Annette: The Desert Inn Mystery

    As I had mentioned in a previous review, my only knowledge of Annette was these books. They're based on a tv show segment called Annette but I had not seen it. I decided to give the show a watch before beginning this book and I have to say I'm confused. In these books Annette is a gorgeous, sophisticated teenager who lives with her modern aunt and uncle in Hollywood. However in the tv show she's just a child, a small town country girl who moves into an old Victorian home with her old fashioned, intellectual aunt and uncle that don't know what to do with a child.

    I don't understand how the plot changed so much. Why not base these books simply on a fictionalized Annette Funicello like the Celebrity Authorized Editions?

    Anyways after my first and only reading of this book I considered it my second favorite next to Sierra Summer. As I just reread Sierra Summer and found it a little lackluster I'm curious what I'll think of this one.

    As the book begins Annette is ready to set off to Pine Flat, Arizona, the hometown of her best friend Lisa Kerry. Traveling alongside Annette and Lisa are Jinx and his Aunt Tish, an artist who wants to paint the Arizona desert and is also doubling as the teenagers chaperone on the long drive.

On the trip Lisa becomes worried something is not right at home when she runs across Swift Rider, a man who had been hired by Lisa's father to head up the renovation of the towns old stagecoach station. Swift Rider informs Lisa there are no workers left on the project but doesn't explain why.

    Once they arrive at Pine Flat Lisa and Annette rush to the stage station to speak with her father. He leads them to the back of the station where the burned remains of a connected barn and cottage are. The cottage had been home to Charley, one of Mr. Kerry's workers, and his wife Maria who cooks for the Kerry's. The barn had held all the furniture that was to be used in the station once it was converted into an Inn and included antiques and one-of-a-kind items crafted by the local Navajos. Mr. Kerry says the fire was deliberate and it has become clear someone does not want the Inn to open.

    The evening Mr. Kerry is visited by a stranger named John Iverson who is interested in buying the station. He claims his great-grandfather was the first agent to work at the station and he wants to turn it into a home and settle there for sentimental reasons. He only offers to pay half the price that Mr. Kerry bought it for but as the Kerry's are in a tough financial situation, Lon Kerry is considering it. Annette gets a bad vibe from Iverson and rightfully so as we soon find out he is in cahoots with an old bank robber named Shay. Shay and John Iverson's father had taken part in an old bank robbery in Tuscan and then faked their deaths in a mine explosion. The older Mr. Iverson had stashed the $50,000 in a hidden tunnel somewhere in the station before going to prison for a different bank robbery. Right before passing away he told his son and Shay about the tunnel and now the two men are on a search for it. Their plan is to acquire the station with a fake check, find the loot, and then disappear.

    Annette doesn't want the Kerry's to lose the station so she comes up with a plan of quickly turning it into an antique shop to sell the huge collection of family antiques sitting unwanted in the Kerry's attic which would fund the renovation work. Everyone thinks it's a great idea and all of Lisa's friends come to help get the stations main room cleaned and painted. While there Annette is informed of a surprise birthday party being thrown for Lisa the next day. Everyone is going to head to the old mine, the one Shay used to fake his death which just so happens to be where he's currently hiding, for what they are pretending is just a picnic. 

    Annette suggests to Jinx that he head up there early and hunt around the mine for a special geode to give as a birthday gift to Lisa who he has a huge crush on. The whole gang arrives and are waiting for Mrs. Kerry to show up with the birthday cake before they announce to Lisa that's the picnic is actually her birthday party when John Iverson suddenly shows up. He pulls out a fancy cake and Lisa make a big fuss over him being the only one who knew it was her birthday. Annette is pretty annoyed with Iverson ruining their party, making moves on Lisa, and at Lisa for indulging in the advances of this shady character. To make matters worse Iverson presents Lisa with a big fancy store bought crystal right as Jinx is about to give her some Topaz he'd spent half the day finding. He abandons his present and disappears to look for something even better which ends up being a big piece of silver ore. He gives it to her that evening but thinking he's given her a big rock as a cruel joke she hurled it at the sidewalk and it's not until her father finds it the next morning and asks what the heck a big piece of silver ore is doing in their yard does Lisa find out the truth.

    Mr. Kerry is excited about the ore as he assumes Jinx must have found a claim. Unfortunately Jinx had taken off for the city the night before to have some posters printed for the antique store so they can not ask him.

    Iverson overheard all this and heads out to the mine where, with Shays help, he searches all around for any silver or claim notice. They don't find any but they do find out that Jinx had purchased the ore from a local prospector and that it had come from far away. Iverson immediately thinks up a plan to get Lon Kerry in legal trouble. Taking some other silver ore the prospector had they stage it over by the mine and lure Mr. Kerry to the site. Seeing the ore he immediately makes two claims, one for him and one for Jinx, then rushes into town to register them. He tries to offer Iverson 25% of the claim for free but Iverson insists on paying $1,000 for it, with a fake check of course.

    Meanwhile no one has heard from Jinx for days and are beginning to worry. Annette finally gets word of him one evening when a nurse calls on his behalf to relay a request to come pick him up from the city hospital where he had been taken after crashing his car.

    Annette picks him up the next morning and on the way home she explains about the silver claim. Jinx tells her he had bought the ore from the prospector who had said it came from Colorado but Annette is still convinced Mr. Kerry found a real silver mine. Back in town tourist and claim hunters have arrived by the barrel-full and Jinx has become a local celebrity. Despite his new local fame he still has to confess to his aunt that he crashed his car but when he heads to her hotel room he is intercepted by a gun-wielding Iverson. 

    Iverson has already been to the sheriff to make his accusations against Mr. Kerry and Jinx. He says the two staged finding a fake silver claim and tricked him into paying $1,000 for part. He forges a false statement from the prospector saying Jinx and Lon had purchased a full bag of ore with the intent of staging a claim finding and he uses Jinx's "disappearance" as proof of his guilt. He says he'll have the 2 taken to court and put in jail unless Mr. Kerry pays him $1,000 and signs a statement confessing to the fraud, knowing full well that Mr. Kerry will refuse. Then he can suggest a compromise of Mr. Kerry handing over the station. 

    Iverson takes possession of the station the next morning which forces Charlie and Maria out of the cottage. They plan to spend the night at the Kerry's before moving onto the Navajo reservation. When they show up at the house their little daughter, Teresa, is crying and tells Annette she forgot her doll in the cottage and Iverson wouldn't let her back in to get it. Enraged Annette stomps down to the station with Teresa planning to demand the doll. When Iverson doesn't seem to be around the 2 girls sneak up to the cottage and Annette helps Teresa climb through her bedroom window. Soon Teresa has to hide in the closet when Iverson comes in holding an ax and starts pulling up the floor boards. He finds the tunnel entrance under the floor and emerges with a barrel containing the bank robbery money. When he leaves to get a suitcase to carry the money in Annette jumps in the window, stuffs some money into Teresa's pocket and tells her to take it to the sheriff and have him come immediately. Annette then hides in the closet and watched as Iverson starts packing the money into a suitcase. Shay soon appears and accuses his partner of attempting to double cross him. A fight breaks out but is broken up by the sheriff who shows up and arrests both of the criminals. The truth comes out, Jinx is rescued from a shack near the mine, and he, Annette, and Teresa become local hero's. The end.

- The illustrations in this book leave a lot to be desired, the faces look grotesque. The cover however is beautiful.

- The Navajos speech is written just awfully. It's not just that they don't speak proper English but its written in short sentences and third person like Asian dialogue was written at the time. So it's a racist stereotype but also the wrong racist stereotype.

- When Annette meets Lisa's father he says he didn't expect Annette to be so pretty since Lisa had told him Annette was smart. Yikes.

- If John Iverson is going to be using a fake check to acquire the station then why does he not offer Mr. Kerry a larger amount to entice him to sell faster.

- When Iverson offers Mr. Kerry $1,000 for a share in the mining claim Kerry remarks that he's been friends with some people in town his whole life and none of them would give him $1,000. This is so weird. Why would he expect people to give him money just because they're friends?

- Lisa and Jinx sometimes call Annette 'Nette and I think that's so cute.

- I think Mr. Kerry is an idiot and I'd be so embarrassed to have a father like him. Poor Lisa.

- Something about this book really reminded me of Robin Kane.

    So did this book live up to my memory of it? Ehh, not really. The part I like most is how Annette and Teresa sneak into the house and thwart the bad guy. I really like that it was Teresa and not Lisa that was there for it. But there's not really anything else I really liked or that I think stands out. I mean it wasn't bad, it's just wasn't great either.

Annette Sierra Summer

    Annette is heading to the town of Lost Creek in the Sierra Mountains to spend her summer vacation with her cousin Tonia. It's a long drive that Annette is making alone in her new little convertible. As its nearing 7pm and Annette is coming to town she gets a flat tire. When she goes to change it she realizes she lent her tools to her friend and forgot to get them back. There isn't many houses around but Annette goes to the closest one with the intent of calling her uncle to come get her. 

    Her knock is answered by a somewhat rude young man, Stan Turner, who tells her they have no phone and that she'll have to walk to the next house half a mile away. However Stan's little sister, Margie, then comes to the door and corrects Stan on his rude behavior. He then offers to go make the call and Annette is invited inside. Stan asks the name of Annette uncle that he is suppose to call and when she says Judge Bori the siblings mood immediately changes. 

    Stan announces he isn't doing any favors for the Judge's family and storms out. Margie at first looks at Annette angrily but then realizes Annette doesn't understand due to her being from out of town. She then explains that Judge Bori had sentenced the Turner's father to a prison sentence for something, Margie insisted, Mr. Turner never did. Annette says she understand their not wanting to help her and goes to make the call herself. As she passes her car on the side of the rode she sees Stan fixing her spare tire himself. His mood seems to be a little bit better and she thanks him before driving off.

    Annette arrives at her cousins house which is a historic mansion set in the mist of an apple orchard. She is greeted by her flighty cousin Tonia, her uncle Genio, and her aunt Betta. Soon after arriving they sit down to dinner and Annette asks her uncle about Mr. Turner. The judge explains that Paul Turner had been sentenced to 20 years in prison for robbery and murder. He had allegedly stolen a bag of gold from a prospector and was caught trying to cash it in. Although the prospector's body was not found the jury had believed Mr. Turner had disposed of him in one of the many canyons in the mountains.

