Ginny Gordon and the Mystery at the Old Barn

Ginny Gordon and the Mystery at the Old Barn by Julie Campbell (1951) This is the third Ginny Gordon book, and she her friends fix up an old barn, call it the Snack Barn, where they will serve food to the locals. She and her friends call themselves “The Hustlers” (this was well before The Hustler with Paul Newman, “Do the Hustle,” and Hustler magazine—Larry Flynt would have been about nine when this book came out, so who knows). The problem with their plan is a “Hillbilly” singer (who plays accordion) from Kentucky has showed up in town and started singing at the Inn (an established place in town), and he's made such a big splash, they're afraid it will kill their new business before it gets established. This singer, whose name is Lochinvar, is so charismatic, you'd think he was Elvis, but this book came out in 1951, a few years before the Elvis' first records. For a long stretch, this book just seems like it's going to be comic episodes of mishaps at the Snack Barn and Ginny's friends trying to thwart the singer, but eventually a really convoluted and exciting mystery develops. I won't give it away, because I assume if you're reading this, you'll likely want to read this book.