About the author: Mignon Good (1899-1996) was born in Lincoln, Nebraska. In 1929 her first crime novel was published featuring 'Sarah Keate', a nurse and 'Lance O'Leary', a police detective. This couple appeared in another four novels. Over the next forty years she wrote a novel nearly every year. In 1971 she won the Grand Master award from the Mystery Writers of America. (from Goodreads)
Major characters:
- James Sundean, mining engineer, our narrator
- Marcus Lovschiem, blingy hotel manager
- Mme. Grethe Lovschiem, his wife
- Miss Sue Tally, hotel guest
- Francis Tally, her brother
- Pére -- Robart, a priest and hotel guest
- Mrs. Felicia Byng, hotel guest
- Marcel, hotel porter
- David Lorn, private detective
- Pucci, Marcus's cockatoo
Locale: rural France
Synopsis: Mining Engineer James Sundean (our narrator) checks into a hotel in rural France during the cold off-season winter; to await arrival of his friend Jack Dunning. Although the hotel is large, there are only a handful of guests: Mrs. Felicia Byng, an annoying American woman; Pére Robart, a priest; and Miss Sue Tally, the attractive young love interest.
Sue Tally comes to Sundean's room seeking help. She said she had been abducted by unknown man, driven around, then dropped back off at the hotel. Sundean urges her to call the police but she is reticent. He then goes to the lobby to retrieve her room key. He returns to find a dead man in the hallway outside his room, and Sue Tally gone. Hotel manager Marcus Lovschiem and his temptress wife Grethe Lovschiem respond, and they find he was stabbed with a miniature dagger which had been part of the decorative clock in Sundean's room - representing Napolean's sword. As the weapon was from his room, Sundean is placed under arrest.
Private detective David Lorn arrives on the scene and quickly gets Sundean released. Lorn and Sue Tally meet with Sundean to explain the situation. Lorn has been hired by Sue's brother, Francis Tally, to track her down. Sue, along with her brother, are heirs to a $10M fortune, but before her $5M portion can be released, she must prove her identity to Francis. This is because she and her brother have been separated since infancy, and would not recognize each other by sight. Each of them had received a "token" from their father's estate - a unique item which, when matched, will prove her identity by virtue of its possession.
It now seems likely the murdered man had been in search of her token, in order to plant a substitute Sue and claim the fortune.
Review: We start right off with some standard Eberhart: the man wrongly accused and his beautiful young brunette young interest. It's a formula, but it always works.
The atmosphere element is enjoyable. An almost deserted hotel in a deserted resort town in winter. The winds blow and the rooms are cold, and it is a perfect setting. The characters are well-drawn, especially hand-wringing hotel manager Marcus and his come-hither wife Grethe. The cockatoo Pucci makes an appearance now and then, but pulls off the stunt that solves the case at the end.
Jack Dunning, the long-awaited friend of Sundean, never shows up and although I expected him to part of the story line, he is just written out. A map of the hotel would have been quite helpful, suffice to say it is a 2-story open square with a courtyard in the middle.
One little nitpick: Sundean obtains a gun from Lorn. At the beginnning it is described as an automatic, but somewhere along the line it becomes a revolver. Oops. Readers will also find a interesting new use for a grand piano.
No comments:
Post a Comment