    Tonia has invited a few friends over for the evening and together they all sing around a piano. One of the friends is Johnny Abbott, a conceited brat who Tonia has a huge crush on. Johnny plans on singing in a contest at the town's upcoming Pioneer Days celebration and is convinced he'll win and receive a recording contract. He seems to make subtle advances as Annette which has Tonia worried.

    The next morning the group goes for a horse back ride in the mountains. When Annette stops to get her and her horse a drink from a spring she ends up running into Stan Turner who is going fishing. They sit down to talk and he gives Annette his fathers side of the story; his father had moved the family to Lost Creek 6 years ago so he could hunt for gold. He never found much and the family lived very poorly. His father had also unwilling ended up in a rivalry with an elderly prospectors named Robbins. 

    

    One day Robbins, after attempting to shoot Turner, gets bit by a rattlesnake. Mr. Turner treats his bite and stays with him for several days to help him recover. To show his appreciation Robbins insists Mr. Turner take a pouch of gold nuggets. For some reason he becomes the target of suspicion when he tries to cash them in. He tells his story and when the police go to Robbins cabin in the mountains to verify the story they find Robbins is gone and does not end up appearing. This somehow leads to a robbery and murder charge. Stan hopes he can find Mr. Robbins and have him help get his father released from prison.

    As Stan finishes his story Johnny comes riding up looking for Annette. He appears to not like seeing the two together so he has his horse lunge at Stan which causes him to fall backward and look foolish. The two exchange harsh words before Annette breaks it up and has everyone go their respective ways.

    Once Annette and Johnny are back with the group they tour a bank and hotel in the old ghost town and then go to take pictures infront of the old ore mine. By the mine one of the boys, Deke, finds a pipe on the ground which still contains burning embers. Suddenly a boulder starts falling down a cliff causing a small avalanche right where Deke is standing. He avoids getting hurt but thinks he saw someone push the boulder deliberately. The rest of the gang does not believe him except for Annette who actually saw the man but she keeps this to herself as she worries Johnny would try to show off by fighting the stranger.

    A few days later the gang arranges to go gold panning at the river. Mrs. Bori accompanies the group to a spot she had found some gold the previous year. Once the gang has assembled at Tonia's house for the outing Johnny tells Annette he wants to take her picture. In an attempt to spur his romantic advances she calls Tonia over telling her that Johnny wants to take their picture. Johnny's unfazed and makes it clear he wanted just Annette's picture. When Tonia tries to get him to take her picture alone he unconvincingly pretends to run out of film.

    Once at the river Johnny disappears with a mysterious bundle he had brought along which turns out to be scuba diving equipment. Tonia watches him dive admiringly but Annette remarks he's being foolish to dive alone and in such cold water. He emerges with a gold nugget which, to Tonia's shock, he attempts to gift to Annette. After she refuses it multiple times he offers it to Tonia who angrily throws it off into the brush. Tonia and Johnny then storms off in separate directions.

    As the group is sitting down to eat their picnic lunch Tonia appears wearing Johnny's diving equipment claiming she's going to find her own gold nugget. The boys watch in amusement but Annette is the only one to realize how dangerous it is. She runs along the river bank keeping an eye on Tonia who quickly gets her flipper caught in an underwater tree root and can barely keep her head above the current. As Annette dives in to save her Tonia faints and Annette has to hold her head above the icy water as she waits for the boys to come help in the rescue. Everyone ends up safely back on shore and the near drowning dissolves the tension between Johnny and Tonia who drive home hand in hand.

    The next day is the first day of the Pioneer Week Celebration. Judge Bori gets word that Tonia has been chosen by the Queen committee as this years queen. That means she'll get to ride on the official float and chose a Prince Charming at the big dance. Tonia has been expecting to get queen and has promised Johnny a spot on the Queen's float, which he has been boasting about. 

    After receiving this message the Judge tells Betta that he thinks Annette should be crowded queen as recognition for saving Tonia's life. He talks to the committee who think it should be Tonia's decision. She cries over it for awhile before agree to let Annette have the honor. Annette is shocked and embarrassed about the decision but it's too late for her to decline as the announcement has already gone out. She immediately plans to have Stan be picked as Prince Charming but Tonia insists it will cause a scandal. However Annette believes if Stan wins the singing contest he might be considered an acceptable Prince. 

    Stan wants to compete but each contestant is required to have a guitar and he can not afford one. So Annette sets out on a mission to try to acquire one for him. She originally plans on borrowing Johnny's spare one but realizes that will never work after Johnny makes a big scene of tripping Stan while he is carrying a big tray of glassware at the Malt Shop where he works. But after finding every other guitar in town to be spoken for she decides on a scheme to get Johnny's. 

    He is still determine to ride on the float because after all his boasting about it he will look foolish if he doesn't. Annette agrees to let him on the float in exchange for the use of his guitar. He brings it to her and as she's leaving to take it to Stan, Tonia, jealous over Johnny's interest in Annette, tells him it's for Stan. Johnny gets mad and takes the guitar back, jumps in his car, speeds into town, and crashes up on the sidewalk. Annette drives into town just in time to see him being dragged off to the police station. A fire man near the car remarks that Johnny's in for a huge ticket if the car isn't moved quickly so Annette, feeling partially responsible for the accident, moves it to a parking spot, taking the guitar on the way.

    Johnny doesn't get released from jail until after the parade and when he leaves he finds his car is not where Annette had left it so a police report goes out for the big, flashy convertible.

    The next day is the singing contest and when Stan performs his song the crowd goes wild for it which causes Johnny, who is up next, to get worked up. When he spots his guitar case by the stage he realizes Stan is using his guitar and rushes on stage accusing him of stealing his car as well. The fight gets broken up and Stan is escorted away leaving Johnny to receive first place. After the contest is over Annette is able to clear up things with the guitar but when she finds out Johnny car had been stolen from where she left it she feels guilty and decides to go rest in her room instead of joining in the ongoing celebration activities.

    She soon receives word that Stan had been released from the police station but that he was told if he "causes anymore trouble" for Johnny he'll be arrested which doesn't help his already existing feelings that he's being overly persecuted because he's the son of a prison inmate. 

    Annette rushes to the Malt Shop to speak to him but finds Deke in his place. He informs Annette that when Stan came into work after being released Johnny had been there to instigate trouble. Stan belted him, quit his job, and said he was going to go pack up and leave town. Annette runs back to her car to try and catch Stan before he leaves but is stopped by Johnny and Tonia who inform Annette that they've talked to the celebration committee in an attempt to have Annette forced to chose Johnny as the Prince Charming.

     Annette brushes them off and drives away. She finds Stan sitting by the creek edge and apologizes for inadvertently getting him into trouble. He accepts her apology but still wants to leave town and set up a home for his mom and sister elsewhere. Annette drives him home and plans on explaining the situation to Mrs. Turner but when they arrive Mrs. Turner asks Annette to leave and has Stan get inside quickly. 

    Once inside Stan meets Mr. Martin, a rough, unkempt man who claims to have been friends with Mr. Turner in prison. He is planning on going to a cabin at Loon Lake that Mr. Turner had mention up in the Sierras. He has stolen Johnny's car and has it hidden in the Turners barn and once it's dark he plans on taking Stan captive to use as a guide. He assures Mrs. Turner that if she goes to the police Stan will not return.

    Meanwhile Annette skips out on the Celebration dance insisting she has a headache. She has Tonia take her place as queen and she gets to have Johnny be her Prince Charming. The next morning Annette receives a call from Deke who says a talent scout from a record company is looking for Stan but as the Turners have no phone no one can get a hold of him and the talent scout is leaving that afternoon. Annette rushes over to the Turner home and is told by Margie that Stan is on a vacation in Loon Lake with Mr. Martin, this having been the story that Mrs. Turner told the little girl. Annette decides to rush out there to find Stan.

    While on the mountain trail her car gets stuck in some mud as she has to continue the journey on foot. She walks 4 miles and is just about to approach the cabin when she hears a "psst". She turns to find an "old prospector" who tells her not to be seen by the cabin's inhabitants. He tells her from what he's heard Stan is being held a prisoner and by, what he assumes is a wanted criminal. Annette tells him the boy is Stan Turner and the man says that changes the situation as Stan Turner is the son of his prospecting partner; the man turns out to be the missing Robbins. 

    Annette informs him of Mr. Turners whereabouts and why and plans are made to get to the authorities and sort out both situations the next day. It's too late and dark to head down the mountain trail now so Annette sleeps in a mine-shaft while Robbins guards her throughout the night armed with a pickax. Meanwhile back in the Bori home everyone believes Annette's disappearance is due to her eloping with Stan. However Mrs. Turner soon shows up to the house on the edge of hysterics saying that Annette is in danger. She tells the story of Mr. Martin and how Margie had accidentally led Annette into the situation. Soon a car full of heavily armed police men are on their way to Loon Lake.

    As that's happening Mr. Martin has tied up Stan in the cabin and is planning to go hijack the first car he comes across. This just so happens to be Annette. Robbins has gotten her car towed out of the mud pit with his burros and as Annette is getting the car turned around Martin runs up brandishing a gun. Robbins comes at him with a pickax, Martin starts shooting, and Annette purposely drives straight back into the mud pit causing Martin to drop his gun in it. As he's searching for it the police car shows up with guns pointed and soon Stan comes running down the road.

    A few weeks later and Annette is getting ready to head home. Her and Stan have been labeled as big hero's by the newspapers and the publicity helps land Stan a record contract. His first record is called Songs For Annette and they plan on meeting up when he makes an upcoming performance in Annette's town.

- On page 142 Stan is called "Johnny". This is my 4th or 5th book in the past few months that I've seen name mix-ups in, I'm surprised at how often these mistakes whet unnoticed when being proofread.

- Annette feels partially responsible for Johnny crashing his car because "she got him angry". How ridiculous. It's not her fault he has anger problems, hates Stan, and likes to speed.

- I love that everyone thinks Annette and Stan eloped. I really would have loved to read a version where that happens.

    I don't have much to say about this I guess. I really enjoyed the parts about the town and the events involving the celebration. I didn't like the group activities or the mystery at the end. In fact I think it would have been more fun to follow Tonia around. She actually goes to the ball and the box social which would have been fun events. This book did move pretty well but I found myself getting bored around the middle and I really had to force myself to power through it till the end. I think I'll be letting this book go from my collection as I don't see myself reading it again especially since its about 300 pages whereas the other Annette books are around 200.

