THE FRIENDS OF MR. CAIRO
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THE FRIENDS OF MR. CAIRO
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CAIRO grows daily, like a massive mutating Chicken Heart out to take over the world.
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by Phoebe Atwood Taylor (1931)
Reviewed by Dorothy Emm
Our Hostess
The Victim
The Sleuth
The Suspects
Interested parties
Miss Prudence Whitsby, who sixth months ago saw her niece Betsy married off to Bill Porter (wealthy second son of the automobile Porters), wants nothing more than to enjoy life in Boston, and get to the store for a spool of orange thread. Her friend, eccentric sculptor Rowena Fible, has other ideas. She persuades Prudence to come with her to the Cape for the rest of the winter.
Miss Prue does so, but she regrets it. ''I had no intention of ending up, as I eventually did, at Cape Cod on a house-party during the course of which two people lost their lives and I myself was very nearly killed.''
Once at the Cape, Rowena discovers that a house, nay, a mansion, has been built next to hers, and that it is occupied by an old enemy, Adelbert Stires. Nevertheless when John Kent calls and requests that the two women come and act as chaperones to Stires newly-arrived ward for a couple of weeks, Rowena accepts.
Once at the mansion, things begin going wrong at once. Adlbert Stires is late to his own houseparty, thanks to a blinding snowstorm, and when he is found dead during the night, there's no getting out, thanks to that snowstorm. Fortunately Asey Mayo was already on hand (Prudence Whitsby and he were old acquaintances).
Asey sets out immediately to solve the crime, but the appearance of arsenic in the possession of not one, not, two, but all of the trapped suspects begins to make things difficult.
This second entry in the Asey Mayo series is a disappointment. The murder method is ingenious, but the characters - while always stock in Miss Taylor's books, are stock-ier than usual here. Not one of the several male suspects stands out enough to distinguish himself from the others. The 'denouement', the thing in the mystery, is a major disappointment, especially since it comes after ten pages of extra material tacked on presumably to fill a required page count. (Asey goes away to do some 'sleuthing,' Miss Whitsby and Dr. Walker rehash everything over several pages, Asey returns, having merely confirmed what he already knew.) The motive for the murder is never fully explained.
It must be read, to see the development of the character of Asey Mayo and the author, but it is not major Taylor.
This review first uploaded August 22, 2002.
If you wish to comment on this review, please email us at Book Review comments.
Phoebe Atwood Taylor's Asey Mayo and Leonidas Witherall novels are available from used bookstores. Check out: www.abe.com.
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View Dated Death: Life, Love and Murder in the 1930s and 1940s
View The Octopus of Fate: The Works of Phoebe Atwood Taylor
View The Cape Cod Calendar: News and Crime, All For A Dime
Miss ‘Prudence ‘Snoodles’ Whitsby - the narrator
Adelbert Stires - wealthy businessman, with at least one enemy
Asey Mayo - the newly-elected sheriff of Wellfleet, he just happens to be at the right place at the right time
John Kent - owner of a newspaper, friend of Stires for many years.
Borden 'Denny' James - he loves Miss Whitsby, why would he take out his anger on Adelbert?
Victor Blake - a wealthy financier, he's a planner.
Victor 'June' Blake, Jr. – his son, who wears exquisite spats that annoy Miss Whitsby
Cary Hobart - Head of Hobart Lumber, he's put business deals over Stires, how did he react when Stires returned the favor?
Desire Allerton - Stire's ward, all the way from Paris. If he dies, she gets her money, and it's a lot of money
Rowena Fible - an eccentric sculptress, she's disliked Stires for twenty years. Why then accept a house party invitation from him?
Dr. Walker - a welcome replacement of the dogged Dr. Reynolds, Walker keeps finding arsenic in the strangest places.
Sophronia 'Phrone' Knowles - housekeeper for Rowena Fible
Stephen Crump - a lawyer, he drops a bombshell during the reading of the will
Dr. Joseph Jerome - a dentist, his is the tale of the teeth.
Ginger - Miss Whitsby's cat, he does greater than he knows.
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