Nipped in the Bud

By far one of the best Hildegarde Withers mysteries I've read in some time.

"From ghoulies and ghosties
And long-leggitted beasties
And things that go Boomp in the night
Oh Lord deliver us..."

Old Scottish Book of Common Prayer

Hildy returns to New York after a prolonged vacation in California due to a bad case of asthma, which she tells Inspector Oscar Piper is due to "those awful stogies you chain-smoke from dawn until midnight." She quickly finds herself caught up in a wild, confusing mystery that is not resolved until almost the very last page. Just when you think you know who did it, you find out you were wrong.

It is very obvious to Piper that though she has mostly recovered from her illness, Hildy is depressed. His cure for that, of course, is to get her involved with another murder case. TV personality Tony Fagan hosted a variety show sponsored by Gault Foods. On the night of his last show, an hour before the broadcast aired, Fagan learned that Gault Foods had decided not to renew his contract. Not surprising since Fagan had consistently insulted his sponsor with statements like, "It is time for a brief word about our sponsors, bless their black, money-mad little hearts." That turns out to be a mild statement compared to what comes right after when he launches into an angry, vicious, downright libelous tirade against Winston "Junior" Gault, Jr. and Junior's fiancee, Dallas Trempleau, a wealthy, wannabe singer.

The show is live and no stops Fagan's verbal attack. Junior, Dallas, and their friends are watching the show. Junior explodes and goes hunting for Fagan, but doesn't find him. Fagan, who had been somewhat drunk during the whole affair, is sobered up with black coffee and sent to apologize to Junior, who promptly punches him in the jaw -and then throws a party to celebrate. Later that night, Fagan is found dead - beaten to death. There doesn't seem to be any doubt as to who is responsible, but Hildy is not so sure.

Ina Kell, newly arrived in New York to pursue her dreams to be a star, found Fagan's body and gave a statement implicating Junior, whom she saw fleeing the scene. Now Ina is missing. Had she gotten cold feet or was she kidnapped? Hildy has her own ideas and her investigation soon takes her and her faithful poodle Talleyrand to Tijuana, where she enlists the aid of a very clever Mexican street urchin named Vito.

The story is fast-moving and clever. Like I said at the beginning, just when you think you know who did it, you find out you were wrong. Of course, there is Palmer's trademark humor like the telegram that Hildy sends to Oscar:

HAVING WONDERFUL TIME. WISH YOU WERE HERE. HAPPY HUNTING GROUND FOR AMATEUR CONCHOLOGIST. HAVE FOUND A MEASLED COWRY, A LEFT-HANDED WHELK, TWO HAIRY TRITONS, A SPIKED TREMPLETTE AND A RED HAIRY KELL. WOULD PROFESSOR HARDESTY LIKE THE LATTER FOR HIS COLLECTION?

HILDEGARDE

The "red hairy kell" is a dig at Hardesty, the assistant DA, who has a crush on the missing witness, Ina Kell. Typical Hildegarde.

The Hildegarde Withers books are always a great deal of fun and I've never been disappointed in them. If you can, check out "A Very Missing Person," a 1972 TV movie starring Eve Arden (Hildegarde Withers) and James Gregory (Inspector Oscar Piper). It's based on the last Hildegarde Withers book, [b:Hildegarde Withers Makes the Scene|19097132|Hildegarde Withers Makes the Scene (The Hildegarde Withers Mysteries)|Stuart Palmer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1385984494l/19097132.SY75.jpg|10337554], which was completed after Palmer's death by [a:Fletcher Flora|520971|Fletcher Flora|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1492556894p2/520971.jpg]. It pops up every now and then on online. It's dated, but still amusing.