Juvenile

The Haunted Attic (Judy Bolton #2)

/ Rebekahrox / Leave a comment

by Margaret Sutton

“Judy, You weren’t talking to the mill girls?” “Why not? They are our neighbors, you know.”… “That’s all the more reason why you should be careful of your associates. Suppose you were classed as one [them]? You wouldn’t have a single friend in High School.”… Please Judy, for my sake, keep away from the mill girls. they’re not our kind.”

Picking up right where The Vanishing Shadow left off, this 2nd in the Judy Bolton series has plenty of mysteries and drama to occupy her as she settles into her new home in Farringdon. In addition, Margaret Sutton also explores class snobbery and the cruelty that popular cliques can inflict on outsiders.

After moving into the big rented house on Grove Street which is said to be haunted by the ghost of Vine Thompson, a sort of Ma Barker character, Judy starts to experience strange sightings and mysterious attic noises herself. The whole community thinks the house is haunted and this is affecting Dr. Bolton’s formerly thriving Roulsville practice as no one wants to come to his home office. Judy, who does not believe in ghosts, vows to solve the mystery in time for the big Halloween party she intends to throw. Along the way, Judy and her brother Horace discover hidden jewelry on the property, and a big trunk full of fancy vintage clothing and poignant love letters, not to mention a half-starved white kitten Horace adopts and names “Ghost.”

Meanwhile, Judy is having trouble fitting in at school despite her friendship with socially prominent and popular Lois Farrington-Pett. Lois gives her a friendship ring identical to the one she gave her friend Lorraine a long time ago but wants Judy to keep it secret. Judy’s confidence and optimism take a blow when she is not immediately accepted by the popular kids. She is not rich, is a stranger, makes more than one faux pas, and has become friendly with the wrong crowd who go to the high school on the poor blue-collar side of town. To make matters worse, Lorraine’s ring has been stolen by burglars and when she sees what she thinks is her ring on Judy’s finger the accusations start flying. As in The Vanishing Shadow, Judy’s refusal to break a promise results in all sorts of mayhem, and unfortunately, Lois is quarantined at home with Scarlet Fever and can’t come to Judy’s defense and straighten things out. Things get a lot worse before they get better which makes for a very exciting and dramatic book.

And that’s not even the end of it! In addition to ghosts of dead criminals, the discovery of stolen loot, and teen drama, we have the mystery of  Judy’s friend and supporter, Peter’s, parentage which has been kept secret from him by the Dobbses, whom Peter calls his grandparents. All finally gather at Judy’s Halloween Party (which is a story in itself!) where all of the mysteries are solved, ghosts uncovered, and criminals caught. It is truly a party for the ages, the likes of which surely had never been seen before in sophisticated and staid Farringdon. We even have social progress made with somewhat of a truce between social factions and Judy accepted by both the popular kids and the factory girls. The third book in the series will continue to build on the secrets of Peter’s past and the criminal Vine gang in very unexpected and shocking ways.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

The Vanishing Shadow (Judy Bolton #1)

/ Rebekahrox / 2 Comments

By Margaret Sutton

“Nothing exciting like this ever happens to me,” Judy Bolton thought as she turned the pages of the latest book in her favorite series.

Thus begins the first paragraph in the first book of the Judy Bolton Mystery series. That is, in the edition I have, which is the 1964 revision of the original 1932 version. The book was originally written as the first of a series called Melissa of Dry Brook Hollow, but when Grosset and Dunlap agreed to publish it, Margaret made many changes to transform it into the first of her new Judy Bolton series. As with all of her books, Margaret based at least one aspect of the plot on a real incident in her life. This one is based on a real flood that devasted the town of Austin, Pennsylvania when the dam burst. 78 died in that disaster when Margaret was 8 years old. In this novel, thanks to the heroics of Horace, Judy’s brother, only 3 men died. And those 3 men were villains whose criminal actions caused the dam to burst to begin with. So serves them right, I say.

But first, we meet Judy a 15-year-old student spending her summer in Dry Brook Hollow with her grandparents and brother Horace while her parents, Dr. And Mrs. Bolton, are away on vacation and good for them. Judy is bored and lonely with only a girl named Edna to do things with. Horace is not the witty energetic courageous reporter he will become in subsequent books. He is frail and cowardly. His nickname is “Sister” or “Sissy”. Judy wants little to do with him. Luckily for Judy and the reader, Judy does not remain bored for long.

First, she overhears an argument about the Roulsville dam between the workers who are building a new road between Farringdon and Roulsville where the Boltons live. The workers threaten Judy and her weak friend Edna and when Judy tells the truth about overhearing everything they said. They end up kidnapping our heroine (who, they can tell will be a threat to their scheme) and locking her in a nasty shed until she agrees to promise not to “speak” about anything she overheard. While Judy is pondering what the deal is with the dam and stressing about what to do about her promise not to tell what she knows or even that she was kidnapped, lots of not-boring things happen to formerly bored Judy. She has a big fight with Grandma Smeed who virtually stole Judy’s share of the spending money her parents left her and Horace to buy Horace a new suit. The Smeeds and Horace think Judy ran away in anger when in reality she was being held captive in the shed. After they let her go (depositing her with a bag over her head at her home in Roulsville) she wins first place in the community Spelling Bee and is the Belle of the Ball of the party and dance afterward. She goes to pick blackberries but her too-frisky horse runs away with her and she almost collides with a moving train. She is rescued by a childhood acquaintance, Peter Dobbs, and he gives her a kitten she calls “Blackberry”. We also meet Arthur Farringdon-Pett, his sister Lois, and her friend Lorraine. These 3 will also become familiar characters in the series. I loved the way all of these characters are introduced for the first time and their future relationships foreshadowed. It is from architect Arthur, who is something of a hero in this book, that she learns that the dam is poorly constructed by a shady company and is in danger of breaking upon the next hard rain.

Although this book is not a favorite of many Judy Bolton fans, or indeed of Margaret Sutton herself, there is some excellent writing in this. There are some dodgy parts including Grandma Smeed’s character, Judy not going to the authorities immediately when she learns about the dam, and Horace’s over-the-top humility about his actions. But there are some genuinely terrifying and evocative descriptions, especially of Horace hearing the dam breaking, the flood, and his courage (although partially in spite of himself) in warning the citizens of Roulsville and saving thousands of lives. Judy is safe at home above the dam when she and her grandmother hear the terrible storm and rain approaching and hear the dam breaking. Her terror and guilt for Horace’s fate and her search for him is quite affecting. In the aftermath, Judy nails the criminals who are responsible for the tragedy. Horace’s reputation and indeed his character are forever changed by his heroic actions. By the end of the book, the stage is set for Judy’s new life and hopefully new friends and adventures in the neighboring city of Farringdon, since Roulsville as it was, is no more.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

The Strange Likeness (Judy Bolton #39)

/ Rebekahrox / 1 Comment

By Kate Duvall and Beverly Hatfield

 45 years after the Judy Bolton series was abruptly canceled and 11 years after Margaret Sutton’s death at the age of 98, this final book appeared in 2012. It finally put a fitting end to the beloved series. It was written by Kate Duvall, president of the Phantom Friends, and Beverly Hatfield, a devoted Judy Bolton fan since childhood and who has an encyclopedic knowledge of all things Judy. The book, sanctioned by her estate, was based on an outline by Margaret Sutton and incorporated Margaret Sutton’s final wishes for the conclusion to the series. It is illustrated by one of Margaret’s daughters, Marjorie Sutton Eckstein, and was edited by another daughter, Lindsay Sutton Stroh.
So yes, this book is the real deal, totally legit, and no doubt would have had Margaret’s Seal of Approval if she had had one.

