Using lines that we have been introduced to before, the “Deadly Pearlsâ€ unloads upon the listener 3 philosophers, or at least “philosophies“, as E.G. puts it. These “thinkersâ€ are to take us away from the existence we have, “the humdrum livesâ€, to a road of adventure! Thus by derivation of their “eccentricâ€ characters; namely, off center persona’s , we have a thus-described “brainless blondeâ€ who is found nude and oblivious…..promising much with her lack of scruples, a colonel who 'By George' is British, and lastly a spinster who defines existence by Astrology. These characters are neither unique, eccentric, nor are they to prove puzzling. We the listeners know intuitively, nay instinctively, from so much past experience of such banal nonsense, that Miss Barbara Walsh will let down her fraudulent indifference and offer her well exposed goods to our P.I……â€What do you think of my pad?â€….â€You said you would show them to me!â€……Even our arthritic little old lady Nora becomes suggestive, “ I love to feel them in my hands…“I take them to bed with meâ€. These nocturnal adventures must be what E.G. was referring to initially, and certainly they are highlighted by our boring colonel shooting boar at 3AM.

Ahhh…it all comes down to the deadly pearls. Forget the well-worn red herring , without support, reason or explanation, of the push down the cliff or the poisoning by the astrologer based on conflicting signs. “Deadly Pearlsâ€, like “Ghosts at High Noonâ€, features many of the worst aspects of Elizabeth Pennell’s’ writing style. --No coincidence of title with the soon to be cancer ridden Carr who produced a painful novel bespeaking his end of vitality and loss of literary power with a similar titled novel--. Our protagonist is largely sidelined to experiencing over worn characters. Pennell seems more interested in creating a bank account than a story, much in contrast to her fascinating “Stairway to Oblivionâ€.

“The Deadly Pearlsâ€ is not a mystery, it is not a puzzle. It is a focus on titillation as means to save or justify listening to a program for an hour. The “mysteryâ€ is padded beyond Miss Walsh’s obvious atributes.