Silent Partner

Silent Partner by Jinny McDonnell (1972) This is a “Kim Aldrich Mystery” (Number 2 in the series) from Whitman Publishing—it’s got a great cover (by Arnie Kohn)—the cover sold me! Kim in a pink sweater, in distress, looks like we’re in an old castle—a dripping candle in the foreground. 1972 worried me (I generally prefer much older kids’ books) but then I thought—there might be some interesting, specific, cultural references (there weren’t). Oh, the other thing, the book’s former owner, age 14, dated it (6/10/74)—which means she and I are almost exactly the same age. Also, I bought this last June—exactly 50 years since she owned it! I wish I liked it more—but I got through it. Kim (another main character with a dead mother) Aldrich has a knack for finding trouble, and this ski trip to the Alps is no exception. I’m afraid detailed description of skiing leaves me cold—but if you like that kind of adventure, and a bit more mature (Kim is about this far from gettin’ busy, in spite of being a Christian) romance and mystery (a few grisly deaths), you might also be able to endure every last detail of Kim’s anxiety-ridden internal monologue. I still liked her, but I guess I might have preferred her in a culinary adventure, or something. Her co-stars are pretty interesting—and in fact, there’s a basic, integral, twist—that I’d be doing a prospective reader an enormous disservice to reveal—so I’ll leave it at that—there’s a pretty intense and quite imaginative setup.

9.10.24