Phyllis A. WhitneyCritiques

Phyllis Whitney was one of my favorite authors during the teenage years. I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed her work.

Her writing is dense, but still reads quickly. I don't mean dense in a bad way. I simply mean that her writing paints detailed word pictures for the reader. E.G., describing the interior of a church: "Out of the sun's heat, the air inside seemed several degrees cooler....At the foot of the main aisle, the high walls of wooden pews rose on either hand, and her apprehension increased....Susan tilted her head back to encompass high spaces of floating light - light that poured in filtered beams through three oxeye windows set into deep eaves."

The other thing that I love about her writing is that she literally keeps you guessing till the very end, much like Hitchcock or Christie. You may think you know who-done-it, but you may very well be wrong.

Finally, I love the way this one ended - the actual story, yes, but also the manner in which it is written. You have the exciting climax; then you have a calm chapter to tie up the loose ends. Think of the battle scene at the end of the original Star Wars; then the scene with the award ceremony. Very satisfying.

In another life, this would have been a quick afternoon's or evening's read. Now, life gets in the way.

The dust jacket for Secret of the Stone Face by Phyllis A. Whitney is misleading. There is a face carved into the stone of a maze, but it's not on the cover. The miniature building must be symbolic. There are two girls and a boy, and the scowling man is definitely in there.

This is one of Ms. Whiney's juvenile mysteries that involves stepfamilies. In this case, both heroine Joanna 'Jo' Baird and a girl named Liza Prentice are facing the prospect of their mothers providing them with stepfathers. Neither girl likes the man her mother wants to marry. Both wish to find a reason to keep their mothers single, but Liza has fewer scruples than Jo.

The boy is Erik Thoresen, son of the man who grows the vegetables for Scott Dennis' hotel (Scott is Joe's prospective stepfather), cares for the orchards, and makes old-fashioned furniture using old wood and authentic old-time methods.

Liza Prentice is certain that her mother's man, Roger 'Inky' Inklander, is a crook, but he could be just a bullying jerk who didn't hesitate to hurt Eric's cat, Snowdrop (the cat will recover). Liza is manipulative enough to suggest that Scott is mixed up in whatever crooked delas Inky is mixed up in to get Jo's help. Unfortunately, Jo takes the fall for a few of Liza's deeds.

Erik is also certain that Inky is up to something illegal and it has to do with his father's woodworking. Are Liza and Eric right?
There will be a chilling race for safety during the climax before the truth comes out. The stone face will be part of it.

The first several chapters seemed a little too much "been there, done that" to me, but the book picked up. Ms. Whitney had a habit of writing both a juvenile mystery and an adult mystery based on her travels. The adult book was The Stone Bull. The author's note stated that Mohonk Mountain House at Lake Mohonk, near New Paltz, on the edge of the Catskills was the inspiration for this book, although none of the events took place there.

Although I didn't enjoy this book as much as I did the Whitney mysteries I read when I was a schoolgirl decades ago, it was worth reading.

Cat fans: Snowdrop does get a few scenes in this book.½

This book has become a classic story of suspense and romance set in San Francisco in the momentous year of the San Francisco earthquake and fire of April 1906. Based on a true event.

FROM AMAZON: Sara Bishop was raised in Chicago, but her heart belongs in San Francisco, where her childhood sweetheart, Ritchie Temple, has moved to pursue a career in architecture. Convinced he feels the same way for her, she hopes his fiancée, the manipulative Judith Renwick, is just a passing fancy. And now Sara has packed her bags to prove it. Sarah’s mother is not only concerned by her daughter’s pursuit of an elusive romance, she’s also scared of the city itself—and the secret she and Sara’s father buried there years ago.

Once Sara arrives on the far side of the Golden Gate, she finds herself in the midst of a tantalizing puzzle involving Ritchie, Judith, and Judith’s mysterious brother. She soon discovers a monstrously wicked matriarch nursing a strange and unfathomable vengeance in her Nob Hill mansion. And one fateful morning, when the earth moves and the city is set afire, the pieces of Sara’s past will emerge from the ashes—but will it be too late to save her?

A tense, enthralling story of a spirited young woman that discovers she is the pawn in a man's vicious game.

Malinda looks for a secret that could free her from a frightening past when she returns to Silverhill, her mother's home.

FROM AMAZON: After decades away, Malinda Rice returns to the New Hampshire estate of Silverhill to make sure her departed mother is buried in her rightful place in the family plot. Still carrying the scars of her past, she’s determined to solve the mysteries behind the bad blood that has divided her family. But, like old memories, Malinda is not welcome at Silverhill.

She faces her embittered grandmother, a manipulative tyrant to be feared and never crossed. And her disturbed aunt is lost in a fantasy world, desperate to be rescued. Malinda finds solace with the handsome family doctor, whom she discovers is the only person she can trust, however guarded. The secrets in this deceptive hall of mirrors run deeper and darker than she imagined. Now, while seeking the truth in a mansion haunted by lies, twisted memories, and ruined lives, she must also fight for her sanity—and her life.

Leigh's father, a famous novelist, and her mother, a great actress, had never married. She never knew her mother, but her father's dying wish was that she travel to Norway and find the woman he loved and whose life was shadowed by dark secrets.

FROM AMAZON: Leigh Hollins had no choice but to honor her father’s dying wish: that she find her estranged mother, now living in seclusion in Norway, and reconcile with her. Leigh’s mother, Laura Worth, was once one of the most dynamic movie stars in the world, her films eclipsed only by her real life, which was filled with intrigue, scandal, and romantic melodrama. Then, after the mysterious death of the director on her final film, Laura slipped away from the Hollywood limelight. All she wanted was to be alone—but her daughter is about to shatter her solitude.

When Leigh arrives at her mother’s isolated hillside home in Bergen, she’s met with both guarded joy and trepidation. Gunnar, a family friend, is a welcoming figure who sparks an unexpected attraction. But when Leigh reunites with the mother she once longed to know, she discovers a weakened recluse, a woman living in fear. As Leigh opens old wounds, draws out long-buried secrets, and unwittingly invites the dreadful past back into both of their lives, she learns that not everyone is a fan of Laura Worth. Someone wants her dead—and Leigh herself has also been targeted for a killer fade-out.

Monica and her son flee her husbands abuse and join her great-aunt, a former Hollywood star, and finds secrets and danger from her aunt's past.

FROM AMAZON: Ever since New York journalist Carol Hamilton was a young girl, her great-aunt Monica Arlen has been for her the stuff of glittering, starry-eyed fantasy. Now, the reclusive movie star offers Carol an escape of another kind. In flight with her son from an abusive marriage, she’s come to Monica’s isolated, fortress-like home on Mt. San Jacinto in Palm Springs—and not only for sanctuary. Carol hopes to do research for her biography of a once-celebrated life that has receded into the dark shadows of Hollywood history.

Surrounded by an entourage of secretaries, companions, and servants, Monica is willing to give Carol and her boy refuge, and to Carol’s surprise, she’s receptive to telling her story. On one condition: Carol must tell the truth about everything, including Saxon Scott, Monica’s most dashing and enigmatic leading man. Meanwhile, Carol is tempted by the prospect of a new man who could heal her wounded heart—or shatter it. But as she digs deeper into lore and legend, she discovers that her great-aunt’s secrets run as deep and dangerous as her past. Soon Carol will find herself entangled in a real-life mystery, and the final scene could very well call for murder.

When Nicholas Trench's granddaughter and heir to his fortune suddenly disappears from his seaside home on Topsail Island , North Carolina, he turns to his old friend Hallie Knight for help.

FROM AMAZON: For several years, time and circumstance have managed to separate Hallie Knight and her old friend Susan Trench. But when Susan disappears from her grandfather's seaside home on historic Topsail Island, it is Hallie whom Nicholas Trench calls for help. Wealthy, ill, and irascible, he refuses to believe that his beloved granddaughter and the heir to his fortune has been lost to him. He is certain that if anyone can find Susan, it will be her closest friend, the woman who knows her better than anyone else. When Hallie arrives from California, she finds the old man surrounded by an odd collection of friends and relatives, all of whom seem to know a little more than they're willing to tell about Susan Trench and her last days on Topsail. As the threads intertwine, Hallie must confront painful questions that build toward what may be a fearful answer.

FROM AMAZON: Was it fear of scandal, threat of disgrace, or loss of his job that drove Rhode Island newspaper magnate Adam Keene to take his own life? His daughter, Christy, refuses to accept her father’s death as a suicide. When she returns to her mother-in-law Theodora’s stately Newport mansion, Christy is determined to find out who killed her father—and why.

But once behind the walls of Spindrift, Christy finds that the sprawling estate is more than just a tomb of tragic memories and closely guarded secrets. Christy’s husband and son are slowly falling under the influence of the ruthless and domineering Theo. For Christy, the matriarch’s endgame is as unknowable as it is terrifying. Now, as Christy searches for the truth of the past in the dark shadows of Spindrift, she will become trapped in a web of lies only another murder could conceal.

“Remember where you are, Caroline. This is M a u i. There are mysteries here that men have never touched — good and evil. I don’t want to deny any of the old powers.” — Marla


Phyllis A. Whitney was a wonderful writer who wrote mysteries for young people, and tales of gothic romance and mystery for adults. In some ways, Silversword is atypical of her work because the gothic element and setting is missing, but in another way it is one of her finest, highlighting her deft talent for storytelling, and her uncanny ability to keep the reader involved in the intrigue. In Silversword — a lovely plant which blooms at ten year intervals then dies — the intrigue involves a dysfunctional family guarding a secret, and the recently divorced Caroline, who must find out the truth so that she can move forward with her life, and find her own place in the world:


“My grandmother Elizabeth believes that my father was murdered.” — Caroline

“I’ve always had the feeling that might be so myself. The atmosphere at Manaolana was too strange for the accident theory.” — David


But it will in no way be easy for Caroline to get at the truth, with everyone else involved with the incident wanting it left alone:

“I’ve often wondered what really happened. In a way, it’s convenient that no one could tell the story afterward. Just the same, Caroline, I think you should accept the fact you don’t really know the truth. I wonder if anyone does, or ever will.” — Ailina


Having grown up reading her mysteries for children, I had always been aware of Whitney’s strong connection to Japan, but not her close ties to Hawaii. She expounds on them in the afterword (at least in the Coronet edition). The setting for Silversword is like an additional character in the story, lush and beautiful, full of history and beliefs, and perhaps magic. When reading this one, I could not help but think of Tony Hillerman and M.M. Kaye. Whitney weaves such a rich and lovely tapestry around Hawaii, and especially Maui, that we see its beauty in our mind’s eye while reading, feel it’s amazing history, and are touched by its spiritual side. On a slightly smaller scale, Whitney does for Maui, and Hawaii, what Kaye did for India, and Hillerman for the Southwest. Though it is certainly not on the same scope as Michener’s Hawaii — this is romantic mystery fiction, after all — there is something lush and tangible that the reader takes away from the setting as Whitney describes it, and as the protagonist experiences it.

Silversword begins in San Francisco, however, a city which has had long ties across the Pacific to Hawaii. Caroline Kirby is living in Pacific Heights with her father’s mother, a wealthy and controlling woman who worships a dead son. Elizabeth had given Caroline a home when both her parents were killed in Hawaii during a tragic accident at a crater. But a home is all it was, devoid of real love and affection. Caroline, also referred to as Linny and Cao, has recently divorced and is trying to find her own way in life. She thinks going back to Maui may be the answer, but is in for a shocking discovery, and deception. Though the revelation happens early in the narrative, and is basically the impetus for the entire book, I will attempt to be a bit vague about it. Suffice it to say, it leads to greater questions, as to why Caroline couldn’t remain in Hawaii, rather than have her childhood ruined. But darker questions loom, including what really happened that day at the crater.

