The Mystery of the Ruby Queens

A Connie Blair Mystery #12

by Betsy Allen

In the darkness beyond, Connie thought she could detect movements, imagined she could hear running footsteps, but she couldn't be sure. With every muscle taut, she listened intently. Yes, she did hear something, heavy breathing, just below her. But it seemed to come – suddenly rough hands gripped her ankles and her feet were torn from their teetering perch. Her hands felt for a hold she couldn't find, a crevice to cling to, a momentary block against the impending disaster that made her throat constrict and her heart pump wildly. In one last moment of consciousness she thought frantically, "I may be killed!"

When Connie Blair is sent on a research assignment to an old mansion in the heart of historical Philadelphia, she is catapulted into one of the most baffling mysteries she has ever encountered.

Genres: Mystery

156 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1958

About the author

Betsy Allen was a pseudonym used by Betty Cavanna for books one through eleven of the Connie Blair mysteries. The author of book 12 was Anne Warner Miller of Philadelphia.

Reviews

[Gina House · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5🌟 This might be my first or second Connie Blair favorite book in the series!!

I'm very excited that I've finally finished all of the Connie Blair books! They were an absolute treat and so fun to read! Although there were a few duds, the beginning was great and the last two books are (in my mind) the best.

Although there are a couple of things that I didn't like about the series (ie. condescending and slightly insulting tone towards people of other cultures plus the usual male/female dynamics of this era...which are very frustrating!), I thought that it was really enjoyable overall. Books published at this time all seem to have these two issues to some degree.

Connie is intelligent, clever, adventurous and works hard for a living. She places her interest in mysteries and unsolved crimes above her interest in the opposite sex. I appreciate that this young lady detective adores her family, has confidence in her abilities and makes loyal friends wherever she goes.

Also, the mysteries in this series are unique and have a lovely "world wide travel" feel to them—which is very appealing.

If you love the Nancy Drew series (or any vintage girls' mystery series), twins, exotic locations, intriguing mysteries and smart heroines, this series is for you! I highly recommend starting from the beginning and reading all through. But, I think you could pick them up anywhere and still enjoy reading them :D

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the last book in the Connie Blair series and it is a bit more difficult to obtain. I was fascinated by the job Connie was doing in this book. She works for Reid and Renshaw, an advertising agency in Philadelphia, when she is sent out to a colonial mansion being renovated. Her job is to draw the patterns and match the colors of the old layers of wallpaper as they are being removed. This is being done for a new product line being introduced by the ad agency. The mystery is of course a set of 6 missing Sevres porcelain figurines of queens with embedded rubies. The spinster who lived there promised them to a niece but when she died they could not be found. I caught the clue early on to where they were hidden. This is an enjoyable book to read.

[Melody · Rating 3 out of 5]

It first needs to be noted that this book was not written by the same author of the other 11 in the series. Betty Cavanna was the real Betsy Allen and for some reason she hired someone else to write this book. That persons identity is unknown but I believe it was a friend of hers. Anyways they certainly were not as good of a writer as she was.

I've heard that some people consider this the best book in the series but by the second page I was already disappointing. First off Connie's age is wrong. It say's she is 17 when she would be 18 since these books move forward in time. Aunt Bets age is also wrong. It's said before she was in her late 20s but now she is 37.

Connie is working on tracing wall paper patterns in an old, historical mansion which would be a great location if it had been described better. The way it was written it sounded so boring and bland which is very disappointing since Betty Cavanna had done a wonderful job with descriptions on all previous locations; the mansion in the Ghost Wore White, the hotel in The Grey Menace, the resort in The Brown Satchel Mystery. They were all very easy to visualize and very intriguing.

Connie gets asked to do detective work which is annoying since in all the other books she is just a girl who stumbles into a situation. In this she is asked to do detective work to find some porcelain figures. However the man who asks her says that they are just misplaced somewhere in the house. That's not really detective work.

Connie is way too excited to get a date with Happy. Connie is described in all the other books as breath takingly beautiful and men all fall for her. She often befriends men and goes on dates with them but has stated a million times that she is not interested in having a boyfriend, getting married, or falling in love. She wants to focus on her career for now and figures there will be time for the rest later on. I consider this to be a very important. It paints Connie as a strong, independent woman which was especially important when these books were written and it was a time when women were told their biggest goals should be to get married and be a homemaker. The fact that she is boy crazy is very, very annoying.

The book is also a little sexist. Men, especially Happy who wolf whistles at her on the street, talk to Connie as though she was a child and when she talks about something serious they change the conversation to her appearance. And Connie just goes along with it. She acts like a giggling little airhead. When men raise their voice, she gets scared and starts apologizing profusely for upsetting them. Even Aunt Bet tells her to stop talking about he mystery and to talk about something "feminine" to which they then talk about dresses.

"She broke off, noting Happy's totally unimpressed mien. His eyes narrowed into a male "I'm-taking-over-from here" expression and the pressure on her arm tightened as he led her toward the car. Connie gave up, she did not want to make a scene."

Apparently free will is "making a scene".


Although Connie does a lot of thinking about the mystery and ultimately figures out where the ruby queens are hidden she doesn't do a lot of the actual work. Happy chases after the bad guy, Happy is at the house standing guard while Connie is at home, Happy and other men from the story come in at the end and save Connie, and then dig up the ruby queens. Plus another guy in the story was doing his own detective work and one step ahead of Connie. It would have gotten solved if she were never there. It's really not a "Connie Blair Mystery".


This book is just so disappointing. This is not the same Connie Blair from the first 11 books in the series. This is not the Connie Blair who slept in a hole in the sand in The Brown Satchel Mystery. This Connie would be terrified of being lost in the jungle and panic and cry until a big strong man came to rescue her. This book would have been a LOT better if Betty Cavanna had authored it but she didn't and it is not good. As far as I'm concerned, only the first 11 books constitute the Connie Blair series. This feels more like some fanfic add on.

[Donnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perhaps my favorite of the idyllic Connie Blair books, and even though this was the one NOT written by Betty Cavanagh posing as Betsy Allen.

Especially liked it because Connie stays in Philadelphia in the early 1950's. Also there is an appreciation here for historic preservation and recreating places of the past.

[Maggie]

There were a couple of remarks in the beginning of the book that certainly showed how drastically things have changed since the 1950's when this book was published. One was "But seventeen-year-old girls just don't run around a big city in jeans. I mean, nice ones don't." This made me laugh out loud! However, this did not distract from the fun of the story. Young Connie Blair is experiencing the life of a working woman in the city. She also solves a mystery, with several possible culprits, set in an historic house in Philadelphia .

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another entertaining Connie Blair book. Sad there are not more books in the series.

[Cory Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a wonderful vintage mystery book written for young adults in the 1950's. It was very dated, innocent and clean. Clever plot twists with all the classic elements - missing treasure lost in an old mansion with a good cast of characters/suspects. And in the end you'll never guess what happens! A quick fun read that takes you to another time, loved it!