The Night of Four Hundred Rabbits - Elizabeth Peters

    1971; 343 pages.  New Author? : No.  Genres: Amateur Sleuth; Travelogue; Mystery-Suspense; Drug Lecture; Mexico.  Overall Rating : 4*/10.

 

    All in all, Carol Farley has coped well.  As a child, she was always closer to her dad than her mom.  George always read books to her, and they loved sharing giggles together at some of the funny parts.  Those were good times.

 

    Then, ten years ago, her dad disappeared.  Without a trace.  Without an explanation.

 

    But it didn’t crush Carol.  She’s a college student now, and has a boyfriend, Danny, to whom she’ll surely get married once she gets her degree.  Today, she’s just returned to school after Christmas vacation, and there’s a letter waiting for her.  Containing a newspaper clipping.  With a photograph.  Of her father.

 

    In good health.  In a tuxedo.  At some swank party.  Enjoying himself.  In Mexico City.

 

    Carol's path is clear.  It’s time to extend her Christmas vacation a few more days and take a trip south of the border.  And have a confrontation.

 

What’s To Like...

    The Night of Four Hundred Rabbits is written in the first-person POV, Carol’s.  It chronicles her trip to Mexico City to get some answers from her father.  On one hand she’s relieved, since paternal foul play can now be ruled out.  On the other hand, she’s pissed since it’s now obvious he voluntarily chose to desert his family a decade ago.

 

    The father-daughter meeting occurs fairly early in the book.  Unsurprisingly it spawns more questions than answers, the first of which of course is: who sent that newspaper clipping to Carol, and why, and how did they know her address?  From there, things quickly get more complicated.

 

    Since she’s in Mexico City, with boyfriend Danny, Carol decides to take in the sights, in particular the old Aztec ruins of Tenochtitlan.  Even though the info-dumps of these archaeological visits were awkwardly written, Carol's trips there were my favorite parts of the story.  Also, since Carol’s Spanish vocabulary is quite limited, it was amusing to watch her struggle to communicate with the locals, yet it was fun to watch her learn a few words in Spanish, as well as gain an appreciation for the Mexican culture and Aztec history.

 

    The ending is adequate but contrived.  The plans of the bad guys are thwarted, but that’s because they arrogantly reveal too much, thus making it easy for the good guys.  I call this the “Austin Powers syndrome”.

 

    The Night of Four Hundred Rabbits is a standalone novel, and quite a divergence from Elizabeth Peters’ more-famous Amelia Peabody series.  I was intrigued by the 400 Rabbits referenced in the book’s title, and which is given two explanations in the text.  To reveal those meanings would be a spoiler.

 

Excerpts...

    “They really dig blondes in the Latin countries.  You don’t think I’d let you go wandering off alone, do you?”

    “My hero,” I murmured, touching my cheek.

    “Your gigolo.  I don’t have a dime.”

    “Oh, stop that.”

    “What’s mine is yours, what’s yours is mine?”

    “Of course, I thought we agreed that money was the lousy root of all evil.”

    “Right.  The thing to do is spend it fast before it can corrupt you.”  (pg. 35)

 

    “I freaked out,” he said.

    “You sure did.”

    “What did I say?  Did you write it down?”

    “No.  You said that the universe was a vast cesspool of love.”

    “What?”

    “That was your best effort.  You said it seventy-nine times.  I counted.  While I was cleaning up the rug where you threw up.”  (pg. 201)

 

Ratings…
    Amazon: 4.1*/5, based on 166 ratings and 25 reviews.

    Goodreads: 3.49*/5, based on 2,025 ratings and 91 reviews.

 

“Hotel,” I said, wishing to God I had taken Spanish instead of World Philosophy in my junior year.  (pg. 191)

    There’s only a smattering of profanity in The Night of Four Hundred Rabbits.  I counted just seven instances in the first third of the book, and they were all of the “milder” 4-letter variety.  Nor is there any sex, which is surprising since college-age Carol is traveling with her beau, yet takes time to mention that she is still a virgin.

 

    Drugs are another matter.  I came away feeling the author’s main purpose for writing this story was to rant about the mortal dangers of drug usage.  Yes, she takes a few jabs at pot, pep pills, and heroin; but mostly she rails against psychedelics of all kinds: mescaline, peyote, LSD, and psilocybin.

 

    As mentioned already, there are some blatantly amateurish info dumps, including a vague reference to Art Linkletter’s daughter’s fatal attempt to fly.  At one point, she also has Carol take an unintended acid trip.  Reading that, all I can say is it's evident that Elizabeth Peters’ research did NOT involve experiencing any hallucinations firsthand.

 

    I’d take a harsher stance on this, except it needs to be noted that The Night of Four Hundred Rabbits was written in 1971, when gazillions of young people were tripping out and Art Linkletter’s daughter had just jumped out of the sixth-floor of a building.

 

    The bottom line is: I found The Night of Four Hundred Rabbits to be a poor read; full of poor writing, poor storytelling, ill-fitting info dumps, and misleading opinions about hallucinogenic drugs.  I’d recommend this book only to those who think Reefer Madness (say what?!) is a great documentary film.

 

    4 Stars.  One last criticism.  On pages 221-225, the author lays down yet another rant, this time about the pointlessness of the game of chess.  Really.  That cuts me deeply since I’ve played and enjoyed chess all my life.  It is quite evident that Elizabeth Peters has never had the slightest urge to learn to play it.