As a contemporary novel, The Vandetnark Mummy incorporates problems and concerns which are a part of the lives of many of her readers. The Halls have separated, and there is the possibility of a divorce. The children discuss it, and the father wonders about the effect upon them. Both Mrs. Hall and Ken Simard's wife are more successful than their husbands. Althea is not sure how this problem could be fairly resolved. When Althea is missing, the possibility of rape is raised by the police but quickly dismissed by Althea when she is rescued. And finally, there is not just an abduction but an attempted murder; Althea would surely have died if Phineas had not found her so quickly. However, these issues are not sensationalized; they are incorporated naturally as the plot develops.