The narrative is gentle and involving, and the romance which blooms slowly, like the silversword — it has taken a lifetime for Caroline and David — is realistic. Whitney knew how to weave a tapestry of mystery and romance as well as anyone in this genre, and her gift for storytelling is very much on display here — though I must note, that as previously mentioned, this is an atypical book by the author. We like Caroline, but Maui and the mystery of what happened all those years ago is what drives this novel of romantic intrigue and mystery forward, even if it is at a gentle pace. Along the way, Caroline begins to find sure footing in the most unlikely places, and by the most intangible means:


“Hawaiians say it’s our own spirit we see reflected in the clouds. You’re very lucky — it doesn’t always happen. But I thought you might be — I thought you might be given a sign.” — David

Caroline’s inner thoughts about David’s remark: “Whatever he said I could believe. I could believe that somehow, in some inspired way, that was the reflection of my own soul—spirit—shining out there in that circle of light. No one could behold such a vision without being touched and changed. While I had come to Maui for some small human purposes of my own, now something more was given to me. Something far larger — a destiny? At this moment the word didn’t seem too large for me to accept it. I was here because — something — was meant to be. I didn’t need to understand. In a little while I would go back to my own human perspective, but I wouldn’t forget what had touched me here.”


Whitney gave this enough depth to make it interesting, and enough romance and mystery to keep the reader involved despite the gentle but steady movement. She writes evocatively of Maui’s beauty and its history. And she weaves in its mystic side, which Caroline experiences herself in a vision. It is a tapa beater, and Caroline’s loving persistence to help someone open doors long-shut, however, that will finally bring this terrific read in the genre to a very satisfying close.

There is a wonderfully illustrated and detailed map of Maui on page twenty-six in the Coronet paperback edition, as well as an afterward by Phyllis A. Whitney which is well worth reading. This edition has a beautiful cover depicting Maui, and I urge anyone seeking it out in paperback, to find this one. Though written and published in the 1980s, this one feels sort of timeless, and is a wonderful example of this genre done correctly. If you enjoy this genre of romantic suspense and mystery, Silversword is highly recommended.

Phyllis A. Whitney wrote wonderful mysteries for children and young adults which were always more than the sum of their parts. She was wonderfully adept at weaving into her stories of mystery gentle life lessons that always made you feel like you were richer and had more understanding of the adult world by the time you’d turned the last page, making you a tiny bit closer to being an adult. Most of her stuff is 5-star as far as I’m concerned. The combination of old-fashioned values, her insight into the feelings of young ones struggling to grow up and understand what it was all about, and entertaining mysteries that while gentle, had in them just enough intrigue to hold your interest, marked her books for pre-teens and teenagers as special, as they remain today.

I didn’t recall this one, but thanks to a good friend who sent it to me as a gift, I was able to read and enjoy it recently. While it very much has the elements mentioned above, this one has a caveat for me, which I’ll get to near the end of the review. This one is set in New Mexico where Jenny travels with her family to Haunted Mesa Ranch, because her father is speaking at a conference there. Jenny immediately begins to soak up the mysterious southwest. Already dealing with an older and talented sister who sings, she is struggling to find her own place and be noticed. She meets a boy named Greg who might be of help, but he’s also a bit volatile for some reason. Then items begin disappearing, small snake carvings left in their place, and a mystery presents itself.

The mystery focuses on the Zuñi tribe, deeply religious Pueblo Indians. Young Charlie Curtis is such, but then why is he stealing and leaving small carvings in place of the stolen items? More importantly — or it should be — why is he alone? Or is he alone? He’s just a child, after all.

