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Hildegarde Withers #14
Hildegarde Withers Makes the Scene
To rescue a lost flower child who was last seen in Greenwich Village, retired sleuth Hildegarde Withers must learn to think like a hippie. She has plenty of experience dealing with middle school children—can a flower child be any different?
“Hildegarde Withers belongs up near the head of the class in crime detection.” —New York Times
“Hildegarde Withers belongs up near the head of the class in crime detection.” —New York Times
- GenresMystery
182 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1969
22 people are currently reading
87 people want to read
About the author
Stuart Palmer
76 books31 followersPseudonyms Theodore Orchards, Jay Stewart
Stuart Palmer (1905–1968) was an American author of mysteries. Born in Baraboo, Wisconsin, Palmer worked a number of odd jobs—including apple picking, journalism, and copywriting—before publishing his first novel, the crime drama Ace of Jades, in 1931. It was with his second novel, however, that he established his writing career: The Penguin Pool Murder introduced Hildegarde Withers, a schoolmarm who, on a field trip to the New York Aquarium, discovers a dead body in the pool. Withers was an immensely popular character, and went on to star in thirteen more novels, including Miss Withers Regrets (1947) and Nipped in the Bud (1951). A master of intricate plotting, Palmer found success writing for Hollywood, where several of his books, including The Penguin Pool Murder, were filmed by RKO Pictures Inc.
Stuart Palmer (1905–1968) was an American author of mysteries. Born in Baraboo, Wisconsin, Palmer worked a number of odd jobs—including apple picking, journalism, and copywriting—before publishing his first novel, the crime drama Ace of Jades, in 1931. It was with his second novel, however, that he established his writing career: The Penguin Pool Murder introduced Hildegarde Withers, a schoolmarm who, on a field trip to the New York Aquarium, discovers a dead body in the pool. Withers was an immensely popular character, and went on to star in thirteen more novels, including Miss Withers Regrets (1947) and Nipped in the Bud (1951). A master of intricate plotting, Palmer found success writing for Hollywood, where several of his books, including The Penguin Pool Murder, were filmed by RKO Pictures Inc.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 8, 2016
Reading the last book in a series as the first one you've read...probably a bad idea. The characters just felt one dimensional to me and the plot was overall boring. I have a few other books in series that are earlier so I am hoping they are better.
February 14, 2024
Topical, but not timeless.
Stuart Palmer's readers may have adored Hildegarde Withers, but he was never more than lukewarm about her. He claimed that he never intended her to be more than a minor character, but she got away from him. Inspector Oscar Piper of the NYPD and (in this book) Captain Kelso of the SFPD would sympathize.
Between 1931 and 1954, Palmer published twelve book-length mysteries starring Hildy and Oscar, along with one collection of stories about them. Then he stopped. He wrote a very good stand-along mystery ("Omit Flowers") and two mysteries featuring amateur detective Howie Rook. He must have written more short stories, because several collections have apeared since his death.
He collaborated on a book of stories with writer Craig Rice, who swore that she modeled her rumpled, hard-drinking lawyer/detective John Malone on rumpled, hard-drinking writer Stuart Palmer. I'd love to see how Malone and Miss Withers get along, but that collection isn't available on Kindle and I can't find a used print copy to buy. Maybe someday.
Mostly Palmer supported himself and his dependents (five wives, current and ex!) by writing movie scripts. No one knows when he wrote this book, but it was unfinished when his liver gave out on him in 1968. Prolific mystery writer Fletcher Flora finished it and it was published in 1969.
The hippie movement was in full swing and (like many writers of traditional mysteries) Palmer decided to "up-date" his work. How well it works depends on the reader. I was alive during that time and I considered hippies to be on the side of the angels (in regard to the Vietnam Conflict) but just as silly and tiresome as "squares." And (oh!) did their affected lingo get boring after a very short time.
The premise is that someone asks Oscar Piper (now head of NYPD Homicide) to hunt down a rich guy's run-away college student daughter. Piper passes the job on to his old frenemy Hildegarde Withers, now retired and (most improbably) living in southern California.
She co-opts the kid next door, who's dropped out of college because education is meaningless. Trust me, males then found "meaning" in college because it was that or being drafted and sent to Vietnam! Since the authors needed him, they ignored this incongruity and forged on.
Hildy and her young BF head to San Francisco, with her in the sidecar of his Harley Hog. This is a jarring note to those of us who read and enjoyed the earlier books in this series. Hildy was always ready to go out on a limb to follow a lead, but not THAT far. Why didn't she rent a car, like she did in Mexico in an earlier book?
