THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY #2: THE HAUNTED HALL Chapter 6 “Morning at Satan Hall”

Plot synopsis: Laurie wakes up to a beautiful sunny morning and wonders if she had imagined the sounds she heard in the mansion. Shirley calls her down for breakfast. But on her way, Laurie hears Duke and his band of squatters. When Laurie goes to investigate, they abduct her and hide her in a room. Meanwhile, Turnbull, still in his sanatorium bathrobe, returns to the mansion and breaks into the basement, intent on starting it on fire. The Partridges worry about Laurie’s whereabouts and search for her. When a helicopter arrives at the mansion, the squatters panic and let Laurie go. The Partridges discover that in the helicopter is “Jerry Jingo himself – the movie star with a flair”. (I’m sure writer Michael Avallone knew what he was doing…but I wondered if it should have read “the movie star with flair” or “the movie star with a flare.”) ************** Character development: Shirley is described as “looking like a million dollars”, always looking good with “a perfect peaches and cream complexion” and, in case you missed it, as “pretty”. Christopher and Tracy seem not to have finicky tastes as they are “busily engaged eating plain white bread with milk” while Danny and Keith were mumbling about the “plainness of their fare”. ************* Relevant Social Issues: “Non-violence” Laurie scolds her abductors, “I thought you were real rock people… dedicated to non-violence.” (The book was written post Altamont, but…) **************** Hip slang: “dig”, “Sorry, chick”, “the Fuzz”, “loco”, and “man oh man”. *************** Contemporary Pop Culture references: None ************** Favorite sentence: “Girls were always doing silly things, weren’t they?”