Lydia
With reports of three corpses already in its wake, the Case of the Missing Sabine Necklace could hardly be called "an investigator's dream..." but $50,000 was $50,000, and Harvey Krim was, after all, Harvey Krim. There was something definitely peculiar -- if not phony -- about Lydia Anderson, Mark Sarbine's maid. This barefoot Texas hillbilly, slack-mouthed and slouching, gave every evidence of subnormal intelligence at first impression. But her accent was all wrong -- more Tidewater Virginia than Texas Coast. And although her face had an idiot's expression, she scrambled an egg with well-coordinated finesse. It had taken the promise of a $50,000 finder's fee to set Insurance Investigator Harry Krim on the trail of the missing jewels; but why had Lydia indulged in this ludicrous masquerade for eight months? And was she the only masquerader?
 Lydia, a not-so-Southern belle, and Harvey, a slightly incompetent and occasionally cowardly investigator, find themselves involved in a series of hilarious and horrifying adventures as they race throught the back alleys of New York City on the trail of the $250,000 necklace with a sinister past. Within a few hours, they climb over a garden wall into an insane cocktail party, climb over third rails in a subway station, and climb into each other's life.
E.V. Cunningham's latest heroine and hero are brash, outspoken, likable people who just can't keep out of trouble. Those readers who enjoyed Cunningham's previous novels, Shirley, Alice, Sylvia, and Phyllis, will delight in the mixture of suspense and humor in LYDIA.
from the dust jacket of the 1964 Doubleday first edition
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