eBook Secret of Skeleton Island (Armada) ePub

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.

In each of the five previous books, the Three Investigators investigated mysteries in southern California and once in northern California. This mystery represents the first trip for the boys away from California, to east coast of the United States.

The three boys travel to Skeleton Island and discover that the island is home to a ghost that seems to like to ride 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 seemed accidental as often as they were 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.

The early Three Investigator books were written by Robert Arthur. Arthur had a flair for pacing and excitement, with frequent cliffhanger chapter endings. His descriptions of the three boys and their adventures invariably appeals to younger boys, perhaps in the age range of 7 or 8 to 14 or 15 years old, though I am well past that age and I still enjoy these stories. The stories are dated a bit because technology has moved onward. We now have computers, cell phones, and other mobile technology that could make these stories different if they had been written today. Yet, even knowing that portions of the stories are dated, I still love them.

Quite a few children's mystery book series have become classics. Most people are familiar with Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, Tom Swift and the Boxcar Children. However, the Three Investigators, in both the original "Alfred Hitchcock" and the later "Hector Sebastian" incarnations, are well-written books that appear to have been largely forgotten. The novels offered an intelligent, interesting and more contemporary (at the time) alternative to the earlier, classic series. Many people recall the earlier series well, likely because each series was continuing to release either new books, or reissued books, but the Three Investigators series, which Robert Arthur created and which debuted in 1964, has, for now, largely been overshadowed by the other series. Fortunately, all of these books are available either from Amazon or from other internet sources.

If you are looking for mystery books for children or young teens and you are looking for an alternative to Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, the Boxcar Children, and Tom Swift, I highly recommend the Three Investigator series.

Enjoy!

Jupiter, Pete, and Bob fly east to help Pete's dad with a movie project he's working on. The production company wants to film an exciting chase scene on a roller coaster at an old abandoned amusement park on Skeleton Island, but things keep breaking or going missing. So, the boys are called in to do a little snooping around and maybe find out who's causing the problems. It'll give them the chance to practice their scuba diving, too, and maybe even look for some of that famed pirate treasure the locals claim lies in the nearby waters.

Quite exciting at times, but not one of my `most favorite' from this old favorite series I loved as a kid. Still, a good mystery with lots of clues to follow as the story progresses, and my son and I recently enjoyed it. As with a few others in the beginning of the series, a young foreign boy who faces local persecution figures prominently in their adventures as a sub-plot. But I thought this one was a little easier to figure out than some others have been (... or perhaps I'm just remembering from all the times I read it as a kid?). Still, a highly recommended series for kids who like a good mystery (try to find the Alfred Hitchcock versions over the Hector Sebastian ones if you can).

Jupiter, Pete, and Bob fly east to help Pete's dad with a movie project he's working on. The production company wants to film an exciting chase scene on a roller coaster at an old abandoned amusement park on Skeleton Island, but things keep breaking or going missing. So, the boys are called in to do a little snooping around and maybe find out who's causing the problems. It'll give them the chance to practice their scuba diving, too, and maybe even look for some of that famed pirate treasure the locals claim lies in the nearby waters.

Quite exciting at times, but not one of my `most favorite' from this old favorite series I loved as a kid. Still, a good mystery with lots of clues to follow as the story progresses, and my son and I recently enjoyed it. As with a few others in the beginning of the series, a young foreign boy who faces local persecution figures prominently in their adventures as a sub-plot. But I thought this one was a little easier to figure out than some others have been (... or perhaps I'm just remembering from all the times I read it as a kid?). Still, a highly recommended series for kids who like a good mystery (try to find the Alfred Hitchcock versions over the Hector Sebastian ones if you can).

The Three Investigator series have that necessary attribute that all good juvenile books have - the ability to be enjoyed by adults. The mystery in this book is quite good. Actually two mysteries - what is causing the incidents plaguing a film crew on Skeleton Island and what's up with that pirate treasure that's supposed to be there? Scuba diving plays a large role in this book and the author seems to have done an adequate amount of research in this area. The diving is neatly integrated into the plot without becoming a lecture, a trap many juvenile series fall into.

This is #6 in the series. Interestingly, #2 through #6 have each featured a boy tied to the plot of different nationalities - #2, Mexico, #3, Egypt, #4, China, #5, Japan, and #6 Greece. One wonders if the streak will continue in #7?

These books can't really hold up when compared to the current Harry Potter or Twilight series but they have a charm all their own. They are dated somewhat, but not horribly. If you know a child who likes to read you might point him in the direction of these books.