who appears to be in his early 30s at best.  These type of inconsistencies lead me to believe the illustrators are not necessarily given details about the characters they are asked to draw for the books.

 

While I would not say this is one of my favorite of the Zebra Mystery Puzzlers so far, I would not call it bad by any means.  Different, yet.  Darker, definitely.  Worth the read, no doubt.  I will say, though, I am glad that there were no further stories from his author in the line.   I don't believe I would like to read more stories in this vein.

 

RATING:  8 itching birthmarks out of 10 for turning a V.C. Andrews-type story into a sordid, soap opera style murder mystery!

Sackhead: The Definitive Retrospective on Friday the 13th, Part 2

When the film Friday the 13th was first released in 1980, I did not want to go see it (even though my mom was willing to take a pre-teen boy to see the movie, I refused to see a horror movie!).  It was not until 1981, during the summer, that I first saw the film when it was released on cable television.  Even watching it in the middle of the day, the movie made me jump.  Once it was over, I thought that was it.  So, imagine my surprise, when looking through the movie channel guide (yes, way back then, we would get monthly guides from the movie channels, letting us know what movies would be airing that particular month), I happened across airings of a film titled Friday the 13th, Part 2!  Having enjoyed the first film, despite the jump scares and gore, I was anxious to see this second film.  After all, the killer had been beheaded in the first movie, so where could they go from there?  Well, that second film and the introduction of Jason Voorhees as the Crystal Lake killer cemented my love for this series of films.  Now, here we are some forty-plus years and a total of 12 films later, and my love for the Friday the 13th series has only grown.  Books, action figures, multiple versions of DVD box sets, posters, and other assorted collectibles give visible proof of my devotion to the films and characters.  Thus, when I happened across this retrospective while scrolling through Amazon, I did not hesitate to buy it.  After all, Part 2 was the film that gave the world one of the most iconic horror movie killers of all time - Jason!  Ki-ki-ki, ma-ma-ma...

 

Sackhead: The Definitive Retrospective on Friday the 13th, Part 2 does exactly what the title says it will do - it provides fans with the only, truly in-depth look at the first sequel in the franchise. I'm not familiar at all with the author, R. G. Henning.  His bio on the back cover indicates he created and runs a Facebook forum (Packanack Lodge) that is dedicated solely to the second film.  He also is a talent handler, representing many of the cast members from the movie franchise, which I can imagine must be an utter thrill!  And based on this book, the man clearly knows his stuff.  The amount of information contained in this book just about this one film is staggering.  Yes, the Crystal Lake Memories book by Peter M. Bracke offers an intense look at all of the films (up through Freddy v. Jason); but this book digs deep into just the first sequel, offering interviews with most of the cast, detailed character descriptions, a plethora of photos, tons of fun facts, and some long-awaited answers to questions that have been plaguing fans for decades.

 

The interviews provide some insight into not only the actors themselves, but also into the filming of the movie, the characters, and why the film has become such an important part of the Friday the 13th mythos for fans.  Some of the information is already out there in other sources, such as Steve Dash's feelings about Warrington Gilette being credited as Jason, when Dash actually performed more of the role under the hood; Adrienne King coming back for only a minor scene, partially due to the stalker situation that came to be after the first movie came out; Amy Steel's later regrets about not returning for Part 3; etc.  However, there was a lot of new information to be gleaned from the interviews. I was not aware that Adrienne King did not know her character was going to be killed off when she agreed to do the opening scene; nor that the opening sequence was the last thing filmed, and that the rush of filming it resulted in her near injury with the ice pick that killed Alice.  I was also not aware that Marta Kober was only 16 years old when she did the movie, and so Paramount set certain parameters revolving intimate scenes involving her character (Sandra).  I found it amusing to learn that Jack Marks (who played the deputy) had never driven when he got this part and had to be taught how to drive the police car for his scenes in the film - I also had never paid attention to the fact that his character is never actually named in the movie, and that his name was not established until the Simon Hawke novelization years later.  There is so much more, I could go on for paragraph after paragraph after paragraph!

