The Perennial Boarder

The Perennial Boarder is a republication of a 1941 mystery by Phoebe Atwood Taylor. As the back of the book tells us, "Taylor was one of the first mystery writers to give a regional and rural rather than urban focus during the time known as the "golden age" of mystery writing." While Ms. Taylor died in 1976 (at age 67), her many books live on. The Perennial Boarder is quirky and cozy, yet that hardly makes it slow-paced. The rapid-fire discoveries, wide cast of beautifully-drawn characters, and hilarious antics keep your head spinning and your neurons firing page after page. Despite the number of characters, I never became confused---characterization is clearly one of Ms. Taylor's strongest points, as is description. Taylor has carried her characters to the extreme, and made them so delightful that you just can't resist spending time with them. I found that the anticipation of "whodunit" ended up being far less interesting than just finding out what all these unique characters were up to! Anyone who's primarily accustomed to modern mysteries and procedurals would most likely be driven insane by actions that modern lawyers would use to drive gaping holes through a case, but this isn't a modern mystery, and I think anyone who enjoys the genre knows you just kind of have to set those sensibilities aside and enjoy the ride.