The White Elephant Mystery by Ellery Queen, Jr., 1950

 

About the author: Ellery Queen Jr. is a house pseudonym for this young adult series of mysteries.

 

Major characters:

• Djuna
• Tommy Williams, his friend
• Miss Annie Ellery, Djuna's guardian(?)
• Mr. George Boots, carpenter
• "Socker" Furlong, reporter
• "Cannonball" McGinnty, state trooper
• Alvah Grant, founder of the circus (dead prior to story)
• Sonny Grant, Alvah's son, new owner of the circus
• Norman "Spitfire" Peters, aerialist
• Trixie Cella, Spitfire's wife, aerialist
• Ned Barrow, Spitfire's catcher

Synopsis: Djuna and his friend Tommy Williams are excited when the circus comes to town, and obtain free passes from local carpenter George Boots. They meet up with their friends (from previous books) reporter "Socker" Furlong and state trooper "Cannonball" McGinnty. They learn the circus has a new owner, Sonny Grant, who inherited it after the passing of his father, Alvah Grant. Sonny is learning the business now himself, and relations are strained between him and the circus staff.

Socker and Cannonball warn Djuna to look out for grifters who travel with the circus, and urge them to only observe, but take no action themselves. As the circus opens, one grifter is caught, and aerialist "Spitfire" Peters is injured from a fall during an acrobatic maneuver. Before Spitfire is taken to the hospital, he whispers "The White Elephant" to Djuna. This is apparently some sort of clue. There are two possible white elephants in sight - a real one (enhanced with paint) in the circus, and an iron statue of one on old Alvah's Grant's lawn. Djuna finds a third one while searching for Alvah's lost will.

Review: There is a lot going on in this young adult novel, including some more grown-up themes that you won't find in the Hardy Boys. I was surprised at how young and independent Djuna and Tommy are, perhaps age 12 or 13, going from town to town with little supervision, riding around in a police car, sneaking into the hospital, and staying at a hotel with no adults along. 

The story revolves around the coming to town of the circus. The descriptions of the complex setup and arrangements are well done, and show inside knowledge of how it all comes together. Mixed in to this are some shady characters, grifters (with explanations of how some grifting is accomplished), threats, a shooting, explanations of legal implications of wills and the results of dying intestate.

This story brings to my mind how kids used to roam around town unsupervised (as I did) and never got into any messes, so unlike today when they are monitored - in person or electronically - every moment.

You may also enjoy this review by Bev Hankins on My Reader's Block. 

The titles in the Ellery Queen Jr. series are:

• The Black Dog Mystery (1941)  
• The Golden Eagle Mystery (1942)  
• The Green Turtle Mystery (1944)  
• The Red Chipmunk Mystery (1946)  
• The Brown Fox Mystery (1948)  
• The White Elephant Mystery (1950)  
• The Yellow Cat Mystery (1952)  
• The Blue Herring Mystery (1954)  
• The Purple Bird Mystery (1966) 
• The Mystery of the Merry Magician (1954) 
• The Mystery of the Vanished Victim (1954)