Title: The Missing Mallard Mystery     

Author: Rod Lewin

Genre: Mystery / Crime Fiction

 

Captain Mitch Blaine, his long-suffering co-pilot, Dr. Beyer, and their trusty World War II PBY Flying Boat, the “Wayward Wind” are back for a fourth exciting adventure in The Missing Mallard Mystery.

This time, the intrepid duo are on the trail of a missing Grumman Mallard flying boat in the Australian Outback. The Mallard was flying from Talbot Bay to Darwin, a journey of a few hours, but two days later, there is no sign of the plane, crew, or the multi-million-dollar cargo of cultured pearls.

Lewin opens this enjoyable installment at Sydney Harbor. The reader is immediately privy to Blaine’s internal musings on the harbor’s history, specifically involving flying boats, while he tinkers in the Wayward Wind with sidekick, Beyer.

Blaine’s thoughts, expressed in the first person, yield pertinent backstory, which ensures this outing effectively stands alone. He is a genial and likable main protagonist who capably carries the narrative from his perspective. He has the occasional, enigmatic moment, as does Beyer, which adds an intriguing layer of individual complexity to both men.

Additionally, within the first few paragraphs, the easy affability between Blaine and Beyer is nicely apparent and is one of the elements that make The Missing Mallard Mystery so entertaining. Beyer’s good-natured grumbling and the men’s amiable banter disguise not only their profound bond but also the pair’s brilliant expertise and fearless nature.

Both of those qualities are prerequisites when Blaine agrees to help his old colleague, Neil O’Malley, locate the lost Mallard for the Paspaley Pearl Company. Although the story is contemporary, its narrative is influenced by the early mid-twentieth century, and it works incredibly well in context.

There is a real Boys’ Own derring-do feel to the novel, with a smattering of pleasant, old-fashioned charm. The majority of the characters are amusingly anachronistic, expressing themselves through nimble and often slightly quaint dialogue that contains echoes of a bygone era.

This is enhanced by the Wayward Wind, which is fully realized as a character in its own right. Lewin brings this antique aerial-amphibious machine to vivid life, writing with gentle enthusiasm and captivating insight. The taking-off and landing scenes are wonderfully written and thrilling to read.

Although relatively taciturn, Beyer possesses an encyclopedic general knowledge, which he often regales Blaine with during lengthy monologues. The information Beyer waxes upon in these discourses is, or will be, relevant to the plot, but they are a touch overlong and become slightly academic in form, albeit fascinating.

The novel’s jaunty tone belies a deliciously curious plot that also offers a level of understated reassurance that Blaine and Beyer will, in consummate style and with a few detours, uncover the truth behind the missing Mallard and the attendant skullduggery.

It’s a neatly crafted mystery with a few unexpected turns and affords the reader some well-depicted character cameos. Cattle station owner Bill Maxwell and Aboriginal tracker Jimmy Bingarrie are especially engaging.

Additionally, Lewin utilizes his familiarity with the remote, unforgiving Outback topography to complementary effect, using its dense terrain and inhospitable climate to yield both assistance and hindrance to Blaine and Beyer.

Notwithstanding several action-packed and violent scenes, Lewin maintains the narrative’s breezy tempo and comic energy throughout. However, he is a little too keen on the use of exclamation marks, which periodically detracts from the more serious areas of the plot.

Written with wit and polish, The Missing Mallard Mystery gives its protagonists, and the reader, a quirky, adventurous escapade loaded with perilous intrigue and nostalgic charm. Lively, absorbing, and pleasantly unusual, Lewin has produced a highly readable fourth episode in his Captain Blaine and Dr. Beyer series.

 

 

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