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Mr. & Mrs. North #17
La Muerte Cita al Bufón
Mr. and Mrs. North discover the murder of a prankster is no laughing matter
Byron Wilmot will do anything for a laugh. He’s a legend of practical jokes, notorious for once using a dummy to stage a kidnapping so realistic it fooled the police. So when Pamela and Jerry North are invited to a party at Wilmot’s home, Mrs. North braces herself for an evening of snakes in a can, rubber spiders, and the like. But tonight, a murderer will get the last laugh.
When Wilmot’s secretary finds her boss lying in a pool of blood with a knife sticking out of his chest, she assumes it’s just another highly realistic gag. But Wilmot doesn’t move. He’s dead and the Norths will have think quickly if they’re going to find the killer—and make it to the punch line of Wilmot’s last great joke.
Curtain for a Jester is the 17th book in the Mr. and Mrs. North Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
Byron Wilmot will do anything for a laugh. He’s a legend of practical jokes, notorious for once using a dummy to stage a kidnapping so realistic it fooled the police. So when Pamela and Jerry North are invited to a party at Wilmot’s home, Mrs. North braces herself for an evening of snakes in a can, rubber spiders, and the like. But tonight, a murderer will get the last laugh.
When Wilmot’s secretary finds her boss lying in a pool of blood with a knife sticking out of his chest, she assumes it’s just another highly realistic gag. But Wilmot doesn’t move. He’s dead and the Norths will have think quickly if they’re going to find the killer—and make it to the punch line of Wilmot’s last great joke.
Curtain for a Jester is the 17th book in the Mr. and Mrs. North Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
150 pages, Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 1953
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111 people want to read
About the author
Frances Lockridge
95 books48 followersFrances Louise (Davis) Lockridge wrote popular mysteries and children's books with husband Richard Lockridge. They also published under the shared pseudonym Francis Richards.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
April 5, 2020
Curtain for a Jester (1953) by Frances & Richard Lockridge was the perfect book for me to read this week. The primary action takes place on April Fool's Day--or rather in the evening. Byron Wilmot lives in the penthouse apartment atop the building where Pam and Jerry North also live. They've "met" Wilmot exactly once...to nod to in an elevator ride. For no discernible reason he invites them to a little party that he's giving in honor of All Fool's Day.
They are well aware of Wilmot's reputation as a practical joker--after all he owns the Novelty Emporium where one can buy all sorts of joke products and costumes. And, as Pam notes in the first line of the book (below), one can expect everything from rubber spiders to snakes with springs in them. One doesn't expect the doorbell to have been turned into a screeching woman or the door to be opened by a man apparently holding his head in his hand. Yes, they know right away that Wilmot's party isn't going to be a typical drinks and dancing affair.
Not everybody enjoys the jokes, however. Two of Wilmot's employees, John Baker and Martha Evitts, arrive in full costume as a boy in rompers and an old witch. Which would be fine if the party had actually been a masquerade ball instead of a formal affair. They were none too pleased with their boss's cruel twist on their age difference. And then there was Clyde Parsons, Wilmot's nephew, who came as he was (quite casually dressed) after an urgent phone call told him that his uncle might be dying and wanted to see him to "make things right." Then, as a climax, the lights go out and it appears that a burglar is on the rooftop outside the french doors. Arthur Monteath, an acquaintance of the Norths, is called upon by Wilmot to help nab him. He's thrown a gun and in the confusion winds up shooting him. Fortunately, it's not a real burglar but a dummy. Wilmot thinks it's uproariously funny that he's made Monteath think he's killed a man. Later that night, there is a killing--but Wilmot's no longer laughing. He's dead with a knife in his chest.
Pam North winds up making the "squeal" to Acting Captain Bill Weigand. She insists that if he can just find out where a red-haired man fits into the scheme of things that he'll be able to solve the murder. You see, Wilmot had gone to a great deal of trouble with that dummy--he gave it a red wig and a scar. Not that anyone else noticed the scar. As she points out to Weigand, this wasn't meant to look like a dummy; "this was meant to look like a man. That, she said was the point. 'This one was meant to be somebody. Else why the red hair?'" As is the case so many times, Pam is right. But there's more to the plot than just the red-headed man...as Weigand will discover.
The Lockridge books are my light, fluffy mystery reads. They're comfortable and breezy and don't take a lot of brain power. I pick them up when I just want something fun or when I'm having trouble getting into my reading. I had quite a reading slump going there for a while (10 days on the same 190 page book) once the COVID-19 crisis really hit the US and I needed something comfortable. So, I read Stand Up and Die and once that was done pulled out Curtain for a Jester. They were just what the doctor ordered. Fun reads with good character sketches that I could easily read in a day or so and get myself back on track. The ending scene of Jester in the dark novelty shop is a bit over-the-top (could it really be possible that no one thought to turn the lights on before the very end?), but very in keeping with the larger-than-life feel of the practical joke atmosphere and the hole & corner spy thriller aspects that kept creeping in.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting portions of the review. Thanks.
They are well aware of Wilmot's reputation as a practical joker--after all he owns the Novelty Emporium where one can buy all sorts of joke products and costumes. And, as Pam notes in the first line of the book (below), one can expect everything from rubber spiders to snakes with springs in them. One doesn't expect the doorbell to have been turned into a screeching woman or the door to be opened by a man apparently holding his head in his hand. Yes, they know right away that Wilmot's party isn't going to be a typical drinks and dancing affair.
Not everybody enjoys the jokes, however. Two of Wilmot's employees, John Baker and Martha Evitts, arrive in full costume as a boy in rompers and an old witch. Which would be fine if the party had actually been a masquerade ball instead of a formal affair. They were none too pleased with their boss's cruel twist on their age difference. And then there was Clyde Parsons, Wilmot's nephew, who came as he was (quite casually dressed) after an urgent phone call told him that his uncle might be dying and wanted to see him to "make things right." Then, as a climax, the lights go out and it appears that a burglar is on the rooftop outside the french doors. Arthur Monteath, an acquaintance of the Norths, is called upon by Wilmot to help nab him. He's thrown a gun and in the confusion winds up shooting him. Fortunately, it's not a real burglar but a dummy. Wilmot thinks it's uproariously funny that he's made Monteath think he's killed a man. Later that night, there is a killing--but Wilmot's no longer laughing. He's dead with a knife in his chest.
Pam North winds up making the "squeal" to Acting Captain Bill Weigand. She insists that if he can just find out where a red-haired man fits into the scheme of things that he'll be able to solve the murder. You see, Wilmot had gone to a great deal of trouble with that dummy--he gave it a red wig and a scar. Not that anyone else noticed the scar. As she points out to Weigand, this wasn't meant to look like a dummy; "this was meant to look like a man. That, she said was the point. 'This one was meant to be somebody. Else why the red hair?'" As is the case so many times, Pam is right. But there's more to the plot than just the red-headed man...as Weigand will discover.
The Lockridge books are my light, fluffy mystery reads. They're comfortable and breezy and don't take a lot of brain power. I pick them up when I just want something fun or when I'm having trouble getting into my reading. I had quite a reading slump going there for a while (10 days on the same 190 page book) once the COVID-19 crisis really hit the US and I needed something comfortable. So, I read Stand Up and Die and once that was done pulled out Curtain for a Jester. They were just what the doctor ordered. Fun reads with good character sketches that I could easily read in a day or so and get myself back on track. The ending scene of Jester in the dark novelty shop is a bit over-the-top (could it really be possible that no one thought to turn the lights on before the very end?), but very in keeping with the larger-than-life feel of the practical joke atmosphere and the hole & corner spy thriller aspects that kept creeping in.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting portions of the review. Thanks.
July 25, 2022
I love the Lockridge mysteries. Light and breezy, but always satisfying! My goal...to own them all.
May 31, 2010
One of the later Mr. & Mrs. North Mysteries.
Lots of twists and turns in this story. Need to keep on your toes to figure out all the various characters and their various roles.
Fun mystery, this one focused more on telling the story through Weigand and Pam's eyes.
Could not quite figure it all out, but had about three people I figured had done the murder, and one of them was the murderer.
Great summer murder mystery reading. Also, evocative of the cold war period of 1953. Some beautiful descriptions of the North's cats.
Lots of twists and turns in this story. Need to keep on your toes to figure out all the various characters and their various roles.
Fun mystery, this one focused more on telling the story through Weigand and Pam's eyes.
Could not quite figure it all out, but had about three people I figured had done the murder, and one of them was the murderer.