It begins with Honey and Judy doing their final holiday shopping on Christmas Eve in Brandt’s department store. Judy sees her husband Peter shopping at the jewelry counter while gazing down at the hectic scene from the escalator. While another shopper creates a diversion, Judy thinks she sees Peter shoplifting a necklace. Of course, this cannot be. FBI agent Peter is either working undercover trying to infiltrate a gang of criminals or it’s not really Peter. She remembers that a month ago her car was almost hit by another driver who bore an uncanny resemblance to her husband. Later he confided to her that a man who resembled him was being investigated by the FBI.

Meanwhile, Honey has gotten a returned “address unknown” letter from her adopted brother Mike whom she grew up with before being returned to her real family, brother Peter and her grandparents (The Invisible Chimes Judy Bolton #3). Peter’s double keeps popping up and one night, Judy and Peter’s house is burgled. Once they learn Mike is in New York City safe and sound the two girls go there to find him, give hopeful mystery writer, Horace’s, manuscript to literary agent Emily Grimshaw and employer of old friend Pauline, and also attend Irene and Dale Meredith’s New Years Eve open house party. While Honey reconnects with Mike and her troubled past, Judy searches for her stolen Wedgewood china and antique doll collection in the NYC antique stores. And she keeps seeing Peter’s suspicious double who is referred to as the “UnPeter” throughout the book. The mystery of the “UnPeter,” his identity (could he actually be related to Peter?), his involvement with the break-in, and his other nefarious activities really take a backseat to Honey’s attempt to deal with her past, and questions regarding the criminal family that raised her. Only after she has come to terms with her emotions regarding her early history and had her questions answered will she be free to become engaged to Judy’s brother Horace with a clear conscience.

This book ends the series on the strongest of notes. In some ways, Margaret Sutton, in some of her later books, had lost the way a bit. She sent Judy all over the country, and too much time was spent away from her roots, family, and friends in Farringdon. Margaret was very socially conscious and incorporated many of her concerns and causes in her books from the very beginning. But in the later books, in many readers’ minds, her agendas seemed to overwhelm the plots of some of her stories in ways that may have been too much for her younger readers. This one answers some questions and provides closure to aspects of Honey and her brother Peter’s past that were raised way back at the beginning of the series. And plus, it is just fun. We have humor, suspense, a tight plot, interesting side characters, old friends, romance (both new and long-established), and Judy at her smartest and most observant. There is even a scene at Dale and Irene’s New Year’s party that is almost too scary and disturbing. (Just icing on the cake, for me.) It is tight, well put together, and organized with no pesky plot holes or unanswered questions. By the end of the book, we see Mike settled near his adopted sister with a possible new romance with an old friend of Judy’s, Horace and Honey happily engaged, Horace soon to be a published author, and Judy’s stolen belongings well on the way to being returned. And best of all, Judy and Peter are expecting a baby(s?) with names already picked out. Just like Margaret wanted.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

The Secret of the Sand Castle (Judy Bolton # 38)

/ Rebekahrox / 1 Comment

by Margaret Sutton

Thus endeth the Judy Bolton series. At least the ones written by Margaret Sutton. This one is pretty good. Even though I gave the last one 5 stars, it was not really for the story but for Margaret’s daring to tackle the issue of racial prejudice and right-wing hate groups. This one is almost 4 stars.

Roxy, Judy’s look-alike cousin we first met in #14 The Clue in the Patchwork Quilt, wants Judy to investigate a piece of property she inherited through her stepmother who treated her equally with her biological children. She will get a 24th share of The Sand Castle, a seaside cottage on Fire Island. Roxy knew that Judy will be visiting her great friend, Irene, on Long Island to celebrate her daughter, Little Judy’s birthday. Also joining them will be Pauline, another NYC friend I think we first met in #6, The Ghost Parade, and Flo, another friend of Irene and Judy that we met in #30 The Phantom Friend. Coincidentally Flo is a cousin of Roxy, but not a cousin of Judy, even though Roxy and Judy are cousins. This is because Judy’s mother was sisters with Flo’s dead biological mother and Flo and Roxy were related through her stepmother. This story could really have used a family tree because there are so many relatives involved and many of them have important roles to play. Also coincidentally the Sand Castle is the little cottage on the beach that Dale and Irene rented last summer, and Dale and Irene want to buy it. Also coincidentally, The shady lawyer handling the estate is Dale and Irene’s lawyer. There are a lot of coincidences in this book as there are in most children’s mystery series.

Instead of a quick day trip, the girls (and little Judy-because Dale, Irene’s husband is hopeless) the girls are stranded on Fire Island because of an impending storm and spotty boat service since it is off-season. While there, Judy encounters A mysterious Woman in Black (No not that one), who may or may not be one of Roxy’s relatives, a ghost, or someone else entirely. Also, buried jewelry, stolen loot, harmful family gossip, a jilted lover, an old bank robber fresh out of prison who is also a relative, and a plane crash that kills a father and maybe a 12-year-old child (not to mention a young pilot-Judy Bolton is not for the faint-hearted), a kidnapping, and a daring rescue (yay, Pauline!). Also, it turns out that Flo being on the expedition to Fire Island is not such a coincidence after all. Judy finds the Jewels and the warring family is semi-reconciled, although still difficult. As usual, Peter comes in at the end, if not to the rescue, at least to arrest the bad guys. The book ends with **Spoiler**Aggie, the little 12-year-old, who is not dead after all, reunited with her rehabilitated bank robber Grandfather and finding a home with Aunt Hazel, whom Judy got to know on the bus to Long Island (coincidentally). And Little Judy has her birthday party.

The book ends with a teaser for what was planned to be the next book, The Strange Likeness, but alas, it was not to be. The longest-running juvenile series by a single author was canceled. Based on conversations with Margaret before she died at age 98 in 2001, the book was completed 45 years after Sand Castle by 2 of Margaret’s devoted fans using Margaret’s own outline and with the full cooperation and participation of two daughters.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

The Search for the Glowing Hand (Judy Bolton #37)

/ Rebekahrox / Leave a comment

By Margaret Sutton

When a Muslim family is burned out of their store and Mosque, Judy gets involved. Who set the fires and why? And who pulled the fire alarm across town diverting the firefighters from the real fire? Suspicion has landed on 10-year-old Ken Topping because his hands now glow under ultraviolet light. The police had coated the alarm handle with a chemical to catch those responsible. But Judy thinks he is innocent partly because Ken is friends with the Muslim boy who was injured in the fire.

As Judy investigates, she discovers an organized international group of bigots that share more than a passing resemblance to groups who are operating today, almost 60 years after Margaret Sutton wrote this book. They are called The Wasps (John Birch Society?), and yes, they are against anyone who is not White, Anglo-Saxon, and Protestant. Their mission is to infiltrate high schools and church groups to spread their hate disguised as Patriotism and traditional Christian values. A number of Judy’s acquaintances, including the snobby trouble-making Vincent family, have found much to like in their agenda.

While trying to find the real culprits, Judy finds plenty of excitement, including riots in the streets of usually peaceful Farringdon. A house that the Muslim family, The Wards, was buying in an exclusive neighborhood is set on fire and burned. According to Lindsay Stroh, Margaret Sutton’s daughter, The issue of inclusion and diversity hit close to home for Margaret. Her nephew Victor married a Muslim woman and also converted to Islam himself. Margaret was also heavily involved in encouraging the integration of her community and joined Martin Luther King’s March on Washington. This book is based on an actual incident, as all of the Judy Boltons are. One of Lindsay’s schoolmates was Indian and when they moved into a wealthy white neighborhood, they were the victims of arson.

Unfortunately, Margaret’s message for her young readers was muddled somewhat by the introduction of the controversy of the local high schools becoming co-ed instead of Boys Only and Girls Only. The ”Anti-Wasps” who were protesting the segregated schools were almost as unsympathetic as The Wasps. Also, a number of loose ends were left untied, and we never really see if or how the original families who were against “Heathens” living in their exclusive neighborhood had a change of heart. We are told that the whole community banded together to welcome the Wards and their mosque to the neighborhood once the outsiders were arrested by Peter and the rest of the FBI. A little too pat and rushed.

According to a friend and fellow member of The Judy Bolton Discussion Group, William Land, Some of the problems with some of Margaret’s later books could possibly be laid at the feet of the publishers who considerably reduced the page count of the Judy Bolton books and other children’s series starting in the 1960s. Sometimes Margaret seems to have been trying to tackle too much in the fewer pages allotted to them. Also, the series was coming to an end and Margaret still had a lot to say (my speculation entirely).

Nevertheless, despite its lack of clarity and lingering questions, This book deserves 5 stars for the difficult and controversial issues that Margaret Sutton addressed in this particular volume. Especially for the time it was written. There are a lot of tense scenes, and Judy proves her moral and physical courage on more than one occasion. She was a real heroine in this. I’m sure many of Margaret’s young readers were influenced by her take on the integration and inclusion of those of different faiths and ethnicities. Although there is no doubt where Judy and her friends stand on the issues, it is not always easy, simple, and straightforward for all of the characters we meet in this book.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

The Pledge of the Twin Knights (Judy Bolton# 36)

/ Rebekahrox / Leave a comment

By Margaret Sutton

Judy knew now that she was in the hands of a two-faced criminal who was playing a deadly game with people instead of chessmen. Mr. Mosher was only another pawn… but he was playing against two queens, Mrs. Mosher and Judy. He was also playing against a suddenly ferocious black cat.
“My black knight!” Judy thought…the next few minutes were a dim hazy confusion of flying fur, struggling men, and screaming children.”

Judy and Honey join Horace’s chess club with their new friend Lorna’s encouragement. Right away we are swept into an adventure that involves 10 escaped prisoners possibly including Lorna’s wrongly convicted father, hollow chessmen, and mysterious notes. On top of that, Judy’s beloved Dad, Dr. Bolton, is missing, and Horace and Honey are on the outs again with Lorna in the middle.

Judy comes up against a sinister “granite-faced man” whom Judy calls “Mr. Stone,” who is part of the chess club. And it turns out that’s really his name! What are the odds? Also part of the mix is a local elected official, C.L. Sloan, who is quite probably on the take. It turns out the L. stands for Launt, as in Alden Launt. He is one of the escaped prisoners and we remember him as Honey’s work colleague who turned out to be involved in espionage and stealing government plans in The Secret Quest. Judy’s search for her missing Dad with Horace and Lorna following in her wake, leads her into some exciting adventures. It soon becomes clear that Dr. Bolton has been kidnapped in order to treat 2 of the prisoners who were wounded in the escape. Retracing her Dad’s last known steps, she has a close call with a speeding truck going in the opposite direction on her way to the Moshers who called Dr. Bolton because their baby swallowed a screw. Blackberry runs away into their locked barn, and Judy climbs a tree and jumps into an open window eventually landing on Dr. Bolton’s abandoned car. Everything comes to head at the Moshers when Mr. Stone shows up and manhandles Judy until Blackberry tears into him in the defense of his mistress. Luckily Peter shows up with his colleagues. Mr. Brown is taken into custody. Dr. Bolton is found safe and sound at the Farringdon-Pett mansion where the escaped prisoners had been hiding out. (Interestingly, Arthur has taken Lorraine away on a trip around the world because Lorraine is sick of living with his parents in the mansion. Mr. And Mrs. Farringdon-Pett the elder are conveniently away to parts unknown as well, leaving the mansion conveniently deserted.) Needless to say, Lorna’s father is exonerated, Horace gets his big story for the paper, and He and Honey have made up their differences (until the next book, probably.)

This was one of the better ones in the series with some romantic drama, tense moments, lively action, interesting characters, and the reappearance of old friends and enemies. As usual, there were some confusing aspects if one reads too closely and critically, but the strengths carry the day.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

The Talking Snowman (Judy Bolton #3.5)

/ Rebekahrox / Leave a comment

By Margaret Sutton and Linda Joy Singleton

The Talking Snowman by Linda Joy Singleton is an addition to the Judy Bolton canon based on an unfinished manuscript by Margaret Sutton. It was completed as a gift to the Judy Bolton author, who included some revisions when she was sent the first manuscript draft. Chronologically, It takes place at Christmas time between the third book and the fourth, so it is book number 3.5.

Judy is mystified when her snowman that she just built along with Honey and Peter Dobbs says hello to her father and tips his hat as he comes up the sidewalk. Later, the snowman repeats his unusual talent to Judy and Horace by telling them to go to the clothespin factory. There are no footprints in the snow to indicate someone is hiding behind the snowman. It is a good little problem. I know I was baffled. If it was a hidden walkie-talkie, how did he tip his hat? Meanwhile, there is some trouble brewing in town between two rival gangs, one from the blue-collar Industrial High, and the other from the more well-off and privileged Boy’s High School. It started off as a snowball fight, but things start getting really serious when rocks start to get thrown as well as snowballs. Benny, one of the Industrial High boys and a friend of Judy’s high-strung friend Irene, is arrested. When Judy’s mother is found knocked unconscious in a ditch and ends up in the hospital, it gets personal for Judy.

By the end of the book, the talking snowman is credibly explained, and the two groups of boys make friends when the truth comes out about who was responsible for the rocks and the feud getting started to begin with.

There was a lot to like in this. I liked the real hometown mystery rather than the FBI stuff of the later Judy Boltons. The local problem of rich boys and poor boys not getting along escalating to an actual riot was true to life and high stakes. The resolution made sense and was even exciting. Judy was smart and did some real detective work.

Part of the story concerning Mrs. Bolton had a lot to say about children taking their mothers for granted and even feeling a sense of ownership of them. A couple of times in the story Judy gets upset and concerned when she thinks her mother is hiding something from her or appears somewhere where she didn’t expect to see her. As if her mother didn’t have a right to be her own person. At one point, Mrs. Bolton flat-out tells her to mind her own business. It is only when Mrs. Bolton accuses her of treating her like a criminal that Judy realizes how out of line she is.

Many of Judy’s friends put in an appearance and their personalities and characteristics are on point. It nicely foreshadows her relationship with Peter. I found this just as good as the best of the Margaret Sutton-authored Judys.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

The Hidden Clue (Judy Bolton #35)

/ Rebekahrox / Leave a comment

“Dad’s right,” Judy’s brother Horace put in. “Don’t you remember the Prophet’s words to the woman with the baby?” He said, “Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life’s Longing for itself. “They come––

“You and your quotations!” Judy interrupted before her brother could finish. “I suppose you’re going to tell me they come trailing clouds of glory.“

“No, that’s Wordsworth.“

This is # 35 of the original 38-book Judy Bolton series and things are winding down. The Hidden Clue piggybacks on the former book, The Puzzle in the Pond in which Judy, Peter, and the rest of the community take in orphans displaced due to a fire at an orphanage. In Judy’s temporary care at Dry Brook Hollow are 4 or 5-year-old “Sister” and her baby brother. No one knows their names or history because they were just dumped on the orphanage’s doorstep one day.  When anyone tries to question Sister, she is very vague and her answers don’t make sense. One day, Judy buys a doll for her but leaves it at the toy store which used to be a drugstore. When she goes back to get it, it has turned back into a drugstore again and all of the dolls she saw in the window are gone. The clerk denies everything and acts suspiciously. While in town, she takes Sister to the Library where Maud Wheatley who we met a while back in a former book is the librarian. Sister runs to her thinking, for some reason, that Maud is her real mother. Maud does not handle it well and ends up lying to the child, agreeing that she is her mother (when she is not).