Annette and the Mystery at Moonstone Bay

    This books is by Doris Schroeder who also wrote Patty Duke and Mystery Mansion. The books have always reminded me of each other but it's just today I realized they were written by the same author. Schroeder wrote the majority of the Annette books as well as two of the Annie Oakley books, both Patty Duke books, and The Lennon Sisters book, all for Whitman Publishing. I find these all to be great books with the exception of Mystery Mansion which I have a suspicion I didn't like because it's weak in comparison to Mystery at Moonstone Bay.

    Its also worth noting that although these books are based on the tv segment, Walt Disney Presents: Annette, I've never seen the show and my knowledge of Annette only comes from these books.

    Also a little fun fact: the tv show was itself based on a book called Margaret by Janette Sebring Lowrey. Lowerey also wrote the ever-famous The Pokey Little Puppy as well as Rings on Her Fingers which was turned into a very popular movie in the 1940's.

    As the book starts out Annette is saying goodbye to her friend Lisa. Lisa is going off for the summer vacation and although invited Annette must stay home. An old family friend is visiting her Aunt and Uncle, with who Annette lives. The friend is Jim Burnette and his daughter Sandy. Annette and Sandy have not seen each other since childhood and both are happy about a reunion. Mr. Burnette has spent years and years trying to strike it rich in the oil industry and several weeks before he finally found a big oil well. He's now extremely wealthy and plans to permanently move out to California with Sandy.

    Aunt Lila and Annette go to the airport to pick up uncle Archie, Jim, and Sandy and are shocked when they see Sandy made up as some glamorous movie star. She's wearing a mink stole, 4 inch heels, and a full face of makeup. She also appears sullen and moody.

    Once at home Sandy overheard Aunt Lila criticizing her appearance to Annette and becomes emotional. Sandy explains that she hadn't chosen her wardrobe herself, her father had, purchasing all the most expensive things and made Sandy give up her normal wardrobe. Mr. Burnette doesn't want anyone to know they had previously been poor and is trying to hide their past with expensive appearances. Annette helps Sandy pick out some subtler clothes and lends her some of her own clothing items so she can fit in better.

    The next night Annette's invites all her friends over to meet Sandy and everyone gets along great. The girls get invited on a picnic/swim outing the next morning. It will involve horseback riding to the picnic location and although Sandy has never ridden a horse before, she's very eager to go. So Annette takes her to the stables an hour earlier to get some practice. Sandy does fine on the ride to the picnic spot but once there her horse becomes startled by a dog and makes a wild run knocking Sandy off and into the path of another running horse. Annette comes to her rescue which seems to cement the girls friendship. Sandy decides she'll start taking riding lessons immediately and also that's she's going to have her father purchase a house by Annette.

    However when the girls get home Mr. Burnette informs them he's found a large manor 100 miles away he is looking to buy. He and Sandy head out the next day to look the place over and end up staying as guest of the current owner, Mrs. Glaven. On the 5th day Sandy calls Annette asking her to come because she is scared.

    Annette arrives the next day and nearly has a collision in the driveway with a young man who we later find out is Mrs. Glaven's stepson, Brod, who has just had a heated argument with his stepmother.

    Once greeted inside Sandy explains that every day her father gets more and more interested in buying the place. She then shows Annette a note that had been slipped under her door that says "Word of warning. Justice will be done. Do not buy this house or you will be sorry.". Annette and Mr. Brunette brush it off as a joke but Sandy remains worried.

    The visitors of Moonstone Bay have been invited to participate in an upcoming fox hunt in the next week. Annette worries that Sandy is not skilled enough on a horse to be able to safely participate so she begins teaching her using the horses in the properties private stables. One horse that is off limits is Black Prince. He had belonged to the late Mr. Glaven but, according to his widow, has become vicious since it's owners passing. Annette finds Black Prince to be gentle but Mrs. Glaven still has made plans to sell him.

    When the girls make a trip into town to get riding outfits for the fox hunt they stop at a gas station and Annette recognizes the attendants as Brod Glaven. The girls are curious about him and his apparently sour relationship with Mrs. Glaven. They hope to quietly find out more information about him around the manor.

    After lunch the girls go for a horseback ride planning to visit the original Glaven house which is a historic adobe building out in the woods. By the time they arrive it's pouring down rain and they go inside to get warm. They're surprised to see that the place is spotlessly clean and when the go into one of the bedrooms they find boxes of books, papers, and horsemanship trophies. A car then pulls up and into the house comes Brod.

    He explains that he's not living there, just storing the boxes that the girls have already seen. The items in the box had been a part of his fathers study. After his passing Mrs. Glaven had turned the study into a sitting room and put all it's contents into storage. The storage fees had not been paid and so the items were about to be sold. Brod had been informed of this by a storage employee and so raised up enough money to reacquire his father possessions. Among the trophies are some of Brods own that he had won with Black Prince who it turns out was his horse. After his father passed Mrs. Glaven was able to transfer ownership of Black Prince into her name instead of Brods who it was suppose to go to. The girls inform Brod of the upcoming sale of the horse and he is outraged. The girls dry off and chat with Brod about less serious topics and it appears Sandy has quite a crush on the young man.

