Killing the Goose

Mr. & Mrs. North #7

by Frances Lockridge, Richard Lockridge

Mrs. North comes to the aid of a young boy accused of murdering his beloved

Cleo Harper is nineteen, and pretty enough to catch any boy’s eye. But when the police find her, there’s a gash in her throat and blood on her clothes. Cleo’s been dead for just a few minutes. She’d been eating lunch in a coffee shop when she was stabbed in the neck, and all the evidence paints Franklin Martinelli as the killer. Every kid in the neighborhood knew he loved her; every diner in the restaurant saw them arguing before she died. To the police, it’s cut and dried. But Pamela North isn’t convinced.

A vivacious, if occasionally scatterbrained, amateur sleuth, Mrs. North hears the story straight from her friend Lt. William Weigand, and she doesn’t believe a word of it. Her reasons may not make any sense, but Pamela is determined find the truth, even if nobody understands how she gets there.

Killing the Goose is the 7th book in the Mr. and Mrs. North Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy, Ebooks, Fiction

293 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1944

About the author

Frances Louise (Davis) Lockridge wrote popular mysteries and children's books with husband Richard Lockridge. They also published under the shared pseudonym Francis Richards.

Reviews

[Zain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mrs. North Solves The Case

Another great mystery from the Lockridges. Despite previous episodes, in which Pam North has promised to keep out of police business, she manages to interfere in another case, once again.

With multiple murders popping up all over New York City, Lieutenant Weigand and Mullins are both baffled and desperate to solve their case.

The Norths, as usual, have their opinions about the mystery, but they are politely asked to stay away.

Pam North, of course, assumes that their advice does not include her. So she steps into it, again, and ends up near-dead, again. Fortunately, this time, her suspicions of who is the killer is nearly correct.

Another great mystery from husband and wife team, Frances and Richard Lockridge.

Four stars 🌟

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Killing the Goose (1944) is the seventh Mr. & Mrs. North mystery by Frances & Richard Lockridge. I have three editions of this book (hardback, Armed Services Edition, and an Avon pulp-era pocket-size). I've had the novel on my shelves in one form or another since 2010 and have actually read it before--but never for the Mount TBR Challenge. The Lockridge books, especially their Mr. & Mrs. North series, are comfort reads for me. They are fun, entertaining, light cozy mysteries. Some of them are even pretty fair-play for the Golden Age purists. But that's night why I read them. I read them because they're comfortable. And I enjoy the interactions between Pam and Jerry and between the Norths and Lt. Weigand and Sgt. Mullins. I love that Mullins dreads how screwy things can get when the Norths get involved and, yet, he's very attached to them. I like how the Lockridges work cats into the story without making them too cutesy or somehow having them "solve" the mystery.

This story lands Pam and Jerry North smack in the middle of another killing spree. It begins with Bill Weigand giving an example of just how routine his policeman's lot has been lately. It involves a file clerk killed in a diner. She and her boyfriend were overheard having an argument. He leaves and she's found dead in the booth. As Weigand's boss, Inspector O'Malley, says, it's a nice and easy one. "Nothing fancy." A lover's spat ending in death.

But then Pam gets set on the clue of the baked apple. That, to coin a phrase, upsets the apple cart. Because if Francis McCalley ate a baked apple, then it couldn't have happened the way the police think it happened. Then another woman is found dead. This time it's Ann Lawrence who lives on the other end of the social spectrum. She has been hit with a poker and, again, it looks easy. Another argument with a boyfriend and another dead woman. But...Pam finds another snag. This time it's a dress. The dress Francis had on when she was killed was given to her by...you guessed it...Ann Lawrence. To add to the fun, Pam begins insisting, as only Pam can, that someone has stolen a famous voice from the radio. As Mullins would say, now it's just plain screwy.

Killing the Goose is an exciting chain of events from the dramatic scene in the diner to the socialite's missing money to the unexpected happenings in the telephone booth to the grand finale in a radio broadcast studio. Even knowing the killer in advance didn't dampen my enthusiasm for this madcap mystery. I spent more time in this reading paying attention to the details of conversations and characters since I didn't have to keep my eyes peeled for clues.

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.

