Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators

When I was a kid, mysteries were my favorite genre. I started out with the old standbys, Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys. Truth to tell, although I was a girl, I never did care for the Nancy Drew stories…there just wasn’t enough action or excitement, as compared with the Hardy Boys. However, I tired of the Hardy Boys after the first ten or so in the series as well, because they were all the same. Whatever mystery the boys’ father was working on, would invariably turn out to be the same one they were working on as well.

And now, thirty years later, I find that I can’t even read the books at all. The writing is for kids…and only for kids. (At least, as far as I’m concerned)

Mystery books for kids that I read when I was a kid, and which I still return to with enjoyment to this day are the Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators.

Let me give you a warning! The books were reissued a few years ago, simply titled The Three Investigators. Alfred Hitchcock (who died in 1980) has been completely removed from the stories, replaced by a different, fictional director, a Mr. Sebastian. Terrible, foolish, stupid idea!

The books were written in the 1960s and 1970s, so there are no cellphones and no computers. So what? They are enjoyable for what they are, and Hitchock should never have been removed. They are period pieces, but they are also masterpieces.

So if you should decide to purchase the books, make sure you get the ones that are called Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators.

The three investigators are Jupiter Jones, a very intelligent boy, a bit overweight, who used to be a child actor, Pete Crenshaw, an athletic boy who has more muscles than brains (although he is by no means stupid), and Bob Andrews, a studious boy who works in a library and is well-read, but not as brilliant as Jupiter.

The first ten or so books in the series were written by Robert Arthur and are the best. Later on in the series, a different author took over and did not have the same respect for the characters.

In any event, these books, though written for kids, are enjoyable by kids of all ages. I’ll give detailed reviews of individual books in later entries. For now, here’s a list of all the books in the series:

1. The Secret of Terror Castle
2. The Mystery of the Stuttering Parrot
3. The Mystery of the Whispering Mummy
4. The Mystery of the Green Ghost
5. The Mystery of the Vanishing Treasure
6. The Secret of Skeleton Island
7. The Mystery of the Fiery Eye
8. The Mystery of the Silver Spider
9. The Mystery of the Screaming Clock
10. The Mystery of the Moaning Cave
11. The Mystery of the Talking Skull
12. The Mystery of the Laughing Shadow
13. The Secret of the Crooked Cat
14. The Mystery of the Coughing Dragon
15. The Mystery of the Flaming Footprints
16. The Mystery of the Nervous Lion
17. The Mystery of the Singing Serpent
18. The Mystery of the Shrinking House
19. The Secret of Phantom Lake
20. The Mystery of Monster Mountain
21. The Secret of the Haunted Mirror
22. The Mystery of the Dead Man's Riddle
23. The Mystery of the Invisible Dog
24. The Mystery of Death Trap Mine
25. The Mystery of the Dancing Devil
26. The Mystery of the Headless Horse
27. The Mystery of the Magic Circle

The rest of the books are ones I have not read and cannot recommend!
28. The Mystery of the Deadly Double
29. The Mystery of the Sinister Scarecrow
30. The Secret of Shark Reef
31. The Mystery of the Scar-Faced Beggar
32. The Mystery of the Blazing Cliffs
33. The Mystery of the Purple Pirate
34. The Mystery of the Wandering Cave Man
35. The Mystery of the Kidnapped Whale
36. The Mystery of the Missing Mermaid
37. The Mystery of the Two-Toed Pigeon
38. The Mystery of the Smashing Glass
39. The Mystery of the Trail of Terror
40. The Mystery of the Rogues' Reunion
41. The Mystery of the Creep-Show Crooks
42. The Mystery of Wreckers' Rock
43. The Mystery of the Cranky Collector