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Julie Dare #1
The Dangerous Dollhouse
"Stay away from Montréal — or there'll be a candle burning for you at Notre Dame Cathedral!"
When a mysterious intruder leaves this warning at her home outside Toronto, teenaged sleuth Julie Dare realizes her lmystery involves more than investigating the authenticity of a painting. Did the eccentric painter André Lussac die in a plane? Is his recent painting a forgery? What is the significance of the antique dollhouse in the it? Who is trying to keep Julie from the truth?
When a mysterious intruder leaves this warning at her home outside Toronto, teenaged sleuth Julie Dare realizes her lmystery involves more than investigating the authenticity of a painting. Did the eccentric painter André Lussac die in a plane? Is his recent painting a forgery? What is the significance of the antique dollhouse in the it? Who is trying to keep Julie from the truth?
139 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1988
4 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 4, 2020
“The Dangerous Dollhouse” is a fun discovery. Canada produces a good roster of mystery authors but needs more of them. Using dial-up internet, it was a slog seeking a biography of the correct Sarah Gordon! I urge book owners to fill information in on databases like Goodreads. I gather that this Sarah is the fellow Winnipegger with an artist Mother. This was published in 1988, making Sarah at least 60. That is not old by any means but the first several chapters felt far less modern than 1988. The introduction of Julie and her Dad came off as too-sweet-to-believe and I strove not to view it as a Nancy Drew facsimile. Sappy descriptions make me want to gag: like “eyes sparkling over a mystery” or a “mop of hair”.
The farther we get, with Julie Dare leaving Toronto for Montréal and New York; the more mature and smart she seems. The action and layers are increasingly gruelling. Crime as serious as kidnapping is not plunked onto a page, like an average day at the Stratemeyer Syndicate. The storyline is creative, emotional, and intriguing. Nicholas Dare and Montréaler, André Lussac, had painted in Paris. He was in an aeroplane crash four years prior. A two year-old painting surfaced, which Nicholas was asked to assess for the Montréal exhibition about him. He had a daughter Julie’s age, who had been raised by her Mother. A unique dollhouse in this painting is their best clue and readers observe realistic phases of travelling and legwork in investigating this.
I groaned at the outmoded criminal drawing attention instead of discouraging it, by leaving a lamely written threat! However, this Canadian series is worth knowing, unfortunately ended at only four mysteries in two years. I sense that it vacillated too much between being fluffy and serious.
The farther we get, with Julie Dare leaving Toronto for Montréal and New York; the more mature and smart she seems. The action and layers are increasingly gruelling. Crime as serious as kidnapping is not plunked onto a page, like an average day at the Stratemeyer Syndicate. The storyline is creative, emotional, and intriguing. Nicholas Dare and Montréaler, André Lussac, had painted in Paris. He was in an aeroplane crash four years prior. A two year-old painting surfaced, which Nicholas was asked to assess for the Montréal exhibition about him. He had a daughter Julie’s age, who had been raised by her Mother. A unique dollhouse in this painting is their best clue and readers observe realistic phases of travelling and legwork in investigating this.
I groaned at the outmoded criminal drawing attention instead of discouraging it, by leaving a lamely written threat! However, this Canadian series is worth knowing, unfortunately ended at only four mysteries in two years. I sense that it vacillated too much between being fluffy and serious.
November 5, 2021
This is a mystery set mostly in Montreal, with short spells in Toronto and New York. The main protagonist is an 18 year old girl named Julie Dare, who has an English Canadian father and a French Canadian mother (sadly deceased) and is fluently bilingual. She also has a convenient uncle in the RCMP. The book was published in 1988 and does feel very dated in many ways - no mobile phones or internet access, no need for a passport when travelling to the States - I do remember those happy times, but they are no more, and I wonder what a Canadian child would make of it now.
The story line is thoroughly implausible and rather reminiscent of Nancy Drew and her ilk. It's quite short, so I will not go into plot details, beyond stating that it does involve a dollhouse and is set in Montreal, both trigger words guaranteed to get me to read it. (I was born and brought up in Montreal and have always loved dollhouses...)
I enjoyed the descriptions of Montreal, though they were quite brief and in the case of the Musee des Beaux Arts rather scanty. (I spent most Saturday mornings of my childhood in the art classes there, so would have enjoyed more.)
Altogether a light and entertaining mystery, but not, I fear, a keeper for me.
The story line is thoroughly implausible and rather reminiscent of Nancy Drew and her ilk. It's quite short, so I will not go into plot details, beyond stating that it does involve a dollhouse and is set in Montreal, both trigger words guaranteed to get me to read it. (I was born and brought up in Montreal and have always loved dollhouses...)
I enjoyed the descriptions of Montreal, though they were quite brief and in the case of the Musee des Beaux Arts rather scanty. (I spent most Saturday mornings of my childhood in the art classes there, so would have enjoyed more.)
Altogether a light and entertaining mystery, but not, I fear, a keeper for me.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews