Mermaid

Tom Aragon #3

by Margaret Millar

Tomas Aragon, a young Chicano lawyer, is hired to investigate the disappearance of Cleo Jasper, a young heiress, by her wealthy industrialist brother

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Detective, Audiobook, Mystery Thriller, Fiction

215 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

Margaret Ellis Millar (née Sturm) was an American-Canadian mystery and suspense writer. Born in Kitchener, Ontario, she was educated there and in Toronto. She moved to the United States after marrying Kenneth Millar (better known under the pen name Ross Macdonald). They resided for decades in the city of Santa Barbara, which was often utilized as a locale in her later novels under the pseudonyms of San Felice or Santa Felicia.

Millar's books are distinguished by sophistication of characterization. Often we are shown the rather complex interior lives of the people in her books, with issues of class, insecurity, failed ambitions, loneliness or existential isolation or paranoia often being explored with an almost literary quality that transcends the mystery genre. Unusual people, mild societal misfits or people who don't quite fit into their surroundings are given much interior detail. In some of the books we are given chilling and fascinating insight into what it feels like to be losing touch with reality and evolving into madness. In general, she is a writer of both expressive description and yet admirable economy, often ambitious in the sociological underpinnings of the stories and the quality of the writing.

Millar often delivers effective and ingenious "surprise endings," but the details that would allow the solution of the surprise have usually been subtly included, in the best genre tradition. One of the distinctions of her books, however, is that they would be interesting, even if you knew how they were going to end, because they are every bit as much about subtleties of human interaction and rich psychological detail of individual characters as they are about the plot.

Millar was a pioneer in writing intelligently about the psychology of women. Even as early as the '40s and '50s, her books have a very mature and matter-of-fact view of class distinctions, sexual freedom and frustration, and the ambivalence of moral codes depending on a character's economic circumstances. Her earliest novels seem unusually frank. Read against the backdrop of Production Code-era movies of the time, they remind us that life as lived in the '40s and '50s was not as black-and-white morally as Hollywood would have us believe.

While she was not known for any one recurring detective (unlike her husband, whose constant gumshoe was Lew Archer), she occasionally used a detective character for more than one novel. Among her occasional ongoing sleuths were Canadians Dr. Paul Prye (her first invention, in the earliest books) and Inspector Sands (a quiet, unassuming Canadian police inspector who might be the most endearing of her recurring inventions). In the California years, a few books featured either Joe Quinn, a rather down-on-his-luck private eye, or Tom Aragorn, a young, Hispanic lawyer.
Sadly, most of Millar's books are out of print in America, with the exception of the short story collection The Couple Next Door and two novels, An Air That Kills and Do Evil In Return, that have been re-issued as classics by Stark House Press in California.

In 1956 Millar won the Edgar Allan Poe Awards, Best Novel award for Beast in View. In 1965 she was awarded the Woman of the Year Award by the Los Angeles Times. In 1983 she was awarded the Grand Master Award by the Mystery Writers of America in recognition of her lifetime achievements.

Reviews

[Carla Remy · Rating 4 out of 5]

04/2020

From 1982
The third and final Tomas Aragon book, after Ask For Me Tomorrow and The Murder of Miranda. They are each quite different. Aragon is a young lawyer (who is bilingual), sent on semi investigations. This one culminates in a couple of mentally weak teenagers taking over a yacht. Charity Nelson, secretary to the lawyer Aragon works for, figures in each book. And at the end of this one, Tomas reunites with his doctor wife, who has been only a telephone voice in the other two.