Great summer murder mystery reading. Also, evocative of the cold war period of 1953. Some beautiful descriptions of the North's cats.
December 14, 2019
Early Bird Book Deal | Too many McGuffins. | Even in the wrapping up, there are a bunch of points that are explained with "we don't know" "I'm not even going to try to find out" "we can only guess" " there's no telling", etc. As much as I enjoy the Norths, that does not make a great book. Also, John Baker was a dick in several ways.
September 17, 2019
Byron Wilmot was a professional joker, but no one died laughing.
This is the 17th book in this series and it appeared in 1953 when the Cold War was hot. When Pam and Jerry North are invited to a party at the penthouse suite of their neighbor Byron Wilmot, they accept with some trepidation. Wilmot is a professional magician and the owner of a business that makes and distributes all kinds of "novelties" suitable for surprising and shocking your friends. Jerry wonders what they'll find to talk about and Pam worries that rubber snakes and plastic spiders may be part of the entertainment. However, they're relieved to have the company of diplomat Art Monteath who shares their reservations about the host but (like them) feels he has to attend.
And there ARE practical jokes, some of them cruel and tasteless. Mr. Wilmot is an autocratic employer and not above making his workers the butt of his jokes. Or his relatives. Or his "friends." Some people are better sports than others, but does public embarrassment bother anyone enough to commit murder?
Solving the murder hinges on alibis, as it often does. People leaving a party late at night aren't always ready to go straight home and New York City bars stay open until the wee hours. Some of the guests may be worse for drink and not able to remember their movements with any certainty. And a penthouse suite that occupies the top floor of a building is vulnerable due to multiple ways to get into and out of it. Lt. Bill Weigand of the NYPD and his sidekick Sgt. Mullins have their work cut out for them.
It's Pam North who notices that some of the people involved aren't really what they seem, which gets Bill Weigand to wondering if someone (the FBI? the CIA?) may be nosing around Mr. Wilmot and his business. "Anything for a Laugh" is the store's motto, but when two superpowers are engaged in a deadly battle to steal each other's secrets, things tend to be very serious indeed.
I don't think this is the very best of this series, but it has some wonderful characters. I loved Wilmot's strong, gentle ex-wife and his cheerful, alcoholic nephew (and heir.) And Frank the Comical Butler is an intriguing man. Did he REALLY go to the suburbs to visit his elderly mother like a devoted son or was he up to tricks that his boss never taught him?
There's an appealing young couple who work for Wilmot and suffer from his cruelties, but are they both the victims that they seem to be? And how did a reserved member of the diplomatic core like Art Monteath come to be friends with an oddball like Byron Wilmot?
In the end, the Norths (Pam with her usual enthusiasm and Jerry with his usual reluctance) rush to save a young woman who's been lured into danger. Wilmot's Novelty Emporium may be a delightful place in the day time,. but when costumed murderers are lurking in the dark shadows, it's another matter. Definitely a good read for Mr and Mrs North fans.
This is the 17th book in this series and it appeared in 1953 when the Cold War was hot. When Pam and Jerry North are invited to a party at the penthouse suite of their neighbor Byron Wilmot, they accept with some trepidation. Wilmot is a professional magician and the owner of a business that makes and distributes all kinds of "novelties" suitable for surprising and shocking your friends. Jerry wonders what they'll find to talk about and Pam worries that rubber snakes and plastic spiders may be part of the entertainment. However, they're relieved to have the company of diplomat Art Monteath who shares their reservations about the host but (like them) feels he has to attend.
And there ARE practical jokes, some of them cruel and tasteless. Mr. Wilmot is an autocratic employer and not above making his workers the butt of his jokes. Or his relatives. Or his "friends." Some people are better sports than others, but does public embarrassment bother anyone enough to commit murder?
Solving the murder hinges on alibis, as it often does. People leaving a party late at night aren't always ready to go straight home and New York City bars stay open until the wee hours. Some of the guests may be worse for drink and not able to remember their movements with any certainty. And a penthouse suite that occupies the top floor of a building is vulnerable due to multiple ways to get into and out of it. Lt. Bill Weigand of the NYPD and his sidekick Sgt. Mullins have their work cut out for them.
