Kim Aldrich: Silent Partner

    Kim is taking a vacation at a ski resort in the Austrian Alps. She has become friendly with the young man in the room next to hers. He is Jim and with him he has a 12 year old boy named Roby who clearly adores him. Kim is intrigued by these two as Jim is too young to be Roby's father. Both of them have an interesting quirk of staring at her attentively when she speaks.

    While they are all out on the slopes one day Kim is taking some home videos when she ends up capturing an intentional, and fatal, ski accident. That night she finds someone has been in her room and stolen the film out of her camera. Unfortunately for them Kim had changed film and the evidence of the crime is still in her possession.

    Kim questions Jim about his relationship to Roby and he tells her a sad story; Roby's father is Jean Paul, a famous skier who owns the resort they are currently staying at. Roby's mother passed away in a car accident while pregnant which caused Roby to be born post-mortem via a c-section. The situation led the hospital staff to believe Roby was mentally disabled and his father rejected him, having him sent to an institution for the mentally disabled. 

    When Roby was 8 Jim came to work for the institution and correctly suspected that Roby wasn't mentally disabled but deaf. After teaching him sign language Roby began to flourish and was transferred to a school for physically disabled children, with Jim getting a job there to continue taking care of the boy. Jim had brought Roby to the Alps for two main reasons; to show Roby that, with his lip reading ability, he can live a normal life without people stigmatizing him as disabled, and with the hope that they will run into his father and he will either accept the child or allow Jim to adopt him.

    One night after putting Roby to bed Kim and Jim see two men in the resort lounge secretly using international sign language. After they return to their rooms they find Roby missing. Mixed up in some nefarious goings-on the two are unsure how to proceed, do they call the police and risk Roby's safety? And what about the film that shows the crime, what good can it do if they are unable to get it developed. While discussing their next move Jim tells Kim that he'll need her to be his ears which makes Kim realize Jim is also deaf.

    After seeing sign language being used again in the lounge, the two learn of a secret meeting being held in the garret of the resort. Kim and Jim climb up to the garret balcony and witness the secret meeting. The men inside use sign language so as to not be overheard and Jim translates it to Kim; the men are drug smugglers, the man killed on the slopes was an Interpol agent, and Roby was kidnapped and placed in an isolated cabin up on the mountain cause the gang believed he found out too much.

    Kim and Jim decided to head up the mountain to rescue Roby but as they are sneaking supplies from the ski room one of the gang members shows up. It is the man who Kim captured on film causing the fatal accident. He tells them that he is looking to run out on the gang and will take them to Roby if they can secure half a million dollars in jewels from Roby's father. Having no other option they agree. Kim and Jim go to Jean Paul's home where they secure the jewels from his wife but are falsely accused of being the ones behind Roby's kidnapping.

    They make the dangerous trip up the mountain which includes skiing sideways across a headwall that has a worrying amount of snow overhead. Once at the cabin they find Roby and spend the night there waiting for him to warm up enough to be able to safely make their decent.    

    The next morning they get back to the headwall when the criminal tells them that this is where they part ways. He instructs them to head back across the headwall and that he will climb up the mountain and descend on the other side. However once he is farther up the mountain Kim sees him with a gun. He is going to wait until they are crossing the headwall then shoot the gun to cause an avalanche, killing the three. When they don't begin to cross the headwall he points the gun at them, leaving them no option but to try and outrun the avalanche.

    Jim is the only one who outruns it. Kim and Roby are buried alive but dug out by Jim. Soon they are rescued by patrol men checking the area. Once safe the three head to the police station to report everything but there they are instantly arrested for murder, kidnapping, and drug smuggling. The head of the gang is also their impersonating the Interpol agent that was murdered.

    They are all taken to Jean Paul's house where Kim outwits the gang leader, Roby tells his story, and Jean Paul accepts Roby as his son.

- Religion is weirdly shoved into this text, it doesn't feel natural at all. The only natural inclusion was when Jean Paul and his wife give Kim and Jim a sleigh ride home and stop at a sermon which has a special meaning since it was the first one since the murder which hung heavy over everyone at the resort.

    However Kim and Roby "making peace" with God while trapped in the avalanche, Kim getting offended anytime Jim uses an expression with "god" in it, Kim saying her wedding would be "in a church, of course", and Jean Paul insisting Roby be raised Catholic even though he refuses to accept him as his child and tells everyone he has no children were all awkwardly forced into the text. The last book didn't do this so I'm not sure why this one was so focused on Kim being a believer.

- I'm not sure the author was really aware of what sign language looks like because in the scenes where the men are secretly using sign language in the lounge it is described more like morse code. A man is tapping his fingers on a book he is reading and another man replies by tapping his fingers on the fireplace mantel. If you've seen sign language you know that's just not accurate.

- After they arrive at the cabin to rescue Roby they eat and have some wine with the wine causing Kim to fall asleep. I thought this must mean Kim is at least 21 but then I looked at the year this book was published. It was during the time the majority of the U.S. had lowered the drinking age to 18. Alas, we still don't know Kim's age. Also, they give Roby some wine to help warm him up and it puts him to sleep. Definitely something you wouldn't find in a kid's book today.

