Customer Reviews

The Mystery of the Whispering Mummy (Three Investigators #3)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

My introduction to this series was my older brother's slightly worn Scholastic copy of Mystery of the Green Ghost. We both read it several times, and once we found out there were more, look out! We read them from the library, we cajoled Mom into taking us to the mall to buy them, we bought them at a local used bookstore. We were both hooked!
I can recommend every book in this series. My brother and I both read all the Hardy Boys (and liked them a lot), but these blow them out of the water! I think you can get 1-10 new (they've been reprinted), the rest you'll have to get used.
I've still got a complete set, but I'm rebuying them for a nephew. He's as excited about them as I was over 20 years ago. Excellent characters, spooky happenings, and just enough chills to keep a kid's pulse racing.
If you have kids, I can't recommend these highly enough.

I was introduced to Jupiter, Pete and Bob nearly 20 years agoby a wonderful 5th grade teacher that read to our class every day.After she read the Secret of Terror Castle I was hooked and read nearly every one of the books in the series (including this one). I highly recommend these books to parents who want to get their children reading. I've read some of the Animorphs and Goosebumps series and they can't hold a candle to the Three Investigators! I'm now reading them over again with my son. Simply the best read ever! END

I was introduced to this series when I was in the 4th grade (1974)and it was one of the influences that started my life long passion of reading. Perfectly balanced with great story telling and intelligence that is not insulting to a young person. Jupiter, Ben and Pete get themselves involved in great mysteries with the great Alfred Hitchcok to guide them once in awhile. You cant go wrong with a secret hidden clubhouse underneath a pile in a junkyard and a free personal limo and driver. Great adventures in the series, there is not a lame story to be read! Highly recommended!

The Three Investigators do it again, solving their strangest mystery thus far. This case involves a 3000-year-old mummy that mysteriously whispers in some archaic tongue to one professor alone. The boys overcome a number of hurdles set in their way, some involving great personal danger to themselves, to solve this perplexing mystery and, at the same time, return an unusual Abyssinian cat to his loving owner. As the series continues, we learn more and more about the boys themselves and their secret headquarters, see them employing more gadgets in their work, and see the logical gymnastics Jupiter Jones continually performs to find resolutions to case after case. There is more deductive reasoning exhibited in this case than in the trio's previous two adventures, and that only serves to further draw the reader into the world of Rocky Beach, California. As I continue to re-read these classic stories from my youth, my appreciation for the writing of Robert Arthur grows more and more. I was indeed pleased to see that my suspicions in this case proved correct in the end; even had I been wrong, I would not have been embarrassed because Arthur's tight plot works on two levels--that of young readers, who can certainly follow the case with understanding and eager anticipation for each upcoming chapter, as well as that of adults. This is a great mystery story in all regards.

A mummy that whispers? An ancient curse? As a ten year old this book had me thoroughly spooked, yet completely unable to put it down. I couldn't wait to finish it and start reading 'The Mystery of the Green Ghost!' If you're trying to get your kids to read - there is NOTHING better! Blows the Hardy Boys out of the water! The Mystery of the Whispering Mummy ranks as my all-time favorite Three Investigator book! BUY IT FOR YOUR KIDS!!!

I think this book was awesome. It is a really good book for mystery lovers. But if you don't like to be scared at night, don't read it at night! Otherwise, I couldn't put it down. I read it at breakfast, lunch and whenever I was bored.

Quite a few children's mystery book series have become classics. Most people are familiar with Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, and Tom Swift. Even the Boxcar Children are relatively well-known. However, Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators were well-written books that offered an intelligent, interesting and more contemporary alternative to many of the earlier classic series. Many people recall the earlier series well, but the Three Investigators series, which Robert Arthur wrote and debuted in 1964, has, for now, largely been overshadowed by the other series and generally forgotten. Fortunately, all of these books are available either from Amazon or from other internet sources.

This book is the third book in the series, following "The Mystery of the Stuttering Parrot," and preceding "The Mystery of the Green Ghost." This mystery finds the three investigators looking into the mystery of the mummy of Ra-Orkon, which appears to be whispering to the professor that owns the mummy. While we can hope for something genuinely supernatural to happen, we know from the first two stories that the three investigators base their solutions on logic and science.

The three investigators, Jupiter Jones, Pete Crenshaw and Bob Andrews, are puzzled by how the mummy can speak. The obvious answer is some sort of radio, but there is none. A ventriloquist is also ruled out. Just how can the mummy be speaking? Perhaps there is something supernatural happening in this story! The supernatural investigation must wait because the mummy of Ra-Orkon is taken. Soon the sarcophagus of Ra-Orkon is taken; only the sarcophagus contains two boys! Things are heating up for the three investigators.

Perhaps the biggest question of all for readers is why is Ra-Orkon valuable? There were no jewels or valuables found with Ra-Orkon. Is the cat that appears truly the spirit of Ra-Orkon, determined to see his mummy returned to his homeland? These are but a few of the mysteries awaiting readers.

I enjoyed this Three Investigators novel. I was unable to figure out the whispering mummy and had to await the answer revealed by Robert Arthur, the author. There were moments when at least one member of the Three Investigators seemed to be in real danger. Robert Arthur managed to unfold the story in a way that kept me interested without revealing the answers too soon.

If you are looking for mystery books for children and you are looking for an alternative to the stories I listed earlier, I highly recommend the Three Investigator series. I do recommend starting with the first book in the series, which is an excellent introduction to this series.

Enjoy!

I've a soft spot in my heart for The Three Investigators. Originally conceived in the 60s as a knock-off Hardy Boys series, the adventures follow three boys who run their own detective agency. One boy is the nerdy smart one, one boy is the brawn, and one boy (Jupiter Jones: former child model) is the leader of the crew. The boys set their headquarters in an old mobile home trailer, hidden beneath a pile of junk at the Jones Salvage Yard. Their mysteries tended to mimic that of Scooby Doo in some ways. In each book someone is threatened by a supposed supernatural force. It is up to our three intrepid explorers to solve the mystery and save the day. For a time, Alfred Hitchcock allowed his name to be associated with the series, even going so far as to include a special note at the beginning of every mystery. In time, however, his name was dropped and "Alfred Hitchcock and The Three Investigators" was shortened to the less wordy, "The Three Investigators". As a young girl, I loved these superficially male books. Who doesn't want a secret headquarters under a junkyard? Or to solve mysteries with names like, "The Secret of Skeleton Island" or "The Mystery of the Talking Skull". These books are so enjoyable that kids of every gender will gravitate towards them.

This particular mystery, "The Mystery of the Whispering Mummy" is a good starter Three Investigators book. In it, the tale follows a mysterious mummy, known to whisper Egyptian incantations in the dead of night. When the mummy disappears without a trace, the three boys have to separate fact from fiction in an effort to locate its remains and solve its loose tongue. Lots of fun and surprisingly absent of Arab stereotypes. The boys make friends with an Egyptian lad and his part is played out without any racial barbs or slurs (amazing, due to the book's original 1965 publication). Enjoy this rollicking adventure and expect a good time.

The item was what I expected and arrived much quicker than expected. I would gladly purchase from this seller again. Thanks

Jupiter, Pete, and Bob (the Three Investigators) have their third case and this one is stranger than ever. An archaeologist in Hollywood has a mummy which he claims is whispering to him. He doesn't know what it's saying and is afraid of being thought crazy, but he's willing to let the boys help. They also meet a young Libyan boy who's come to bring the mummy Ra-Orkon home, but things get dangerous when Pete and the Libyan boy are inadvertently kidnapped.

This book was perhaps a bit more exciting than the previous two, but my son and I thought it wasn't quite as clever. This is a series I read/devoured as a kid back in the 70s, and I enjoyed reading it with my son. The characters are extremely likeable and it always made me wish I had access to a "salvage yard" and could fix and figure out things like Jupiter Jones. Rereading these books brings back fond memories and I can almost *smell* the library again, but I think many young readers would enjoy this exciting and well-written series. It is unfortunately underappreciated and almost forgotten today.