Murder On The Blackboard

“I got instructions to send all the teachers in there [in Room 1A] as they get here, and to send the kids home. Only the kids say they want to stay and see the fun.”

“I’ll settle that quickly enough,” Miss Withers promised. She turned around and faced the swarm, clapping her hands for silence.

“Children,” she told them, “if you all will wait quietly here I am sure that we will be able to get back to our classes and our work in an hour or two.”

Even as she spoke, the fringe of the crowd began to melt away. Children scampered toward the playground, others made a beeline for Tobey’s candy store, and still others raced down the street toward the distant elevated [train].

Miss Withers looked around again as she stood in the

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doorway [of Jefferson School]. Not an urchin remained in sight….

I may be inclined to love Hildegarde Withers, no-nonsense third-grade teacher and shrewd amateur sleuth, because I myself am a teacher, albeit in a high school. But who wouldn’t love a woman with such aplomb and knowledge of human nature? As she did in the first two books in this series — The Penguin Pool Murder and Murder on Wheels — the formidable Miss Withers arrives at the truth while the police stumble and arrest the wrong person. Murder on the Blackboard is the best one yet!

Anise Halloran, the pretty young music teacher at Jefferson School, gets murdered in a grisly way while Miss Withers is in the very building! If that’s not enough to shatter someone’s nerves, Miss Withers’ beau on the police force, Inspector Oscar Piper, nearly dies from a crack on the head administered by the same villain. Sergeant Taylor, Piper's replacement, won't pay Miss Withers any mind, but you can be sure the intrepid middle-aged schoolteacher teaches the New York police force — and a certain visiting Viennese “psycho-criminal expert” — a lesson in crime! The witty dialogue, sarcastic tone, and laugh-out-loud funny situations make Murder on the Blackboard another winning entry in Stuart Palmer's Hildegarde Withers mystery series. show less

3.5*

This 3rd entry in the Golden Age mystery series featuring Hildegarde Withers wasn't quite as much fun as the first book. I think that was due to the fact that Inspector Piper spends most of the book in the hospital and so is limited in his interactions with Miss Withers. I love the way these two spar! Still, there was plenty to enjoy and I look forward to reading more of these.

This 3rd entry in the Golden Age mystery series featuring Hildegarde Withers wasn't quite as much fun as the first book. I think that was due to the fact that Inspector Piper spends most of the book in the hospital and so is limited in his interactions with Miss Withers. I love the way these two spar! Still, there was plenty to enjoy and I look forward to reading more of these.

Another case for school teacher sleuth Hildegarde Withers. Stuart Palmer described his creation as a 'meddlesome old battleaxe' and that is not far from the truth. The murder of a young female teacher,early in the book,sets Hildegarde off on her investigations once more. In this story Inspector Oscar Piper is badly hurt and helpless in hospital for much of the book so is even less help in solving the case than usual.
The main interest here is in Miss Withers character rather than the somewhat boring (though horrible) murder itself.
As I have stated many times before (and no doubt will many times again) is the superb quality of the books produced by the Rue Morgue Press. The cover is excellent and the books extremely well bound. They show more always list the Cast of Characters on the first page which I always find very useful. There is usually a well-written introduction and in this case a plan of the school where the story takes place. show less

A early Withers mystery with a setting in a New York City grammar school --less exotic and more natural for Withers than some later ones. The pretty young music teacher is murdered and a drunken janitor is suspected, by Hildegard has other ideas.