It's Pam North who notices that some of the people involved aren't really what they seem, which gets Bill Weigand to wondering if someone (the FBI? the CIA?) may be nosing around Mr. Wilmot and his business. "Anything for a Laugh" is the store's motto, but when two superpowers are engaged in a deadly battle to steal each other's secrets, things tend to be very serious indeed.
I don't think this is the very best of this series, but it has some wonderful characters. I loved Wilmot's strong, gentle ex-wife and his cheerful, alcoholic nephew (and heir.) And Frank the Comical Butler is an intriguing man. Did he REALLY go to the suburbs to visit his elderly mother like a devoted son or was he up to tricks that his boss never taught him?
There's an appealing young couple who work for Wilmot and suffer from his cruelties, but are they both the victims that they seem to be? And how did a reserved member of the diplomatic core like Art Monteath come to be friends with an oddball like Byron Wilmot?
In the end, the Norths (Pam with her usual enthusiasm and Jerry with his usual reluctance) rush to save a young woman who's been lured into danger. Wilmot's Novelty Emporium may be a delightful place in the day time,. but when costumed murderers are lurking in the dark shadows, it's another matter. Definitely a good read for Mr and Mrs North fans.
February 28, 2020
Ever notice how practical jokers always enjoy their jokes much more than everyone else around them. Byron Wilmot is a well known, wealthy man who owns a novelties company that sells devices for magic tricks, costumes, and joke gadgets. Mr. Wilmot is also a practical joker. Mr. and Mrs. North have been invited to a party this evening at Byron’s penthouse apartment in their apartment building. As the night unfolds, several party guests are the target of Mr. Wilmot’s practical jokes. As his ex-wife says later in an interview, Byron always made sure his jokes caused the most hurt. (She divorced him after he put a live snake in her bed.) The morning after the party, Mr. Wilmot is found dead on the floor of his apartment. There is a large amount of suspects in this book that will keep you busy guessing until the very end. Enjoy!
July 19, 2024
The Lockridges wrote the popular Mr. and Mrs. North mystery series from the 1930s to the 1960s. Byron Wilmont is noted for his practical jokes so when the Norths are invited to a party at his apartment, they are braced for the worst. And they aren’t disappointed. It’s a wonder anyone agreed to come to his party because his jokes are frequently cruel or embarrassing to the butt of the joke. But his laughter and usual retort, “Can’t you take a joke?” makes most of them on the receiving end, grin, and bear it. But later that evening after the party is over, someone must’ve decided not to bear it any longer, and Wilmot ends up dead. This is the 17th of 26 books in this series.
July 2, 2022
An inventive part spy story and part cozy mystery. The spies tend to be red herrings, but are important to the plot. The jester in question is a sadistic man who loves to play jokes on people. The rest of the story is the usual investigate while Pam gets in trouble. In the end, a good beach read. Recommended.
December 18, 2017
Now that my books are unpacked from moving I once again have access to the Lockridge titles that I own. Started re-reading the Mr. & Mrs. North series this summer, but sadly the library only owned a few. Have re-read 4 so far this month and may fit in a few more....
December 16, 2019
One of the best Mr. and Mrs. North mysteries!
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December 17, 2022Hmm. Guessed right about who did it and why!
October 1, 2023
This one was not my favorite. All the practical jokes made it too confusing.
October 25, 2023
Lighthearted, somewhat silly, but a good mystery nevertheless. The Norths never disappoint.
February 5, 2017
An odious man who plays cruel practical jokes on people for his own amusement gets himself killed, and good riddance as far as I'm concerned. The case itself was very confusing to me and even when Weigand explains it all at the end, my head still wasn't buying it all. Seemed a bit overly contrived. Pam didn't have a clue either so, for me, it wasn't as much fun as usual. It was an okay read.
December 18, 2017
Wilmot, a well-known prankster and owner of Novelty Emporium, gets killed after a party in his penthouse. Suspects abound: a couple who were both his employees, his ex-wife, his lush of a nephew, a diplomat. Blackmail, spies, costumes, running around after suspects, and Pamela North spending the entire time worrying. Didn't really like the plot and the writing style. Maybe I'll try the other books in the series later, not some time soon.
March 31, 2011
fast paced, complex, suspected culprit for wrong reasons
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August 29, 2018confusing but charming. I love reading about sophisticated new Yorkers in the 1950s. Especially sophisticates who have Siamese cats.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews