The Penguin Pool Murder (1931) by Stuart Palmer: A Cozy Mystery

🐧 When Miss Hildegard Withers, a school teacher, led her third-grade pupils to a field trip at New York Aquarium, her original plan was to widen their knowledge and send them safely after that to their respective parents. What really happened then was far beyond what Miss Withers was even capable of imagining - and she is an imaginative person!

🐧 String of incidents happened in rapid succession. A pickpocket ran away after stealing purse - but knocked down by Miss Withers by the means of her umbrella; then Miss Withers found that her precious hatpin was missing, and sent the pupils to look for it. No sooner that the hatpin was found and pinned back where it had been, than one of her pupils saw something remarkable about the penguins inside the pool. While she's watching, a body floated inside the pool - a dead body of a man!

🐧 The murder victim - for it was a murder - is a stockbroker. The case is investigated by Detective Oscar Piper, with the efficient Miss Withers served, at first, as a sort of secretary - writing down Piper's interview results of people involved in the case. But gradually she becomes sort of invaluable assistant to the detective.

🐧 Piper instantly suspects the victim's wife, who was at the Aquarium at the moment of murder, secretly meeting her old flame. Add that fact with her exclamation: "Oh Phil...what have we done!", and Piper has a strong case against the couple to take them into custody. For a policeman, the sooner you solve a murder case and bag the criminal(s), the better. But for an amateur sleuth, investigating is an exciting activity. Moreover, Miss Withers believes in the couple's innocent, so she works on the case to prove she's right - and reuniting the old friends to a happy ending. At least that was her intention.

🐧 It is really a very delightful mystery to read. The premise is interesting (and we get to know a little more about penguins too!); the murder solving is quite complicated; and I love the characters of Miss Withers and Oscar Piper. Miss Withers proves herself to be an intelligent amateur sleuth, and often sees things which puzzles Piper the professional detective.

🐧 If this first of a series is this good, then I will definitely read the rest! I love it from start to end. And though I could easily guess the murderer, this book is far from predictable. The twist comes at the very end when you least expect it!

Rating: 4,5 / 5