Random Killer

 Random Killer (1981) by Hugh Pentecost

Most days, everything runs like clockwork at the Hotel Beaumont in NYC. That's thanks to Pierre Chambrun, manager extraordinaire, and his loyal army of hotel employs. But today is different--in the morning, in Suite 3406, the breakfast table was set for two, but Geoffrey Hammond, one of the world's best and sometimes most hated television journalists, doesn't get to sample the culinary delights from the kitchen. When the waiter returns to retrieve the serving cart, he finds Hammond strangled to death...with picture wire. Chambrun and Mark Haskell, Chambrun's right-hand man, are just getting things calmed down when another guest is found strangled. Joanna Frasier, women's lib advocate, had laid out all the accoutrements for a cocktail tête-à-tête but who as her unexpected guest?

In each case, the victims' secretaries had no record of an expected breakfast or cocktail partner. And there was no struggle, so Hammond and Frasier must have been comfortable enough with the other person to turn their backs on him or her. At first, it looks like the Beaumont just has a psycho roaming the halls, killing famous acquaintances at random--and the Beaumont is full of famous personages. But as Chambrun, Haskell, and Lt. Hardy begin digging, they find a connection to a similar murder a couple of years ago at a ski lodge in Colorado. Sharon Dain had been accused and convicted of strangling her lover with picture wire. There were many who thought Dain was innocent and both Hammond and Frasier were approached to lend their influence to help the defense. Both turned the suggestions down for difference reasons. When others are killed in connection with the Dain case, it becomes clear that someone has taken it upon themselves to eliminate those who didn't help Sharon "enough" (whatever that means in the killer's mind). 

Chambrun is convinced that someone in the hotel must have seen something...but will he find out who and what before it's too late?

I have to say--I don't care how exclusive, how nice the Beaumont is. It's one of the last fictional hotels I'd want to stay in. Considering how many books are in this series, the odds of getting knocked off are about as high as if you were visiting Jessica Fletcher in Cabot Cove (or anywhere in her vicinity wherever she is). Probably higher, because the Beaumont tends towards multiple murders and Jessica seems to run to one per episode. Why on earth you'd want to stay at a hotel where the guests drop like flies is beyond me. But...setting aside that little thought...is this a good mystery?

Yes. It's actually one of the better clued and better plotted mysteries in the Chambrun line-up (not that I haven't enjoyed the others I've read). You have to fill in some blanks and work off of things that are implied--but you absolutely can get there from what Pentecost gives us on the page. Just remember...you've got to mistrust what people tell you. The one quibble I have is how Pentecost tends to recycle plot points. The ending of this one and Murder in Luxury (my most previous read--though it appears two books further in the series) are almost identical: Killer knows Chambrun is on to them. Killer takes hostages and insists on escape vehicle. Chambrun comes up with plan to nab the killer on the way to the escape vehicle that will keep the killer from killing the hostages. But that's a small quibble for an other-wise very good mystery. ★★★★

First line: I suppose if you were psychotic and you wanted to kill famous people at random, you couldn't find a better hunting ground than the Hotel Beaumont.

Last line: "We still have a hotel to run."
*****************

Deaths = 5 strangled

[Finished on 9/25/26]

Mystery of the Moss-Covered Mansion

 Mystery of the Moss-Covered Mansion (1941/1971) by Carolyn Keene
[originally published in 1941; I have read the revised edition first published in 1971]

Apparently there is a substantial change in the storyline between the original and revised texts. I do have an original text copy around here somewhere (haven't found it on the TBR mountain range yet). The revised version is what I grew up with. In this edition, Mr. Billington, a client of Carson Drew's (with interests in New York, though a resident of Florida) has been charged with hiding explosives within the oranges sent in the latest batch for the Cape Kennedy Space Center. He swears he had no idea that explosives had been stuffed in the oranges and has asked Carson to help his Florida lawyer find out who has framed him and why. 

