Customer Reviews

The Three Investigators in The Mystery of the Vanishing Treasure (The Three Investigators, No. 5)

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This book is the fifth in the series. "The Mystery of the Green Ghost" precedes this book, and "The Mystery of Skeleton Island" 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 are visiting a museum when crooks stage a daring heist. The adults on the scene react as adults typically do when Jupiter Jones offers their services, and the boys leave the police to solve the mystery. Fortunately, Alfred Hitchcock has another friend with a mystery to solve. His friend is an older lady who wrote many books about gnomes in the past. However, her gnome stories appear to be coming to life. The Three Investigators soon learn that, gulp, the gnomes are real! Thus begins another unusual mystery that will lead the boys into twists and turns and some of the most dangerous situations the boys have encountered.

This story was a good read, but is a bit weaker than previous books in the series. There are two main problems. First, there are two separate mysteries and the connection between the two seemed a bit contrived. Second, Jupiter Jones not only made a mistake or two, but he made several mistakes, and rather than giving Jupiter a bit of humility, the mistakes contributed to the feeling that the Three Investigators were bumbling about more than they were investigating.

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!

Think the Hardy Boys are too old-fashioned? Had enough of Scooby Doo and "those meddling kids?" Here comes a great alternative. I admit much preferring the Three Investigators to the Hardy Boys, et. al., when I was a kid, and with good reason. Unlike the fairly old-fashioned Hardys, the Three Investigators books always had a contemporary feel. It's three appealing heroes, Jupiter Jones, Pete Crenshaw, and Bob Andrews, unlike the too-perfect-too-be-real Hardys, were everyday, ordinary kids, much like those you knew. And, as befitted Hitchcock and his literary right arm, so to speak, Robert Arthur, there were twists and turns and "hare's breadth 'scapes" aplenty, more than enough to keep your interest.

And what great news to see that "Mystery of the Vanishing Treasure" and the other early Arthur volumes are back with us again. This book was probably the best of the eight that Robert Arthur wrote, and an excellent introduction to the series, for this is a book where all the elements I spoke of earlier come into play. Robert Arthur, incidentally, was the editor of the earlier, and better, Hitchcock anthologies, and contributed several excellent stories to them, as well (Don't read his "Death is a Dream" late at night!). But the Three Investigators were his greatest legacy. As a librarian, I recommend them to my patrons all the time. None of the later authors of the books really got the formula right. Robert Arthur did, and we "Three Investigators" fans, young and old, are grateful.

While this is far from a bad book, it does fall short of the standard Robert Arthur established in the first four books of this series. The story line was rather loosely put together and failed to merge the two sub-plots to my satisfaction. Honestly, even though I am quite open-minded about the paranormal and such matters, a story centered around "gnomes" begins life with some disadvantages. Be that as it may, it may well be that young readers would be attracted most by the things my adult mind shied away from--after all, what kid doesn't like to read about gnomes? As for the "vanishing treasure" at the heart of this mystery, the means by which it was stolen seemed a little far-fetched to me. As for the investigation, the boys sort of stumble through it. While I guess it is important to show Jupiter Jones as human after all, I frankly don't like seeing the youthful genius miscalculate and overlook clues. Jupe's a little slow in this book, but he fortunately does make up for his mistakes in the end. Finally, while the boys do figure a lot of things out (eventually), the sad fact is that luck, even more so than in the previous books, basically saves them from disaster. Success often depends on luck as well as skill, but the boys just seemed a little too lucky this time.

All in all, it is certainly an enjoyable story. If you've never read a Three Investigators book, I wouldn't start with this one, but I would certainly give it a place on my bookshelf and make a point of reading it after gaining a satisfactory introduction to the young sleuths elsewhere. I personally am reading all of these great books from my childhood in order of publication.

I was a big fan of the Three Investigators as a kid, and now my own kids have enjoyed reading them as well. I tried reading a couple of Hardy Boy mysteries when I was young, but found them uninteresting in comparison. Jupiter Jones, Pete Crenshaw, and Bob Andrews always had much more interesting cases to solve and they seemed more like real kids than the Hardy Boys.

While visiting a local museum the lights go out and a jewel-encrusted belt is discovered missing. Jupiter forwardly offers the assistance of the Three Investigators, but of course is turned away. But Alfred Hitchcock calls with another case - an elderly friend who is seeing gnomes (she had written and illustrated books with gnomes before she retired). It's not the high-profile case the boys would like but it sounds interesting. But when the boys start seeing the gnomes too, they stumble into an even bigger mystery and wind up tangled in a situation more dangerous than they could have imagined.

The connections between the two mysteries might feel a bit contrived to an adult but the plot is very clever. Jupiter makes a few mistakes in this fifth book in the series but he always manages to figure everything out in the end. And the stories are never condescending toward the adults in them, even though Jupiter usually outwits them in the end. This is a great series for kids who aren't the most eager readers.

Item shiped in a timely manner and arrived in the described condition. Would use this seller again.

It is refreshing to read a book that does that can be read by all. It was very intriguing and was written quite well.

Each Christmas, Santa would deliver one book to me, one to my sister! We would read them promptly to share and re-read at our leisure! As a parent, my daughter had the opportunity to read them... but Babysitter Club and Amelia Bedelia were more to her liking. As a grandmom, I am re-purhcasing this series for my grandchildren. My sister ended up with the series for her three boys!

These books probably got my love for reading started. I encourage promoting these books - good stories and no need to "pre-read" for safety! These are "good" - period!

I think I may have already listed other Three Investigator books as my all-time favorites, but how could any list be complete without the inclusion of The Mystery of the Vanishing Treasure?! This book has got it all! And just when you think that brainy Jupiter Jones has figured out the mystery... Robert Arthur keeps you guessing to the very last chapter! A definite must-read for any fan of the Three Investigators, and an easy and thrilling read for any child who is reluctant to pick up a book with summer just around the corner. Looking to keep your kids occupied this summer? BUY THIS BOOK! (And all of the other re-issued Robert Arthur titles!)