Category Archives: Status

335Y: Girl Finds The Buried Bodies In The Backyard Of New House

Children's book--probably read in the mid-80's. Girl moves into a new house with her parents and triplet siblings. She is suspicious of the previous owner (deceased elderly woman) and investigates, eventually finding buried bodies in the backyard beside a fence. The book had a few sketch-like illustration of the sort a child would have drawn.

335X: Lassie-Like Story, Dimly Recalled

It’s a book I read in the 1970s (but it may have been published much earlier).  The central character is a family’s pet–a cat I think, but I’m unsure.  Maybe a dog.  The family lives on a river, maybe the Mississippi.  (My family was living on the river at the time, and the story may have been presented as a “local” tale.)  By accident one day the pet floats away on a raft.  Far downstream it comes ashore.  The heart of the story is akin to Lassie-Come-Home:  the pet struggles to return to the family.  In the closing pages I believe it does return to the house–but the family is just leaving and somehow there is no reunion.  Possibly the pet is even in the yard as the family packs out, and it hears the son’s voice as he laments that the pet never got back.  I could be imagining that last bit, but I’m pretty sure there’s no reunion.  I recall weeping at the near-miss, but all the other details are fuzzy.

335W: Luton Cabbie Mystery (Solved!)

Mid-1990s to mid-2000’s publication date, more likely 1998-2003. Mystery novel set in Luton, England. Protagonist is black cabdriver of West Indian/Caribbean origin. Unfortunately, I can’t recall the mystery he gets involved in. I liked the author’s portrayal of an overlooked airport town, the character and the look into his culture. Although I read a lot of British mysteries, this one’s setting was unusual and the mood of it has stayed with me. I have wondered if it was part of a series or a one-off.

 

335U: Children’s Collection, Help Solve The Mystery

I would like to find a children’s book from the 1970’s, I presume. It was a smaller hardcover (I swear a red cover).
It was a collection of a few “help solve the mystery” stories in which every time you turned a page, it followed with a super intricate, detailed black & white drawing in which you looked for a clue…usually from the previous pages’ words.
A sort of “Where’s Waldo” style art – black and white.
I wish I had more to go on. It was in my elementary school library in NY 1977-1980-ish.
Please help!

335S: Captive Beautiful Woman and Her Captive Aesthetically Pleasing Children (Solved!)

I hope someone can help me with this one!
I’ll start with the part that I remember the most clearly – the part that has haunted me all these years for some inexplicable reason.
Two children are walking behind a beautiful woman down a long, grand corridor lined with mirrors. As they walk, the woman glances to the side to see their reflection in the mirrors.  She says to herself.  “Yes, that is better.  Much better.”  Because previously she had two large, beautiful, dangerous dogs (perhaps dobermans?) following her wherever she went.
I read the book in the mid 70’s, but it could have been written earlier than that.  I read a lot of old books as a kid.
The feel of the book is Gothic and dark.  Something like Wolves of Willoughby Chase  by Joan Aiken or a Bellairs book.  Or possibly even one of those creepy Scholastic paperbacks.  But for some reason I think the writing quality was pretty good.  Of course I was only around 10, so what did I know?
The children walking behind the woman are young and have been all dressed up.  Pre-puberty.  I guess you wouldn’t want sullen pimply teens following you around as decorative props?
I think the children are siblings, a boy and a girl?  Perhaps twins?  But that’s just a feeling.  Maybe because they’re so aesthetically pleasing to the beautiful woman?  In a way that a short, fat blond kid walking next to a tall, skinny redhead kid wouldn’t be.  Like an Edward Gorey drawing of two matching Victorian children in matching velvet outfits.
The children are there against their will.  Although it doesn’t seem like they got there by something as mundane as being thrown in your standard Pedo-Van.  I feel like there was some kind of magic involved.  Like a magic mirror or magic painting, something like that.  But without the humor and lightheartedness that say, an Edward Eager book would have.  These children are definitely in danger.  And are they in another dimension?  Another Time?  I don’t know.
I also think the woman may be held against her will as well.  Like some evil monster? power? man? is keeping her captive with his magic and brought the children there to appease her, but bringing her a couple of kidnapped children was hardly going to cheer her up given that she has zero freedom even though she does get to live in this fancy mansion? castle? wearing beautiful clothes.  She did seem quite depressed.
Does anyone remember anything that sounds like this?  I wish I could remember more.  And I wish I could trust what I think I remember.
Thank you in advance for your time!

335R: Red-Headed Mischievous Princess

I read this book in the mid 90's, probably between 95-98. It was a picture book targeted at probably K-2. It was on the larger/taller size and it had a gray brick castle on the cover and a lot of the illustrations were of the castle. The characters were a young princess with long red hair and her friend who was a boy with blonde hair and freckles. They got into mischief together, led by her I believe. Most of the book was about the two of them playing together in the castle. The illustration style was clean and sharp, somewhat realistic but simplified, and more 3-d-ish than flat. . . I remember images where they were on upper levels of the castle and the girl was closer to the front, the boy farther away. I believe it might have come from my school book fair, so it was possibly Scholastic.

335Q: The Return Trip (Short Story)

I’m looking for a short story from about 10-15 years ago, title was something like “The Return Trip”.  The flight of a famous M.D. is grounded in Boston for weather.  In the airport, he receives a call from a young woman, the daughter of an old girlfriend who is dying of cancer.  Story ends with his burning the unopened DNA lab results of the (his?) daughter, ordered years ago by the mom.  Published in the July issue of an airline magazine (USAir?) about 10-15 years ago.

I realize it’s not a book, just a short story.  I recall Googling the author when I knew his name, he had several collections of short stories, but none included this particular story.  Not sure if it was ever published anywhere other than the airline magazine.  I don’t recall the airline, but United and USAir were the most likely.  I do know that it was a July edition of the magazine.