Customer Reviews

Die drei ??? - Poisoned E-Mail (The Three Investigators)

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"Poisoned E-mail" was the very first German-language Three Investigators title to be translated into English. It is part of the 'American-English' series of books that are intended to help German youngsters improve their understanding and knowledge of the English language. Since this book was first released in 2005, many other stories featuring Jupe, Pete and Bob have been translated and published.

Refreshingly, this tale lacks many of the elements that made the Crimebusters series so unpopular among fans (the nerd, the jock and the pretty-boy are nowhere to be seen here). The author makes good use of modern computing and internet technology without getting clogged down in jargon or unnecessary complexities.

Unfortunately, the quality of the translation is sadly lacking, although tolerable (later titles in this series do see a gradual improvement in the quality of the translation).

In addition, the original German names for the characters are used (Justus Jonas and Peter Shaw), and the boys are collectively referred to as the 'Die Drei ???' instead of 'The Three Investigators'. However, I found myself overlooking these problems once I had read two or three chapters.

What many will consider being the biggest negative is the use of swearing in the dialogue, including terms such as "d*ckhead" (twice), "slimy fat b*gger" and "sly cow".

Despite the shortcomings noted above, I found "Poisoned E-mail" to be a fun, enjoyable and refreshing addition to the Three Investigators canon. I rank this title as being superior to a handful of entries in the original series. Overall, if you can stomach the poor translation, this is a worthy addition to any Three Investigators collection.