Mystery at Deer Hill

by Virginia Frances Voight

April grabbed Sally's arm.

"Look!"

Sally turned. She too uttered an amazed cry. The girls stared at each other in wordless consternation. To have imagined that they were alone in the woods and then find a man-made shelter so close to their camp....!

April's thoughts went to the stranger she had seen yesterday at the wharf. Could he be the mysterious jacklighter?

Genres: Mystery

183 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1960

About the author

Ms. Voight was a native New Englander and lived in Hamden, Connecticut. She wrote many books for boys and girls, both fiction and non-fiction. Several of her books are set in the New England locale she loved so much.

Reviews

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A true favorite of my childhood, and now almost in tatters from so many readings. This was one of those Scholastic books that you mail ordered from a list in elementary school and several weeks later the teacher passed out your book selections wrapped in clear plastic. It was like Christmas all over again - at least for this young book lover.

Mystery at Deer Hill one of those books from my early youth that I can honestly say shaped the way I feel about nature and my lifelong desire for solitude in the wild outdoors (a dream that hasn't been realized yet, but I am ever hopeful). Re-reading it again after a 35+ year hiatus only reinforces my conviction that the charm of this sweet little book lies in Voight's lyrical prose about the Maine wilderness and the observations of the natural world woven throughout the mystery. Equally charming are the late 1950's references to clothing, hairstyles and slang. Even in the early 1970's when I was reading this for the first time, it was pretty retro reading.

This book was a winner for me almost 4 decades ago, and I'm glad to say remains one today. I happily give it 5 stars and await the time I can read it again when I'm 80 and living in my cabin/cottage in the woods...



***
2012 personal reading challenge for the month of January:
Childhood favorites that influenced my subsequent reading life

Adult Equivalent:

The Gift of the Deer by Helen Hoover

[WhatShouldIRead · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable story, though dated. This could be good or bad, depending on your mileage. For me, I caught a small glimpse into old-time America and what teens did for fun. And this sure beats all the electronic gadgets that are in wide use today. Spending the summer in the Maine woods, swimming in a pond, finding different types of wild life and savoring the smells of the forest. That is truly wonderful!

However, one of the girls was a pretty meek Miss until she got used to being in nature. It sort of drove me crazy the first half of the book but then it changed and that was fine. I also didn't appreciate that just because a snapping turtle was ugly and, well, snapping, one of the kids caught it to sell to a restaurant to slaughter for soup. Poor turtle. And also the deer poaching. All the more upsetting because of the way the author described their furry beauty and also a wounded fawn that was left behind.

Still, I'm glad I read it. And it being from the Scholastic Book Services, it brought back fond memories of getting that ordering form and asking my parents to order all the books I picked out. Answer was usually no. But only because I think I checked off almost all of them ;)

[Katt Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

When April Merriman finds she can't go to the beach for summer but instead heads to Maine, the last thing she expects is to find new friends, adventure, a newfound love of nature, and even a hint of romance.

In this lovingly told tale, you can't help but fall in love with Maine every bit as much as April does. This is one of those books where you can't help but feel that you're there. Also, the glimpse into life in the late 50s is charming, and the hints at naturalism and care for the environment is beautiful to see, telling us that love of nature is nothing new.

I think this was my favorite book of 2020, though I never expected this when I picked it up. This is one of those books I'll want to read over again. Honestly? I can't wait.

[Madame Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book about a girls first summer in the Maine wilderness.

[Colleen Jennings · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my all time favorite childhood reads! I even found an old copy online a few years back, and bought it!

[Peter McGinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having recently moved back to Maine after living several years down south, I find myself in a small town less than an hour’s drive from my hometown. I have been browsing the books by Maine authors and found Mystery at Deer Hill. I grabbed it because it is a young adult novel that takes place in Maine, and I have written two young adult novels that also take place in Maine. One of mine even involves an island as this one does.

I suppose the book is old fashioned, showing teenagers who act and behave well, overall. It doesn’t feature the edginess and realistic cursing and bad behavior of modern fiction. But that is part of its charm. I like to think my own books have a modern feel to them as far as how the kids speak and, to some extent, act. But I confess I don’t strive for an edge in them. I just tell the story and I try to have my characters model behavior for the teen readers (if any ever stumble over my obscure effforts).They make mistakes and occasionally swear, but manage to use complete sentences and avoid f-bombs.

So while a lot of readers now will want to read the books with the edge, or the paranormal, the apocalyptic, or the walking dead, I hope there are still a lot of them who still hanker after these tales that never really get old, about teenagers striving to find their way in the world.

[Robert Schneider · Rating 3 out of 5]

An old fashioned (by todays standards) book written by a 50's adult about how they think 50's teenagers behave (or should behave?). Boys wanting to do the hard manly work and looking for the pretty girls. Girls dreaming about keeping house and wanting a cute kitchen to spend their lives in cooking for their men, the only excitement being a fun trip shopping. The characters did expand beyond this in some ways. Quite a quaint story told in very flowery descriptive detail. A pleasant enough read. Some of the morality commentary was funny. My favorite was "He was a good driver and kept his eyes carefully on the road ahead, even while he was talking". The strong anti-hunting message at the end was unexpected. Characters deciding hunting is murder and yet having no problem raising worms to sell to fishermen and eating bacon and eggs for breakfast. All in all, if you like shows like Leave it to Beaver or Father Knows Best you will know what you are in for, a lite and pleasant afternoons read.

[KerryT · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simply nice coming of age story with a sweet first romance. I love stories where one is taken from what has been the same for years and put into a new place and experience which looks to be awful but then turns out to the best ever! And it takes place in my home state of Maine! This one’s a keeper!

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard to rate this book originally published in the 1950s as I found it among my deceased mom's things. Despite some old fashioned language choices, overall it was a sweet and almost innocent coming of age story about a girl discovering the joys of nature.

.... very little actual mystery.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute, old-time style of novel. It wasn't very mysterious but it was sweet and wholesome.
It was fun to read and I'll definitely pass it on to my nephews.

[Joanne Sensabaugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, a re-read kind of book.