The early news articles I found on Ms. Comfort were wrong about the series and most were all about her family and her painting career. The below article lists “Phoebe’s Knees as the third in the Vermont Village Murder Series. That may be true but as she published her other books the first two became the Liz Bell Series and the others the Tish McWhinny Series.
The Burlington Free Press
December 21, 1986
Mystery Fans Will Get a Charge Out of ‘Phoebe’s Knee’
“Phoebe’s Knee,” by B. Comfort, Landgrove Press
by Jim DeFilippi
Special to the Free Press
“Phoebe’s Knee” is the third in B. Comfort’s Vermont Village Murder series, following “The Vermont Village Murder” and “Green Mountain Murder.” The formula for the series takes an elderly, spirited woman/sleuth through an unsophisticated plot set in the fictional southern Vermont town of Lofton. References to Vermont’s geography, geology, and history, as well as references to current events like AIDS and crack, again keep the reader entertained and observant. Fans of the series will not be disappointed this time out.
Letitia “Tish” McWhinny, the 65-year-old protagonist of “Phoebe’s Knee,” might think of herself as following in the geriatric footsteps of Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple, but she really comes closer to being a wrinkled Nancy Drew. Tish has an overriding exuberance and a frustrating penchant for walking wide-eyed into calamity. Before she has solved this mystery involving a religious cult called the Right of Right, she has stumbled into a possible ancient Druid cavern (twice), a fistfight, an explosion, a bank heist complete with a machine gun, near electrocution, an attempted rape, and a laundry chute.
Yet she keeps picking herself up, soothing her ancient and aching ribs, refortifying herself with a snack like p.b. and j.’s and bourbon (sustenance that would do Mike Hammer proud), and trudging toward victory.
The novel hammers new slants on the rickety cliches of the mystery form. There is an early disappearance of an endearing stranger (Did he really exist?), a repulsive and avaricious cult leader, and an infiltration of the cult that reminds the reader of John D. MacDonald’s Travis McGee series. There are disguises and confusion, perfidy and upside-down lovemaking.
The headlines concerning the cult in Island Pond, Vt., which existed prior to the writing of the novel, and the one recently having moved into Marlboro, Vt., since the writing of the novel, give the book an even greater “You Are There” feel.
Barbara Comfort, the author of these Vermont mysteries as well as being an accomplished landscape and portrait painter — as is her main character — certainly does not rival the great writers of great mysteries. Her narrative could use a bit more drive, her dialogue a bit more realism, her characters a bit more flesh.
Still, her style has an ingenious, often humorous sense about it which, coupled with the fillips to the Vermont reader of recognizing the home state’s sights and sites and types, makes the book and easy read indeed.
***Jim DeFilippi is a teacher at Winooski High Schoo and writes a weekly column for the Free Press.
Still Looking for More Information and Pictures of the Author
I did finally purchase a copy of the first two books that are in the Liz Bell series. Mom has read them both and enjoyed them tremendously. I cannot wait until I can find some extra time to relax and enjoy a couple of books. Stay Tuned gonna be writing those up next month.
