Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} by Stuart Palmer The Penguin Pool Murder by Stuart Palmer. For the third graders at Jefferson School, a field trip is always a treat. But one day at the New York Aquarium, they get much more excitement than they bargained for. A pickpocket sprints past, stolen purse in hand, and is making his way to the exit when their teacher, the prim Hildegarde Withers, knocks him down with her umbrella. By the time the police and the security guards finish arguing about what to do with Chicago Lew, he has escaped, and Miss Withers has found something far more interesting: a murdered stockbroker floating in the penguin tank. With the help of Detective Oscar Piper, this no-nonsense spinster embarks on her first of many adventures. The mystery is baffling, the killer dangerous, but for a woman who can control a gaggle of noisy third graders, murder isn’t frightening at all. “One of the world’s shrewdest and most amusing detectives.” —New York Times. “[Withers is] of the first and still one of the best.” —Anthony Boucher. “Full of fun and delightful people. A really terrific plot.” —Chicago Daily News, on Four Lost Ladies. Buy this book from one of the following online retailers: The Penguin Pool Murder (1932) is a comedy/ starring as Hildegarde Withers, a witness in a murder case at the New York Aquarium, with James Gleason as the police inspector in charge of the case, who investigates with her unwanted help, and Robert Armstrong as an attorney representing Mae Clarke, the wife of the victim. Oliver's appearance was the first of three as Hildegarde Withers, the schoolteacher/sleuth based on the character from the 1931 novel The Penguin Pool Murder by Stuart Palmer. Three other films were made in the series, with other actresses playing the part. The Penguin Pool Murder — Stuart Palmer. Miss Hildegarde withers comes to the New York Aquarium to see the Galapagos penguins--not a corpse. But there, floating before her very eyes, grotesquely out of place, is the late Gerald Lester, Will Street broker. Inspector Piper of NYPD's Homicide deduces that this is "a mawkish love triangle." Miss Withers agrees it is a case of murder, but not a triangular one. There are many more dark corners to explore. Who did Lester's beautiful wife meet behind the stairs? What did a pickpocket see? How did Miss Withers's hatpin become a lethal weapon? Who is the suspect in the fancy Fedora? Miss Withers applies her sharp eye for clues and keen ear for lies to unravel a web of deceit that stretches from the scene of the crime to wall Street. Sorting through a school of red herrings, she triumphantly makes the catch of the day in this baffling case of murder most fishy. The Penguin Pool Murder. For the third graders at Jefferson School, a field trip is always a treat. But one day at the New York Aquarium, they get much more excitement than they bargained for. A pickpocket sprints past, stolen purse in hand, and is making his way to the exit when their teacher, the prim Hildegarde Withers, knocks him down with her umbrella. By the time the police and the security guards finish arguing about what to do with Chicago Lew, he has escaped, and Miss Withers has found something far more interesting: a murdered stockbroker floating in the penguin tank. With the help of Detective Oscar Piper, this no-nonsense spinster embarks on her first of many adventures. The mystery is baffling, the killer dangerous, but for a woman who can control a gaggle of noisy third graders, murder isn’t frightening at all. The Penguin Pool Murder is part of the Hildegarde Withers Mysteries series, which also includes and Murder on Wheels . A dead stockbroker in a penguin tank leads Miss Withers to a shocking mystery. For the third graders at Jefferson School, a field trip is always a treat. But one day at the New York Aquarium, they get. Description. A dead stockbroker in a penguin tank leads Miss Withers to a shocking mystery. For the third graders at Jefferson School, a field trip is always a treat. But one day at the New York Aquarium, they get much more excitement than they bargained for. A pickpocket sprints past, stolen purse in hand, and is making his way to the exit when their teacher, the prim Hildegarde Withers, knocks him down with her umbrella. By the time the police and the security guards finish arguing about what to do with Chicago Lew, he has escaped, and Miss Withers has found something far more interesting: a murdered stockbroker floating in the penguin tank. With the help of Detective Oscar Piper, this no-nonsense spinster embarks on her first of many adventures. The mystery is baffling, the killer dangerous, but for a woman who can control a gaggle of noisy third graders, murder isn’t frightening at all. The Penguin Pool Murder is part of the Hildegarde Withers Mysteries series, which also includes Murder on the Blackboard and Murder on Wheels . Advance Praise. One of the world’s shrewdest and most amusing detectives.” — The New York Times. “[Withers