    As the girls are riding back to the manor they are discussing the situation with Black Prince when Annette comes up with an idea. She suggest that Sandy tell her father that she wants to buy the horse knowing that Mr. Burnette will use his new found wealth to outbid anyone else for it. Mrs. Glaven who is in desperate need of money surely couldn't refuse to sell to them.

    The plan is all set but almost becomes ruined when that night Annette sees Brod sneaking into the stables. Assuming he plans to steal the horse she rushes out to stop him and arrives at the stables just in time to see Brod getting "caught" by a stable hand. A fight ensues with the stable hand yelling "robber!". When the other stable-hand, Patrick who is fond of Brod, arrives Annette and Brod sneak into an empty stall and hide. Patrick tells the other one the "robber" was probably just an old employee who often comes by to visit the horses. The two go off and Brod and Annette are able to sneak out undetected. 

    They stop infront of the house to talk for a bit; Brod says he wasn't planning on stealing Black Prince, just on saying goodbye before he's sold. Annette shares the girls plan for Sandy to purchase the horse and Brod is thrilled but he's not happy at the prospect of the Burnettes buying Moonstone Bay. He tells Annette that the property is half his but that his fathers missing will has kept him from being able to claim his half. His step mother has banned him from the manor to thwart any attempt to find the will. He also sheepishly admits to writing the warning note and having one of the servants slide it under Sandy's door. When Annette goes inside she's surprised to find Sandy in her room. Sandy had seen Annette and Brod together outside and assumes they had sneaked out for a late night rendezvous. She throws an emotional fit until Annette explains the situation to her.

    The next morning Sandy tells her father of her desire to own Black Prince. He's hesitant but when the girls start talking about all the blue ribbons Mr. Burnette would win with the horse he decides to purchase it.

    The girls talk to Mary, an old time servant who is fond of Brod and says that she has looked all over the house for the missing will but mentions a locked desk drawer in Mrs. Glaven's room that she has never been able to get into. Sandy sneaks into the room and attempts to open the drawer with a hairpin. She is almost caught when Mrs. Glaven comes in but is able to hide behind a screen in time to avoid detection. She overheard the woman make a call to an interior decoration with whom she owes money. She promises to pay them $5,000 cash the next day. Later in Annette's room the girls are pondering where she plans on getting the money when Mr. Burnette enters the room giving Sandy a ruby necklace he has just purchased from Mrs. Glaven for $5,000. He plans on taking it to a jeweler the next day to have it appraised to be insured. Mrs. Glaven attempts to persuade him not to and when he insists she becomes cold.

    The girls go for a horse ride to the old adobe house to visit Brod. Annette has Sandy go on ahead of her so she can have some alone time with Brod. However she quickly comes back saying the two had quarreled after Sandy told him of her acquisition of the ruby necklace. Brod claims that was his mothers necklace and Mrs. Glaven had no right to sell it. The two return to the manor and Sandy finds that someone has been in her room and the jewelry case for the necklace has been opened. Sandy however had hid the necklace in a vase for safe keeping. Soon they see Brod appear at the house and then leave angrily not long after. Mrs. Glaven claims Brod had demanded the necklace and had made threats which neither of the girls believe.

    That evening Sandy is down playing bridge with her father, Mrs. Glaven, and some visitors while Annette is writing a letter to her aunt in her room. She hears someone enter Sandy room and when she goes to look she is attacked from behind by someone who holds a blanket over her head until she loses consciousness. She awakes to find the household around her, the ruby necklace missing, and Brod's well know red and white striped hat is laying on the floor. Mrs. Glaven claims that Brod had snuck in to steal the necklace, assaulting Annette in the process. When the girls stand up for him and point out somethings such as Brod's hat having gone missing days before and the culprit smelling of tobacco when Brod doesn't smoke, Mrs. Glaven makes up more and more lies to incriminate Brod.

    The police are called and they plan on questioning Brod. Annette sneaks out and drives over to Brod's boarding house to warn him but just as she arrives the police show up so she has no choice but to head back to the manor. There Sandy and Annette discuss things and come to the conclusion that the actual thief is Higgens, the stable hand who Brod had fought with the other night. It was during their scuffle that he had lost his hat. Plus the girls had seen Higgens hanging around the house that evening. The decide they must search his room and discuss this with Mary and her husband Patrick, the stable hand that likes Brod. They both agree to help keep Higgens and the other employees busy so the girls can investigate.

    The next morning Mary wakes Annette up telling her now is her chance to investigate. Annette tries to wake up Sandy but she's too tired to get up so she goes alone to Higgens room. Before she can do any searching Higgens comes in and while Annette hides in the closet he takes something from his dresser and heads to the service yard where he throws the item in the incinerator. Annette tells Mary and while burning garbage she looks thought the ashes. Mary finds some melted red glass and Annette decides to take them to a jeweler to be sure of what they are. The jeweler becomes suspicious when she asks about rubies and after she leaves he phones the police.

