Penny Nichols and the Knob Hill Mystery is the fourth and final volume in the series, from 1939. In this final story, Penny’s father Christopher of the Nichols Detective Agency needs a rest. He rents a cottage in Knob Hill and Penny and father go for a restful vacation. But things change quickly as they get mixed up in the case of a missing man and a stolen diamond necklace.
The Penny Nichols series was written by the prolific author Mildred A. Wirt (Nancy Drew, Penny Parker, Kay Tracey) from 1936 to 1939 under the pseudonym Joan Clark. Wirt was a journalist as well as a novelist. She was the first person (not just woman, person) to earn a master’s degree in journalism at the University of Iowa, in 1927. In addition to her many books, she wrote a newspaper column for 58 years, nearly up to her death in 2002 at the age of 96. Like herself, the heroines in her many book series were strong, self-assured, smart, and courageous. According to research by gutenberg.org, the books in this series are in the U.S. public domain.
Book publisher: The Goldsmith Company, Chicago
Book copyright: 1939
Book edition: Possible first edition, back of jacket lists first three Penny Nichols books, red-orange covers
Pages: 250 (252 bound pages)
Size: 5-3/8″ x 8″
Dust jacket: Yes
Illustrations: No
Digital edition © 2011 Curtis Philips. All Rights Reserved.