Carson brings Nancy along to help with the detective work and, of course, she invites Bess and George to join them as well.  And later Ned, Burt, and Dave come to Florida as well.There's all sorts of mysterious goings-on at the orange farm and the spooky old neighboring moss-covered mansion--from the odd behavior of Billington's packing plant manager and wife (who serve as houseman and housekeeper as well) to the men who live at the mansion to the wild animals that roam the mansion's fenced-in grounds. Someone sets fire to the orange grove, Nancy and Ned are locked in another old house, and the motorboat (in which they traveled) is stolen. Someone wants the Drews and company to leave the matter alone...but Nancy can never leave a mystery unsolved--especially when the entire space program may be at risk!

The reread of the revised version hit me about the same as it did when I read it back in the mid- to late-seventies. It's a decent story with a good amount of action and it was nice to see Ned have a fair amount to do as a partner in Nancy's investigation. But the story just didn't grab me. I had a difficult time with the explosive oranges (did the bad guys really think that would work?). The back-up plan with the laser seemed to be a much better idea. A fun afternoon's read and walk down memory lane. When I find my original text copy, I'll be interested to see how it compares. ★★★

First line: The Drews' living room was in semidarkness as Nancy walked in.

Last line: "But I'm terribly proud of you!"
*********************

Deaths = one natural

[finished on 9/23/26]

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The Man Who Killed Fortescue

 The Man Who Killed Fortescue (1928) by Dorothy Stockbridge Tillett [originally under the name John Stephen Strange]

Synopsis from the back of the book: Charles Anstruther, a popular mystery story writer had long been interested in the unsolved murder of the millionaire John Fortescue. He had spent much time and effort sifting all the available evidence and tracking down various clues. And he was near a solution to the case.

One warm summer night Anstruther left his uptown club and took the Fifth Avenue bus home. Double-decker buses were quite common in New York in the 1920s and Anstruther chose to sit well up forward on the upper deck. At the end of the run, at Washington Square, the conductor mounted the stairs for a last survey of the upper seats. Anstruther's crouched figure made no answer to the conductor's polite "End of the run, sir" because sometime during the course of the bus's run his throat had been neatly cut.

It was now up to Van Dusen Ormsberry, a great but very human detective to take charge of this baggling case and determine if the man who killed Fortescue was indeed responsible for Anstruther's death....

Ormsberry suspects this to be very much the case. And he's determined to find out--especially since the Fortescue case was one of his failures. Fortescue's stepdaughter Joan Archer had been accused and tried for the crime, but it wasn't Ormsberry's brilliant detective work that kept her from being found guilty. The jury managed that on their own. But the "not guilty" verdict hasn't saved the young woman's reputation and polite society feels very strongly that there isn't smoke without fire. If only Ormsberry had been able to discover the true villain, then Joan's reputation would have been saved and she might be married to the young man who still loves her. Instead, she has removed herself from society and broken her engagement to Brian Channing.

And...in an awful twist, the police now believe that Brian Channing may have killed both Fortescue (with or without Joan's help) and now Anstruther. Ormsberry is certain that there is something deeper than a lover's wish to free up Joan's inheritance. He follows several clues and finally comes to the conclusion that if he can just discover who the man was whom Anstruther was talking to in the club prior to his fateful bus trip that all will become clear. But how can he identify a man who nobody else saw?

This has a brilliant beginning--with the discovery of the body on the bus and a nice scene where certain witnesses see things that could be interpreted in a variety of ways. If the entire plot had remained as interesting, I would have given this a solid four stars OR if Ormsberry's sidekick "the Admiral" (a young boy who idolizes the amateur detective) had been onstage for more of the proceedings. He does a great deal of good detective work offstage and we just get told about it. It would have been much more enjoyable to join the Admiral in his exploits. ★★★ and 1/2

First line: Despite the oppressive sultriness of the night, the bus that rattled down through the curtained Thirties about half-past nine was almost empty.

