Guilt of the Brass Thieves

Penny Parker Mystery Stories #13

by Mildred A. Wirt

Penny Parker starred in a series of 17 books written by Mildred A. Wirt Benson and published from 1939 through 1947. Penny was a high school sleuth who also occasionally moonlighted as a reporter for her father's newspaper. Benson favored Penny Parker over all the other books she wrote, including Nancy Drew. Her obituary quoted her as saying, "I always thought Penny Parker was a better Nancy Drew than Nancy is," Mrs. Benson said in 1993.

Genres: Mystery, Middle Grade, Young Adult, Ebooks, Classics

210 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1945

About the author

Mildred Augustine Wirt Benson (aka: Mildred Benson)

Writing under Stratemeyer Syndicate pen name Carolyn Keene from 1929 to 1947, she contributed to 23 of the first 25 originally published Nancy Drew mysteries. She was one of 28 individuals who helped produce the Syndicate's Nancy Drew mystery books from 1929 to 1984.

Edward Stratemeyer hired Benson in 1926. She was paid a flat fee of $125 for the first Nancy Drew book written using an outline provided by the syndicate.

Other pseudonyms: Frank Bell, Joan Clark, Julia K. Duncan, Alice B. Emerson, Frances K. Judd, Don Palmer, Helen Louise Thorndyke, Dorothy West, Ann Wirt

Reviews

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining mystery listening

This kindle e-book novella is free from Amazon

Penny Parker and her father go to a friends house on an Island. After they arrived the fun begins.

I would recommend this series and author to readers of family and friends relationships mystery novels. 2024

[Nira Ramachandran · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once again the redoubtable Penny Parker solves the pilfering of scrap brass from a factory, which was threatening to turn into a major drain on their profits. On the way, she manages to rescue people from blazing fires, swim underwater for over half an hour, and finally captain a sailing boat in the annual regatta. While I do enjoy reading the Penny Parker series, her exploits are quite often difficult to stomach.

[Ellie Naomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved how Penny was not having any of Jack's BS! She was not impressed. Jack and Sally though! I knew they were love interests when he defended her lol! Great book!

[Rhys Pierce · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Penny Parker mystery takes place against the backdrop of WW2. Brass was rationed along with rubber due to the war efforts and this forms the framework for the mystery. Like all the mysteries in the series, the detective work is thin but there is plenty of adventure for young adult readers.

[Audiobook Heaven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, I listened to the audiobook version on YouTube. I will leave the link below so that everyone can enjoy it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mriv1...

[Pat Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really fun one on the Penny Parker series. There definitely a lot of action, and Penny was her usual brilliant self.

[Perry Whitford · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pesky kid detective foils less than intelligent thieves.

They really are dumb. Attempting to get rich by stealing piecemeal bits of brass small enough to be hidden under a coat doesn't sound very smart to me. Gold yes, silver ditto, maybe even steel, but brass?

Mildred Wirt also wrote the first batch of tge Nancy Drew books so she found a better way to get rich.