The Desert Inn Mystery

Walt Disney's Annette

by Doris Schroeder, Walt Disney Company

extremely rare,very good condition

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Childrens

Paperback

First published January 1, 1961

Reviews

[James Crawford]

Annette is not someone who goes looking for mysteries, but sometimes she finds herself involved with one.

She's driving a white sports car called the Monster. Her parents are dead, and she lies with her Uncle Archie and Aunt Lila Mc Cloud, as in the Annette series. She's going to go to the desert with some friends of hers. On the way there, they are almost run off the road (as happens many times in Nancy Drew mysteries).

They get to Pine Mesa and find out a guy's house has been torched. The bad guys are looking for some money from a bank robbery and one of them is passing himself off as a nice guy named Iverson.

There's also an old silver mine, Iverson's nasty partner, and Annette's plan to expose what is really going on. It's a rather nice story, something that is believable and entertaining at the same time.

[Susan]

A very nostalgic read about one of my childhood idols. Great novel to reminise the '60's.

[Trish]

Not much to rate with this one. Even for a light fun mystery from days gone by it couldn’t hold my interest. The mystery was given away in the telling of the story and Annette really solved nothing. Disappointing.

[Melody]

As I had mentioned in a previous review, my only knowledge of Annette was these books. They're based on a tv show segment called Annette but I had not seen it. I decided to give the show a watch before beginning this book and I have to say I'm confused. In these books Annette is a gorgeous sophisticated teenager who lives with her modern aunt and uncle in Hollywood. However in the tv show she's just a child, a small town country girl who moves into an old Victorian home with her old fashioned, intellectual aunt and uncle that don't know what to do with a child.

I don't understand how the plot changed so much. Why not base these books simply on a fictionalized Annette Funicello like the Celebrity Authorized Editions

Anyways after my first and only reading of this book I considered it my second favorite next to Sierra Summer. As I just reread Sierra Summer and found it a little lackluster I'm curious what I'll think of this one

SUMMARY:
As the book begins Annette is ready to set off to Pine Flat, Arizona, the hometown of her best friend Lisa Kerry. Traveling alongside Annette and Lisa are Jinx and his Aunt Tish, an artist who wants to paint the Arizona desert and is also doubling as the teenagers chaperone on the long drive.

On the trip Lisa becomes worried something is not right at home when she runs across Swift Rider, a man who had been hired by Lisa's father to head up the renovation of the towns old stagecoach station. Swift Rider informs Lisa there are no workers left on the project but doesn't explain why.
Once they arrive at Pine Flat Lisa and Annette rush to the stage station to speak with her father. He leads them to the back of the station where the burned remains of a connected barn and cottage are. The cottage had been home to Charley, one of Mr. Kerry's workers, and his wife Maria who cooks for the Kerry's. The barn had held all the furniture that was to be used in the station once it was converted into an Inn and included antiques and one-of-a-kind items crafted by the local Navajos. Mr. Kerry says the fire was deliberate and it has become clear someone does not want the Inn to open.

The evening Mr. Kerry is visited by a stranger named John Iverson who is interested in buying the station. He claims his great-grandfather was the first agent to work at the station and he wants to turn it into a home and settle there for sentimental reasons. He only offers to pay half the price that Mr. Kerry bought it for but as the Kerry's are in a tough financial situation, Lon Kerry is considering it. Annette gets a bad vibe from Iverson and rightfully so as we soon find out that he...
You can read the rest of this summary on my blog, vintagegirlsbooks.blogspot.com

REVIEW:
- The illustrations in this book leave a lot to be desired, the faces look grotesque. The cover however is beautiful.

- The Navajos speech is written just awfully. It's not just that they don't speak proper English but its written in short sentences and third person like Asian dialogue was written at the time. So it's a racist stereotype but also the wrong racist stereotype.

- When Annette meets Lisa's father he says he didn't expect Annette to be so pretty since Lisa had told him Annette was smart.....yikes.

- When Iverson offers Mr. Kerry $1,000 for a share in the mining claim Kerry remarks that he's been friends with some people in town his whole life and none of them would give him $1,000. This is so...weird. Why would he expect people to give him money just because they're friends?

- Lisa and Jinx sometimes call Annette 'Nette and I think that's so cute.

- I think Mr. Kerry is an idiot and I'd be so embarrassed to have a father like him. Poor Lisa.

- Something about this book really reminded me of Robin Kane.

- You can read the rest of this review on my blog, vintagegirlsbooks.blogspot.com

- You can see all the art work for this book and many others at Pinterest.com/nancydrewart

- You can support me at Ko-fi.com/vintagegirlsbooks

[Bec]

A fun afternoons' diversion, but a bit silly.

[Dalaina Renee]

Adorable book full of adventure with a touch of Disney magic I know, I want to read more in this series in my future!

[Joy Gerbode]

This book is a fun and light read, but made more interesting by telling the reader more than the characters know; yet there is still suspense as the reader still doesn't know all. Good mystery.

[John Peel]

Annettte visits the family of her friend, Lisa. They are trying to turn an old inn into a tourist attraction, but are having bad luck - or is it luck? A young man Annettte finds suspicious is trying to buy the inn, but why?

Mild children's mystery, told with some skill and sense of fun.

[LobsterQuadrille]

3.5 stars

Not quite as good as Smuggler's Cove, especially in the beginning. The characters sometimes act irrationally, but it works fine as a bit of light fun, and Annette is a likable heroine. I'll definitely keep an eye out for more books from this series.

[Stephen Fodor]

Harmless and easy reading.

[Ann-Marie]

This is a quick and light read that's kind of like a Nancy Drew mystery but with Annette Funicello as the intrepid young sleuth.

[Jane]

I never knew there was a series of Annette mystery adventures. I just wanted to see what it was like.

[Jeni]

3.5 rounded up

[Terri Seymour]

Brought back childhood memories.

[Jami]

Another Whitman adventure that starts slowly, then gets better as it goes along