Joan cast at him a blighting look expressive of woman's innate conviction at the ineradicable stupidity of man. (p. 275)

Last line: "You bet, sir!" cried the Admiral heartily, as man to man, and on these terms they parted for the night.

*******************

Deaths = 3 (two stabbed; one shot)

Death Likes It Hot

 Death Likes It Hot (1954) by Edgar Box (Gore Vidal)

The third in a trio of mysteries written by Gore Vidal under the name of Edgar Box. After his novel The City and the Pillar (1948) which featured descriptions of homosexuality that caused him to be blacklisted by The New York Times, Vidal donned the Box pseudonym and used it to produce the three novels for cold, hard cash. His series stars Peter Cutler Sargeant III, a publicity man turned amateur detective when his business lands him in the middle of three murder cases.

Although I have all three of Vidal's mysteries, I've been tackling them in a somewhat random order. Having previously read Death Before Bedtime, it looks like our author has a fondness for Golden Age-style country house mysteries. Bedtime was focused on the political scene in 1950s Washington D.C. while the current mystery is set at a lavish beach house in the East Hamptons. Sargeant is hired by Rose Veering to give her the right kind of publicity for an upcoming party. Rose is "new money" and has found it difficult to be accepted in the exclusive Hamptons. She hopes that making a nice splash with a party full of society's best and brightest will help boost her standing. 

So, Sargeant is invited to an advance weekend gathering where he and the hostess can discuss plans for the upcoming event. Also on hand is Veering's niece Mildred and her painter husband Brexton; Allie and Fletcher Claypoole, a brother and sister pair who seem more like a married couple than siblings; and Mary Western Lung, a garrulous author and book columnist who sticks to Sargeant through the weekend like a limpet. It looks like Sargeant's toughest job will be to escape Lung's clutches. Until...

The group goes to the beachfront and has a front row seat to watch Mildred Brexton drown. Fletcher Claypoole and our hero try to reach her in time, but are just too late. Initially, it seems to be a tragic accident caused by the powerful riptide--but then an autopsy proves that Mildred had a handful of sleeping pills before entering the water. Did the unhappy wife choose a very public suicide or did someone spike her breakfast drink? When Sargeant is slugged over the head upon his late-night return to the house, it begins to look a lot like murder. The PR man has had some previous encounters with murder and decides to lend a helping hand to Detective Greaves, the policeman assigned to investigate. But they won't gather sufficient evidence before another death occurs...will they be able to prevent one more?

This one appealed to me more than my previous Gore Vidal outing. Vidal gives us a better portrayal of the country house mystery. There are plenty of suspects and he muddies the waters well. I also liked Sargeant more than in Bedtime. He seems much more engaged in the mystery and more dedicated to detective. He still wants to show up the local detective but he's more consistent this time around. And--Vidal wins points for keeping me mystified until the end. I definitely did not spot the murderer. ★★★★

First line: The death of Peaches Sandoe the midget at the hands, or rather the feet, of a maddened elephant in the sideshow circus at Madison Square Garden was at first thought to be an accident, the sort of tragedy you're bound to run into from time to time if you run a circus with both elephants and midgets in it.

Last line: "Well, you see this elephant..."
*********************

Deaths = 3 (one trampled by elephant; one drowned; one throat cut)

[Finished on 9/17/26]

Murder in Luxury

 Murder in Luxury (1981) by Hugh Pentecost (Judson Philips)

