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bev_reads_mysteries's review
3.0
Jupiter Jones, chief investigator of The Three Investigators detective agency, decides that he wants to attend an auction and brings fellow investigators, Pete Crenshaw and Bob Andrews, along. It's all part of the gathering of experiences so they can be well-informed detectives. While at the auction, Jupiter becomes interested in an old trunk that belonged to the Great Gulliver. The Great Gulliver was a mediocre magician who had one great trick--a talking skull who could predict the future. He is the only bidder and becomes the proud owner for only $1.
He's barely taken possession of the trunk before people start clamoring to buy it from him. There's the elderly lady who reached the auction just moments too late to bid and offers $25 for it, and Maximilian the Magnificent who flaunts $100 and claims to want the trunk of his good friend Gulliver "for old times sake." There's also the mysterious men who keep hanging around The Jones Salvage Yard, owned by Jupiter's aunt & uncle, and who try to steal the trunk. Obviously, the trunk holds a valuable secret--but is it more than just a talking skull magic trick? Once Socrates, the skull, begins talking to him, Jupiter and The Three Investigators just might find out! [synopsis from previous review]
I read this one five years ago in a fit of nostalgia...and because it fit the Birth Year Reading Challenge I was doing at the time (yes, the book is every bit as old as I am...). I read a more recent edition found at our local library and mentioned at the time that I was disappointed that Alfred Hitchcock was no longer the boys' sponsor. Since then I found a 1969 edition and decided to revisit the book (courtesy of another challenge's random selection process). As a collector as well as a reader, it was a very pleasing experience to read this in the original format even though Hitchcock's presence didn't really add much to the proceedings beyond nostalgia. But nostalgia can go a long way sometimes and this made for a nice, cozy morning's read.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.
He's barely taken possession of the trunk before people start clamoring to buy it from him. There's the elderly lady who reached the auction just moments too late to bid and offers $25 for it, and Maximilian the Magnificent who flaunts $100 and claims to want the trunk of his good friend Gulliver "for old times sake." There's also the mysterious men who keep hanging around The Jones Salvage Yard, owned by Jupiter's aunt & uncle, and who try to steal the trunk. Obviously, the trunk holds a valuable secret--but is it more than just a talking skull magic trick? Once Socrates, the skull, begins talking to him, Jupiter and The Three Investigators just might find out! [synopsis from previous review]
I read this one five years ago in a fit of nostalgia...and because it fit the Birth Year Reading Challenge I was doing at the time (yes, the book is every bit as old as I am...). I read a more recent edition found at our local library and mentioned at the time that I was disappointed that Alfred Hitchcock was no longer the boys' sponsor. Since then I found a 1969 edition and decided to revisit the book (courtesy of another challenge's random selection process). As a collector as well as a reader, it was a very pleasing experience to read this in the original format even though Hitchcock's presence didn't really add much to the proceedings beyond nostalgia. But nostalgia can go a long way sometimes and this made for a nice, cozy morning's read.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.
asocialwitch27's review
adventurous
inspiring
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
sisyphus_dreams's review
5.0
Another top-notch mystery for boys from Robert Arthur. He had a gift for creating situations that fascinate children; his books gave me endless hours of enjoyment as a boy, and now they're doing the same for my son (and for me again, too; the books are as fun to read aloud as they were to read in the first place!). The Three Investigators books are, in the most complimentary sense of the word, pure brain candy - compulsively readable and re-readable, with a perfect blend of puzzles, drama, excitement and humor.
As in the other Three Investigators books, Jupiter Jones (the brainy, chubby one), Pete Crenshaw (the athletic, nervous one) and Bob Andrews (the studious one) are faced with another mystery: a skull that talks, and mysterious men who apparently want that skull very badly indeed. All the usual secondary characters are present, including Headquarters itself. As always, I strongly recommend that you seek out a copy that features Alfred Hitchcock himself, rather than one of the poorly re-written later editions that replaced Hitchcock with a fictional character. Also, do yourself a favor and try to find a copy with the excellent Harry Kane illustrations!
There was one small additional chuckle for me when I read the books to my son recently; I'm pretty sure I caught a shout-out from Robert Arthur to one of his contemporaries, one who happens to be another favorite author of mine. I didn't know if they knew each other (although their writing styles are actually rather similar), but a reporter who helps the boys out a bit is named Fred Brown. If that's not a reference to [a:Fredric Brown|51503|Fredric Brown|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1234483488p2/51503.jpg]...well, I'm pretty sure that it must be. For one thing, the real Brown was also a newspaper reporter, at least for a while.
It's an outstanding book, one that belongs in the collection of anyone who enjoys exciting, thought-provoking mysteries.
As in the other Three Investigators books, Jupiter Jones (the brainy, chubby one), Pete Crenshaw (the athletic, nervous one) and Bob Andrews (the studious one) are faced with another mystery: a skull that talks, and mysterious men who apparently want that skull very badly indeed. All the usual secondary characters are present, including Headquarters itself. As always, I strongly recommend that you seek out a copy that features Alfred Hitchcock himself, rather than one of the poorly re-written later editions that replaced Hitchcock with a fictional character. Also, do yourself a favor and try to find a copy with the excellent Harry Kane illustrations!
There was one small additional chuckle for me when I read the books to my son recently; I'm pretty sure I caught a shout-out from Robert Arthur to one of his contemporaries, one who happens to be another favorite author of mine. I didn't know if they knew each other (although their writing styles are actually rather similar), but a reporter who helps the boys out a bit is named Fred Brown. If that's not a reference to [a:Fredric Brown|51503|Fredric Brown|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1234483488p2/51503.jpg]...well, I'm pretty sure that it must be. For one thing, the real Brown was also a newspaper reporter, at least for a while.
It's an outstanding book, one that belongs in the collection of anyone who enjoys exciting, thought-provoking mysteries.
manumaan's review
2.0
I read this to get good sleep .. reading couple of chapters put me to sleep by sure every day
bogormen1983's review
3.0
I have read most of "The Three Investigator" books so it's nice when you finally come across one you haven't read before. I liked it and was surprised how the ending turned out.
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