The Chocolate Cobweb

[The Chocolate Cobweb] begins as a "switched-at-birth" mystery, but morphs into something far more sinister. A Mrs. Garth and a Mrs. Garrison each give birth to a baby, virtually at the same time and in the same hospital. Husbands arrive, and each is shown a newborn. But Mrs. Garth recalls being shown a baby girl in the delivery room, not the baby boy presented to Mr. Garth. He asks questions, of course, and the mixup is resolved amicably with the girl baby going home with the Garths and the boy baby going with the Garrisons.

Jump ahead 23 years, and for the first time Mandy Garth is told about the baby switch by a gabby relative. Astonished, Mandy wants to decide for herself whether these Garrisons are really her parents. Maybe? Tobias show more Garrison is a much admired and prosperous painter. Mandy has artistic aspirations. Hmmm, where did that come from? After visiting a showing of his art and actually seeing the artist and his wife and son, she is provoked to make the artist's acquaintance. And she does. Toby Garrison is smitten and invites her to stay for several days so he can tutor her in his studio. During the visit she finds Ione, Garrison's wife, a bit of a cold fish and a sneak. Thone, the son, is cranky, distant, but very attractive. But trouble is in the air.

What's going to happen? show less

Someone once said that any book is allowed one major coincidence to get the story rolling, and ideally the rest of the story should flow naturally from that. This book is a pretty good example of that, as the main character discovers that she might have been switched at birth with the son of a famous artist. Maybe if you're writing a murder mystery you're allowed a second big coincidence, as not only do we have the switch, but the artist's family has a murderer in it.

But from those two circumstances, the rest of the book does flow pretty naturally. Since the book was written in 1948, I found the pacing a little slow, but for those who like that sort of slow buildup of suspense it might be ok. Characters are nicely well-rounded for a show more book of the length.

It's a good read, but you have to enjoy the time and place. Not that many murder mysteries take place in 1940's California, so it's a bit jarring. Why I found it more jarring than an early 20th-century English castle, I can't say. show less