As things unfold, Sister lets some things slip about her past, Including that she once had a “Winnie” doll, a not-too-nice woman called ‘Auntie Grumble” who was supposed to take care of her, a chess board, a group of men in a truck, and her old house burning down. Unfortunately, Judy does not know which of these disclosures to take seriously.  She writes all these clues down, and from there Peter and the FBI get involved. Peter and Judy pursue the clues to Chicago where the mystery is solved and Sister and the baby happily end up with a family.

This is not a favorite, but It is certainly far from the worst in the series. I love that it is mentioned that Judy and Peter go to visit Roberta. A lot of things did not make sense, some situations are very hard to swallow, and Judy is kind of obtuse about some things. And a little whiny. The biggest reason for not being too fond of this one is that Sister got on my nerves, and I didn’t like the way Maud behaved around her. She came across in a negative way that I don’t think was intended by the author. But maybe it was. It’s true that Margaret Sutton’s characters are multilayered and many are neither all good nor all bad. What surprised me, in this book about orphans and “real parents” versus adopted parents was Judy’s insensitivity to Peter’s being an orphan until he was adopted by his grandparents. And her friend and sister Honey’s very troubled background before being adopted. In her zeal and focus on finding Sister’s “real parents” it’s like she forgot her own family’s history. She remains oblivious even with Dr. Bolton’s disapproval and broad hints to check herself. The clue-stick finally makes contact in the end. In addition, the big case of transporting stolen baby dolls across state lines was underwhelming. Couldn’t we at least have had them stuffed with drugs or firearms?

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

The Puzzle in the Pond (Judy Bolton #34)

/ Rebekahrox / Leave a comment

by Margaret Sutton

“Is this–your typewriter?” she asked when she could find her voice.
George Anderson glared at her. “You knew this stuff was here, didn’t you? I’ve read about you, always snooping around in empty houses and giving that brother of yours ghost stories for the Farringdon paper. you’re Dr. Bolton’s daughter, aren’t you?”

Peter has been assigned by the FBI to round up the rest of the Mott gang from The Secret Quest so Judy and Peter are finally back home. As the book opens, she is up in her attic gathering ephemera for the Roulsville library display cases. The doorbell rings, and before you know it, she is hot on the trail of another adventure. Her young friend Holly’s typewriter has been stolen! Their hot pursuit of the suspicious green car leads them to a shady furniture dealer whose stock seems to have been waterlogged at some point.

While in the neighborhood, they visit the Jewel sisters of the previous book and meet their friend Meta, who is the sad and mysterious matron of a nearby orphanage. While there, they visit the beaver dam not far from the house and are joined by Horace and Honey. This is where the puzzle in the pond reveals itself. Imagine Judy’s shock when she spies, sticking out of the dam, a distinctive table leg from a piece of furniture that was in her old house in Roulsville?! The contents of the Bolton home had been believed lost forever after the flood had devastated the small town 6 years ago. (The Vanishing Shadow, Judy Bolton #1). How did the table leg get to the pond which is upstream from the flood? While investigating the curious appearance of the table leg, we meet Danny, a resident of the orphanage who has been waiting 6 years for his father, who was once engaged to Meta, to come for him. Peter gets involved while trying to locate the rest of the Mott gang and it appears that Danny’s father might be involved in criminal activity.

I enjoyed this much more than the previous 3 Judy Bolton mysteries. I like it when Judy is back home and we meet old friends in familiar surroundings, which are often smoothly incorporated into the mystery. This one includes a lot of history and background from previous books, which further adds to the enjoyment. Honey, Peter’s sister, and Horace, Judy’s brother are now in a better place than in the previous book, and are “almost engaged.” Judy Bolton is best when read in order as time does progress and one book builds on the other, unlike with many other girls’ series.

Margaret’s talent for creating multilayered characters is at the forefront in this one. Holly has been a fixture since book #23, The Black Cat’s Clue, as a teenage friend Judy has taken under her wing. But she is often silly and flighty. George Anderson, Danny’s father, has a hair-trigger temper and flies off the handle easily. He is sulky and suspicious of everyone. Despite this, he does love his son and finds a happy ending with him and his former fiance. Even Danny comes across as “a vicious little monster” at one point. In the middle of the investigation, the orphanage burns to the ground in a dramatic scene. True character is revealed including the character of the community as a whole as everyone pitches in to help with the orphans, including the Bolton and Dobbs families.

There were several unlikely events and unanswered questions in this one. Primarily, how did the Mott gang morph from industrial espionage involved in rocket science to looters and traffickers of stolen furniture? Will Alden Launt, Honey’s sneaky co-worker and member of the Mott gang, be arrested at last? How did George, who abandoned his toddler son for 6 years in order to scrimp and save to open a business and make a home, afford a fancy honeymoon? It’s best for the adult reader not to scrutinize some things too closely, I guess. And, as always, some threads may be picked up in future books.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

The Secret Quest (Judy Bolton # 33)

/ Rebekahrox / 3 Comments

By Margaret Sutton

Always there was some bright hope there, like the sun itself, lighting the way. Mysteries would puzzle Judy for a time and then be solved…But always the quest would go on.

Still in Washington D.C., Judy and Honey, who is on “vacation” from her job as a fabric designer, get involved in industrial espionage involving solar energy-fueled rockets. After picking up the wrong suitcase at the airport the girls pursue the owners, two old-fashioned elderly ladies to return it and get Honey’s clothes back. Inside the old ladies’ suitcase is an antique coffee mill with some mysterious diagrams hidden inside. Peter recognizes something fishy is going on. Also fishy is Honey thinking she saw a shifty new co-worker with the ladies. We find out that Honey’s career might be in jeopardy. Finally, they figure out that the sisters have returned to their home near Roulsville with Honey’s suitcase.

But before they cut short their D.C. trip to follow them, they run around Washington and, at The Smithsonian, they meet a young solar scientist that Honey is attracted to (She is irritated with Horace), go to a very progressive Unitarian Church (The sermon is about the sun-worshiping Akhenaten, the first monotheist), and are waylaid by President Kennedy and Jackie’s (“Isn’t she beautiful?”) motorcade. On the way home, they visit Gettysburg, where they have to lure the ever-present Blackberry out of a cannon with some sardines which Judy just happens to have handy. When they get home they find Honey’s workplace on fire and learn that Horace has gotten attacked and beaten up. Goodness!

When they get to the big old isolated house of the elderly sisters, Dorcus and Violetta Jewel, they are not exactly welcomed with open arms. The old ladies are being victimized by their nephew who is an imposter, of course. Because their real nephew is the shy nice scientist, Henry Jewel, whom they met in D.C. This guy is on the F.B.I.’s 10 most wanted list! After convincing the women that the creepy guy upstairs is not their nephew, outsmarting him, and narrowly avoiding disaster (violent poltergeists, getting shot, and drowning) everything works out. In the end, the Jewel family is re-united, the scientific diagrams are safe in the hands of our government, Honey’s job is secure, and she is “almost” engaged to Horace. Peter gets to work from home and is put in charge of rounding up the gang responsible for all of the mayhem, which, surprise, includes Honey’s scary rival at work.

This one had some positive aspects but it kind of made my head hurt. I liked that some of the characters from the last mystery (The Whispered Watchword) were seamlessly incorporated into this one. There was lots of science and history which I liked, we briefly meet up with Lois and Lorraine back in Roulsville, the Horace/Honey courtship was advanced a bit, and the wrap-up at the end was nice. The characters were well developed. However, there were too many crazy coincidences. Four men (five if you count the imposter) in or talked about in the story had the same name, which was confusing. There were a lot of perplexing and nonsensical decisions made and developments that occur.

After New York City, a cross-country road trip to Yellowstone Park, and two books set in Washington D.C., I hope we can just stay home for our next adventure, The Puzzle in the Pond.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

August 8, 2022