Another enjoyable outing. Penny Parker is such a likable character and Mildred Wirt is an underrated author. Her style looks simple but it takes a lot of talent to write this way, delivering lots of info in a short yet snappy manner. Oh, and they mystery itself is pretty good as well. ( )

Not being anywhere near the target audience, I was surprised at how very good this was. Not the most complicated mystery but told well enough to be compelling to all age groups and genders. ( )

Danger at the Drawbridge tells me I would never make it as a reporter because I have too much sympathy for Mrs. and Miss Kippenberg in their desire to not have Miss Kippenberg's wedding turned into a media circus. (I have no sympathy for Mr. Kippenberg for his attempted income tax evasion, or for the other illegal stunt he pulled in hopes of making a profit.)

Penny gets drawn into the mystery of the missing groom because the society editor at her father's paper is ill. She and Salt, a 'Riverview Star' photographer with a miniature camera, manage to get to the Kippenberg estate (reached only by boat or drawbridge) and learn a few things before they're caught and forced to leave. I can't say that Salt taking a photo of Mrs. Kippenberg throwing a plate at him was tactful.

Salt Sommers is going to become a regular supporting character in this series. Here's his description from chapter 2: 'He was a tall, spare young man with a deep scar down his left cheek.' I wondered how Salt was going to pass himself off as a wedding guest with a feature that would probably make him look like a gangster, but that wasn't what gave him away. I guess Ms. Wirt decided the scar was a bad idea because I didn't notice it being mentioned again when I reread books four through fourteen.

Penny does manage to talk to Sylvia at a charity function later, but only because Penny found the wedding ring the groom dropped before he disappeared. Sylvia is horrified to learn that Penny found the ring near the lily pond where her father's alligator lives.

Penny's curiosity allows her to learn information that comes in handy later, especially the climax. Handsome reporter Jerry Livingstone gets injured again. Penny saves a life that perhaps she would have been better off if she hadn't. There are G men involved in the case!

For those who like nuggets of info about how American English has changed over the decades, Penny and Salt have 'hot dog sandwiches and pop' in chapter 2. I know that British English and American English handle the plural form differently when it comes to companies. If it's not an error in chapter 8, we used to use the British form, because Louise says 'Rini's have a special on today' instead of 'Rini's has'.
If you like to marvel over the cheapness of old prices, in chapter 17 Penny is able to fill up the almost empty gas tank of her coupe, the Leaping Lena -- and get two quarts of oil -- for $2.58.

It's a good mystery, but marred for me because I feel sympathy for the distaff side of the Kippenberg family.

Zetterstrom (if I'm reading the letters correctly) is the artist for the frontispiece on glossy paper. The scan at Project Gutenberg is from a later printing and their frontispiece appears to be someone's attempt to draw a copy of the Zetterstrom illustration with Penny's hair made longer and a almost leafless, curving branch over to the right. There is no artist's name on it. ( )