- I did not think Roby going to his father at the end was a good choice. If that was suppose to be a happy ending then why did the author make Jean Paul so irredeemably unlikeable throughout the book. Jim has raised Roby to be a good, kind boy and Jean Paul is a terrible person who is probably going to undo all of that. Jean Paul also calls Roby "defective" so I doubt he will be patient when it comes to Roby's deafness. The real happy ending would be Jim adopting him.

    Overall this was another good book in the Kim Aldrich series.

Kim Alrdich: Miscalculated Risk

    Kim Aldrich, the daughter of an FBI agent, is working as a secretary for WALCO insurance agency. One day commissioner Saunders of Neadham shows up to talk to the company about a lawsuit his town is undergoing.

    It seems that down on the beach there is a large area of rocks where children like to play. The rocks are suppose to be sprayed weekly with a chemical to keep algae from growing and causing the rocks to be slippery and dangerous. But the rocks have not been sprayed for some time which resulted in a small boy named Peter Madden falling and getting seriously injured. The boy is in a wheelchair now and his parents are suing the town for $500,000. Since the towns insurance policy is only for $100,000 the commissioner desperately needs to win this case. However he refuses to try and reach a settlement with the Maddens. He insists doing so would cause others to falsely sue the town.

    Kim, interested in the case, visits the beach location where she ends up meeting a handsome young man. His name is Andy Hill and he is the Madden's lawyer. Instantly drawn to each other the two start working on the case together to discover who is at fault for the accident.

    All signs point to the town being liable as the rocks had not been sprayed. The chief life guard, Bill Jones, reportedly wrote in his work log that he had repeatedly requested for them to be sprayed but that his requests were denied and the money allotted for it went missing. This evidence would seal the case for Andy but unfortunately Bill, and his logs, are missing.

    Strange things soon begin to happen such as Andy constantly being followed by a dark Sudan and Kim suddenly being offered a fabulously paying secretary job in Puerto Rico. After a visit to the Maddens Kim learns that Bill has been writing to Peter. She asks to see a letter so she can get his address to track him down. It is a general delivery address in Santa Elena, California and the letter reveals that Bill was suddenly offered a year long fellowship from the Dier Foundation, an alleged foundation for artists. But an investigation soon proves the foundation doesn't exist.

    Andy sends a letter to Bill in the hopes Bill can make it back to New York to testify in court but when the case is suspiciously moved way up on the docket and no word has come from Bill, Kim and Andy fly to California over the weekend to bring him back themselves.

    Once on the west coast they are briefly delayed when someone crashes into their rented car but they continue their journey to Santa Elena where they learn from a local that Bill is staying at the "Saunders shack". Commissioner Saunders shack.

    They find the shack empty but while looking around Kim opens the wardrobe door and the body of Bill Jones falls out. Andy finds a typed paper in the trash where Bill had written what he knew regarding the lawsuit and Saunders guilt. Pocketing the paper the two rush to the car where Andy says they have to call in the murder as an anonymous tip otherwise they will be held for the inquiry and miss the court date in New York. However as they begin to leave they hear a car driving up, it's a sheriff's car which indicates someone else had tipped off the police in an attempt to frame Andy and Kim.

    They are able to drive away undetected and get to a payphone where Andy phones his boss to tell him he will have to take over the Madden case. Andy is then informed the Maddens have suddenly insisted on dropping the case. Knowing the family wouldn't drop the was case willingly the two need to return to New York right away so they head to the airport, anxious they will be arrested at any moment.

    They successfully make it back to the East Coast and, realizing they are being followed through the airport, Andy instructs Kim to go into the ladies room and phone her father. Unfortunately he is away on a case until the next morning. Kim tells her housekeeper that she is coming straight home. Leaving the ladies room she finds Andy gone. She decides to get her car from the parking lot and go straight home but is drugged and kidnapped outside her car.

    Kim awakes in a small rustic shack. There is an older woman there who Kim soon learns is Mrs. Casey, the wife of the judge handling the case. She informs Kim that Peter Madden and Andy are also there. They have all been kidnapped to stop the case from proceeding. Kim soon learns they are being held on an island. Her and Andy manage to find some scuba suits in a shed and decide to swim for shore in the icy water. 

    Beginning to grow tired and struggling to keep an eye on each other in the pitch black they begin to feel hopeless when they hear the sound of a boat approaching. They dive under water but without airtanks they soon are forced to surface and are pulled into the boat where Dan Aldrich, Kim's father, greets them.

    After Kim's call home the housekeeper had called the FBI and a kidnapping case was immediately opened for her. Two teenagers had reported seeing some suspicious men loading a boat on the shore hours before which lead the FBI there to search.

    After everyone is rescued they are all put under guard and escorted to court the next morning. Kim is called to testify, her appearance shocking Saunders. When she mentions the murder of Bill Jones Saunders yells out that he did not order a hit on the man, just instructed to have him silenced. Soon the commissioner is telling his story; he had been stealing funds to use to campaign for mayor, this is what had become of the money that was suppose to be used to have the rocks sprayed. Saunders believed if he beat the Maddens in court it would help his public image and get the voters on his side. He had hired people in the "syndicate", aka organized crime, to keep Andy, Kim, Bill, etc. away. With all this out before the judge the commissioner is arrested and a settlement of $10,000 is agreed upon by the Maddens and WALCO.

    With all that settled Kim and Andy decide to take some time to figure out if their world wind romance was due to genuine feelings or from being thrust into a dangerous situation together.

- Kim and Andy instantly feel bonded over their upbringings; Kim grew up in Puerto Rico due to her father being stationed there for FBI work and Andy was born and raised in Hawaii. It doesn't say if Andy is pacific islander but I pictured him as so.

- I think Kim is a good feminist example. I know some people disagree but I think they are confused on what feminism is. Kim is able to take care of herself but she is also able to accept help from Andy if and when she needs it. After their car is crashed into in California Kim starts to change the flat tire when Andy takes over and tells her to rest. Kim was just unconscious and needed to rest. She thinks how she likes feeling protected by Andy but how if it was her brother, for example, she would be offended and furious.

    Kim and Andy have a romantic relationship and therefor Andy can do and say things to Kim that would be offensive if another man did it. Andy respects Kim and knows she is capable of taking care of herself. But he also cares and loves her which makes him worry about her wellbeing and want to protect her. It is because Kim knows he respects and loves her that she does not find these things offensive.

Kim is also very well balanced. She likes to look pretty and often acts silly but also is skilled in Taekwondo, sky diving, scuba diving, and is a sports car enthusiast.

- I did not like how Kim and Andy suddenly realize their romance was superficial. I liked them together and would have liked them to be a couple throughout the series, even though I knew from experience that wouldn't happen. If I am being honest I must admit I think the ending did make the most sense as they really didn't know each other before falling for each other.

- When Kim phones her housekeeper at the airport she gives a description of what she is wearing since it would be useful information if she went missing and a search was made for her. I thought this was really smart. 

    Overall I enjoyed this book. I read it in one sitting which is something I have not been able to do in awhile. Lately it seems every book bores me so this was a nice change.

Night Bus

     After her father forbids her from dating King Westley, rich and spoiled Elspeth Andrews sneaks out of the house and boards a bus headed from Miami to New York to marry him. On the bus she meets Peter Warne, a friendly and kind man who, seeing she is out of her element, decides to help Elspeth on her journey despite her arrogance towards him.

    At their first stop on the journey Elspeth runs to a fancy hotel to take a bath and misses the bus' departure. She then spends the majority of her money on large meals and two movies while she waits for the next bus that evening. This prompts Peter to take control of her funds. One way he rations the money is by signing them into motels as Mr and Mrs which allows them to pay for one room instead of two.

    A storm has hung over the trip, causing flooding and washing out roads. The bus gets delayed several days during which time fellow passenger Oscar Shapely hears a radio broadcast announcing the disappearance of Elspeth Andrews as well as a hefty reward for information leading to her return. Recognizing the outfit she is reported to be wearing Oscar confronts Peter and offers to split the reward. Peter tells him he is mistaken but knows Oscar is not fooled.

    Not wanting to upset Elspeth, Peter tells her that Shapely, suspecting the two aren't really married, is trying to blackmail him with the Mann Act and therefore they must continue their journey immediately. Peter steals and repairs a broken boat to get past the flood waters and the two continue on foot. At first opportunity Peter writes to Mr. Andrews saying he is traveling to New York with Elspeth and not to give the reward money to anyone who tries to claim it. He also pawns Elspeth's clothing for something unrecognizable much to her distress.

    Good fortune seems to shine on them when they are picked up by a friendly driver named Thaddeus Banker but he turns out to be a highway bandit who picks up hitchhikers just to drop them somewhere and take off with their luggage. When he tries doing this to the couple Peter jumps onto the car and after being driven out to an isolated area he beats up Thaddeus and drives back to Elspeth. Multiple license plates and drivers licenses inside the vehicle lead Peter to believe the car is stolen and that no harm will be done if he uses it for a few more days to finish their journey.

    Soon the two are driving into New York and Peter is depositing Elspeth in front of her house where her father is waiting. She tells her father she is in love with Peter but when she learns he had written to Mr. Andrews she wrongfully believes he was after the reward money the whole time.

    The following day Peter is brought into the man's office where he presents him with an itemized bill totaling $18.56 and refuses anything more than this. Realizing Peter was not using her, Elspeth goes to his home to find him packing to leave for South America. She insists on going with him and travelling legitimately as husband and wife this time.

- A big difference between the book and the movie is that in the movie Peter is a newspaper reporter desperate for a story. In the movie Peter helps Elspeth (or "Ellie" as she is named) because it also helps himself. However in the book he does it just because he is caring and sees how bad Elspeth is struggling on her own.

- There is a large age gap between Peter and Elspeth although an exact number is not given. At first Peter believes Elspeth is underage until she tells him she is 21. This makes the romance between them a little disturbing. Peter is even uncomfortable having romantic interest in someone so much younger than himself but that doesn't end up stopping him. 

- Elspeth is not very likeable. She is a complete brat, selfish, and demanding. At one point she throws herself onto Peter while he is asleep and kisses him. Before he wakes up and realizes what is happening he kisses her back. Once he is conscious he immediately stops and clarifies boundaries between the two. Elspeth is upset by this but she is also upset that Peter kissed her back at first, which is absolutely ridiculous considering he was unconscious and as he had not shown any romantic interest in her this was kind of sexual assault on her part.

    Overall this was a good read. Before seeing this book for sale I had no idea the movie was based on anything. Because I have seen the movie several times it is hard to judge the source material on it's own. I don't think I would have read this and thought "this would make a great movie" but I guess it was a pretty unique concept for it's time. Also it's fun reading this knowing it basically caused the creation of Bugs Bunny.

Judy Bolton: The Invisible Chimes

 

    The book starts out with Judy and her friends visiting an antique store/tea room. In the shop Judy sees a vase in the shape of a tree and decides she must have it. She plans on inquiring about the price on the way out but first the group wants to eat. 

    They go into the attached tearoom and enjoy eating and dancing to the player piano. Before long another boy and girl arrive but only the girl stays. She continues to keep the piano playing constantly and after dancing with her, Horace says the girl seemed scared. Soon her companion reappears and rushes her out.

    After not long the group begins to head back to the car but as they re-enter the antique shop they find many of the items have been removed, including Judy's vase. Although Judy suspects a robbery the others believe someone must have come in and made a large purchase. However they soon find that Arthur's car has also disappeared.

    They quickly call the police and Judy's father who arrive one after the other. Seeing the tire tracks of Arthur's car lead down a road that has a broken bridge, Judy's group heads down this road in Dr. Bolton's car, while the police go searching down a road that leads out of town.

    The road is dark, narrow, and winding but after awhile headlights begin approaching them and they quickly recognize Arthur's car. It is occupied by four men as well as the boy and girl from the tearoom. When the car tries to force it's way past them, Judy and her friends get out of Dr. Bolton's car and form a human chain blocking the road. Unfazed, the driver of the stolen car attempts to run them over but the girl occupant turns the wheel, sending them down a ledge into a gully where they crash into a tree.

    The occupants of the car are fine except for the girl who is unconscious and bleeding profusely from her hand and head. While Dr. Bolton attends to her the other criminals take off in his car leaving them to walk back with the unconscious girl in their arms.

    After a long night they manage to get home and make the girl comfortable in the Bolton's guest room. Judy and the Doctor try to inquire about the girl's identity but she claims to not know it or recall anything that has happened before the accident.  She is given the nickname Honey due to her honey-colored hair and father and daughter try to help discover her identity while she continues to live with them.

    After Peter's grandmother suffers a stroke Dr. Bolton is called to the Dobb's home and brings his wife and Judy to help. This leaves Honey home alone but she insists she will be fine. When the Bolton's arrive home an hour later they find Honey missing. Worried, Judy decides to wait up on the porch for her to return. The hour is late and Judy dozes off but awakes to Honey's voice speaking to a boy named Mike. Mike has handed Honey a package which she brings inside.

    Once inside Judy is settling for bed when the mysterious sound of chimes ring out. No one knows where the sound has come from. In the next few days the chimes are heard again; while Judy is in the living room and several times in Honey's room.

    A brain specialist is in town from New York and Dr. Bolton invites him to dinner so that he can secretly study Honey to see if she genuinely has amnesia, which Dr. Bolton doubts. The specialist happens to notice that Honey has a heart shaped thumbprint similar to a baby he had seen 16 years ago. Judy manages to have all the dinner guest take impressions of their thumbprints under the ruse of a fun party activity but really so the specialist can compare it with the print in his files of the baby.

    During dinner Police Chief Kelly shows up to inform Dr. Bolton that his stolen car was located in New York outside of a boarding house. Judy tasks the specialist's daughter, Pauline, with finding out the names of the people in the boarding house.

    While Mrs. Dobbs is still bedridden Judy and Honey pay her a visit. She takes a liking to Honey and suggests she visit her while Judy is at school, which she begins doing everyday. When Mrs. Dobb's condition worsens she begins to think Honey is her deceased daughter Grace and wants her by her side constantly.

    In the last book we learned that Grace, Peter's mother, ran away from home to marry Vine Thompson's step-son, James. They had two children; Peter and a daughter also named Grace. While away from home James was killed in an automobile accident. Grace, unaware of his death, wrote continuously to him asking for him to come home or send money as the family was starving and about to be kicked out of their New York boarding house. These letters unanswered, Grace eventually passed away. Vine Thompson was then notified by the boarding house landlord, Mrs. Vincenzo, of her death and that baby Grace was dying and Peter had been taken to an orphanage. Vine told the Dobbs about Grace's passing and Peter being in the orphanage but made no mention of baby Grace. Believing Peter to be the only child the Dobbs went to New York and brought him home.

    While Honey stays at the Dobbs Judy cleans her room and discovers floor nails in the waste paper basket. After inspecting the floor she finds where the nails were removed and upon lifting the floorboards discovers the tree vase from the antique store hidden underneath. Upon lifting it the mysterious chimes ring forth from it.

    Judy feels angry and hurt. She now believes Honey is a liar and thief and has been using the Bolton's as a way to hide from the police. She tells all this to her family and Peter who all insist Judy wait until Honey has a chance to explain herself.

    While Judy waits a letter from Pauline arrives. Pauline had gone to the boarding house and managed to get the names of the people there. Turns out it is Mrs. Vincenzo and she has two missing children; Rose and Michael. When Honey arrives soon after this discovery Judy shows her the letter. The Bolton's and Peter all gather and give Honey the chance to explain herself.

    Honey confesses that she is Rose Vincenzo and she participated in robbing the antique store with her brothers. She explains how she had no choice but to participate in this and many other crimes as she, and her little brother Mike, were victims of severe abuse at the hands of the other Vincenzos. Honey explains how she grew up uncared for in a criminal home with only the love of her little brother that she raised while still a child herself. She explains that crashing Arthur's car was not only an attempt to save Judy and her friends lives but also to kill herself and Mike as a way to free them from the abuse. To her the Bolton's taking her in was a rebirth, a chance for a new and honest life surrounded by people who cared about her. She also knew she had to keep her identity secret to protect Mike.

    On the night Honey had gone missing she had been meeting up with Mike. Worried about her Mike had tracked her down with only the knowledge that a doctor had been at the scene of the crash. Mike himself had escaped from the Vincenzo's and now had a job and home on a farm. He gave Honey the vase, which he had escaped his brothers with, as a get well soon present.

    With this information the Bolton's promise not to send Honey back to New York and to keep her and Mike's names quiet when they report the Vincenzo's to the police. Honey is given the choice to live with the Bolton's or the Dobbs and she chooses both so that she can help out both households.

    Peter and Honey go over Grace's old letters, the ones discovered in the last book, and are able to confirm that Honey's mother, Mrs. Vincenzo, was Grace's landlord. Honey offers to contact her to try and find out the whereabouts of Peter's sister's resting place as they believe she had passed away as a baby. But this is unnecessary as a message soon arrives from New York. Honey's thumbprint has been compared with the heart shaped thumbprint of the baby and it was a match, reveling that Honey is actually Grace Thompson, Peter's lost sister. With this new information Honey moves in with the Dobbs.

    The only loose end is the tree vase which needs to be returned to the antique store. As Dr. Bolton drives the girls there they spot Mike herding cows on a farm. They stop and Honey tells him of her discovered identity but says that Mike will always be her brother. He insists he also has a happy new life and will never go back to the Vincenzo's. After returning the vase, the store owner offers it as a reward to Judy who happily accepts it and that is end of the mystery.

- At the beginning of the book it mentions that Peter, Horace, and Donald all attend the same college and that Arthur has already graduated college for architecture. I was surprised by this as I always imagined Arthur to be the youngest of the boys and Peter to be the oldest, with Horace falling in-between the two. I don't know their ages except that they're all over 18. Judy, Lois, and Lorraine are all 15 and if Arthur and Horace were not brothers to two of the girls I would find the age differences uncomfortable for their friend group.

- I always find antique stores in old media fascinating. I've been in my fair share of antique stores and the items usually there did not even exist when this book was written. It makes me wonder what items you saw in these stores back then. I also love how the boys look at the antique weapons while the girls look at the pretty things. Very realistic to my experiences.

- Margaret Sutton had said that if the series had continued Horace and Honey's marriage to each other would have been in one of the books therefore I consider their marriage canon. With that it mind I found their meeting really cute. While in the tearoom everyone is dancing except Horace who is gazing over at Honey. He asks Judy if she thinks it would be appropriate for him to go ask her to dance. He's clearly interested in her from the first time he sees her and I think that is cute.

- The Vincenzo's are one of the many, many, many examples of anti-Italianism that was rampant in the U.S. at the time. Italians, specifically Sicilians, faced a lot of discrimination whether they were immigrants or Italian Americans. They were considered criminals by nature, something shown in this book by the repeated insistence that Honey does not have physical features of a criminal. The last book also focuses on Vine Thompson not being a blood relative of Peters as ignorant people believed criminality was passed through blood. It's unfortunate that many people in modern times are unaware of this bigotry and some even deny it ever happen. But books with stereotypes like these, which are a dime a dozen, are loud proof that it not only existed but was being taught to children.

- When I had originally read this book I was annoyed by Honey's coincidental relation to Peter, especially after Peter's coincidental relation to Vine in the last book. It still annoys me if I think too much about it but now I see it as setting up the foundation for the series. The first three books really lay the groundwork for everything. We meet and have time to get familiar with all the characters, from Judy and her friends to her grandparents and the Dobbs, as well as get familiar with Farringdon and the Bolton house. We also learn how all the characters interact with each other such as the Arthur-Lorraine-Judy love triangle. With these books done it feel like now we actually start the series in the next book.

    Overall it was good. It moves well and like I've said before, Sutton books have detailed plots that twist around each other but are still very easy to understand. My only complaint is that the cats could have been in it more.

(Click here for a surprise)

Judy Bolton: The Haunted Attic

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    After losing her home in the Rouslville flood Judy Bolton is excited to be moving into her new home in Farringdon. The home was offered to the Bolton family for free due to the fact that the house is considered haunted. A former tenant, gangster Vine Thompson, had been shot and killed in the house and people claim her spirit now haunts it. Aspiring renters and local thrill seeking teenagers all claim they have seen a ghost waving it's arms in the attic window as well as heard Vine Thompson's voice calling out. Vine's son also was allegedly seen going into the house but never exiting. Judy, along with her reporter brother are excited to solve this mystery. 

    Judy hopes that acclaim from solving the mystery will help her earn the friendship of Lorraine Lee. Lorraine is one of Lois Farringdon's best friends and as Judy and Lois have become close, and sealed their friendship with a ruby friendship ring, Judy thinks it only right that her and Lorraine have a friendship too. Problem is Lorraine is extremely snobby and takes a disliking to almost everyone, Judy included. Judy hopes that her upcoming Halloween birthday party and finding the Lee family's stolen jewels, which includes a friendship ring exactly like Judy's, will guarantee her that friendship.

    Judy's life soon splits into two, her unhappy life at school where the other girls question her morals and soon accuse her of having acquired Lorraine's stolen friendship ring. And her happier life at home where she spends evenings exploring the haunted attic with her brother, Horace, and her friends Peter and Irene. 

    As Halloween arrives Judy and Horace have solved the mystery of the alleged hauntings and host a successful Halloween party where all is reveled, including the parentage of Peter which had remained a mystery to him all his life.

    I planned on doing a long summary of this book but I forgot how involved Sutton plots are. I will have to remember to take notes as I read next time.

- I do not understand why everyone tolerates Lorraine's behavior. I think Lois' pledge to remain best friends with Lorraine, simply because the girls' mothers were best friends, is silly. If Lois and Lorraine really were best friends than Lois should be able to tell Lorraine how disgusting her behavior is and to stop it.

- I like Irene in this book (something that I can not say for later books) and I enjoy the concept of the mill girls who are all down-to-earth and friendly. Irene is such a fascinating character, especially when being compared to the wealthy characters. She's a teenager girl who seems to be the sole financial supporter of her household which includes just her disabled father and, in this book, a no-good boarder. She works at the silk mill during the day and attends the mill's night school with her co-workers. 

- I enjoyed Judy and Horace's relationship in this book. Horace is a really nice brother, always helping Judy and wanting to protect her but not in an overbearing way. I liked the scene where Judy screams out in the night and Horace runs over to check on her. She says she's fine but he waits in her room for 10 more minutes to make sure everything is ok before going back to bed. I thought that was really sweet. I like that they don't always get along perfectly either. I think their relationship is very realistic for siblings. 

- I didn't like the way Judy treated The Ghost, which is a cat Horace finds. He essentially gives it to Judy but Judy does not want it because it is half starved, dirty, and doesn't go with her room's color scheme. I also did not like how Judy waits to feed the starving cat until after it is bathed. 

- I also did not like how Judy seemed to take a casual attitude towards the mystery. At one point the attic door, which is located in her bedroom ceiling, begins to open in the night but even that doesn't light a fire under her to take things seriously. At the end of the book we find out someone has been coming and going from the attic but none of the family seem to find this disturbing. Even after hearing mournful cries in the attic, which Judy finds pitiful instead of frightening, she does not rush to investigate. I find this off-putting, especially considering the sounds were the cries of a starving cat who was trapped in an attic with a dead pet bird. This greatly upset me too, the fact that no one really seems to care that a poor pet bird was trapped in it's cage in an attic and starved to death. The mysterious voice was suppose to be intriguing but I just found it terribly sad that so many people had heard this voice and ran from it while it was essentially the bird calling out to the people for help, and their lack of help resulted in it's death. Even more I am disgusted that Horace carries around and handles the corpse of the bird which had been dead for months, it's body parts literally fall off while he displays the bird to the party-goers. 

- I think the mystery involving Peter's parents is a little unnecessary and at times it felt forced. Maybe it was forced as Sutton needed to get that into the story to set up for the next book's plot. I also dislike how Peter's father just happens to be Vine's step-son and therefore Peter's blood is not tainted by criminal blood. It seems so outdated and old fashioned. Like who cares if Peter's grandmother was a criminal, that doesn't mean he is and the belief that it should effect his social standing is ridiculous. I wish he was truly Vine's grandson as I find Vine Thompson to be such a fascinating character which is saying something since she never actually appears in any of these books since she has already passed. 

- One thing I love about this series is the way it progresses the same as real life. Some scenes can feel a little sentimental because I know the changes that happen in the future. For example the scene of Judy watching Irene play piano for her father in the living room while I know in the future he passes and Irene moves away and becomes a famous radio singer. Or the scene at the beginning where Judy is packing to move out of her grandparent's house and waving goodbye to them from the car while I know in the future they both pass and Judy and Peter make their home there. As silly as it may sound it really makes me appreciate these scenes the same way you appreciate moments in your life because you know they wont last forever.

    Overall I enjoyed this book. In my opinion the Judy Bolton series is above and beyond any other girls series ever written. The plots are always so detailed and can take you down a twisting road but always remain so easy to keep up with and never get confusing. 

    I've been in a reading slump for a long time thanks to the Barbara Ann series or as I like the call it, the four most boring books ever written. But thankfully this book really helped me with that and I got it read in two days. I'm very excited to continue the series and I will be re-reading the third book, The Invisible Chimes, next. Honey is one of my favorite characters and so I'm excited for her to come into the series. 

(Click here for a surprise)

Peggy Lane: Peggy Finds the Theater

 

    I've been suffering with reader's block for quite a few months. I have picked up several books but haven't been able to finish them. Thanks to Peggy Lane, or maybe Virginia Hughes, I have finally broken this little spell and finished a book. 

    As the book opens Peggy Lane is having a discussion with her parents about the possibility of her putting off college to pursue an acting career in New York. Her father is initially against it but Peggy works out a deal with him that if she can't land an acting job within one year she will return home to attend college. 

    Once her father is on board he calls up May Berriman, an old friend who acted in New York and now owns and operates The Gramercy Arms, a boarding house for actresses. May agrees to take on Peggy as a boarder and gets her an audition with the New York Dramatic Academy.

    After a quick trip to New York Peggy is accepted into the academy and soon moves into her new home in the city where she quickly becomes close friends with fellow boarder Amy, a southern girl who has also just arrived to attend the dramatic academy.

    On their first day of school they meet Mal, a British boy and aspiring director. He soon introduces the girls to his friend Randy, a song and dance man at local nightclubs. Mal and Randy have written a play but have hit an obstacle; they cannot find a theater to rent. The Broadway theaters are too expensive and the off Broadway theaters are booked years in advance. Peggy, wanting to help the boys and possibly wanting to impress Randy, declares she will find them a theater.

    Her plan of attack is to look up every theater license issued since the late 1800's, cross-reference them with a recent phonebook, and visit any that are not accounted for in the hopes that some are lying abandoned or forgotten about. 

    After a bit of searching Peggy finds one that is located on the fifth floor of a building. The building looks vacant but a ring of the door buzzer brings a surly janitor who insists there is no theater before shooing Peggy away. 

    Suspicious that crooks have taken up use of the theater Peggy suggests that the group take turns surveilling the theater at night in the hopes they will catch illegal doings so the police will clear out the theater thus leaving it available for Mal and Randy. On the second night while Peggy and Amy wait they witness a truck arriving and boxes being unloaded into the theater under armed guard.

    After informing the police it is discovered that hijackers have been storing their stolen loot in the old building. It is freed up and the landlord is so grateful he offers Mal and Randy a ten year lease at a steal of a price. Not only can the boys now put on their play but they also decide to turn a lower floor into a male version of the Gramercy Arms. 

    This was a quick, fun read. After Peggy begins her search for a theater the book gets quite interesting. I enjoyed the descriptions about different parts on New York City. There is one part where the boys take the girls on a date to Luchow's, an old and famous real life restaurant that was located in the old theater section of the city. At the time this book was written the restaurant was already a reminder of the past. I found this interesting as this book is from the 1960's. It is like looking in a window to the past while already looking in a window to the past.

    I read this as an eBook that I got for free from Project Gutenberg which is where the images in this post come from: Peggy Finds the Theater on Project Gutenberg

Terror in Technicolor

   

    25 year old Elsbeth 'Beth' Caldwell receives a letter stating that her grandfather has passed away and she should journey to England for the reading of his will. Both of Beth's parents have recently passed and she sees this trip as a way to feel close to her father, who always remained rather vague about his life in Britain.

    Before leaving Beth receives two more letters from England, the first telling her to be careful if she comes and to lock her door at night. The second is a strange riddle. Beth discusses both of them with Glenn, a close friend of her fathers. He suggest Beth bring a companion with her for safety but when she refuses he contacts John Harrigan, an American friend currently vacationing in England.

    John is a tall and kind redheaded man who Beth instantly gets along with and they enjoy a day of sight seeing together. Upon returning to her hotel room that night she finds a note from Dalton Chilvers, the son of her grandfathers lawyer H.J. Chilvers, saying he will be entertaining her the following day.

    Dalton turns out to be an extremely handsome and debonair Englishman. They spend the day sightseeing before Dalton suggest they go to a tearoom. There he orders pims*, a quintessentially British drink, for them while Beth is in the ladies room. Once she returns to the table she gulps the drink down in an attempt to not appear as an uncouth American. Soon her head and stomach begin to spin and she rushes to the restroom where she throws up and passes out.

    She awakens in her hotel bed and is horrifically embarrassed for seemingly getting sick from alcohol. She finds a note from John ordering her to call him. He quickly shows up to her room and informs her that she had not gotten sick from alcohol but from the large amount of poison she had ingested and that inquiries found H.J. Chilvers has no son.

    John, who is a lawyer, is visiting England with group of other legal experts, one of who is Judge Bart Huffer and his wife Leah. After being introduced Beth and Leah make plans for a day of shopping. This is when a second attempt on Beth's life is made; she is pushed from behind into the path of an oncoming subway car. She is quickly rescued but sufficiently shaken up.

    The next day she is to drive to her grandfather's estate, Haddon Manor, in Kent with John and the Huffers, with the three staying at a nearby inn, and she looks forward to getting out of London and away from the stressful happenings. However that night she receives a call from Andy, a boyfriend from back home. He has followed her to England, his family's wealth allowing him to do so on a whim, and wrecks her nerves by trying to pressure her to change her plans to include him, which she refuses.

    On the trip to Kent the following day the foursome stop for lunch when Andy shows up. Sensing Beth's distress John is curt towards the boy and quickly has his group depart from the restaurant. Although he doesn't outright say it he, like Beth, adds Andy to a mental list of suspects.

    Upon arrive at the stately Haddon Manor Beth meets Hildreth, her grandfather's much younger widow, and Hildreth's daughter Gwen. The two women act somewhat aloof towards Beth which adds to her feelings of anxiety. When she shares an interest in a full tour of her father's boyhood home she is met with awkward evasive answers.

    Her feelings of anxiety and suspicion grow when she is introduced to Hildreth's son Travis, or Dalton Chilvers as Beth knew him. He insists the use of the alias was a good-natured prank and gaslights Beth when she informs him of her poisoning.

    Beth returns to her room that evening to call John but finds the phones are out of order. Fearing she is in danger she tries to stay awake throughout the night but eventually drifts off to sleep in the wee hours of the morning. She is violently awakened by Travis holding a drug soaked cloth against her face. She holds her breath while pretending to pass out and listens as Travis, Hildreth, and Gwen discuss how they plan to hide her away to avoid her receiving any share of her grandfather's will, the contents of which are still unknown.

    She is carried through a hidden passage to a secret room where she remains for the next day. Unable to find a way out she relaxes at the knowledge that John and Andy will search endlessly for her upon her disappearance and the fact that Andy is wealthy enough to get influential support if a search is needed.

    During this time she recognizes that she is in love with John and indulges in daydreams about married life with him until she hears his voice as he enters the hidden room to rescue her. It turns out much had been at play behind the scenes.

    After Elsbeth's first near fatal incident John had contacted Glenn who had connected him with a woman named Stella. Stella was best friends with Beth's grandmother and had been a second mother to Beth's father, Haddon. She had informed John of Hildreth's true character.

    Many years ago Hildreth had arrived in town as a widowed mother of two little babies, Travis and Gwen. Upon meeting Haddon she attempted to force him into marriage by spreading a rumor he has promised to marry her and take her and her children into his wealthy family's home. When he refused to give into her scheme she went to Beth's grandfather, Henry, who already disapproved of his son for not being "manly" enough. Henry had given Haddon the ultimatum to either marry Hildreth or leave the family home. Haddon took the latter and moved to America. Hildreth charmed Henry into marriage and took control of the estate.

    Stella, as well as H.J. Chilvers, and Edna, the young maid, believed Hildreth might try to get Elsbeth out of the picture and therefore were on alert. Immediately after Beth's disappearance Edna went to Stella who contacted John and Chilvers who contacted the police. The hidden room being known to both Edna and Stella made it easy for Beth to be found.

    Stella recants all this to Beth and Beth, who has no surviving family, feels as though she has found a family member in Stella.

    The will is read the next day and Beth has been left a large fortune as well as Haddon Manor. Hildreth has been left a small cottage in town and £1. Gwen and Travis receive nothing. Hildreth and her children are immediately escorted out of the home along with their belongs, as was ordered in the will, and Beth arranges to have the manor given to Stella who has a deeper connection to the home then Beth has or ever will have. But her and John promise to visit often and bring their future children with them.

- I must start out with saying I'm greatly disturbed that Hildreth, Travis, and Gwen face absolutely zero repercussions for multiple attempts at murder. How on earth were consequences overlooked by the author.

- Glenn says "pshaw" quite a bit which felt awkward.

- I have mixed feelings regarding Beth and John's relationship. I think it is believable they would bond so soon since they're both Americans in a foreign country and have a mutual friend. But I think things moved much too quick. In less than a week Beth goes from thinking he is ugly to being madly in love and engaged to him. They also admittedly know very, very little about each other. I also was not a fan of the strong-man-takes-control-of-a-small-helpless-woman cliché. Her enjoying him giving her orders and calling her "good girl" made me roll my eyes. After the poisoning Beth says she enjoys John playing protector to her because she has not felt protected by someone since her parent's deaths. I think this is believable but she is also a very independent woman so it quickly moving into the roles of dominant man and submissive woman was annoying. I also found their height difference comically large. John is at least 6'6" and Beth is somewhere under 5' so scenes where they embrace appeared laughable in my head.

- Multiple parts of this book felt like a tourism advert. There are pages recounting information Beth was reading about historical sights and an way too long conversation between Beth, John, and the Huffers about Britain's efforts to decrease water and air pollution. The conversation had absolutely no bearing on anything else in the book and was overly complimentary. I would love to know why these were placed so awkwardly into the book.

    Overall I enjoyed this. It was a nice break from the juvenile mysteries I've been reading and the first book written in first person that I have read in awhile. It moved along smoothly and held my attention well.

    *According to a google search the drink is spelled "pimms" but in the book it was spelled with only one M so that is the spelling I am using here.