John Payne was a very popular actor in the 1940's, starring in musicals like Weekend In Havana and the classic Miracle on 34th Street.
Whitman Publishing began a series aimed at young adults 'starring' real-life movie stars in mysteries and adventures. Although these were 'authorized' editions, generally the stars just lent their names to stories - like this title, very often written by one woman in Minnesota, Kathryn Heisenfelt. If the names Bonita Granville, Deanna Durbin, Ann Sheridan, Red Ryder, and Roy Rogers mean nothing to you, then you are not the market for these books.
Artifice aside - I am a fan of John Payne, and a fan of young adult adventures from the 1940's, so I was intrigued enough to read this. It was fun to imagine John fighting off the bad guys.
John Payne arrives at a wintery train station, heading for his friends wedding. Arriving at the house, he finds they have already married (!) and his friend has left town. When his young wife tells John that she has to stay and nurse old Mrs. Parker, who has had a heart attack up at the nearby cottage, John investigates. Snowed in and secluded, Hawk's Nest is the perfect hide out for bad guys, and there are some keeping the few occupants hostage at gunpoint - the caretakers, a granddaughter, and deaf Old Gran. Why they are there is surprisingly barely revealed, and not that important. John and the gang are locked up, then attempt several ways to escape, including hidden tunnels and tricks to overthrow the hoods.
I was impressed by how much doom and tension Kathryn managed to inject into Hawk's Nest, even with its fairly simple language. It kept generating a real feeling of mystery - what is actually going on? - without revealing itself. Quite interesting, and darker than comparable books of the time - basic character development and the motive was thin, but the foreboding black cloud heavy over the cottage successful. I was also surprised by the portrayal of John as sometimes quite weak, not a blazing hero. You would think being a sort of promotional gimmick they would have him be the conquering hero, and it's not so. This won't appeal to everyone, but as a time capsule of adventure stories of mystery for girls and boys, this series deserves a second look. I have a nice looking hardcover, a little foxed on its tanned pages, with intact jacket.
1943 / Hardcover / 248 pages
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