The Mystery of Carlitos

Saalfield, 1936. hardcover. Acceptable/Missing. 0x0x0. Saalfield Publishing Co [Published Date: 1936]. Hardcover, 247 pp. In acceptable condition/ NO dust jacket. Undated reprint edition circa 1940's. Green cloth covered boards with black lettering on front and spine. Chipping and fraying to cloth over corners and edges of spine. Moderate to heavy overall scuffing and soiling to covers as well with the black lettering on the front and spine almost completely rubbed off. Front and rear covers are pulling away from the text block but are still attached and text block binding is still solid. Chipping to top corner of front free end paper and title pages. Pages are quite dark from aging but otherwise unmarked with occasional nicks and tears to edges of pages. Not Ex-library. An acceptable reading copy. Nice frontis-piece illustration. The Mystery of Carlitos is book tow of a three title series originally published in 1936 by A. L. Burt under the series name Mexican Mystery Stories for Girls. The series was reprinted by Saalfield during the 1940s . Helen Randolph is a pseudonym for Virginia Fairfax and Helen Allan Ripley. Ripley lived in Mexico as a child and came back to the United States after her marriage. The two women led a Girl Scouts troop and became interested in writing due to the interest their scouts had in the stories they told while on camping trips. The series follows the adventures that are shared by Jo Ann Cutrer, her friend Peggy, and Peggy's old friend Florence Blackwell as the three girls explore Mexico. Jo Ann is adventurous and always looking for a mystery to solve. Florence is a native American who has lived half of her life in Mexico and speaks both English and Spanish fluently. Florence proves to be a great aid to Jo Ann since she is able to speak both languages. Peggy is more timid and tries unsuccessfully to convince Jo Ann to stay away from trouble. The Mystery of Carlitos takes place high in the mountains of Mexico, where Jo Ann and Peggy spend a summer with Florence Blackwell and her invalid mother. Near them lives a poor Mexican family which the girls befriend. Jo Ann is curious about Carlitos, whose bright blue eyes contrast strangely with the brown eyes of his brothers and sisters. The entire family lives in dread of a man they call the "mean boss." One day Carlitos disappears mysteriously, and the three girls join in the search for the kidnapper. They travel over a wild mountain trail during a violent storm and just as they are about to rescue Carlitos, they themselves are kidnapped and forced to enter an old deserted mine.How they manage their escape and solve the mystery surrounding the blue-eyed Carlitos provides entertainment and excitement which no lover of mystery stories will want to miss.