Enter Señor Consuelo, a widow still mourning the passing of her husband, who was a great friend to the Zuñi people. In the lovely Señor Consuelo, Jenny seems to have found a friend who understands what it’s like to be her age, and rarely be noticed in the shadow of a talented and headstrong older sister. What should be done about Charlie Curtis and the thefts? How Whitney deals with the subject matter on this occasion is the big caveat for me. There is no way to explore it without minor spoilers, so be forewarned.

Whitney, even back in ’75, had fallen into that liberal hive-mind that by making common-sense laws to live by, other races, such as the Zuñi and other Indians, are being oppressed. Understanding of the differences between cultures, how they operate, is commendable, and latitude must be given at certain times and under certain circumstances. That’s common sense as well. But — and it’s a big but — Whitney went too far here, and though she could unrealistically tie it all up nicely in a big pretty bow, the reality is much different, and worse, this story teaches children the wrong life-lesson.

The decision to not bring in the police, but rather on their own try to understand just what is going on here with Charlie, why he is stealing minor things and heading up to the mesa is understandable on Jenny’s part at her age, and even the adult Señor Consuelo. But then a museum is broken into, a glass case smashed and something taken. Even the fact that it is out of character and culture for a young Zuñi boy to go off on his own, independent of his family and tribe, much less break and enter and steal, does not prompt the adults to call police and let them help. This book was written 7 years after the Indian Police Training and Research Center had been put in place in Roswell, training officers to serve in tribal communities, so just a big fat no on this irresponsible inaction.

If that wasn’t enough for the adults to reach a tipping point — mainly Consuelo, who seemed to be perhaps mirroring Whitney’s own attitudes — what happened next should have. Señor Consuelo’s home is broken into at night, and valuable dolls taken. Worse, Jenny surprises the intruder and it is an adult, not young Charlie. Not only that, but he roughly casts Jenny to the ground in his haste to get away. She could easily have been hurt. Worse, now you have a young Zuñi boy breaking tradition, and working with an adult to steal. That escalates this, and it screams for intervention by police; if for no other reason, the boy’s safety, because there is at this point no clear idea of what’s going on. But nope, more waiting, more of the white-man-has-done-enough-damage-already nonsense. And it is nonsense, because this story ties in with dementia, and someone putting not only himself in danger, but others.

As I mentioned, Whitney tied this up in a nice bow, which is fine for a crime story or romance that’s complete fiction. But Whitney was known in her wonderful children’s mysteries to weave in very real, true-to-life, life-lessons. The message she weaved in here to not bring in police when the situation obviously warranted it is flat-out wrong. Liberal-hive-mind wrong. In real life, this could have, and perhaps even most likely would have, led to harm coming to the very aged person suffering from bouts of living in the distant past, and to a boy much too young to be taking care of him alone, far from home, while trying to keep him out of trouble.

I enjoyed Secret of Haunted Mesa for its wonderful blend of mystery and that bridging of the adult world with that of the young person — something Whitney did better than anyone for many years. Jenny makes an adult friend, grows personally, and stops envying her older sister, finding her own path. But some of the lessons she was taught along the way — by supposedly responsible adults — forces me to take away a star.

"I don't suppose young people ever realize that there is still a very young person hiding inside most old people."

Phyllis Whitney certainly knew people, especially young folks. It's evident in this wonderful mystery first printed in 1957. It was written for kids, but it has something for everyone. Exceptional writing and story-telling make this a classic for lovers of mystery, even those who have become seasoned with years. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

From the first page:

“My name is Janey Oakes, and I might as well tell you straight off that I have a very serious and painful disease. I call it ‘horse fever’. It can attack when you’re young, and I understand that it can last until you’re grown-up and so busy with other things that you feel only twinges now and then. It is incurable but not fatal. The painful part grows out of not owning a horse when that is what you want more than anything else in the world.”

Even though I’m many, many years removed from being a teenager, much less a teenage girl, that first paragraph hooked me. I can almost imagine what it must have been like for a young female to get ahold of this book when it came out, especially if she had “horse fever”. I’ve suffered from that ailment periodically myself, so I can understand a little of where young Janey is coming from, and could easily relate to her story.

This is a wonderful book that involves a nice little mystery and some life lessons for young (and not so young) readers. I found it to be a really fun story, and wish I had discovered it when I was a youngster.

I just love the observant and thoughtful Janey.

“Dad says my theme song is ‘I’m not down yet!’ I suppose it’s true. There is always some way to pull up and out of almost anything, it seems to me.”

“The most important thing for anyone is to have something to fight for. Something we care about and want. I don’t mean fight for with our fists, but something to try for, struggle for. Something we can do that uses whatever we are to win the fight.”

And, there’s the love of horses:

“When I’m on a horse, everything else falls away and stops bothering me. I mean everything that worries me, all the things I can’t solve, even the thought of things I don’t want to do--everything fades into the background. I’m free-- and that is a wonderful feeling. Besides, I have with me something that is alive and that responds to me--a horse I have an affection for and who likes me.”

Well said, Janey Oakes!

they don’t write gothic romance like this anymore

I’ve always loved gothic romances, and found this one translated to ebook. Set on the ski slopes and a ski lodge, and the mysterious family who lives nearby, Linda sets out to clear her half brother from a murder charge. I never guess the killer! And there are very few books I can say that about.

If Jan Sutton, the heroine of Mystery of the Scowling Boy, were in her later teens instead of being twelve, I'd recommend she read Trouble in the Brasses by Alisa Craig (Charlotte MacLeod). I'm sure she could relate to Madoc Rhys, a Detective Inspector with the Royal Canadian Mounties. He's the tone-deaf member of a famous musical family.
Jan Sutton is the only member of her immediate family without a talent. Her maternal grandfather isn't musically inclined, but he is a famous woodcarver.

Mr. & Mrs. Sutton are both performing over Christmas -- and not even in the same place. Jan and her older brother Mike, would be stuck in New York with Mrs. Abbey, the housekeeper, but they're getting to stay with their Clausen grandparents in their Poconos Mountains home. Gram gave up being a singer to be Mrs. Clausen, but she's a very talented cook, so we know the grandkids will be eating well.

What luck! Jan wants to become an actress and her absolute favorite actress, Alanna Graham, happens to be Anna Oliver Nelson, the granddaughter of Burton Oliver, the man who owns the mansion below the Clausen house. If Alanna Graham thinks she has talent, perhaps Jan's parents will stop thinking her ambition is foolish.

The scowling boy of the title is Alanna's son. One of his legs is shorter than the other, but he has two talents in which that's no handicap. When he's not scowling, he's handsome. His parents are separated because his father, Bruce, was on drugs. Steven is furious because his mother won't let him see his father.

Jan is only twelve, so it's not surprising that she's eager to meet Alanna to get her help. She doesn't meet Alanna on her first walk to the mansion, but she does meet Steven (and his big, black Doberman, Thor). The meeting doesn't go well.

Luckily, things go better when Jan finds a way to meet Alanna when both go skiing. Jan pretends that all she wants is Alanna's autograph, which the actress graciously agrees to give to her when Jan comes to her house at 4 o'clock.½

3.5*

3.5* This was a good read if a little dated first published in 1958. That said I do like Phyllis Whitney’s writing style- this is the third book of hers I have read

3.5*

3.75 * The suspense elements were very good but I did struggle with the main character having no common sense at the beginning and marrying a man she knew nothing of after three dates. I would read more by Phyllis Whitney

“Blue Fire” by Phyllis Whitney is a 1969 publication.

Susan, spent her early years in Cape Town but moved to Chicago after a fiery exchange between her parents. After her mother’s death, Dirk, a guy she remembers as a child, shows up in Chicago with the sole purpose of convincing her to come back to South Africa. Initially she is quite resistant, but Dirk refuses to leave, and she ends up falling in love with him. After a whirlwind romance, she and Dirk marry- and she finds herself back in Cape Town after all… and face to face with her estranged father.

Before long, Susan realizes that several people are under the impression she might have some memories related to a missing diamond and are hoping that her being back in Cape Town might shake those memories loose. She is also made aware that her own mother was suspected of diamond theft- a scenario she refuses to entertain. But a series of incidents have Susan on edge- making her hyper-aware of the diamond smuggling operations in Cape Town and the danger she might be in…

Phyllis Whitney was one of a handful of authors back in the sixties and seventies that rose to the top of the mass-produced Gothic/ Romantic suspense genre that was extremely popular at the time. This book, however, does not fall into that category- in my opinion- as it is missing several huge, key elements required to make it fit into the Gothic category. Romantic suspense is also out, though there is a promise of that, but nothing I'd truly call romance. To me, the style seemed more like today’s psychological thriller genre. This story is very suspenseful, and the reader is kept in the dark as to who is or is not trustworthy. The atmosphere is very taut and edgy- especially for its time.

Overall, for a book written over a half a century ago- it's pretty good. There are some dated terms and verbiage one will have to overlook, but kudos to the author for exposing the dangerous, greedy diamond industry long before the general population was made aware it. A solid 'retro-read' for me.

4 stars

I was reading this for suspense, but finding it quite dull. Plus it's really dated, can't seem to transcend its 80's setting. Just not very interesting to me, so I skimmed the ending, was still unimpressed, and called it DNF.

Lacey Elliot, una joven y cotizada ilustradora de libros, vive intrigada por su pasado. Huérfana de padre, no dispone de más fuente de información que su madre, pero ésta se niega a hablar. En una visita a Harpers Ferry, localidad de donde procede la familia, Lacey tiene ocasión de entrevistarse con su tía Vinnie, quien le confiesa que su padre murió asesinado. Esta revelación aviva aún más la curiosidad de Lacey, que con ayuda de un investigador local desentrañará la inquietante historia de su familia.

Comienza un día trascendental de octubre cuando llega una carta inesperada, invitando a Lynn McLeod a la casa de Virginia Blue Ridge de Stephen Asche, su ex esposo. La hija de Stephen, hija de otra mujer, está preocupada y necesita su ayuda. Lynn es una psicóloga clínica cuyo trabajo con niños con enfermedades terminales le ha brindado una compasión y comprensión que pueden ayudar a esta niña.
A pesar de sus dudas, Lynn acepta la invitación. A medida que ella es atraída sutilmente a la vida de todos en el hogar aislado, se reviven viejas pasiones y se encuentran nuevos misterios: misterios inquietantes sobre un asesinato local. Secretos mortales persiguen a Stephen y su hija. El sonido de Singing Stones desde los acantilados sobre la casa, llamando a Lynn: suave, hipnótico y amenazante. De alguna manera, Lynn debe encontrar la respuesta si quiere salvar tanto a Stephen como a la niña.

Una joven y atractiva terapeuta, experimenta una terrible tragedia de la que intenta recuperarse en los bellos paisajes de la costa californiana. Pero no imagina que se vera mezclada en un siniestro y tenebroso drama familiar... ni que su corazón se encenderá con los ardores de la pasión.

Secret of Haunted Mesa is one of the Phyllis A. Whitney juvenile mysteries I hadn't read yet, because it's one of those published after I moved on to her adult novels. I managed to find an affordable ex-library copy online, so I've finally read it only 47 years after it was published.

Jenny Hanford is staying at the Haunted Mesa Ranch, which the author's note states is '...an entirely fictional version of the beautiful Ghost Ranch area'. The book is set in New Mexico, not terribly far from Santa Fe.

Jenny's father, who teaches at a college in Long Island, is going to lecture on ecology at the ranch's Conference Center. He brought his entire family with him. Unfortunately for Jenny, she's the younger sister of the famous Carol Hanford, a 17-year-old singer of old Western songs. Jenny is used to being in the background, but right now their parents are hyper-focused on Carol. They want her to be practical and go to college, while Carol wants to continue being a singer. (Don't bother waiting for someone to point out that Carol could save the money she makes with her singing to fund college. It won't happen.) Even a remark about her feelings in chapter two has Mrs. Hanford saying that they really aren't neglecting Jenny. Worse, Carol likes to talk about her life when they go to bed - and she expects Jenny to listen, whether Jenny wants to or not.

When we meet Jenny, she's sitting away from the campfire where people are gathered to hear Carol play her guitar and sing 'The Rose of San Antone' and 'Red River Valley'. She meets a boy who is also staying there, Greg Frost. Greg is not among Carol's fans. He also knows what it's like to be an overlooked child, but I don't recommend his method of making sure he's noticed. This first chapter also introduces us to another important character, Senora Consuelo Valdez Eliot, although we won't get her name until later.

Jenny visits the shack that was the first home of the original owners of Haunted Mesa Ranch in chapter two. She wonders about the owners, especially the owner of the paint-stained smock with an object in one pocket. Greg shows up and tells her who the shack's original inhabitant was.

Senora Eliot is the widow of Paul Eliot, a man noted for his non-fiction books about Native Americans. She's been very withdrawn since his death, but meeting Jenny helps her. Meanwhile, odd things are happening. The amusing carved wooden roadrunner that Jenny got in Santa Fe gets swiped, but a crude carving is put in its place. The same thing happens with something Greg owns, not to mention a valuable object belonging to Senora Eliot.

Jenny also meets a Zuni boy, Charlie Curtis, who has problems she can't guess at, but we readers can.

The Haunted Mesa itself is an interesting place, once we get to it. Are ghosts responsible for what Jenny is seeing and hearing? If humans, who and why?

NOTES:

Chapter 2:

a. This is where Mrs. Hanford tells Jenny they're really not neglecting her. (Yes they are!)

b. Jenny sees something strange enough that she wishes someone else had seen it.

Chapter 3:

a. Jenny meets Senora Eliot and her servant, Maria at the Eliot residence. The outside and part of the inside is described.

b. Senora Eliot explains Haunted Mesa's name and talks about her own background.

c. Jenny tells us about her carved roadrunner.

Chapter 4:

a. Carol is shocked that her parents want to listen to Jenny after Carol changes the subject to herself.

b. The Aspen cottage, where the Frosts are staying, is described.

c. First glimpse of Charlie Curtis.

d. Haunted Mesa Ranch's outdoor meeting building and its location are described.

e. Greg Frost's mother is introduced. Greg's attitude toward Charlie makes me feel concerned.

Chapter 5:

a. Carol has gone to Santa Fe. Mr. Hanford takes Senora Eliot and Jenny with him when he goes after Carol.

b. The Senora points out San Angelo Pueblo which, according to the author's note, is fictional.

c. We meet Senora Eliot's friend, Jim Kingsley, He and his Cibola shop are described. Kingsley talks about Harry Curtis' problem in Washington state. What was being done to the Tillicut Native Americans there is disgusting!

Chapter 6: One of Senora Eliot's Zuni kachinas is missing. She explains kachinas to Jenny, especially a blue-headed one named Yamuhakto.

Chapter 7:

a. Jenny introduces herself to Charlie Curtis.

b. The ranch museum has had an unfortunate incident.

Chapter 8:

a. Senora Consuelo Eliot takes Jenny and Greg to the top of Haunted Mesa.

b. We learn what a shalako is.

Chapter 9: Jenny encounters an intruder.

Chapter 10: Jenny finds out what Carol thinks about her.

Chapter 11: The shalako takes place.

While I didn't enjoy this mystery as much as ones I loved when I was a girl, it was good. I liked the climax, which was atmospheric. The problem is serious and could still happen today.½