Secret of the Missing Footprint

by Phyllis A. Whitney

Book by Phyllis A. Whitney

Genres: Mystery, Young Adult, Childrens

175 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

Phyllis Ayame Whitney (1903 – 2008) was an American mystery writer. Rare for her genre, she wrote mysteries for both the juvenile and the adult markets, many of which feature exotic locations. A review in The New York Times once dubbed her "The Queen of the American Gothics".

She was born in Japan to American parents and spent her early years in Asia. Whitney wrote more than seventy novels. In 1961, her book The Mystery of the Haunted Pool won an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Juvenile novel, and she duplicated the honor in 1964, for The Mystery of the Hidden Hand. In 1988, the MWA gave her a Grand Master Award for lifetime achievement. Whitney died of pneumonia on February 8, 2008, aged 104.

Reviews

[SusannaF · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was 10 to 12 years old, I used to check this book out from the library every couple of months. I recently found a copy of it at a thrift store, and now I know why I loved it so much. For one thing, it really captures the emotional volitility, angst and frankly, sexual tension of puberty. It's not directly addressed in the story, it's clean and suitable for kids, but you can tell that Marnie is totally smitten with the mysterious golden boy Timothy Rainbow. It's actually hard to like her at first, but curiosity will keep you reading. It takes some very scary events and a lot of growing up before she can clearly see her own actions, the feelings of adults around her, and the fact that Timothy isn't perfect. It is hard to put this book down, and I still love it.

[Katt Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Phyllis A. Whitney was one of my favorite authors back when I was about 10 or 11. I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked up this book by her yesterday and today.

Sadly it had lost some of the magic. Some tragic mingling of past and present tense threw me and I realized that she's not all the brilliant when it comes to the mechanics of a piece. I almost put it down within the first pages of the first chapter.

I'm very glad I didn't.

The mystery was engaging. Spooky. I got that creeped out feeling that left my stomach unsettled and me jumping at the slightest sounds as I read the ending. Yes, this was the author I remembered. She could set a stage and craft characters so real that you became them for a time.

The mystery itself was good. The ending...a bit rushed and honestly I felt she pulled her punches. She could have made it terrifying, and then somewhere realized that this story was for kids and pulled it back enough so that it all came out good with the reading giving that nervous laugh and moving on.

Makes me wonder what she could have done for an adult readership. Or how she would have approached the novel writing for today's teens which are harder to scare.

Overall, it was good. Ignore the flaws in the writing and settle in for the story. You won't regret it.