 

Each chapter focuses on a different actor/character, and Henning opens each chapter with a narrative that provides the reader details about each character and his or her appearance in the film.  These narratives provide some insight into the motivations of the characters, and I'm assuming Henning gleaned some of this from Hawke's novelization (which added details not seen in the movie), or perhaps simply from the actions and dialogue of the characters themselves in the film. At the end of each chapter, Henning addresses a number of questions that fans have raised about seeming inconsistencies or impossible events that happen within the film, and he provides some well-thought out and reasoned answers that, in most cases, make perfect sense.  What happened to Paul Holt at the end of the film - did he survive or was he killed? Why did Jason use the dull side of the machete to kill Scott? Why was Terry killed off-screen, when all the other deaths were filmed? What dog did Jeff and Sandra find mutilated, since Muffy turns up alive and well at the end? Where were Ted and the other surviving counselors at the end of the film? Was Crazy Ralph's death unrealistic and illogically filmed? How did Jason find Alice in her house at the beginning of the film? And how did he know her number to call her (and for that matter, how did he know how to use a phone)? And why did he remove the whistling tea kettle from the stove burner after he killed Alice?  These questions, and more, find answers at long last in this book!

 

As if all of this were not enough, Henning also throws in a number of "Fun Facts" in each chapter, little tidbits about the movie, its actors, and the Friday the 13th series itself that provide an even wider understanding and knowledge for fans to appreciate.  Did you know the working title of the moving during filming was simply "Jason"? Or, were you aware that the name "Ginny Field" was inspired by the original Friday the 13th's art director, Virginia Field? Or even more surprising, that actor Bill Randolph ("Jeff") made another appearance (albeit from the back) in the film after his character was killed? And did you realize that the character of "Mark" was the only handicapped character to ever be killed in the entire franchise?  Henning offers so many more fun tidbits like that that only enhance every fan's knowledge of the Friday the 13th series, and Part 2 in particular.  

I have fortunate enough to meet four of the cast members from the film over the years - Amy Steel, John Furey, Warrington Gillette, and Steve Dash (and Adrienne King, so technically I've met five) - and I hope to someday meet more of them.  This book opened my eyes to just how important this film is to the series as a whole, and it has prompted me to go back and watch the film (for the umpteenth time) with an entirely new perspective.  I mean, let's be serious - how many other films can boast having five different actors portray Jason Voorhees?  This book is a definite must have for any true Friday the 13th fan, and the amount of research that went into the book evidences the love Henning has for the film that only a real fan can understand!

 

RATING:  10 severed heads in a refrigerator out of 10 for providing such detailed and well-researched information about one of the best films in not only this franchise, but perhaps in all slasher film history!

Harlequin Gothic Romance Series No. 32005 - Restless Obsession

"She's left her gloomy past behind - but then she discovered the future was threatened by its shadow." (cover blurb)

 

This fifth entry into the series holds up just as well as the prior four, definitely establishing the Gothic Romance line for Harlequin as a success in my eyes.  Each entry has had a super mix of mystery and suspense, filled with plenty of gothic elements and tropes, and only a hint of romance (which, for me, is an added plus, since I'm not a huge Harlequin romance fan).  This book was written by Jane Toombs, who is another actual person and not a pseudonym (although she did use her own share of pen names, such as Jane Anderson, Ellen Jamison, Diana Stuart, and Olivia Sumner). She has an interesting history, as her first husband did not like her writing, calling it "trash."  She ultimately divorced him and continued writing while also working as a registered nurse.  She wrote over 120 books between 1973 and 2017, including a number of gothic titles, although this was the only one published under the Harlequin Gothic Romance banner.

 

Restless Obsession is set in the "current" time period of when the book was published along the western coast of the United States and Canada - from California, to Washington, and up into Victoria.  The protagonist is twenty-something Martha Jamison, a young divorcee who is running away from her horrific past and hoping this new job as a companion to Josephine Garrard will help her escape.  Martha, who is a nurse (like her author!) has been hired to not just be a companion, but also to keep watch over the young Garrard girl, as the family says she is not mentally stable and has attempted suicide more than once in the past.  Martha quickly discovers that Josephine says she would never try to harm herself and that the previous "attempts" were actually incidents where someone was trying to kill her!  She is set to inherit a small fortune when her and her brother's father dies, and Josephine is certain someone wants her out of the picture so that they can take that money.  Is she telling the truth?  Martha cannot be certain, as Josephine has mood swings and appears immature for her age - yet, there is something not right about the people living in the house...

