Thursday, October 13, 2011

Book Review!

Mary Roberts Rhinehart is an iconic American author. I've seen her referred to as "the American Agatha Christie," high praise, indeed, for writing mystery novels which are logical and entertaining. This book certainly fills that bill.

THE YELLOW ROOM
by Mary Roberts Rhinehart
copyright 1945
In WW2 New York City, 24 year old Carol Spencer sat aboard a train bound for Newport, Rhode Island, with her mother, a peevish, fretful society woman, and three servants. Her fiance having been shot down and presumed dead, Carol had wanted to join the armed forces as a nurse, a plan vetoed by her mother. With her 32 year old brother Greg embarking upon a month's leave, during which he was to receive a commendation and be married, Carol was dropping her mother off at her sister's house in Newport, from thence to continue to Maine with the three servants to open the family's vacation home at her mother's behest.

Upon her arrival in Maine, Carol finds George, the gardener, hospitalized with appendicitis and the yard overgrown, and Lucy, the housekeeper, not in evidence. When one of the NYC maids opened the linen closet, a body fell out. And thus begins a tale of murder, AWOL service men, and mysterious newcomers set in a close-lipped New England town. Some things seem odd to us today, such as the power being shut off by the utility company to all vacation homes (hello? frozen pipes?), gas and food rationing, and, of course, the "society" people who really don't exist today. But this was a good, entertaining read, fast paced and lively. Mrs. Rhinehart is able to make us feel emotion for each of the characters, which is essential to real enjoyment of a book.

This is available on Amazon - be sure you get the one by Mary Roberts Rhinehart, and not one by any of several different authors (including "Anonymous"). It's a fun book.

And a memory of our Thor, the day he got his cow tail from Debbie Cook. He did enjoy it!

11 comments:

gMarie said...

hmmm - a cow tail, huh? I miss Thor, so I can only imagine how you are doing.

Enjoy reading. g

Pam said...

I love seeing pictures of Thor. I also love that you are reading and reviewing older books. This one looks great.

Anonymous said...

I'm so embarrassed this iconic author had slipped by my notice. This will be corrected. Hi Thor.

STELLA and RORY from Down Under said...

Hi Marjie, always good to hear about unknown authors. Keep on giving us photos of Thor, we love them. No worries, and love, Carol (and Stella and Rory)

monica said...

It is lovely to remember all the wonderful years Thor had - and all the good memories.

The book review was great - made me want to read it...

We are going on a weeks holiday to Malta next week, and I am looking forward to sitting in the sun reading good books..

Dexter said...

I can only imagine how quickly that cow tail went down Thor's mighty throat. CHOMP! Thanks for the book review. Sounds great.

Mango Momma

The Blonde Duck said...

A great book and a great dog.

SissySees said...

Oh, I want to read that book too. I *KNOW* she was one of my grandmother's favorites...

Love the Thor photo.

The Blonde Duck said...

I hope your ave a great weekend!

Paula said...

Love your pretty ribbon book mark! :)

Paula said...

Love your pretty ribbon book mark! :) (Sorry to post twice ... my account is messed up!)