The girl is found, along with a job lot of weirdos and hangers-on. And there's a murder, so Captain Kelso has to figure out who-dun-it, reluctantly allowing Hildy to help. Oscar can't stand being out of the loop and flies over to help. The three aging detectives are determined to solve the murder, although neither the murderee or the suspects seem worth worrying about. That "generation gap" is just too wide to hurdle over.
I can't make up my mind about this one. It has some good parts and the ending is interesting. It's a great departure from the earlier books in the series, which I enjoyed much more. The problem with being "topical" is that your book dates rapidly. There's a great deal to be said for sticking to tradition, but Palmer was typing.
He writes movingly about young people and their (sometimes misguided) idealism and the pain they cause their parents by disappearing. Surely some of his five marriages must have resulted in children. Could he have lost one (or more) to the Hippie Movement? There's so little information about him that it's impossible to tell.
I enjoyed it in a mild way and I'm not sorry I read it. To me, it's an unsatisfactory ending to this unique series. My advice is to read the series in order and stop when you lose interest. If you're hooked, this one is worth it. Otherwise, skip it.
Stuart Palmer's readers may have adored Hildegarde Withers, but he was never more than lukewarm about her. He claimed that he never intended her to be more than a minor character, but she got away from him. Inspector Oscar Piper of the NYPD and (in this book) Captain Kelso of the SFPD would sympathize.
Between 1931 and 1954, Palmer published twelve book-length mysteries starring Hildy and Oscar, along with one collection of stories about them. Then he stopped. He wrote a very good stand-along mystery ("Omit Flowers") and two mysteries featuring amateur detective Howie Rook. He must have written more short stories, because several collections have apeared since his death.
He collaborated on a book of stories with writer Craig Rice, who swore that she modeled her rumpled, hard-drinking lawyer/detective John Malone on rumpled, hard-drinking writer Stuart Palmer. I'd love to see how Malone and Miss Withers get along, but that collection isn't available on Kindle and I can't find a used print copy to buy. Maybe someday.
Mostly Palmer supported himself and his dependents (five wives, current and ex!) by writing movie scripts. No one knows when he wrote this book, but it was unfinished when his liver gave out on him in 1968. Prolific mystery writer Fletcher Flora finished it and it was published in 1969.
The hippie movement was in full swing and (like many writers of traditional mysteries) Palmer decided to "up-date" his work. How well it works depends on the reader. I was alive during that time and I considered hippies to be on the side of the angels (in regard to the Vietnam Conflict) but just as silly and tiresome as "squares." And (oh!) did their affected lingo get boring after a very short time.
The premise is that someone asks Oscar Piper (now head of NYPD Homicide) to hunt down a rich guy's run-away college student daughter. Piper passes the job on to his old frenemy Hildegarde Withers, now retired and (most improbably) living in southern California.
She co-opts the kid next door, who's dropped out of college because education is meaningless. Trust me, males then found "meaning" in college because it was that or being drafted and sent to Vietnam! Since the authors needed him, they ignored this incongruity and forged on.
Hildy and her young BF head to San Francisco, with her in the sidecar of his Harley Hog. This is a jarring note to those of us who read and enjoyed the earlier books in this series. Hildy was always ready to go out on a limb to follow a lead, but not THAT far. Why didn't she rent a car, like she did in Mexico in an earlier book?
The girl is found, along with a job lot of weirdos and hangers-on. And there's a murder, so Captain Kelso has to figure out who-dun-it, reluctantly allowing Hildy to help. Oscar can't stand being out of the loop and flies over to help. The three aging detectives are determined to solve the murder, although neither the murderee or the suspects seem worth worrying about. That "generation gap" is just too wide to hurdle over.
I can't make up my mind about this one. It has some good parts and the ending is interesting. It's a great departure from the earlier books in the series, which I enjoyed much more. The problem with being "topical" is that your book dates rapidly. There's a great deal to be said for sticking to tradition, but Palmer was typing.
He writes movingly about young people and their (sometimes misguided) idealism and the pain they cause their parents by disappearing. Surely some of his five marriages must have resulted in children. Could he have lost one (or more) to the Hippie Movement? There's so little information about him that it's impossible to tell.
I enjoyed it in a mild way and I'm not sorry I read it. To me, it's an unsatisfactory ending to this unique series. My advice is to read the series in order and stop when you lose interest. If you're hooked, this one is worth it. Otherwise, skip it.
December 15, 2022
That was confusing
And sadly, the last book. Maybe the author planned to expand the men in Hilda’s life? Which was weird in and of itself. I would have enjoy she and Al starting a detective agency together. Was it the second author that made it so odd? And to
leave Tally out almost completely! It must be that Stuart Palmer had plans that never materialized.
And sadly, the last book. Maybe the author planned to expand the men in Hilda’s life? Which was weird in and of itself. I would have enjoy she and Al starting a detective agency together. Was it the second author that made it so odd? And to
leave Tally out almost completely! It must be that Stuart Palmer had plans that never materialized.
April 2, 2018
IBook-$1.99-Early Bird Books. 31/2stars an enjoyable mystery
January 5, 2022
Although others may look down on (the great) Fletcher Flora's involvement with this one, I personally think this is another pleasant & solid entry in the series.
May 23, 2025
Stuart Palmer published his first Hildegarde Withers novel,
The Penguin Pool Murder
way back in 1931. I have read and enjoyed this series up through 1954's
Cold Poison
.
This book, Hildegarde Withers Makes the Scene , didn't come along until a long fifteen years later in 1969. And although the cover shows Palmer as the author, it is actually co-written by Fletcher Flora. And from the way the book begins, I would say this person wrote the majority of it and never read any of the earlier books in the series. The series always had the same sentimentality as that first book from 1931. This book suddenly thrusts Hildegarde into the hippy era of the 1960s. Plus, the writing and mentality shifted into a 1960s mindset. It was disappointing. A whole lot of preachy writing goin' on.
It also lacks continuity from the previous books in the series. 1954's Cold Poison ended with Hildy driving Oscar to the airport in her car, with her usual hair-raising driving skills. This book begins with Hildy telling Oscar over the phone that she has no car and cannot drive, totally ignoring the fact the the previous book ended with her driving her car
This is not the series I know and love. I couldn't get past the first few chapters. It seems like, if Palmer (who died in 1968) had any input into this book, it must have been nothing more than an outline or very rough and sparse draft.
If you like the Hildegarde Withers series, give this one a pass, because it is unrecognizable as such.
This book, Hildegarde Withers Makes the Scene , didn't come along until a long fifteen years later in 1969. And although the cover shows Palmer as the author, it is actually co-written by Fletcher Flora. And from the way the book begins, I would say this person wrote the majority of it and never read any of the earlier books in the series. The series always had the same sentimentality as that first book from 1931. This book suddenly thrusts Hildegarde into the hippy era of the 1960s. Plus, the writing and mentality shifted into a 1960s mindset. It was disappointing. A whole lot of preachy writing goin' on.
It also lacks continuity from the previous books in the series. 1954's Cold Poison ended with Hildy driving Oscar to the airport in her car, with her usual hair-raising driving skills. This book begins with Hildy telling Oscar over the phone that she has no car and cannot drive, totally ignoring the fact the the previous book ended with her driving her car
This is not the series I know and love. I couldn't get past the first few chapters. It seems like, if Palmer (who died in 1968) had any input into this book, it must have been nothing more than an outline or very rough and sparse draft.
If you like the Hildegarde Withers series, give this one a pass, because it is unrecognizable as such.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 30, 2015
"SAN FRANCISCO is an enigma. In little more than a century, a willful child among the cities of the world, it has somehow managed to become a legend and create a myth. At once raffish and sedate, vibrant and mellow, it clings to yesterday, wallows in today, and reaches for tomorrow. Nursed on gold and weaned on silver, it cherishes the cultural flowering of a ribald tradition.
People who live there are sorry for people who don’t."
This book is as much a love paean to San Francisco as it is a mystery, and that alone made it worth reading for me. If you've been there, you know what I mean.
I also enjoyed the historical context.
People who live there are sorry for people who don’t."
This book is as much a love paean to San Francisco as it is a mystery, and that alone made it worth reading for me. If you've been there, you know what I mean.
I also enjoyed the historical context.
February 3, 2010
I just reread this book which my mother bought at Jewel Foods circa 1970. It is a comfort book, not great literature and now it is certainly a period piece.
May 24, 2013
Final book in the Hildegarde Withers series reads like benedictory. Mrs. Wither solves a murder in California, among the hippies and flower children. A mood of sadness pervades the entire work.
January 11, 2017
The earlier books are more fast-paced and concise. Beginning from previous book, the writing style has changed to more descriptive and long-winded -- Not to my liking.
June 2, 2024
El último libro de la serie de Miss Whithers. Se nota que la finalización del libro es improvisada y efectuada por un autor distinto del autor del plot. Muy flojo.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews