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Asey Mayo Cape Cod Mystery #9
Out of Order
Cape Cod's resident detective Asey Mayo has a long history with millionaire Bill Potter, owner of Potter Motors. Bill's men's club, the Hybrid, has a long history of funny bets on the night of the big football game, but when Bill Potter's enemy Harper Dixon bets Bill $50,000 that Asey Mayo couldn't "solve his Aunt Eugenia's grocery order", Asey must take a hand on behalf of his old friend, and returns from Jamaica to a New England blizzard.
- GenresMystery
280 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1936
55 people want to read
About the author
Phoebe Atwood Taylor
42 books43 followersTaylor is an American mystery author. She is best known for her Asey Mayo series, based in Cape Cod. She additionally wrote and published under the pen names Alice Tilton and Freeman Dana.
Phoebe Atwood Taylor, born in 1909 in Boston, Massachusetts, was the first member of her family to have been born off Cape Cod in more than 300 years. Upon graduating from Manhattan's Barnard College, she moved to Weston, Massachusetts, to pen her first work, The Cape Cod Mystery (1931), which was published when she was 22. The book was written while Taylor was caring for her invalid aunt, Alice Tilton (the source of one of her two publishing pseudonyms, the other being Freeman Dana). Taylor was one of the first mystery writers to give a regional and rural rather than urban focus during the time known as the "golden age" of mystery writing (1918 - 1939). Gone with the Wind's author, Margaret Mitchell, was a great fan of the Asey Mayo series, and encouraged Taylor to pack the books with Cape Cod detail. In all, she authored 33 books. She died in 1976 at age 67.
- Bio by The Countryman Press
https://openlibrary.org/authors/OL685...
Phoebe Atwood Taylor, born in 1909 in Boston, Massachusetts, was the first member of her family to have been born off Cape Cod in more than 300 years. Upon graduating from Manhattan's Barnard College, she moved to Weston, Massachusetts, to pen her first work, The Cape Cod Mystery (1931), which was published when she was 22. The book was written while Taylor was caring for her invalid aunt, Alice Tilton (the source of one of her two publishing pseudonyms, the other being Freeman Dana). Taylor was one of the first mystery writers to give a regional and rural rather than urban focus during the time known as the "golden age" of mystery writing (1918 - 1939). Gone with the Wind's author, Margaret Mitchell, was a great fan of the Asey Mayo series, and encouraged Taylor to pack the books with Cape Cod detail. In all, she authored 33 books. She died in 1976 at age 67.
- Bio by The Countryman Press
https://openlibrary.org/authors/OL685...
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 2, 2021
Asey is always good value, but this time he’s off the Cape and surrounded by unfamiliar characters, at least two of which are thoroughly unpleasant. That grocery order takes a long time to be solved, too. Don’t start with this one.
June 11, 2021
So enjoy this series. Never been to Cape Cod but I love this 1930s version back when there were so many actual "Codders" as opposed to today's population of millionaires. Taylor always has a good mix of Boston elites and many well fleshed out locals. This mystery gets started with a ridiculous side bet and escalates with a murder and an attempt to scare off or murder Asey. I don't know if today's audience will appreciate the madcap situations as they would have in the 30s. Everyone of these Asey Mayo mysteries reminds me of a zany Frank Capra film. Do yourself a favor and watch "You Can't Take It With You." (1938) Viewed from a 1930s lens these books are gems but looking at them with today's eyes shows some racism, sexism, classism so don't be easily disturbed.
After finishing this installment, here are my final impressions. I think I enjoyed this episode more than any of the previous. I thought the author had many great 1 liners for her characters. I especially liked the addition of teenage Leon and I hope he will return as a protégé for Asey in the future. This is the first of Atwood Taylor's mysteries that I figured out before the ending. Well to be honest, I got the right murderer but I was fuzzy on all of the motives.
After finishing this installment, here are my final impressions. I think I enjoyed this episode more than any of the previous. I thought the author had many great 1 liners for her characters. I especially liked the addition of teenage Leon and I hope he will return as a protégé for Asey in the future. This is the first of Atwood Taylor's mysteries that I figured out before the ending. Well to be honest, I got the right murderer but I was fuzzy on all of the motives.
July 11, 2008
Mayo returns to aid his friends Betsy & Bill Porter. Bill's standing rivalry with an old school chum has been used to enlist Assey in solving a mystery.
I like Taylors use of place and character. She creates a consistency with her use of New England types just as the British authors used their country houses and denizens. Assey is far to competent to fail despite any little piddling setbacks he might endure on the way, like a dire lack of sleep, or needing to lie low in the snow for hours playing dead after an attempt on his life. Like Indian Jones or James Bond he carries on no matter if a life is at stake however like Poirot he also uses his little grey cells. Like Miss Marple his age and experience is used well, he sees people in terms of known characters, usually old shipmates he sailed with, but also in his knowledge of old technology.
I like Taylors use of place and character. She creates a consistency with her use of New England types just as the British authors used their country houses and denizens. Assey is far to competent to fail despite any little piddling setbacks he might endure on the way, like a dire lack of sleep, or needing to lie low in the snow for hours playing dead after an attempt on his life. Like Indian Jones or James Bond he carries on no matter if a life is at stake however like Poirot he also uses his little grey cells. Like Miss Marple his age and experience is used well, he sees people in terms of known characters, usually old shipmates he sailed with, but also in his knowledge of old technology.
November 23, 2016
Asey Mayo braves a blizzard to win a bet for Bill Porter, and finds an unsuspected murderer.
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June 25, 2023This 1936 novel is the ninth Asey Mayo book. Mayo is a classic Yankee of the Cape Cod variety. He is competent at everything. He ends up getting called in as an amateur detective to solve every difficult murder case on the Cape.
This book takes him off Cape. His friend Bill Porter gets stuck in a $50,000 bet on whether Asey can solve a mystery in the small town of Blight. Mayo is wintering in Jamaica but he comes back to help his friend. He gets to Blight in the middle of a blizzard and ends up in a home where an older wealthy woman has just been killed.
The plot is slow developing and strained. There are some good characters, including a young Huck Finn type boy and an absentminded professor. This is a good solid mystery. Not one of her best, but enjoyable.
There was a mystery I could not solve. Where is Blight? The town is described as being next to Monkton but I could not see that we ever learn what state it is in. It is clearly in the North, given the weather and the fact that people are able to drive to it in a day from the Cape and Boston. The State Police show up, but she never says what State.
Mayo takes a train from Newark on his trip back from Jamaica and Lake Placid is mentioned at one point, so I think it might be in New York. I wouldn't be surprised if it was Western Massachusetts, New Hampshire or Vermont. I feel like she would have to mention if it was in Maine.
What is surprising is that Cape Cod plays such a big part in the other Asey Mayo stories. The books are drenched in Cape Cod local color. It is odd for Taylor to write a book that seems to be aggressively devoid of local color.
This book takes him off Cape. His friend Bill Porter gets stuck in a $50,000 bet on whether Asey can solve a mystery in the small town of Blight. Mayo is wintering in Jamaica but he comes back to help his friend. He gets to Blight in the middle of a blizzard and ends up in a home where an older wealthy woman has just been killed.
The plot is slow developing and strained. There are some good characters, including a young Huck Finn type boy and an absentminded professor. This is a good solid mystery. Not one of her best, but enjoyable.
There was a mystery I could not solve. Where is Blight? The town is described as being next to Monkton but I could not see that we ever learn what state it is in. It is clearly in the North, given the weather and the fact that people are able to drive to it in a day from the Cape and Boston. The State Police show up, but she never says what State.
Mayo takes a train from Newark on his trip back from Jamaica and Lake Placid is mentioned at one point, so I think it might be in New York. I wouldn't be surprised if it was Western Massachusetts, New Hampshire or Vermont. I feel like she would have to mention if it was in Maine.
What is surprising is that Cape Cod plays such a big part in the other Asey Mayo stories. The books are drenched in Cape Cod local color. It is odd for Taylor to write a book that seems to be aggressively devoid of local color.
October 11, 2020
When I was quite young (possibly pre-teen, certainly before I was 12) I read all of the books in this series that the library had on offer.
I remember being fascinated by the depiction of a different life. I don't know at this remove if I realized it was so different because of the time period (This one was 1st published 1936) as well as the location.
The language is mostly delightful by golly. I only get a little sore at the worst excesses of trying to reproduce a dialect.
Not a great mystery plot wise. Still fun. I may seek out more.
N.B. At least in this novel, nothing egregiously horrible in the prejudices on display. Some period typical sexism and class issues.
I remember being fascinated by the depiction of a different life. I don't know at this remove if I realized it was so different because of the time period (This one was 1st published 1936) as well as the location.
The language is mostly delightful by golly. I only get a little sore at the worst excesses of trying to reproduce a dialect.
Not a great mystery plot wise. Still fun. I may seek out more.
N.B. At least in this novel, nothing egregiously horrible in the prejudices on display. Some period typical sexism and class issues.
July 31, 2025
I enjoy finding older, obscure mystery novels and giving them a try, so I was happy to buy this for 10 cents. I'd heard of the author, and that was about it. I feel like I've given it a fair try, picked it up several times and read quite a ways in, but I just keep realizing that this book doesn't work for me. the characters feel oddly flat and odd at the same time, and once I put it down I have to force myself to pick it up again. It's not a bad book, just not working for me. So back it goes to the library bookstore, no regrets, just not a book I can enjoy. And if you don't enjoy your hobby, why are you doing it? lol
February 8, 2023
Continuing with the Asey Mayo mysteries. Just fun reads from my collection.
March 2, 2011
I discovered this book because of the nod to Phoebe Atwood Taylor in Death on Demand by Carolyn Hart. As a native New Englander, I always love reading stories from and about the area and as this was a mystery, too, I figured I just couldn't go wrong. The story was fascinating and the mystery was very good. The dialogue and diction are a bit distracting, especially with grammatical errors such as "could of" instead of "could've." I suppose they could be part of the local vernacular, but I do not recall the words as spoken in the book to be part of our local dialect. I read them in my head with a southern accent, which seemed out of place for New England, but perhaps I'm missing something. It's the first Asey Mayo story I've read, so I suppose I should read another one to see if I can find out more about this interesting character.
Want to read
September 24, 2016AKA: Alice Tilton, Freeman Dana
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews