I read and reviewed Maryellen's two classic books way back in December 2015. If you go back to that review, you'll see I had pretty big issues with them. I got partway through Maryellen's first mystery, then decided to quick reread her classics as a refresher. This time around, I didn't feel the same level of animosity towards the books, although the polio issue and how poorly her friends and family treated her still rankles me a lot.
So I was in a decent frame of mind when I got back into The Finders-Keepers Rule, which is a story about sunken ships and treasure seekers. Definitely a unique topic and I liked the story quite a bit. Maryellen and Davy are the central characters, although Jerry and Joan both play larger roles, too. The story could almost be set in modern times, except I'm sure there are stricter rules about treasure finds these days.
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Maryellen's second mystery, The Runaway, tackles a topic AG mysteries have already handled. Just as Maryellen on the cover is borrowing her hairstyle from Melody, she's also borrowing the dognapping theme from Kit. And Kit did it much better. Kit's story seemed much more believable in the days of the depression when people did desperate things for money. In Maryellen's book, the dogs are being stolen in broad daylight right from people's yards, and once there was even a kid right there, and they're being sold to a local pharmaceutical company. There's a climactic scene with Maryellen, Davy, Wayne, Angela and practically all the Larkins, minus Dad and Joan, crashing their way into the pharmaceutical lab and rescuing the dogs. The whole book is a combination of boring (I set it down for a couple days and forced myself to finish it tonight) and over the top.
So two thumbs up for The Finders-Keepers Rule and one thumb sorta sideways for The Runaway. Which isn't even a good title, because it's pretty quickly established that Scooter did not run away.
Still, I like Maryellen better having read these, so that's good anyway. Next up, Melody!
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