Margaret Millar: Mermaid (USA 2017)

From the Publisher:
Mexican-American lawyer turned P.I., Tom Aragon, investigates the disappearance of Cleo Jasper, a young woman who is as beautiful as she is simple-minded. Her doting brother will stop at nothing to find his defenseless sister, but Aragon realizes that he has once again found himself in over his head when Cleo's friend turns up dead amidst a sea of somewhat dubious suicide notes.

Tom Aragon receives a strange visit at his law office: a 22-year-old woman named Cleo Jasper, self-described as mentally retarded, comes in to ask him about her rights. The visit lasts fifteen minutes, then Cleo wanders off. Two days later, Tom Aragon is visited by a different Jasper: Cleo's older brother, Hilton, her legal guardian. Cleo has disappeared and Hilton Jasper wants to hire the lawyer to find her and bring her back. Has Cleo, a legal adult, taken stock of her "rights" and run away? Or did someone take advantage of the simple, suggestible young woman, and something more sinister is afoot?

In this carefully-drawn character study, master of suspense Margaret Millar reveals hard and poignant truths about mental illness, the exploitability of those affected, and the challenges for their families, loved ones, and caretakers.

Margaret Millar: Mermaid. A Tom Aragon Novel. Soho Press, ISBN: 9781681990071 (September, 2017), eBook, 1.38 MB (ca. 208 p.), $4.99.

Margaret Millar: Mermaid (UK 1992)

From the Publisher:
Cleo Jasper is 22, beautiful, rich and mentally disturbed. And she has gone missing. Her special school, Holbrook Hall, has not seen her. Shortly before her disappearance, she had called at the office of young Hispanic lawyer Tom Aragon. She wanted to know her rights. And so her brother, Hilton, hires Aragon to track Cleo down and bring her home.

In a trailer park, far removed from the kind of place Cleo is used to, Tom Aragon finds her closest friend, a counsellor at Holbrook Hall - dead. But no sign of Cleo. She is as elusive as a mermaid, and the hunt takes on a new urgency...

'Millar excels... Superlative!' -- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
'Margaret Millar is a superb writer with a deep understanding of human beings and a continuous rustle of wit' -- H.R.F. KEATING

Margaret Millar: Mermaid. Allison & Busby, ISBN: 0749001100 (July, 1992), 205 p., £3.99.

Margaret Millar: Mermaid (USA 1991)

From the Publisher:
Cleo Jasper, a beautiful woman in her early twenties drops out of sight while attending an exclusive school for the learning disabled. Shortly before her disappearance, she had wandered into the law offices of Tom Aragon, the engaging young hero of Ask for Me Tomorrow and The Murder of Miranda. Cleo's older brother Hilton, hires Aragon to find the vulnerable girl and bring her back home. Hilton's dedication to his little sister is tinged with guilt - and perhaps something more - for he has already alienated his wife and son by his devotion to Cleo.

In a trailer park, far from the kind of environment Cleo has been used to, Aragon finds the body of her closest friend, a counselor at the school. The corpse is surrounded by suicide messages, one of them addressed to Cleo. But he doesn't find Cleo, who remains as elusive and as slippery as a mermaid.

Agatha Christie was a great admirer of Margaret Millar's work becuase "she is always different." She always is. Mermaid is a striking example of her storytelling skill and her never-failing ability to surprise.

Margaret Millar: Mermaid. International Polygonics, ISBN: 1558821147 (October, 1991), 215 p., $8.95.

Margaret Millar: Mermaid (USA 1982)

From the Publisher:
Cleo Jasper, a beautiful woman in her early twenties drops out of sight while attending an exclusive school for the learning disabled. Shortly before her disappearance, she had wandered into the law offices of Tom Aragon, the engaging young hero of Ask for Me Tomorrow and The Murder of Miranda. Cleo's older brother Hilton, hires Aragon to find the vulnerable girl and bring her back home. Hilton's dedication to his little sister is tinged with guilt - and perhaps something more - for he has already alienated his wife and son by his devotion to Cleo.

In a trailer park, far from the kind of environment Cleo has been used to, Aragon finds the body of her closest friend, a counselor at the school. The corpse is surrounded by suicide messages, one of them addressed to Cleo. But he doesn't find Cleo, who remains as elusive and as slippery as a mermaid.

Agatha Christie was a great admirer of Margaret Millar's work becuase "she is always different." She always is. Mermaid is a striking example of her storytelling skill and her never-failing ability to surprise.

Margaret Millar was born in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, and educated at the Kitchener Collegiate Institute and the University of Toronto. In 1938 she married Kenneth Millar, better known under his pen name of Ross Macdonald, and for over forty years they have enjoyed a unique relationship as a husband and wife who have successfully pursued separate writing careers.

She published her first novel, The Invisible Worm, in 1941. Now, over four decades later, she is publishing her twenty-fourth work of fiction. During that time she has established herself as one of the great practitioners in the field of mystery and psychological suspense. Her work has been translated into more than a dozen foreign languages, appeared in twenty-six paperback editions and been selected sixteen times by book clubs. She received an Edgar Award for the Best Mystery of the Year with her classic Beast in View; and two of her other novels, The Fiend and How Like an Angel, were runners-up for that award. In addition, she is a past President of the Mystery Writers of America and in 1962 received the Los Angeles Times Woman of the Year Award. With Mermaid, she once again reveals that sure touch that has brought her such renown.

Margaret Millar: Mermaid. A Novel of Suspense. New York: William Morrow & Co., 1982, ISBN: 0688007937, 215 p., $11.50.