[tortoise dreams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Margaret Millar is an all too often and unfairly overlooked mystery author. One reason I think Millar didn't receive the acclaim she deserved is that she never had a successful series detective (think Holmes, Marlowe, Plum, Poirot, Warshawski, et al.). She tried with three different paladins but none caught on. Mermaid is the third and final volume of the "Tom Aragon" series, but he sort of just ambles through without leaving much of an impression. This is later Millar and she's best known for her work in the 50's and early 60's. Having read seven of her novels, this is by far the weakest. I wondered if she was ill when she wrote it and whether her editor was on sabbatical. There are moments of the old Millar magic, but only a few and this is well below the standard set by her other novels. Unbelievable characters, mediocre writing, inconsistent plot. Even as a Millar completist, I didn't feel this was a necessary read. One note: there are some uncomfortable passages involving race, disability, and sexuality. Millar wrote this with the best of intentions, but enlightenment had only progressed so far and she was subject to the limitations of well-meaning liberalism. I may be harsh in my judgment of this novel, but here is a small bit about a young woman, the lead character: "Cleo was crying again. She cried as easily as a plastic doll with a water-filled syringe in her head." If you think that's a brilliant simile, however, you'll love this book.

[Rae Anne Bowen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure what I think of Margaret Miller's Mermaid. The girl is mentally challenged and yet she manages to destroy so many lives. As a parent of a mentally challenged individual I can honestly say that this is not an accurate representation of mentally challenged individuals. I do not feel that my life is diminished for having my child in it. In fact I feel honored to be her mother. It may be different than being the parent of a "normal" child but then most parents of normal children seem not to really take responsibility for their children. They run around causing mischief and mayhem and rarely give a thought or even remotely care how their children behave simply because their children are "normal". "Normal" children seem to be cold, cruel, indifferent bullies. Congrats on your "normal" children.

[Soscha · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an odd little book. Margaret Millar was a highly-lauded mystery and suspense writer, and “Mermaid” is the third and final entry in her series featuring the side-sleuthing lawyer Tom Aragon. I haven’t read the first two to comment on if the story just go away from her in this novel, but here Tom Aragon isn’t a particularly interesting character. He doesn’t particularly even do much, to be honest. There isn’t too much in the way of mystery or suspense here, either. The story focuses on the missing Cleo Jasper, a special needs child that’s reached adulthood. The issue of what level of independence and personal responsibility special needs adults are entitled to is explored here, and in way that probably deserves its own book. But the handling is quite deft here, and the results are haunting.

[Alonzo Church · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in the witty, identifiably female voice one usually associates with a cozy mystery, this is one disturbing novel. Cleo, a beautiful, young looking special needs woman of 20, runs away from her wealthy guardian, leaving chaos and unintentional damage in her wake. Ms. Millar’s novel suggests some uncomfortable conclusions that probably could not be published today, as well as uses language that is not 2019 acceptable. Still, the final twist is devastating. Worth your time if you don’t mind books that bother you after you finish them.

[Craig Pittman · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the third and final Tomas Aragon book by Margaret Millar, after "Ask For Me Tomorrow" and "The Murder of Miranda." It's by far the weakest and most unsettling one of the bunch, too. I don't recommend it.

Aragon is in his office one day when he's visited by a skinny, naieve woman named Cleo. Cleo attends a school for troubled kids but she's 21. She wants to know if she has rights, as one of her teachers has told her. Aragon tells her she does, even as he realizes she's mentally challenged.

This brief consultation leads to him being drawn into the lives of Cleo, her wealthy brother and his wife, the wife's son Ted, the principal of Cleo's school and one of Cleo's classmates, an overweight punk named Donny. Before it's over, Aragon will be kidnapped and face a watery death.

Yet he's not the main focus of this book. Cleo and her brother have more time on center stage, but they aren't very interesting characters. Cleo seems an unrealistic creation and her brother is a cliche. Anytime I saw Cleo or her brother take the spotlight, I sighed and rushed through until the more appealing Aragon appeared again.

Simple-minded Cleo comes across as a destructive force who ends up destroying everyone and everything she comes in conact with, which is not at all an accurate portrait of what such folks are like. All in all, this is an unfortunate entry in the Millar writing canon.

[Francis · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, if it wasn't a Margaret Millar book it would have clearly been four stars for me. But, then I expect a lot from Margaret Millar she is one of my all time favorite mystery writers and I have read a lot of mysteries. This is the third and last book in her Tom Aaragon series and it was a departure from her earlier writings which were sans dectetives ...albeit one early in her career which also featured a detective although not this one. I'm not going to go into the plot because you will find that out as soon as you read it ....and you should read it. If you like mysteries, Margaret Millar is a treasure and be sure to check out her earlier novels.