[Ivonne Rovira · Rating 5 out of 5]

No one plays more fair than authors Frances and Richard Lockridge. A socialite is murdered in her home after a party, and Jerry and Pam North are drawn into her death. I thoroughly enjoyed trying to figure out the murderer, but I never — despite plenty of clues — I never figured out this fun whodunit.

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've gotten myself onto a little Lockridge reading jag. As I said in the previous review...these are great for those dreary fall days when all you want to do is curl up with a nice little cozy, madcap murder. Killing the Goose has Pam and Jerry North smack in the middle of another killing spree. First, we have a simple file clerk killed in a diner. It looks pretty cut and dried and Lt. Weigand and Sgt. Mullins are all set to close the case with the boyfriend as the killer....when Pam gets set on the clue of the baked-apple. That's makes it just a little uneasy. Then another woman is killed...this time on the other end of the social spectrum--a wealthy socialite. But then clues starting building up that seem to connect the two murders. It ends with Pam insisting, as only Pam can, that someone has stolen a famous voice from the radio. As Mullins would say, now it's just plain screwy.

This one is an exciting chain of events from the dramatic scene in the diner to the socialite's missing money to the unexpected happenings in the telephone booth to a grand finale in a radio broadcasting studio. Frances & Richard Lockridge keep the excitement high and action tense in this latest madcap mystery. It's possible that I'm getting the hang of Pam North's logic (which may be a scary thing given the way her mind leaps)--but I figured out who did it...I just couldn't figure out how. And it is scary to find oneself thinking like Pam. As we find in the book: "It startled Jerry, somewhat, to discover that Pam's thought processes had, in fact, coincided with those of Sergeant Mullins. For some reason this made him reel internally; it suggest that the whole world was about to come apart." But the world doesn't come apart. Things come together in the end and once again Pam & Jerry help Lt. Weigand get his man.

I absolutely love the Lockridge mysteries. They are light and breezy..but always satisfying. Four stars out of five. (less)

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

see review other edition

[Christopher Rush · Rating 2 out of 5]

Please listen to the reviewers who seem to love this to no end. I am most likely wrong, since I've only read it once and have read fewer than four hundred thousand books in my lifetime. Also, you can just win any argument or disagreement by saying "that's just your opinion."

I thought this was the worst Norths-but-really-Bill-Weigand mystery yet. Not only does Dorian (Bill's wife, remember?) get nothing to do but nod and agree, Pam does the brainless "Hmm, I'll go confront the murderer all alone" nonsense yet again. Surely an editor somewhere must have pointed out how despicable that is, again and again and again each book? Pam is especially irritating for the entire book, and not just her typical mumbling-to-herself-mixed-with-half-aloud-morphemes dialogue, her frequent character trait that belittles the other characters for not being able to follow her internal thoughts and shame on them for not being telepaths.

For the first half of the book the reader is wondering "when is it going to start? when is the real mystery and real plot going to begin?" until we learn, too late, nope, this is it, this is what the story is about. Sheesh. Well, halfway through, might as well finish it.

The other characters are wholly unlikable, but maybe the Lockridges did that so everyone will look like a suspect. Except we really don't care about most of them because they all think they are smarter than Bill and treat our heroes contemptibly so we're fine if they all get bumped off or arrested, and that's pretty much how it goes. Bill and Mullins have no real problem arresting people they don't really think are guilty, they don't really apologize to anyone for anything (including rather unkind thoughts and accusations they make toward a kid who is sad her friend just got killed), and somehow the police are fine with Pam releasing suspects from prison and barging into conversations with other suspects. Sure, why not - it's wartime, we all have to help each other.

Bill is really off his game in this one, doing a fine Julius Caesar impersonation of "hmm, I shouldn't trust those people ... nah, I'll ignore my professional instincts and basically let the people I'm pretty sure are German spies get away with everything. Let's do that." Just like Caesar thought Cassius was a German spy, yes, exactly my point.

Just an unpleasant story (especially during this incumbency) with unpleasant characters and unpleasant behavior from our main group and bonkers deductive reasoning (of course it would be impossible for someone to buy a used dress from a secondhand thrift store - no way that ever happens) and a too tidy wrap up that wraps up almost nothing. Oh, and, apparently in a crowded drug store with several people waiting to use the phone, not a single one of them notice the larger-than-life culprit go into an occupied phone booth, stab a lady, leave, and her corpse drop the receiver and start to bleed. Sure, no one saw that.

[Whistler's Mom · Rating 4 out of 5]

On a snowy day in 1944, two young women are murdered in New York. They couldn't be more different, but in both cases the police are ready to pin the rap on the woman's boyfriend. It's just so logical, isn't it?

The first victim is a pretty file clerk who's killed in a cheap cafeteria during the lunch rush hour. Her boyfriend ran from the restaurant and she was later found with her throat cut. He's a hot-tempered Italian-American who's known to carry a knife. He refuses to admit guilt, but his sullen, everyone's-against-the-poor attitude makes him an easy target.

That night a lovely young heiress is murdered in her luxurious home. She's a blue-blooded orphan who inherited from both sides of the family and her money and warm personality make her a popular New York socialite. She, too, is planning to marry and the police suspect that her writer boyfriend bashed her head in because she was breaking the engagement. But this boyfriend doesn't wait to talk. He's on the lam and making himself very scarce indeed.

NYPD Lt. Bill Weigand is assigned to both cases and, naturally, his good friends Pam and Jerry North get involved. Pam enthusiastically, hoping to save a friendless, heart-broken young man and Jerry reluctantly, as always. Both victims have a woman close to them (in one case a co-worker; in the other a housekeeper) who are determined that the boyfriend be punished for the murder. Man-haters or are they directing attention to the obvious suspect for their own benefit?

The lives of the two very dissimilar women have crossed several times. Is it just coincidence that they know each other? Or that the file clerk works at the large financial firm that manages the heiress' money?

And then there's Dan Beck, a popular radio personality with a fanatical following. He's a charismatic speaker and many are worried about the influence he wields. By 1944, the catastrophic war has left Americans shocked and angry. Beck's messages seemed innocuous at first - patriotic sermons that exalt the American way of life. But increasingly they turn divisive and bigoted. In times of trouble, a persuasive man offering a quick fix will always find followers. Is Beck creating a mob to do his bidding?

The threads of the investigation keep coming back to Beck. Is he the simple, sincere man he appears to be? His background is complicated and authorities wonder if he's acting on his own or a pawn in an international plot.

I think this is one of the best of this series. The usual characters (Bill and Dorian Weigand, Pam and Jerry North, and Sgt. Mullins) are at their most entertaining. The cats Roughy and Tuffy are sublimely disinterested in murders and wars and anything other than food and mischief. The scene shifts from elegant New York high-society to the shabby lives of working-class people who exist in the economic shadows of the great city.

The authors capture the desperation of a nation held captive by a devastating war. As personal losses mount, people began to wonder who they can trust. Infiltration by the enemy sounds melodramatic, but it was a very real fear on the WWII homefront.

There are the usual complications inherent in a classic mystery. Someone hears something and tries to use it for personal advantage. Blackmailing a murderer is a dangerous way to make money, but that never stops greedy people from trying. And as the circle of suspects expands, several fall victim to the murderer, now desperate to escape discovery. So were these young women killed for love, money, safety or political fanaticism? You won't know until Pam North is trapped with the killer's fingers around her throat. Enjoy!

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this one the war seemed to be impacting their lives more and more ... and the plot was a bit complex and the death toll mounted quickly. After the first two deaths (in quick succession), the next two deaths were marked: the victims behaved as if knowing who the murderer was (or might be) was something they could handle -- and as predicted,it wasn't.

First a young woman named Frances is found murdered in a booth in a restaurant. This one is easy: her boyfriend must have killed her -- her best friend saw him rush away in a state just before the body is found. Then another young woman is found dead in her house, and her boyfriend also runs away (hitting a policeman on the head in order to do so). But then it turns out the two women knew each other, and the coincidences mount up ... and Pam North starts having bright ideas.

The final solution seemed a bit of a stretch, though not as much as it could have been if actual Nazis had been involved, as feared at one point in the plot. There is also a radio demagogue who pushes his way into the plot, as familiar a type in the 40s as it is today. Bill's boss doesn't like him, and strongly hints that any evidence that points that way would be welcome, which sends up Bill's sense of justice ... but as the evidence points every which way it is not unreasonable to ask if it might.

[Robyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Early Bird Book Deal | Nice for me to get back to the Norths after lower quality reads recently, but uncomfortably apt for the current climate. | Beck feels so much like trump, it's stressful. I have to say that I did assume the right killer, from the start, but my clue doesn't really feel like an intentional one. When Elliot calls the first time after his escape, he asks if Bill has spoken to Beck, and calls Beck "his nibs". This indicates someone Bill knows quite well, and someone who has a reputation or outward appearance that Bill doesn't subscribe to. In a classic British mystery, the irreverent son of a Lord might speak that way about his father, because the rest of the world looks at the man as a Peer of the realm, with awe and respect, while the son sees him as a flawed person. The only way to explain those two words, "his nibs", is if Elliot has either a family relationship with Beck or is quietly on equal footing with him. Since Elliot clearly thought he had some power with the murderer that allowed him to make a play on his own, the killer had to be...

[Susan Ferguson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pam North listens to Lt Weigand tell about a murder and arrest. He says her boyfriend killed her at the restaurant, a witness saw him running away. But Pam doesn't believe the boy is guilty. So she drags her husband, Jerry, and Bill's wife, Dorian Weigand, to the jail to see the boy and talk to Sgt Mullins about the case. In the meantime, Bill has been called to another murder. Pam manages to connect the two murders, but what the connection is she doesn't know. The conundrum continues and so do murders.

[Anna Katharine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This puzzle hinges on details, and Pam North is nothing if not good at details. Killing the Goose shows seemingly routine police work being upset by small anomalies, leading both cops and the Norths to the ugly solution. The involvement of a local radio commentator raises post-WWII cultural notes that sent me down an internet rabbit hole. This is one of my favorite North mysteries, though it's one of the darkest.

[Debbie Notkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, okay. These are hard times. There's nothing wrong with going back to young adult favorites for a while, especially when my local library has easily obtained digital copies. The Mr. and Mrs. North mysteries are:

-- no more sexist than you would expect for their times. Women do have agency, and brains, but are also inclined to be foolish about getting into trouble.
-- very upper-middle class affluent, and almost exclusively white
-- extremely kind to the police, like all mysteries in that period
-- rather fun, especially if you like (as I do), Pam North's intuitive leaps and habit of saying what she thinks quickly, so she leaves out a lot of intermediate steps and confuses the folks around her.

This review also applies to A Pinch of Poison and Death on the Aisle.

[Katherine Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy this series very much-martini-drinking cat-loving charmers. Very specific to New York at a specific time.
I'm really enjoying the way the book unfolds. My only caveat is every time a gay person is introduced, the results and character reactions are extremely stereotyped even though the characters are sophisticated (the crazed lesbian-sheesh)

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

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....

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is more consequential than some in the series, but the police work just feels lackadaisical and Pam once again goes rogue and that interfered with my enjoyment.

It probably should scare me that I can generally follow Pam's conversational flights.

[Deborah Wysinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pam North is so confusing, but she makes everything clear.

[Judi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another good read. Pam is still as ditzy as ever; but, she still solves the mystery simultaneously with Lt. Weigand. Moral to this story: never clear anyone based on their own word...

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are old mysteries that are just fabulous. So much fun. NYC pre World War II and beyond.

[Michele bookloverforever]

Read decades ago....reread october, 2022.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Only Mrs. North’s perceptiveness and unique way of looking at things could have solved this tricky case

[Christine PNW · Rating 3 out of 5]

WWII has arrived as a plot point.

[Duncan McCurdie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent mystery novel from wartime America. It has more of n common with the British Humdrums than anything but the side comments about the war made it mildly interesting.

[March · Rating 1 out of 5]

Having the female half of your husband-and-wife detective team be an incomprehensible ditz always struck me as not only irritatingly sexist but also a very cheap gimmick for obfuscating your plot. But what makes this the most irritating Pam and Jerry North mystery I've read yet is that not just Pam's but everybody's dialogue is aimless and circuitous, as is the desultory police investigation; and the solution when it comes, while hardly surprising as to culprit, is very hand-wavey and half-baked and full of loose ends; in fact, the murder with which the book began is scarcely explained at all. A very loosely plotted and lazy book. The only interesting thing about the book is that it involves a fascist talk-show demagogue named Beck.

[Karen Plummer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one was complicated...every time I thought I had it figured out, something else would happen to concise me. I really love the characters...Pam and Jerry are goofy and fun, while Bill and Dorian are more elegant and thoughtful, and of course Sgt Mullins is a wonderful foil to them all.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful