Kim Aldrich #1 Miscalculated Risk and #2 Silent Partner

The Kim Aldrich series was written by Virginia "Jinny" McDonnell and was published by Whitman.  The series consists of four books.

1.  Miscalculated Risk, 1972
2.  Silent Partner, 1972
3.  The Deep Six, 1972
4.  The Long Shot, 1974

Kim Aldrich is an insurance investigator.  She is out of high school, but her age is not given.  I assume that Kim is somewhere between 18 and 20 years of age.

These books read very much like the more exciting boys' series books.  One could also say that they are skewed towards young adult.  These are not your typical Whitman children's books.  The stories are deeply suspenseful and involve murder.  In each book, Kim is accompanied by an attractive young man.  Kim's companion is different in each book by necessity, since Kim is attracted to the young man but cannot completely trust him.

In Kim Aldrich #1, Miscalculated Risk, the Madden family is suing the city of Neadham.  Their son, Pete, slipped on rocks on the beach and was crippled.  The family contends that the city had no warning signs about the slippery rocks, while the city claims that they did.

Kim becomes acquainted with the Maddens' attorney, Andy Hill, and she helps him investigate.  Kim and Andy quickly learn that someone is trying to keep them from discovering the truth and that this person will resort to murder to keep the facts hidden forever.

At one point in the story, it is revealed that Pete was adopted.  Kim acts like the adoption could have some huge bearing on the case, like any shenanigans would have something to do with him being adopted.  It is really odd.

This is a rather excellent story.  The entire book is deeply suspenseful.  Kim is quite obviously in grave danger, and someone is murdered.  This a great mystery.

In Kim Aldrich #2, Silent Partner, Kim is on a ski vacation in the Austrian Alps.  While on a ski lift, she becomes friendly with Jim Whitcomb and a young boy named Roby.  Both Jim and Roby fascinate Kim.  Sometimes they are friendly, and other times they seem to ignore her like they are unaware of her presence.

Kim witnesses an attack on a skier where his ski poles are stolen.  The melee results in two deaths, and Jim will not let Kim tell the authorities what she witnessed.  Later, Roby disappears, and Jim gradually confides in Kim what he knows about the mysterious events in the Austrian alps.  As Jim and Kim search for Roby, they must also keep away from some very dangerous men.

Kim does really dangerous things in these books, very much like what the Hardy Boys do in the Hardy Boys Digest books.  On page 199, Kim climbs up to the top floor of a building via the balconies.  Nancy Drew was never allowed to do activities like that.

These books are quite suspenseful and are extremely good mysteries.

Both of these books are outstanding.

Kim Aldrich #3 The Deep Six and #4 The Long Shot