Oh yeah, and look out for the twist at the end. ...her trademark

[Maryanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an odd sort of book dealing with a mentally challenged young woman, as she wreaked havoc and death so many close to her. It was sad what happened, and there was a dreadful twist in the final chapter. I read her previous two books in the Tom Aragon series where the story focused on his investigations, not sure that I liked the plot, but the writing was enjoyable.

[Pamela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another Millar and another fun read. Seriously, if you have not read Millar, you need to—right now!

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

See review book #1 of the Tom Aragon series.

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh! The only likable character is Tomas Aragon, and he keeps making simple mistakes in his investigation and sets in motion much of the ending tragedy.
Exploitative, and just so odd....

[Brent Legault · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun missing person mystery that is clever and wise in all things except for how young people talk and act.

[☺Trish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Truly disliked this portrait of a developmentally disabled young woman who wreaks havoc in the lives of her family members and other people around her.

[Kathryn Castles · Rating 3 out of 5]

I absolutely love the way Margaret Millar writes, so I enjoyed this, but it's an odd little thing. Lovely bits, didn't quite come together, and felt unsure about the whole set-up of the school etc. A product of her time, which made this both progressive and dated at once. A quick, clever and distinctive read either way

[Alien · Rating 4 out of 5]

Über eine junge, geistig zurückgebliebene Frau, die in ihrer Unschuld viel Schaden unter ihren Mitmenschen anrichtet.

Es interessierte mich vom Thema eigentlich nicht sonderlich. Auch passiert nichts Weltbewegendes. Aber die Autorin kann sehr flüssig schreiben, man liest und liest. Ich habe den Roman an einem Wochenende beendet.
Was soll man lernen? Dass zurückgebliebene Menschen gefährlich sind? Woke ist das natürlich nicht. Das Ende gefiel mir nicht so gut, sonst hätte ich die 4 Sterne mit mehr Überzeugung vergeben.

3.5/5

[Maura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. The writing craft she used was vivid imagination and descriptive words. There was one scene in the book that I could imagine so vividly. I was picturing it in my mind and it was amazing. Margaret Millar did a really great job writing this book. She really made the reader use their imagination. The words she used really set up a picture in m mind and I loved that. I feel like she used the writing craft very well. She really made you feel like you were right there with Cleo and Aragon in their journey. She used so many descriptive words that made the story very vivid. I felt she wanted her readers to feel like they could close their eyes and feel like they were in the story. She definitely fulfilled that with me. I feel like Millar meet all the elements in her book. There some points I felt like there to many characters in the story. Sometimes while i was reading the book, I got confused as to who the character was that was talking. If I was her writing teacher, I would tell her to narrow her characters down because you don't want to confuse your reader.The ideas I would take from this book would be to create a picture in the readers mind. I would teach my students that having really good descriptive words in your story will create an image in the readers mind, and your reader will enjoy the book ten times more. The mini-lesson I would use with my class to teach them how to create an image in a readers mind would be to have them partner up and make their close their eyes and use words where their partner can imagine what they are talking about.



4. What strategies or ideas could you take from this piece to teach writing (i.e. could this be a mentor text? Is there a passage that you could use in a mini-lesson?

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mermaid (1982) This is another exemplary Margaret Millar novel, wherein nothing is as it seems and many of the reader’s assumptions are proven wrong. This book also features attorney Tom Aragon, in the probably fictional town of Santa Felicia. She and Kenneth Millar (Ross MacDonald) lived in Santa Barbara. His novels often took place in the mythical California city of Santa Theresa, and after he died Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone took up residence. A sort of retarded but very attractive twenty three year old comes to see him before disappearing. When she disappears, everyone is concerned, especially her cousin and brother, both who have extremely questionable relationships with her. Very dark ending, which I liked.

[Carla]

A creepy and dark book, written with Millar’s usual verve. The characters — even the innocent teacher and the desperate brother— seem trapped in a world of evil.