Skeleton Key

Todd & Georgine #1

by Lenore Glen Offord

Georgine Wyeth is a young widow keeping house for herself and her young daughter, and paying the rent by typing for a local academic, a scientific gentleman. Working late one night (there's a war on, you know), she gets caught in a blackout, only to trip over the dying air-raid warden. A simple snatch-and-grab gone wrong? Or something more sinister? And could Georgine's work for that scientific gentleman have put her in jeopardy?

Genres: Mystery, Contemporary, World War II

277 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1943

About the author

Lenore Glen Offord (1905-1991) was a reviewer and author who wrote mysteries set in and around San Francisco, CA. Offord was the mystery book critic for the San Francisco Chronicle for over 30 years, as well as an avid Sherlock Holmes enthusiast.

Reviews

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's wartime in Berkeley, California, and everyone's terrified of a Japanese air raid. Young widow Georgine Wyeth, struggling to sustain herself and seven-year-old daughter Barby, is selling magazine subscriptions when one day she tries her luck in the quiet cul-de-sac of Grettry Road. She fails to sell any subscriptions, but at one of the houses she calls on she's hired by an archetypal mad scientist to type up the revolutionary scientific paper he's been working on for lo these many years. It looks like a sensible short-term job for Georgine. She doesn't know it's going to lead her into a quicksand of conspiracy and murder.

According to Sarah Weinman's useful introduction, this was the first of a short series of mystery/suspense novels starring Georgine Wyeth and Todd McKinnon, the man whom she meets and falls in love with here and with whom, alongside DI "Nelse" Nelsing, she solves the crime. In a way it's a pity this has been marketed as #1 in a series, because Offord worked hard to mislead us into thinking that (a) it might be Nelse whom Georgine falls for and (b) Todd could just possibly be the killer. Even so, it's a good tale, with red herrings and misdirections galore, and, particularly in its fast-moving second half, it builds up a fair head of suspense.

I hadn't heard of Offord before Weinman started talking about her in her newsletter. In her introduction Weinman indicates that the excellent publisher Felony & Mayhem plans to reissue more by this author, and I'll be looking out for them.

[M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

By chance, widowed single mother Georgine Wyeth gets a job as a typist for a cranky and eccentric professor on a little dead-end street lined with homes called Grettry Road. It is the middle of World War II in this sleepy California street, and residents are on alert for air raids. It has become part of their lives (and was part of the life of author Lenore Glen Offord, who wrote this book in that very time period).

As any Knots Landing fan knows, cul-de-sacs are hotbeds of intrigue. Grettry Road is no exception, as secrets and brimming scandals soon come to Georgine's attention. She tries to mind her own business, but a murder soon involves the police...and the killer thinks Georgine knows more than she is telling. Georgine is in danger, and together with an undercover journalist and a police detective she involuntarily works to unravel the mystery. But not before another murder occurs!

Suspenseful, character-driven and very much a period piece, Skeleton Key is a fun read. Offord has a knack for dialogue and scene, which enhances the tale. I look forward to the next installment!

[Jessi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Georgine is a widowed mother who is trying to make ends meet during the war by selling magazines. But she’s not very good at it. So when she stumbles into a cul-de-sac of Gettry and one of the home owners mistakes her for a secretary that is supposed to type copies of his scientific treaties. When he mentions the person will get $100, Georgine jumps at the chance. Her daughter is on vacation with family friends so she has the time and this money will get her ahead. But the more Georgine gets involved in the neighborhood, the more she realizes that things aren’t right and that the sense of wrongness really emanates from one man, the local air warden.
During a potential air raid, the man is killed by a supposedly run away Jeep. But Georgine has her suspicions and goes to the police with them. While the inspector seems suspicious, he also at least listens. So does Todd MckKay, the odd man down the street.
I should have been thinking more clearly about this book which I first heard about on the Classic Mysteries podcast. It was written in 1943 and definitely contains the casual racism of the day which, today, can pull a reader out of the story pretty quickly. I did mostly like the story and the mystery was fairly clued but Georgine was a little too Mary Sue for me and Todd pretty glib. The characterizations of the other folks in the book was often broad and stereotypical.

[Jane Irish Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. During the Second World War in Berkley, California, young widow Georgine Wyeth is trying to earn a living for herself and her young daughter any way she can. While attempting to sell magazine subscriptions she finds herself high above the city on Grettry Road. The Road seems deserted, as no one answers their doors, until the last house, where she is assumed to be a typist from an agency. When offered the job, she accepts, especially since young Barbie is away with friends for a week. But little does Georgine know that she will soon be in fear for her life, as a murderer lurks on Grettry Road. Very atmospheric, almost Gothic at times. A clever plot, a group of interesting suspects, a leavening of humor, and a touch of romance combine to make this book hard to put down. Recommended.

[Reid Burroughs · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought in a second hand book seller. Thought it was a horror story. It was in the horror section. It is a murder mystery. Definitely a bit dated. Taking place in San Francisco during WWII. Interesting characters…also a bit dated. A who-done-it. Not a fan of the genre so I’m not the best critic of this type of story. They always seem melodramatic and secrets and clues the meat of the story. The character development was good.

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: Georgine Wyeth is a widow paying the rent by typing for a local academic. She stumbles over a dying man.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This mystery was a delight! Not only were the details about California during the war fascinating, but the author was a graduate of Mills College, my alma mater. I highly recommend this!

[Cate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightfully fun cozy murder mystery--kept me guessing, fun plot twists.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Widowed single mother Georgine Wyeth takes a temporary job typing for an eccentric scientist and gets mixed up in murder, falling for gruff homicide detective Nelsing. But is he the man for her?

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

For my full review click on the link below:
https://crossexaminingcrime.wordpress...