 

Toombs provides readers with a fantastic mystery.  Martha finds herself torn among three men - Branwell Lowery, the mystery man she meets on the ferry over to Victoria; Jules Garrard, Josephine's older brother who appears to have a tight control over Josephine and the Garrard finances; and Charn Wexler, the Garrards' more than charming cousin who resides in the house.  Martha finds herself attracted in different ways to each one, but when she is attacked in her bedroom on the first night in the house (the attacker revealing he knows all about Martha's past!), she harbors suspicions against each one of them, unsure who is telling the truth and who is not.  Besides these men, there other family members who seem to have their own motives for wanting Martha gone.  Natalie Drew, Jules and Josephine's aunt, makes it clear Martha is not wanted, as she believes Martha is only interested in Jules and his money.  Natalie's husband, Matthew, seems completely wrapped up in his research of Indian rituals and mystic lore to care what his wife does.  Cathleen is yet another cousin (Charn's sister), one who seems to have a strong desire for Jules and does not want Martha getting in her way.  The only ones who actually appear to want Martha to stay is an elderly cousin (Louella Gallion) and the very young girl, Sarah, who takes an instant liking to Martha.  But Sarah has a mysterious past, as no one will reveal just who she is or how she is related to the family - the only thing they will admit is that Norman Garrard (Jules and Josephine's father) brought her into the house and has kept her there ever since!

 

Since we are talking about Sarah, I have to admit, reading her character in the book gave me flashbacks to young Sarah Collins from Dark Shadows.   When she was first introduced into that show, she was a strange character about which little was known.  She made friends with David (who had a fascination with the occult, just like Josephine) and ultimately made friends with Victoria Winters (as the Sarah in this book does with Martha).  With the similarity in characterization and the use of the same name, I am left to wonder if the author was inspired by Dark Shadows when writing this character.

 

It is Josephine, however, that has the most mystery surrounding her.  Toombs definitely keeps the readers guessing.  Is Josephine suicidal?  Is she psychotic?  Is she paranoid? Or is everything she has been saying true?  What happened to her the two years she was missing?  Why can she not remember any of it?  Why will her father not say anything to anyone, including her own physician?  And what about this "Diego" that she insists has come back from the dead.  Is he real?  Or is someone merely playing deadly games that could end up killing not only Josephine, but Martha as well?  And just what does Martha's past have to do with any of it?

 

There are a couple of deaths before Martha is finally confronted with the truth in a very exciting and deadly game of cat and mouse in Victoria's Butchart Gardens.  And before you ask, yes, Butchart Gardens is a very real place in British Columbia (The Butchart Gardens), and Toombs does a wonderful job of describing this picturesque attraction. In fact, Toombs manages to put a number of real things into this story, including a reference to Emily Carr's autobiography, Growing Pains (p. 47), which Josephine is found reading, as well as mentioning the gold statue of George Vancouver (p. 102), along with Beacon Hill Park, Goodacre Lake, and Craigdarroch Castle (p. 102), all of which are actual locations in British Columbia.  There is also an interesting mention of Sylvia Plath (p. 109) and the very real fact that she killed herself by putting her head in an oven!

 

Not sure who provided the cover art, but it features the typical gothic woman in the foreground, looking back - but instead of an old mansion or castle, we get a dark, foreboding woods with what appears to be a hooded/robed figure in the background dancing behind a blue flame (hinting at some form of witchcraft or supernatural element to the story).  This scene is taken from the events that occur at the end of Chapter Fourteen (pp. 128-29), when one of the characters decides to force Martha to face her past and reveal it to everyone!  It's definitely one of the most dramatic scenes in the whole book.

 

This was definitely another win for the Harlequin Gothic Romance line!

 

RATING:  10 stuffed killer whales out of 10 for a superbly suspenseful gothic tale of mystery and mystic lore!