LemonSky reviewed Banbury Bog by Phoebe Atwood Taylor
Review of 'Banbury Bog' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Self-made millionaire, Phineas Banbury, arrives in the small town of Weesit for a vacation with his wife and their grown daughter, Jane. Banbury is in a nostalgic mood - his beloved uncle and namesake, Phineas Knowles, was originally from Weesit and dreamed of making his fortune, so he could return home and "do things for it." However, Knowles died when his nephew was just 16, never having accomplished his goal. Now Banbury is inspired to live his uncle's dream and restore Weesit to its former glory:
"The new gilt dome of the church, the new sidewalks, the new trash cans, the new signs, the fresh paint, the window boxes, the tourist bureau...The new Whaling Museum in the old sail loft. The new Weesit Yacht Club. The Weesit Inn and the Weesit Country Club, both open again and both filled with the carriage trade as they used to be. Bog House-Banbury …
Self-made millionaire, Phineas Banbury, arrives in the small town of Weesit for a vacation with his wife and their grown daughter, Jane. Banbury is in a nostalgic mood - his beloved uncle and namesake, Phineas Knowles, was originally from Weesit and dreamed of making his fortune, so he could return home and "do things for it." However, Knowles died when his nephew was just 16, never having accomplished his goal. Now Banbury is inspired to live his uncle's dream and restore Weesit to its former glory:
"The new gilt dome of the church, the new sidewalks, the new trash cans, the new signs, the fresh paint, the window boxes, the tourist bureau...The new Whaling Museum in the old sail loft. The new Weesit Yacht Club. The Weesit Inn and the Weesit Country Club, both open again and both filled with the carriage trade as they used to be. Bog House-Banbury Bog- looking the way it used to look."
Banbury's latest project is traffic lights at the four corners, a project that appears to be popular with the people of Weesit. Banbury has helped the town in so many ways. Everything has come back to life. However, there is something dark, something negative just below the surface. Lu Banbury, Phineas's wife, and their friend, Tabitha Sparrow, can sense it, though Phineas himself is oblivious. Cracks are beginning to appear.
First, a child flattens the tire of one of the Banburys' cars. When Phineas serves his famous Banbury tarts to the people of Weesit, a large number of them come down with arsenic poisoning. Of course, Phineas is blamed, though why he would do such a thing is unknown. Then the boy who flattened the tire claims that he saw Lu Banbury embracing the selectman, Abner Grove, who has gone missing. When Grove turns up dead, the town of Weesit turns on the Banburys. It is up to Asey Mayo to figure out what is going on and who the real killer is.
This is a rather short Asey Mayo story (173 pages). As usual, the details of small town life are authentic and well drawn. Even though Phineas Banbury did so much for the people of Weesit, they turned on him in an instant because, after all, he really wasn't "one of them." He, his wife, and their daughter were hunted like criminals on little to no evidence. The jealousy and pride of the townspeople - "How dare he help us!" - is not at all surprising. The motive for the crimes is obvious, but rather surprising. The killer is surprising, too. All in all, a good, entertaining read.