The Amethyst Spectacles

Pat and Jean Abbott Mystery #6

by Frances Crane

Pat and Jean Abbott return to New Mexico and once again become involves in a murder investigation in a fictional version of Taos.

Genres: Mystery

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1944

About the author

Frances Kirkwood Crane was an American mystery author, who introduced private investigator Pat Abbott and his future wife Jean in her first novel, 'The Turquoise Shop' (1941). The Abbotts investigated crimes in a total of 26 volumes, each with a colour in the title.

She died in an Albuquerque, New Mexico nursing home, where she had spent the previous few months because of ill-health. Her ashes were scattered across her home town of Lawrenceville.

Frances Crane, author of the colorful Pat and Jean Abbott mystery stories, was born in Lawrenceville, Illinois. After graduating from the University of Illinois, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, she travelled in Europe. While living there in the 1920s she began contributing to magazines, including The New Yorker, in which her satirical "Mrs. Craig-Higgs" pieces from England appeared. Her articles did not prevent her from expanding into mystery fiction, a genre in which she found great success on both sides of the ocean.
Mrs. Crane spent a good part of her life traveling the world, living for extended periods in the places that provided the settings for many of her mysteries. San Francisco was one of her favorite cities and the home of the Abbotts. Her love for that cosmopolitan center was reflected in Thirteen White Tulips, The Amber Eyes, The Man in Gray, and others. Similarly, her fascination with Tangier was evidenced in The Coral Princess Murders (1954), and her love of New Orleans in The Indigo Necklace (1945). Paris, Louisville, Texas, and many other interesting locales were also backgrounds for her mysteries.
From 1941 to 1965, Mrs. Crane completed 26 novels featuring the Abbotts, whose adventures were broadcast in two radio series in the 1940s and 50s, Abbott Mysteries and Adventures of the Abbotts.

Reviews

[Kye Campbell-fox · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my first time reading a book from this series (or by this author at all), and it was a bit underwhelming. The plot would've been pretty good, but there were a lot of meandering sections that made it hard to follow at times, and it didn't hold my interest very well.

Also, having been written in the 1940s, it was definitely affected by its social context - although not as outright racist as a lot of books from this era (that were written by white people anyway), I really did not like that the only characters who had names (for the most part) were white and everyone else was just referred to by their ethnicity. The person who found the body (a suspicious character in most mysteries) was only ever referred to as "an Indian," which is both disrespectful and eliminates him as a suspect. There's also a lot of tacit sexism, particularly between the narrator and her husband. Sometimes I can overlook the time period differences, but this was one where it was hard to ignore for me.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing like a seventeen pound cat parking himself on your lap to make sure a book gets read quickly. In all fairness to Big Al, though, this is an easy book to devour that way. While it is marked by the misogyny of the times (I really disliked how the narrator and her husband talked to each other), the mystery is solid and has enough red herrings to keep your mind busy. There are also some great turns of phrase; I hope I never have the chance to call someone a "triple-plated bitch," but I'm kind of glad I know the expression now.

[Laura McChristian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book at roadside mini-grocery/thrift store outside of Lockesburg, Arkansas on my way home from work one day. I think I paid a quarter for it. I only bought it because its title included my birthstone (and favorite color), amethyst. It sat in my TBR basket next to the nightstand for maybe two years before I decided to read it. It's a little beat up now because my dog chewed on it.

I had no idea this was a mystery series. The other things I found interesting, when I did some research, are the following:

Pat Abbott is a Marine. My husband is a Marine.

He meets Jean in San Francisco. My husband and I honeymooned in San Francisco.

Pat and Jean live in a fictitious version of Taos, New Mexico. My husband and I lived in Los Alamos, just right down the road.

Pat and Jean eventually settle down in New Orleans. My husband and I visit New Orleans every year, and have considered buying a home there.

I think my finding this book was not a coincidence.

As far as the story, it's good writing, it's a complicated mystery, (there were three dead people and I still couldn't predict who killed them all) and it was somewhat refreshing to read an "old" book from a different time, where everybody smoked cigarettes and women were treated quite differently. I don't consider this a bad thing - just a reminder of how far we've come.

I will definitely try to read more of them. It's like Nancy Drew for grownups.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever but very dated

Fun to read in a 1940s sort of way. The stories are clever and well constructed. Pat Abbott is a marine who had been a PI in civilian life. His wife Jean gets involved in his crime solving. Pat is a stand up, upright kind of all-American male always protective of the women folk. The murders are set against that background.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The sooner Pat Abbott recovers from his wounds, the quicker he'll be able to rejoin his Marines fighting in the South Pacific. His wife Jean worries about his health, but worries more about his recovery. While they were away from New Mexico, one of their friends died. The local prosecutor suspects the man's fiancee, who had reason to be displeased when he returned from a trip with a new wife. But there's no proof, until the unpopular widow also dies mysteriously. Pat has too many clients, and too many suspects, but that won't stop him.