Beverly Gray's Return

I put down a Judy Bolton book I was currently enjoying as soon as this arrived. Undoubtedly Beverly Gray books would have to be my favourite and this was the second last book I have to read. (I still need to get a copy of the hard to find at World Fair)

Originally I was only going to read the start of the first chapter to jog my memory as to where this story fit into the series. Five chapters later despite being tired I put the book down.

I marvelled at the way in which Clair Blank could sum up the series for new readers to the series in a few lines, after successfully first hooking you into what the current story was within the first few pages of the story.

If you are a Lenora fan you will love this book. Lenora would have to be one of the best side kicks because she goes against the general mould set aside for the side kick, she doesn't need to be saved she can save herself.

I was thinking why Beverly Gray is my favourite series and it would definitely have to be because of character development. I loved the early Trixie Belden books but after a while I was disgruntled that Trixie never grew any older no matter how many years went by and therefore if anything her relationships with those around her never developed. By contrast in this story

Terry proposes marriage to Lenora, and Beverly is surprised by her own jealousy when she finds Larry with Nikki. There are also several instances where she is with Jim or Jim's name comes up and she goes to say something about the way she feels about him when something comes up to interrupt the situation.

Beverly Gray's Adventure Review

I found the last chapter of this book strangely out of place as the main mystery gets wrapped up at the at the end of the second last chapter and then the last chapter is like a mini mystery in itself (starring Lenora to a large degree)
I love this cover. I love collecting the Dust Jacket cover series books and can appreciate those covers that stand out as being better than others. (That said Beverly Gray books aren't generally speaking the best cover art series going. But this cover I think captures Beverly and her beauty as you imagine it well.)
Kay Merrill who was introduced as a rival to Beverly returns here and the two reporters are put in a situation where they need to work together.
Although the title is "Adventure" the book has a strong relationship focus as Beverly's secretive behaviour puts her friend and fiancee offside at different times.
It was also good how Clair Blank can link in Beverly's home town and Vernon College so effortlessly in her writing which keeps long term readers of the series familiar and engaged. One of the benefits of loving the series for the reader.

Beverly Gray’s Problem Review

I wasn’t sure what the problem was for Beverly Gray was in this story, with that said it was a great read.
It was one of the books where the mystery went to the end of the book whilst layered with extra adventures and relationship stories. (This isn't always the case in a Beverly Gray Mystery, in some cases the mystery wraps up half way through the book.)

• And a series of firsts:
  This story introduces us to the character of Kay Merrill, rival reporter to Beverly for the first time.
  Lenora parachutes out of an aeroplane for the first time.

The story flowed well, only disappoint would have been perhaps that the “whodunit” possibilities were so small there was only one person it could of possibly have been. That said author Clair Blank has not concentrated the story on who was the thief with this Beverly Gray book including a natural disaster.
This would have to be one of my favourite cover art designs on this book.

Beverly Gray's Romance

This was another of the Beverly Gray books where the main mystery is solved by half way through the book. In the Beverly Gray Series these are the types of books I enjoy best as it means that the soap opera aspects of these volumes are given even time in the book to the mystery.

This book I finished quickly. (a sign of a good book in my opinion)

The "Romance" was not only Beverly's but also Shirley's and Lenora's relationships. This is the last book before Michael joins the series as a rival for Terry for Lenora's affections.

The mystery was not the strongest in the series but the author added some natural disaster situations to add drama and excitement. This worked really well. The main disadvatage I find in having the mystery solved half way through the book is by the end of the book so much more has happened that you almost forget what the mystery was, which may be of concern for someone that wasn't a Beverly Gray fan already and didn't know any of the relationships in the book. It would be interested to see someone's opinion that hadn't read other Beverly Gray books in the series.