Murder takes over the exclusive Hotel Beaumont once more and its legendary manager Pierre Chambrun and Mark Haskell, his publicity manager and right-hand man, are going to have to stop it in its tracks. When a drug pusher/pimp is found shot to death in the apartment of Valerie Summers, her lawyer (a friend of Chambrun's) presumes upon his old friend to give the lady a place to stay. Valerie had come to New York to escape publicity and bad memories after her beloved husband had died in a fire. She's the lonely, rich heiress of the McCandless fortune who just wanted a place where she could be anonymous and forget the past. But now she finds herself suspect number one in the murder of a man she says she's never seen...and she's beginning to think she carries a load of deadly bad luck for anyone she comes in contact with. Her mother died giving her life. Her husband died in a fire. A friend and her son died in a plane crash after Val gave them the money to fly. And now this. And the man in her apartment isn't the last. Another man is found dead in her hotel room and then the policeman assigned to guard her room is killed. Lieutenant Keegan, the police detective in charge of the case, is sure that Val is mad killer behind that beautiful face. The only problem is--he and another officer and her lawyer were all with her when that police guard was killed. And if she didn't kill him then maybe she didn't kill the other two. But if not...then who did? Chambrun and Haskell are determined to find out.

*************Slight Spoiler Ahead***************

The entire time I was reading this I had a feeling of déjà vu. I can find no indication that I have read this one before (not even in the days before blogging), but the ending felt especially familiar. Maybe I read it and just forgot to log it. Anyway...the ending spectacular--mostly due to Mrs. Victoria Haven, the 81-year-old permanent resident of one of the three penthouse suites at the top of the hotel. She comes bursting into the grand finale and does everything she can to get the killer to break his hold on Valerie and Mark. Her time on the stage is well worth the price of admission. The mystery is pretty middle of the road--the culprit isn't well-hidden because, quite frankly, there just aren't many suspects to be had. Especially if you know (as anyone who reads even one of the series will know) that if Chambrun and Haskell are protecting someone in one of their hotel rooms, then that someone didn't do it. But the build-up to the finale is good and I thoroughly enjoy Chambrun and his world. So, overall a good solid read. ★★★ 

First line: Looking back at the many stories I've written about murder and violence at the Beaumont, New York's top luxury hotel, people might get the notion that that gracious and elegant establishment is not a place to stay in safety.

Last line: "I'm sure as hell going to try, ma'am," I said.
*******************

Deaths = 8 (four shot; one natural; one fire; two plane crash)

Property of a Lady

 Property of a Lady (1983) by Anthony Oliver

Margaret Garland came into a fair inheritance when her mother died. She'd spent her time taking care of her mother and hadn't really had much of a life outside the home. She opts to stay in the cottage in Flaxfield rather than the flat in London. One evening when driving home, she spies a young man hitchhiking along the road. Everything she's been taught tells her she shouldn't stop--but seeing his pale face in the rearview mirror, she finds herself braking and giving him a lift. He's in such a bad way that she takes him in and her doctor tells her that it would be best if he weren't moved, but it could be arranged if Margaret would prefer not to have a stranger in the house.

Lizzie Thomas is the nosey parker older woman in the village. Her binoculars (a gift from her friend, retired police inspector John Webber, sees Mark Carter helped into Margaret's house. All her inquisitive instincts are on the alert, but she has a difficult job finding out anything about him at first. It's revealed, however, that he was on his way to visit his mother who is a resident at Henworth Hall--a health spa for wealthy ladies in need of dieting, relaxation, or just some time out of the spotlight. He's also the son of  the (now deceased) well-known antiques dealer who was half of Carter & Monmouth...and he has quite the flair for antiques himself. It soon becomes apparent that Margaret is quite smitten. 

Lizzie on the other hand is bothered by the young man and an incident involving her cat Bunter makes her even more uneasy. Then Mark just up and disappears--and so does his mother. Lizzie can't leave that alone and, so, with the help of Webber and her son-in-law Jimmy "Betsey" Trottwood, a local antiques dealer she sets out to find out everything she can about Mark Carter. Some of it is unsettling indeed, but, as Webber points out, none of it is actionable. They are left in a wait-and-see mode until an explosive grand finale which takes place in the middle of a very tense round of bidding at a local auction.

As I've mentioned in reviews of other titles by Oliver, his strong suit is his characters.  John and Lizzie are well-defined, interesting, and, most importantly, believable people. As are most of the supporting characters. Lizzie is the queen of the art of gossip.  And we know this because Oliver makes it plain in her interactions with the other characters. She manages to find just the right tone to take with each person she talks to and succeeds where more official inquiries fail. I've read mysteries before where a certain character supposedly just had this "quality" that made others confide all sorts of secrets to them...but I never got a real feel for why that was.  I certainly never thought that I'd be spilling the beans to them myself.  With Lizzie, it's different.  I could see her plopping a cup of tea and some biscuits down if front of me and in no time at all she'd know everything I had to tell. I thoroughly enjoy the way Lizzie and John interact and form a team.

Several reviewers have mentioned how humorous Oliver's stories are. I don't think I could say that the mystery itself is humorous; it's really quite dark at times, especially in the finale. But the relationship between Lizzie & John--hysterical. Just the picture of her convincing him to sit in his underpants in front of the coal fire to soothe his arthritis is enough--let alone her running commentary on the matter. 

This really isn't a whodunnit. We know very early on who the suspect is. It is more of a what-exactly-has-he-done and are-we-going-to-be-able-to-prove-it? When it comes to the mystery, I much prefer that there be a definite crime to solve and trying to figure out who did it rather than knowing that somebody is up to something (or has been up to something) and can we figure out what and pin it on them when we do. But as a character study, it's brilliant. ★★★  primarily for the characters.

First line: Everyone said it was dangerous.

Last lines: I must find someone to look after my cat. Someone kind.
*********************

Deaths = 6 (two natural; one drowned; one hit by train; one beheaded; one shot)

Who Killed Me?

 Who Killed Me? (1979) by Joan Allan

Valerie Lambert is an account executive for an advertising agency that is producing commercials for a new perfume named for Meri Milton, film star. Setting up filming schedules for ten one-minute commercials shot at various London landmarks was a feat in and of itself, but dealing with the bickering between Meri and the film's director, Hans Richmond, and the hostility between Meri and Nelson Bishop, the rising star executive for Associated Cosmetics (home of the new perfume), and the resentment between Hans and Nelson was enough to drive Valerie to distraction. And just when she's successfully smoothed the ruffled feathers of the movie star and her director, two policemen show up at her hotel room at one o-clock in the morning and ask her to come with them. At the end of their journey is the dead body of Nelson Bishop--a knife in his chest and a note pinned to his suit jacket that says:

WHO KILLED ME? ASK VALERIE LAMBERT. 836-4343

It follows that Inspector Haverstock is curious to know why Valerie's name is on the note. She gives him all the background info she can and, once the time of death is established, is cleared of suspicion. So, of course, she wants to lend a hand in the investigation. 

She and Haverstock will have to sift through the suspects. There are the obvious ones--Meri and Hans. But were their disagreements with the executive deep enough to result in murder? There is also the head of Associated Cosmetics, Perry Nash, who may have found that his anticipated successor had a few too many skeletons in the closet--or had too great an interest in Nash's daughter Adrienne. Which brings us to Adrienne--she and Bishop had a fling but then she transferred her affections to an older actor by the name of Clifford Frampton. Maybe Bishop didn't want to take no for an answer? As our two detectives keep digging, they discover that Bishop had a little side-line of blackmail going on. Maybe he pushed one of his victims just a little too far?

This another of a series of Zebra Mystery Puzzler Books that I got in an assortment for Christmas a couple of years. As indicated on the cover, the set-up for these books is that all the clues necessary for the reader to solve the mystery before the final reveal are given in the cover photo, various illustrations within the story, and, as with good mysteries clues given in the text. I obtained and read one of this series a very long time ago (over 30 years) and enjoyed it (thus the request for my hubby to order up the Zebra books on Ebay). Since then I've read three of the lot of fifteen or so with mixed results. 

In general, this series consists of pretty solid but somewhat lightweight mysteries. And even when I thought the clues given in the pictures weren't especially necessary to solve the mystery(because there weren't enough red herring suspects or whatever) at least the clues were there in case you needed them. However--for this mystery, nearly all of the clues make sense only after the solution is revealed. I didn't pick up a single one before the reveal and I can't for the life of me figure out what the extra clue is on the cover. Everything you see--from the knife to the message--is explained in the text. 

I also find it really difficult to believe that Haverstock would allow some random American to flit about in his Scotland Yard investigation AND that she would have better ideas about tracking down the knife and the pen used for the note than an experienced police detective. He acts like her discoveries are just brilliant and who would have thought? Yes, there are all sorts of amateurs barging into official investigations in detective fiction and I happily go along with most of them--when there's a good mystery plot payoff. Unfortunately, I'm not buying it this time. ★ and 1/2 (I almost gave it two, but I don't think it's as good as another Zebra Puzzler that I did give two stars, so...)

First line: Valerie Lambert's knife sliced through a pâté of fresh duck livers, truffles, and pistachio nuts.

Last line: Whoever was calling Valerie Lambert was going to have to wait.
*********************

Deaths = 2 (one stabbed; one drowned)

A Stitch in Crime

 A Stitch in Crime (2015) by Ann Yost

Synopsis (from book flap): When the coveted title of Saint Lucy goes to outsider Liisa Pelonen, folks in the close-knit town of Red Jacket are riled, but on one anticipates violence, especially not temporary police chief Hattie Lehtinen. So it is a distinct shock when Liisa's lifeless body turns up in the sauna of Arvo Maki's funeral home, the evening before the Christmas Festival.

Hatti, owner of the fishing/knitting supplies shop Bait & Stitch, took on the top cop job in the believe that it would consist of emptying the parking meters on MainStreet. She's no Finnish Columbo and she knows she's not qualified to investigate a suspicious death. But she succumbs to pressure from Maki who is worried about the murder's likely effect on the town's major tourist event.

Hatti has known the people of Red Jacket all her life and can't see any of them as a murderer, but she accepts the challenge, confident that she can count on help from her friends, the members of the Keweenawesome Knitting Circle. She has not counted on the deal she'll have to make with the devil, aka Jace Night Wind, her almost ex-husband.

There are several suspects from Liisa's "foster" parents, Arvo & Pauline Maki,  to Ronja Laplander, mother who is furious that an outsider has stolen the St. Lucy title from her own daughter, to Mattie Murso who loved Liisa and may have been upset when he found out she was pregnant, to Liisa's father to Reid Night Wing...Hatti's brother-in-law. Reid and Liisa were secretly married...and it's just been discovered that she was worth a couple of cool millions. When a second murder occurs, it eliminates one of the suspects and it becomes abundantly clear that someone near Hatti must be responsible. But who?

Color me baffled. How on earth does Hatti get to be "acting police chief" just because her dad is police chief but he's out of commission due to a "hit-and-run snowmobile accident"? And, if we swallow that set-up, how on earth does Hatti grow up in and now (again) live in a house with a policeman, read a ton of detective novels, and start a law degree without having a single clue about how to run a murder investigation once she's saddled with one? One of the suspects has to remind her that she ought to be interviewing them and taking notes. She forgets to secure the site of the murder or the victim's room...or really anything of importance.

Speaking of the ton of detective novels, this quote is one of the best things about the whole book: I sighed, plopped down into Pops's easy chair and stared at the books lined up on the shelves. My eye was caught by the titles by Margery Allingham, Patricia Wentworth, Ngaio Marsh, P. D. James, and, of course, Agatha Christie. I'd read them all at one time. I wished, fancifully, for the wisdom of those fictional detectives and their clever authors like Dorothy L. Sayers and her Lord Peter Wimsey.

So many things bothered me about this mystery. It seems like we were going for the cutesy/cozy themed mystery set-up. We've got the title--A Stitch in Crime--which is a total play on the fact that Hatti owns a shop called Bait & Stitch (a combo fishing/knitting supply store, what the heck?). And yet--we spend almost no time at the shop or doing anything that has to do with knitting. We also have mention in the blurb of the knitting circle, but does Hatti actually spend much time meeting up with them. No. There's a tiny little bit about ice fishing, but, again, virtually no time spent at the store. It's just there to provide a useful title and the occasional joke about how can Hatti possibly have a store that sells live bait when she is so anti-creepy-crawlies. 

And then there's her "soon-to-be-ex" Jace. Who told her that their marriage was over after a mere six months with absolutely no explanation. And who has now popped up in Red Jacket supposedly (we learn at the end of the book) because he missed her so much and wants to apologize and make things right...BUT who every time there's an open opportunity to talk to her absolutely does not. She has to goad him into finally explaining.

"You have some nerve, Jace Night Wind. You dump me without explanation, ignore me for a year, then insult me when we bump into each other.
"It's not a bump into. I came out here on purpose to talk to you."
I decided to ignore the untruth in that statement. I gazed at him steadily. "Then talk."

I was so distracted by Hatti and Jace that I really couldn't follow the mystery properly. I was sortof on the right track, though I picked the wrong half of a duo and the wrong motive. I'm still not convinced that the culprit we're given would have been the type to start planting home-made "sticky bombs" on people's cars. ★★ Others on Goodreads seem to have enjoyed this way more than me, so your mileage may vary.

First line: The annual St. Lucy's Day parade was about to start and, at least crime-wise, all was quiet on the Northern front, which might seem like an odd thing to be grateful for, but then, I am, at the moment, the sole representative of what passes for the law in my hometown, Red Jacket, Michigan.

Last line: "Of course."
********************

Deaths = 3 (two poisoned; one car bomb)

Beverly Gray's Return

 Beverly Gray's Return (1939) by Clair Blank

This is the ninth book in the series by Clair Blank. Unlike the Nancy Drew series, Clair Blank was a single author who wrote all 25 books in the series. The books begin with Beverly's freshman year in college and follow her from there through various adventures, work for the government, and finally as a newspaper reporter. Her "Return" finds Beverly and company preparing to board the Susabella at Hawaii for the return trip to New York. Along the way on their cruise around the world, they have picked up a new friend in Nikki Abbott. Nikki asks for the boat to wait just a bit longer because she needs to run a last-minute errand and she asks Beverly to go with her. They set out for a perfume shop where Nikki had heard she could get a very special perfume made. The girls are asked to wait in a side room while it's being prepared but Nikki thinks it's taking a bit long and goes out of the room to check on things--closing the door behind her. When Nikki doesn't return, Beverly tries the door and finds it locked. And when she finally gets out and gets to the dock, she finds that the Susabella has left without her. Why did Nikki lock her in? How could her friends have left her? Finding out what has happened will take Beverly on an adventure that involves impersonation, royalty, stolen jewels, a kidnapping, and the beginnings of another adventure....

I've mentioned before that Beverly Gray is another heroine that I wish I had met when I was young. I would have loved reading about a detective with my own name! She's resourceful and independent and a good role model for young girls. On the one hand, she's a bit more realistic than Nancy Drew--going to work and living away from home in the big city. But then, I think she gives Nancy a run for her money in the number of close scrapes she has. She also has way more adventures than most of us do in everyday life, but the stories wouldn't be nearly as exciting without them.

This one is quite full--with mysterious princesses on the run from an evil government official from their home country, jewel thieves who are selling stolen property and replacing the real jewels with fakes, the kidnapping of one Beverly's friends when the jewel thieves thinks she's holding out on them over some of the jewels, and a new, unsolved (in this installment) mystery surrounding another girl from their school days who was in an accident and has lost her memory. Of course, the immediate mystery of why Nikki left Beverly behind in Hawaii and how (and why) she fooled Beverly's friends is explained. And the jewel thieves are caught. 

These stories are fairly simple mysteries, aimed at young readers. But they are fun and I always enjoy reading about my namesake's adventures. ★★★

First line: "Why do I have to get up at such an hour?" Lenora Whitehill grumbled as she followed Lois Mason and Beverly Gray to where other the other members of the yachting party were at breakfast.

Last line: We will leave the Alpha Delta girls and their friends at this juncture, but we shall pick up the thread of their story again in "Beverly Gray, Reporter" when they manage to involve themselves in more amazing adventures.
**********************

Deaths = two in a revolution

These Old Shades

 These Old Shades (1926) by Georgette Heyer

Justin Alastair, the Duke of Avon, though well-born has been known as a rake and a scoundrel...and by the name "Satanas." He'd be the first to admit that he's lived up to quite a few of the rumors. So, it's not a surprise that his friends and family find it hard to believe that he's taken in a dirty boy who runs into him one night on the streets of Paris simply out of the goodness of his heart. There must be some ulterior motive. And there is. The boy, Léon, is running away from a sure beating at the hands of his tavern-keeper brother. But the boy--with copper red hair and fine-boned structure--looks nothing like his squarely-built, loutish brother. And Avon sees promise in the lad....a promise of a means to serve up a nice cold dish of revenge to his enemy, the Comte de Saint-Vire.

Avon trains the lad on how to be his page and he sets out with him among the quality--visiting both the most elevated circles as well as the gaming houses of Paris. He particularly wants to parade him about wherever Saint Vire-might be. Léon sees Avon as his savior and will brook no disrespectful discussions of the Duke's supposed satanic habits. His temper matches his reddish hair and he's willing to fight anyone who disrespects his "Monsignor."

Even when Georgette Heyer was starting out as a historical romance author, she loved to mix romance with mystery. And, when she wrote novels that were clearly designated as mysteries, she loved to throw a bit of romance in there. The two genres seem to be inextricably linked  for her. And there are all kinds of mysteries to be solved here in one of her earliest regency-based books--from why the Duke of Avon and Comte de Saint-Vire have such an enmity between them to who Léon really is to how and when Avon will serve up justice to his "very dear friend," Saint-Vire to whether or not anyone will be murdered.

Avon realized quite soon that Léon is not quite what "he" seems and exchanges his page Léon for a beautiful ward by the name of Léonie. This upsets Saint-Vire even more than seeing the copper-headed page all over Paris and it leads to kidnapping, fired shots, and...eventually death and scandal among the nobility.

Such a fun early book by Heyer! It is especially good once the transformation to Léonie is complete. And the action really picks up once Saint-Vire makes his attempt at kidnapping. Léonie and Lord Rupert (Avon's younger brother) make an excellent team in outwitting and making the escape from the Comte. And Avon's methods in bringing about Sain-Vire's downfall is really quite satisfying. What keeps this from a five-star rating is Léon/Léonie's irritating habit of weeping over Avon and coming to his defense (like this Duke really needs it...), the Duke's need to constantly refer to her as "infant" (she's 19!), and the huge (20-some years) age difference. On the plus side, The characters are witty, charismatic, and interesting. Even the side characters are terrific (mostly)--from Lord Rupert to Lady Fanny Marling (Avon's sister) to Hugh Davenant (Avon's friend). Rupert is particularly hilarious in every conversation. The mystery behind it all really isn't well-hidden. I got it from the beginning but it was interesting waiting to see how and when Avon would spring his trap against Saint-Vire. The one mystery that isn't solved--just what it was that happened between the two men that caused Avon to look so hard and long for the perfect revenge. ★★★★

*May I just say the person on the cover of my edition looks nothing like what I imagine Léon/Léonie to look like. Where are the short copper curls?

First line: A gentleman was strolling down a side street in Paris, on his way back from the house of one Madame de Verchoureux

Last line: "Ah, bah!" said the Duchess of Avon.
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Deaths = 3 (two in the plague; one shot)

September Reading by the Numbers Reviews

 

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