The Deadly Sunshade: An Asey Mayo Mystery by Phoebe Atwood Taylor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I love I found ‘The Deadly Sunshade’ with a sticker proclaiming the book “Brand New Published December 1940”! Finding the book in August of 2017, I decided to push it to the the front of the reading list to read this “Brand New” book. 😀

This light hearted approach of this book is practically non-existent in the book world the last few decades. Carl Hiassen comes close, but in a snide way. Taylor’s book is all in fun with murders to solve. It’s great fun.

The characters are all of Cape Cod and a quirky lot. Taylor well defines each character and does an outstanding job of being consistent with each character. As with a Hiassen or Tim Dorsey book, it helps to know the vicinity. In this case, I do not. Taylor’s dialogue apparently is out to ape the typical accents and local jargon of the area. It’s a nice touch.

The story is very well done. Lots and lots and lots happens to swirl amidst the murders and who did it. Also part of the setup is the war news of the time. Taylor wrote this with the thought that it would be read in 1940. Not anytime after. The book reflects the attitudes of pre-war America, without having any idea what was to occur after December 1940. That is fascinating in itself.

Bottom line: I recommend this book. 7 out of ten points.

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