Kay Tracey #6 The Green Cameo Mystery

In Kay Tracey #6, The Green Cameo Mystery, Kay takes her laundry to Joe Wong's laundry.  When Kay walks in, she hears Mr. Wong muttering about a Cameo Curse.  Kay learns that Wong's daughter, Lotus, is missing, and he is paying Cara Noma, a medium, a lot of money to break the curse.  Kay becomes interested in helping Joe Wong.

This is a book that delivers on many levels.

On page 10, a bloody cross is drawn on Kay's forehead.  Later in the story, a plate glass window is broken, and the glass cuts Kay's forehead in the shape of a cross, right where the bloody cross was drawn.

Kay is drugged by incense and has a crazy dream.

Ethel is really out to get Kay in this book.  She places drugged chocolates in Kay's drink, but fortunately, Kay's drink spills.  Later in the story, Ethel and Pete saw through the back of a chair that is being used in the school's play.  Pete plans to hurl Kay into the chair so that Kay will be injured.

Kay playfully puts her money in a drawer of the mahogany desk at the auction, then she apparently leaves it accidentally.  This is very stupid.

On page 96, Kay hears Mrs. Wong speak in Chinese.  Kay does not understand Chinese, but she "grasped the phonetics very accurately.  These she stowed away in her memory, hoping that she might be able to learn later what they meant."  I have already noted that Kay is just as perfect as the revised text era Nancy Drew, who also has especially outstanding language skills.

On page 147, Kay sees money on Mr. Wong's rug.  She picks it up and puts it in her pocket, planning to give it to Mr. Wong later.  Kay had no business doing that.  How about just putting it on Wong's desk?  Of course, it turns out to be important that Kay keeps the money, but it is totally illogical.  I wouldn't pick up and keep money found inside someone else's house.

Kay is held captive on a boat that is one-half mile from shore.  Kay estimates that she can swim that distance in 25 minutes, so she jumps off the boat and swims to shore.  What an amazing young woman.

Kay is given the Green Cameo at the end of the story, and she keeps it.  Yes indeed, Kay keeps an object that is said to be cursed.  Yikes.  Perhaps we can blame Kay's troubles during the rest of the series on the Cameo Curse.

I did not read the revised text, but the revised text is a rewritten and condensed version of the story.

The book has a plot twist that makes it very good.  This is an excellent story that I thoroughly enjoyed.