Customer Reviews

The penguin pool murder

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

While the book is a fun read in itself, it is much more enjoyable if you have seen the 1932 film based on it and starring Edna May Oliver as Hildegarde Withers. Having the actress in your mind's eye as you read really brings the story to life. It's definitely one of those "they don't write 'em like that anymore" books.

Hildegarde Withers is a schoolteacher shepherding her lively class of children round the New York Aquarium, where a gruesome murder is found to have been committed. Miss Withers finds herself getting involved with the investigation and clashing with the officer in charge, Inspector Piper.

Ths is the first in a series of mysteries starring the strong-minded Miss Withers as amatuer sleuth. Hildegarde Withers is an impressive lady who is always in command of the situation, dealing with a bunch of tough little children stands her in good stead when it comes to dealing with criminals or for that matter with the police.

At the end of this first adventure, Miss Withers is apparently about to marry Inspector Piper, but in subsequent volumes she is still a spinster. I suspect that Mr Palmer decided that marriage would cramp her style, and he may be right.

Miss Withers is an impressive character, at a time when female detectives in fiction were I think much rarer than they are now, her adventures are very enjoyable to read, good characters and plenty of humorous touches help to make them very entertaining.

I bought this book because I heard about the film on Turner Classic Movies. The film version isn't for sale. I liked a great deal about the book -- the plot, the character, the setting, etc. I can easily imagine that Hollywood made a fun movie out of it with Edna May Oliver in the lead role (although I believe the character in the book is a bit younger than EMO). Nonetheless, I can't give this book as high a rating as I might like because the author does use a lot of cliches. The writing is a bit awkward. It's a quick and pleasant read, but not a great read.

For those who're caught up on your M.C. Beatons . . ., a choice alternative for you is Hildegarde Withers. This deliciously feisty character is a schoolmarm detective, who solves her cases with astuteness and chalkboard determination. Of course, you'll be trading in Scotland for New York CIty, and half-baked crimes for well-planned ones, but is that such a terrible loss. Additionally, since the action takes places in the early 1930s, there are derbys, pay telephones, and hard-talking, bumbling coppers. On top of that, Stuart Palmer supplies a whole lot of humaneness. For example, Withers' monologue on justice and the unstereotyped depiction of her integrated class. In the end, here's a quick, entertaining read.