    The next day is the fox hunt. As the girls are having breakfast Mary slips in and hands them a note from Brod saying that he had found the will in his fathers diary and to meet him at the adobe house. Little do the girls realize that Mrs. Glaven has overheard them. When the girls arrive at the fox hunt they see the police sergeant there and worry he may become suspicious if both of them slip away so they plan for Sandy to go alone and Annette to remain. Not long after Sandy takes off for the adobe house Annette sees Higgens disappear in that direction. She quickly follows and finds Sandy on the ground with her horse no where in sight. Higgens had come up being her and scared her horse so it knocked her off. Her and Annette head to the adobe house and begin to sneak up on it. Inside they hear Higgens fighting with Brod. As they're about to enter the sergeant arrives, accuses Annette of being Brods accomplice and tells Sandy to keep an eye on her while he goes after Brod. However at that moment Brod appears tossing a limp Higgens at the police sergeant. Higgins is taken to police headquarters where he confesses all;

    Mrs. Glaven had long ago sold the ruby necklace and the one she sold Mr. Burnette was only a glass imitation. Once Mr. Burnette bought Moonstone Bay she planned on asking to buy the necklace back for "sentimental reasons". However when he planned on getting it appraised and insured she panicked and hired Higgens to steal it and plant evidence to put the blame on Brod. She also hired Higgens to follow the girls to Brods hide out and steal the will so she could destroy it.

    Mrs. Glaven ends up being held for trial, Brod is granted his half of the house, Mr. Burnette purchases the house, and Brod plans on moving into the adobe house. The book ends with Annette parting with a very happy Sandy to return home to her aunt.

- While on the horse ride Sandy says that riding a horse is actually easy. Annette thinks that Sandy is just lucky because she didn't have a high spirited horse but why would someone ever be put on a high spirited horse for their first ever horse ride. Sandy is not "lucky", she's just a standard beginner.

- Glaven is such a funny name because it reminds me of Professor Frink on the Simpson's and that's how I kept saying it in my head.

- I think the ruby necklace being an imitation was pretty obvious and I'm not sure why Mr. Burnette didn't get it appraised before purchasing it or right after purchasing it.

- At first it says Sandy only has over the top glamorous clothes and that she can't borrow Annette's because she's so much taller than her but suddenly she has normal clothes out of nowhere.

    Overall the book was alright. It was fast paced and moved along very well. The plot is obvious but it's still entertaining.

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

    I've read this book once before and gave it 5 stars on GoodReads but I no longer remember what it's about. although my rating and previous review suggest I adored this book I recall not being too fond of it.

    I'm going to do my summary a little different for this book. It has six chapters I will summarize them individually.

1. Gentlemen Prefer Blonde ( March 16 - April 7 )

    Lorelei is a beautiful young blonde woman from Little Rock, Arkansas who is living in New York as some kind of sugar baby. She was originally working as an actress, including being an extra in Intolerance, and had done some modeling. She considers herself very intelligent and the men around her are constantly saying she "has a lot of brains". However her constant misspelling and horrific sentence structure indicate this is said to flatter rather than as an honest remark.

She has a gentleman friend named Mr. Eisman, the wholesale button king of Chicago, who did not approve of an acting career and so she quit. She finds Mr. Eisman boring but is fond of him, mainly because he finances her luxurious lifestyle.

    She's hosting a small party for some intellectual men and her girlfriends and meets Gerald Lamson, or Gerry as she calls him, and the two take a liking to each other. They become engaged even tho Gerry is already married and he insists she have nothing to do with Mr. Eisman and asks her to move back to her fathers in Little Rock where he will send her books to keep her company. He's been giving her quite a few books to read and she has her maid Lulu read them for her which she considers just as good.

    When Mr. Eisman gets back into town he tells Lorelei she shouldn't settle down to a life of just being Mrs. Lamson. He is soon going to Paris for business and offers her a trip to meet up with him there. She accepts and her and her best friend Dorothy sail out while Gerry is out of town.

2. Fate Keeps on Happening ( April 11 - April 15 )

    While on the ship Lorelei see Mr. Bartlett, a district attorney from Arkansas who had argued a court case against her seven years ago. It seems Lorelei had been sent to secretarial school in Little Rock by her father to get her away from the affections of a boy. There she was picked to work for a lawyer who she had an affair with. After finding him with another woman she shot him but was acquitted and after the judge bought her a ticket to Hollywood to go into acting.

    She tells all this to Major Falcon, a man Dorothy has befriended on the ship, and he tells her Bartlett is going to Vienna on government business and Falcons current mission is to find out what the business is. He encourages Lorelei to befriend and romance Bartlett to get this information, which she does. Bartlett falls for Lorelei and asks her to leave the ship with him in France and accompany him to Vienna. She claims he's going there to meet a woman and refuses to agree until he tells her the detail of his government mission. The next morning she sends a not saying she's not going with him and, remembering all the mean names he called her in court, decides to tell Falcon the info.

3. London is really nothing (April 17 - April 25)

    After arriving in London Major Falcon takes the girls around to meet people, most of whom want to sell them things. A woman named Mrs. Weeks has a diamond tiara to sell for $7,500 and Lorelei is very interested in it. She puts a $100 hold on it and cables Mr. Eisman for $10,000 but he declines and offers to only send her $1,000. Not wanting to lose her hundred dollars she looks for another man to buy it for her, this ends up being Sir Francis Beekman, who Lorelei nicknames "piggie". Piggie is a notorious penny-pincher and married man but Lorelei is determined to get her way. She sends herself a dozen orchids without a card and pretends he sent them, telling him how generous he is and how she's falling for him. Eventually she is able to talk him into buying her the tiara and in exchange she agrees to stay in London permanently to be with him, but the next day she sails for Paris.

