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A review by billd
The Penguin Pool Murder by Stuart Palmer
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
I took a chance on this book; The Penguin Pool Murder by Stuart Palmer, the first Hildegarde Withers #1 book. My wife and I had seen the movie based on the book (well, we watched the 1st half... that should have told me something).
Hildegarde Withers is a school teacher in New York. We meet her as she is escorting a class of 3rd graders through an aquarium. A pickpocket is discovered and Miss Withers trips him up with her faithful umbrella. She then discovers that she's lost her hat pin and sends the children scurrying about trying to find it. What they find instead is a body floating in the penguin pool.
This begins a fluffy, somewhat silly cozy mystery. Police investigator Piper takes Miss Withers under his wing for some reason as he investigates the murder of Wall Street broker Gerald Lester. It seems that Miss Withers hat pin had something to do with the murder. There are 4 suspects; Lester's wife, her onetime beau David Seymour; a lawyer who seems to have instigated himself into the scene, Mr. Costello; and the director of the aquarium, Mr. Hemingway.
There is an investigation of sorts; in the great tradition of Eliot Stabler of Law & Order: SVU, every person is immediately guilty and locked up in the Tombs. Great leaps of logic, clues ignored, yada yada... The best part is the court case itself, which is short and sweet. The series was very popular in its day as were the movies. I may eventually try to find a copy of the 2nd book, but I won't rush to it. (2.0 stars)
Hildegarde Withers is a school teacher in New York. We meet her as she is escorting a class of 3rd graders through an aquarium. A pickpocket is discovered and Miss Withers trips him up with her faithful umbrella. She then discovers that she's lost her hat pin and sends the children scurrying about trying to find it. What they find instead is a body floating in the penguin pool.
This begins a fluffy, somewhat silly cozy mystery. Police investigator Piper takes Miss Withers under his wing for some reason as he investigates the murder of Wall Street broker Gerald Lester. It seems that Miss Withers hat pin had something to do with the murder. There are 4 suspects; Lester's wife, her onetime beau David Seymour; a lawyer who seems to have instigated himself into the scene, Mr. Costello; and the director of the aquarium, Mr. Hemingway.
There is an investigation of sorts; in the great tradition of Eliot Stabler of Law & Order: SVU, every person is immediately guilty and locked up in the Tombs. Great leaps of logic, clues ignored, yada yada... The best part is the court case itself, which is short and sweet. The series was very popular in its day as were the movies. I may eventually try to find a copy of the 2nd book, but I won't rush to it. (2.0 stars)