The Secret of Skeleton Island (Three Investigators Classics, No. 6) [Paperback]

Robert Arthur (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 12, 1985 | Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

Jupe, Pete, and Bob's next case sends them to Skeleton Island, an eerie spot inhabited only by pirates' bones and a young girl's ghost. A movie company has chosen the island as the perfect place to make a scary film, but mysterious events are disrupting the crew. They call in the Three Investigators. But just as the boys arrive on the island, so does the ghost!  

Editorial Reviews

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

The Three Investigators made their way into the old cave.  Jupiter's flashlight flicked over rocky crevices and ledges.

Suddenly the light stopped.  There on the edge of a rocky shelf was a human skull.

It seemed to grin at the boys.  And then it spoke to them.  "Go 'way," it sighed, with a strong accent that sounded Spanish.  "Let me 'ave my rest.  No treasure is here.  Only my tired old bones!"

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers; Revised edition (September 12, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394864069
• ISBN-13: 978-0394864068
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #378,788 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Treasure!, November 11, 2006

By 

Lonnie E. Holder "The Review's the Thing" (Columbus, Indiana, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Secret of Skeleton Island (Three Investigators Classics, No. 6) (Paperback)

This book is the sixth in the Three Investigator series. "The Mystery of the Vanishing Treasure" precedes this book, and "The Mystery of the Fiery Eye" follows. As we learned in previous books, the Three Investigators are Jupiter Jones, Pete Crenshaw and Bob Andrews. Jupiter is the intelligent, sometimes inadvertently arrogant member of the group. Pete Crenshaw is typically the muscle of the group. Pete is usually quite fearless. Bob Andrews, who began the series with a broken leg, works at the library and handles records and research for the group. Bob's cast is off now but his leg is still weak.

The three boys travel to Skeleton Island and discover that the island is home to a ghost. The ghost rides the merry-go-round at an abandoned amusement park. The amusement park is to be the site of a film, but the ghostly happenings on the island are frightening local workers away and impeding the progress of the movie. In addition, the island was also supposedly the location where a pirate abandoned his treasure. Local treasure hunters have a habit of trespassing on the island to search for the treasure whenever someone finds a gold doubloon on or near the island. As if these mysteries were not enough, crooks may have hidden their loot near the island.

As with most of the stories in this series, this book was enjoyable to read. However, this book is weaker than most of the previous books in this series. The mystery was relatively mundane and the threats to the boys were frequently accidental rather than intentional. I always recommend starting with the first book in this series, "The Secret of Terror Castle," and I make that recommendation even stronger in the case of this book. You will gain a much better impression of the Three Investigators by starting at the beginning rather than with this book.

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 are well-written books that offer 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.

Enjoy!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ghosts, Pirates, and Treasure--Oh Boy!, August 12, 2001

By 

Daniel Jolley "darkgenius" (Shelby, North Carolina USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Secret of Skeleton Island (Three Investigators Classics, No. 6) (Paperback)

In this adventure, the Three Investigators venture far away from Rocky Beach, California--3000 miles away to a haunted island on the east coast where Pete's father is working to restore an old thrill park for a movie he is working on. Having met with stolen equipment and the appearance of a ghost, the boys are sent for to figure out who is trying to keep the movie company away from Skeleton Island. The boys meet with danger and duplicity at every turn, it seems, getting themselves into even more trouble than usual--several times by their own doing. ...

There aren't really any plot twists or surprises in this story. What seems to me to be the biggest clue to the whole mystery flops out at you like a dead fish right in the middle of the book, and you have to wait until the end to see Jupiter finally seize upon it. Overall, though, it is still a pretty good story. It's hard to go wrong when you are writing about pirates, ghosts, and treasure. My childhood obsession with the secret headquarters at the Salvage Yard obviously continues because I certainly missed it in this book. The boys seemed to be somewhat out of their element here, and it shows. Of course, nothing can stop them from solving a mystery once they are on the case.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's one of the best books I've read!, March 23, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Secret of Skeleton Island (Three Investigators) (Library Binding)

The book is about three investagators that are taping a movie,but well they are taping they acutually experience the tragic story that happend 10 years ago! Trust me you would love this story! Well I'm not finished with the book yet so I don't know the rest but it's really good so far!That's my review!