Mystery at Shadow Pond

Mystery at Shadow Pond by Mary C. Jane (1958) I always thought “Mary C. Jane” sounded like a pen name—I finally looked her up—Mary Childs Jane—perfect name for a children’s author. These Scholastic Book Services paperbacks from the Sixties are surprisingly easy to find, considering a lot of people must be nostalgic for them, as I am. I buy one occasionally and have several Mary C. Jane books—but this is the first I’ve read—a really good mystery. It starts out remarkably slowly for such a short book—but I like that—very old-fashioned feeling—takes a while to establish everything—and there are quite a few characters. The main one, a young girl, is smart, but not unbelievably clever. It takes her awhile to clear up—with the help of her brother and a new friend—a satisfyingly deep mystery. Her brother has built a crude robot (pictured on the cover)—a modest, believable project for a kid around 1960. The new friend (whose mother is deceased—that particular detail, once again) is a smart kid and introduces them to an interesting local writer character—a very cool, young man. There’s also a mysterious, miserly neighbor, some very sketchy visitors, a kind of mythic dead grandfather who has potentially left a secret, some missing letters, a lost cat, a lame, loveable horse, and some exciting bad weather. This book has it all, or enough at least, and the ending plays out as deliberately as the opening. I’m definitely going to consider, now, reading my other Mary C. Jane books.

5.16.24