4. Paris is Divine (April 27 - May 5)

    The girls are having a lovely time in Paris when one morning Lady Beekman shows up and demands the tiara back from Lorelei, who refuses. The next morning a lawyer named Robber shows up and his son, Louie, soon arrives after. They've been hired by Lady Beekman to get the tiara but are so smitten with the girls they'd rather take them out. They devise a plan to take the girls on dates, charge it to Lady Beekman, and attempt to steal the tiara in the process, finding it a win-win regardless of if they acquire the tiara. When Lorelei finds this out she makes a plan to have an imitation tiara made with paste stones and constantly show it off to the men, making them always feel just in reach of it, then use this to encourage the men to take them on shopping trips, charging it all to Beekman of course.

    After a night out both Louie and Robber make separate offers to Dorothy to steal the tiara in exchange for 1000/2000 francs respectively. Her and Lorelei devise a plan to sell it to both; Dorothy would get the money from Louie and then Lorelei would enter the room before Dorothy hands over the tiara. Dorothy would then sell it to Robber that night. This goes successful until Lorelei decides she wants to keep the fake tiara. She sneaks it out of Robbers pocket but he makes such a fuss upon realizing it's gone that the girls tell them of their ruse. Together the four decide to purchase another fake tiara and give it to Lady Beekman for an exorbitant price.

5. The Central of Europe (May 16 - June 1)

    Mr. Eisman arrives in Paris but soon heads to Vienna on business. Not long after he sends for Lorelei and Dorothy to join him. While traveling on the Orient Express Lorelei meets Henry Spoffard who is some type of New York morals enforcing person. He's famous and comes from a very wealthy family. Lorelei befriends him by saying she is traveling with a girl she is trying to reform. Upon his suggestion the girls stop with him in Munich before heading into Vienna. Once there Lorelei balances her relationships with Spoffard and Eisman by seeing the former during the day and the latter at night.            When she finds out Mother Spoffard's companion has been looking into her past, particularly the part about being paid $10,000 by a man's family to not marry him, Lorelei weasels her way into a tea with the woman where she sucks up to her and wins her over. Soon after Spoffard has to return to New York but he proposes to Lorelei who accepts by telegram before actually deciding if she wants to accept and hopes that he'll back out of it so she can sue him for breach of promise.

6. Brains are Really Everything (June 14 - July 10)

    The girls soon head back to New York. Once Lorelei hears there's a man on the ship with some uncut diamonds she makes his acquaintance, acquires the diamonds, then fights with him the evening before docking so he'll leave her alone and Spoffard won't see them together. After her homecoming Henry takes her to meet his family in Pennsylvania. She briefly considers trying to marry Henry's father who is 90 and ill because then she could get his money when he soon passes but decides it's too risky. She finds the trip so boring she decides not to marry Henry after all. She enacts a plan to go jewelry shopping and charge it all to Henry then have Dorothy tell him how much Lorelei is always spending and that he'll soon be poor if he marries her. She then plans to sue him for breach of promise.

    While Dorothy is talking to Henry, Lorelei is having lunch with Gilbertson Montrose, a struggling script writer, who suggests she should marry Henry and then use his money to finance Montroses latest project, hinting that Lorelei could play the lead. Henry however has already been scared off by Dorothy and has jumped on the train back to Pennsylvania. Lorelei gets on at the last minute, tells him Dorothy was testing to see if he really loves her, that the jewelry she bought was glass and just props for the test, and begins crying over him failing the test.

    The diary ends a month later with Lorelei recapping her wedding and her, Montroses, and the Whole Spoffard family's involvement with the movie. She believes she has mad everyone happy with her actions and declares she's now too busy to keep a diary.

- There's quite a funny joke I didn't understand the first time I read this book. Once arriving in London Lorelei sees a familiar "little girl" who turns out to be actress Fannie Ward. Lorelei made friends with Fannie in Hollywood and her mother also went to school with Fannie. They then go and buy hats in the children's department. Fannie Ward was an actress who was known for being incredibly youthful looking throughout her life due, at least in part, to plastic surgery. At the time this book was written Fannie Ward was 53.

- The only redeeming quality Lorelei has is her anti-racist beliefs. Lulu, her maid, is black but she thinks this makes her no worse than her and she also thinks it's rude of people to use the N-word.

- Lorelei is not likable and I have no idea if this is suppose to be the case. She is, quite clearly, awful but I don't know if it's suppose to be endearing or not. I couldn't stand her. I think at the time she would just been considered a...greedy vamp? I don't know what to call it but by today's standards she is committing crimes such as international fraud, blackmail, extortion, and even espionage. I also do not like how she is always badmouthing Dorothy.

    Overall I don't like this book. I think it's good in theory but having to read such horrifically bad writing for 217 pages was obnoxious. The spelling is way off for a lot of words so you have to take a second to decipher it, the same sentence will be said multiples times in a row but with the words rearranged, and some of the stupid things Lorelei says are a little too forced. I considered not finishing this book and only pushed through since this will be my last ever reading of it I presume.