is] of the first and still one of the best.” — Anthony Boucher. “Full of fun and delightful people. A really terrific plot.” — The Chicago Daily News , on Four Lost Ladies. One of the world’s shrewdest and most amusing detectives.” — The New York Times. “[Withers is] of the first and still one of the best.” — Anthony Boucher. The Penguin Pool Murder (1931) Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Interesting to read a mystery dated 1931. Besides the utter lack of technology, the reader gets a peek at how offices were run, the implicit racism of the day ("little black Abraham"), and gender bias to name a few startling commonplaces. The plot itself is so rife with possible motives, opportunities, and means that I give Palmer kudos for keeping it all straight without a spreadsheet! ( ) Great pains have been taken in the production of this audio book through accents and the like to emphasise both the New York setting of this story and the period in which it is set, just after the Wall street crash. I found the premise of an NYPD detective in investigative partnership with a spinster school teacher rather unlikely but the plot is an intriguing one, and despite the early arrest of the victim's wife's lover, there are a number of possible candidates, all of whom are explored as the plot unfolds. The truth, when it "outed", came as a surprise, because I had not considered that particular possibility, indeed did not think that particular person had any motive. But perhaps I should have asked myself why he was at the Aquarium that particular morning. You will have noted that this is #1 in the Hildegarde Withers series. Will I read another? I'm not sure. In some ways this novel was a bit dated, but then again a number of titles in the series have recently been released in audio format, so I might. ( ) The Penguin Pool Murder by Stuart Palmer. PENGUIN POOL MURDER, THE. (director: George Archainbaud; screenwriters: Willis Goldbeck/b ased on a story by Lowell Brentano and the novel by Stuart Palmer ; cinematographer: Henry Gerrard ; editor: Jack Kitchin; music: Max Steiner ; cast: Edna May Oliver (Hildegarde Withers), Robert Armstrong (Barry Costello), James Gleason (Oscar Piper), Mae Clarke (Gwen Parker), Donald Cook (Philip Seymour), Edgar Kennedy (Donovan), Joe Hermano (Chicago Lew) , Guy Usher (Gerald Parker), Gustav von Seyffertitz(Dr. Max Bloom) ; Runtime: 70; MPAA Rating: NR; producers: Kenneth Macgowan/David O. Selznick ; RKO; 1932) “M ost engaging crime detective narrative. “ Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz. RKO Pictures could have had one of the great detective series which it launched in 1932, which starred Edna May Oliver in The Penguin Pool Murder . But she left the series after only two more installments, leading to a rapid decline in the quality of future films. Veteran B-film director George Archainbaud (“Hunt the Man Down”/”Wagon Team”/”Apache Country”) does a great job with the pacing and comic timing to tell in his unique visual style this most engaging crime detective narrative. The witty screenplay by Willis Goldbeck is b ased on a story by Lowell Brentano and the novel by Stuart Palmer. In the opening scene the New York City Aquarium director Bertrand Hemingway (Clarence Wilson) violently complains on the phone to his unscrupulous stock broker Gerald Parker (Guy Usher) that he cheated him and thereby he lost all his money. At home Gerald accuses his pretty trophy wife Gwen ( Mae Clarke) of being unfaithful, as he overhears her talking to her former lover Philip Seymour ( Donald Cook ) about meeting him at the aquarium and slaps her hard across the face. At the aquarium, sharp-tongued elderly spinster schoolteacher Hildegarde Martha Withers ( Edna May Oliver ) trips up deaf-mute pickpocket Chicago Lew ( Joe Hermano ), but he escapes from the bumbling police. Then Ms. Withers halts her class tour, as she asks her students to find her missing hatpin. The pin is found by the side of the penguin pool, where Gerald’s dead body is found floating in the penguin pool. Inspector Oscar Piper (James Gleason) heads the investigation, but Ms. Withers proves to be a better detective and teams up with the inspector in his investigation despite this being a blow to his pride. Meanwhile ambulance chasing lawyer Barry Costello ( Robert Armstrong ) talks murder suspect Gwen into retaining him as his lawyer and her sappy boyfriend Philip confesses to a crime he didn’t commit by saying he drowned the vic. When the medical lab report comes back saying that the victim’s cause of death was that he was stabbed in the right ear by Ms. Withers’ hatpin and not drowned as first thought, Ms. Withers lays a plan down to trap the clever killer. Edna May Oliver was perfect for this role, and her feisty performance made the film glide along at a fast pace. It’s a gem; a film far superior to the Charlie Chan serial and most others of the same type–and, in my opinion, the Oliver characterization is even more entertaining than ’s Miss Marple .