08-04-2021

The Three Investigatorsthe Creative Archive



The Three Investigators are three friends who have their own detective agency. The leader, Jupiter Jones, started the business and provided its headquarters, a old trailer in his uncle’s salvage yard which he and the other boys quickly hid by piling other stuff around it. As far as they know, Jupiter’s aunt and uncle have completely forgotten that the trailer exists, so the boys are free to use it as their hideout and have created several secret ways into it. Jupiter is also the one who provided the group with free transportation after winning the use of a Rolls Royce and chauffeur in a contest.

In the early books, the stories are presented by Alfred Hitchcock, supposedly because Jupiter made an arrangement with him to do it in order to get more publicity for the detective agency. In the first book, Jupiter convinces Hitchcock to agree to this arrangement in return for finding him a location for his next movie, and Hitchcock only agrees because he thinks that Jupiter is too pushy and wants to get rid of him, not realizing that Jupiter will actually succeed. (This was changed when the first book in the series was re-released years later, and Alfred Hitchcock was replaced by a fictional director, Reginald Clarke.) Later books in the series (#31 and onward) are presented by Hector Sebastian, a fictional mystery novelist (in the re-release, this was changed so that Hector Sebastian takes over all of Hitchcock’s parts from #2 and onward). Part of the reason for replacing Alfred Hitchcock in the original release of the series was that he died in 1980, while the books were still being written.

The characters and early books were created by Robert Arthur, and the series was continued by other authors, beyond the original author’s death.

One of the best parts about this series is that Jupiter loves big words, and the language in the books is fairly complex for children’s fare. It’s great for building vocabulary, although it can make it difficult for younger or struggling readers to get through. When I was young, my mother read these books aloud to us, so we got the benefit of the vocabulary without having the frustration of trying to decipher it alone. By the time I tried to read the books alone, I was already acquainted with the more difficult words, so it wasn’t as much of a struggle for me. I think that demonstrates the benefit of reading aloud to children, even after they’ve started reading books by themselves with simpler vocabulary. It helps them to continue building on what they’ve learned, and you can also stop and discuss the plot as you go.

Artist, Fayetteville Native, Craft Addict, and Friend to all. Please contact me for any questions or to schedule an appointment! Three Investigators The Mystery of the Ghost Train 'The Missing Final Book' $24.00. THREE INVESTIGATORS 20 MONSTER MOUNTAIN 1st FIRST EDITION. Ending Friday at 5:24PM PST 4d 16h. ALFRED HITCHCOCK THREE INVESTIGATORS #12 MYSTERY OF THE LAUGHING SHADOW - HC. The Three Investigators are three friends who have their own detective agency. The leader, Jupiter Jones, started the business and provided its headquarters, a old trailer in his uncle’s salvage yard which he and the other boys quickly hid by piling other stuff around it. The Mystery of the Ghost Train: A Three Investigators Novel (The Three Investigators) by Hector Sebastian, Thomas Hudson, et al. Feb 23, 2020 3.6 out of 5 stars 31. The Creative Archive is a free online repository of e-books, notes, study guides and interesting information.

Many of the mysteries in this series are what I call Pseudo-Ghost Stories, mysteries involving fake hauntings of the Scooby-Doo variety.

A regular feature of the boys’ cases is what Jupiter calls the “Ghost to Ghost Hookup,” which has nothing to do with actual ghosts. It involves the boys using their friends to keep a lookout for certain suspects in various parts of the city. Each of the Three Investigators calls a few friends, and each of the friends calls a few friends and so on, until they have a large network of helpers across the city. Jupiter refers to their helpers as “ghosts” because kids are often invisible to adults, making them the perfect people to tail suspects.

There are some recurring characters in the series:

  • Huganay — an art thief
  • Skinny Norris — a snobby older boy, who comes from a wealthy family and is the boys’ regular nemesis
  • Allie Jamison — a girl whose aunt is being bilked by fake cultists and who later invites the boys to visit her uncle’s Christmas tree farm

The list of books I have here isn’t entirely complete because I don’t have any of the Find Your Fate books or the later Crimebusters series, some of which were only published in German. The Three Investigators series was translated into several different languages and is known around the world, although the boys themselves are sometimes given different names, depending on the language and country. For a complete list, see Wikipedia. Another helpful site is The Three Investigators Books, which is for book collectors.

The Three Investigatorsthe Creative Archive Projects

There are two movies based on the books, The Three Investigators and the Secret of Skeleton Island and The Three Investigators and the Secret of Terror Castle. However, the movies were very different from the original books. Part of the plots involves some intrigue about Jupiter’s deceased parents.

The Three Investigators:

Jupiter Jones

The leader of the Three Investigators. He lives with his Uncle Titus and Aunt Mathilda, who own a salvage yard. When he was young, he was a child actor, playing a character named Baby Fatso, and he hates it when people remind him of it because he’s still on the stocky side.

Bob Andrews

He is responsible for records and research for the group. He has a job working at the local library.

Pete Crenshaw

The athletic member of the group.

Books in the Series:

Original Books by Robert Arthur

#1The Secret of Terror Castle (1964)

In the their first case, the boys investigate an old mansion that was once owned by a horror movie star who died under mysterious circumstances.

#2 The Mystery of the Stuttering Parrot (1964)

Alfred Hitchcock recruits the boys to find his parrot, but they learn that the bird’s former owner has trained it and several other birds to repeat portions of a secret message.

#3 The Mystery of the Whispering Mummy (1965)

Alfred Hitchcock asks the boys to visit a friend of his who collects antiquities. His friend, Professor Yarborough, has been hearing the mummy in his collecting whispering to him when he’s alone. How could the mummy be whispering, and what is it trying to say?

#4 The Mystery of the Green Ghost (1965)

The boys investigate a mysterious ghost in an old mansion and uncover a scheme involving a valuable inheritance and a string of stolen pearls.

#5 The Mystery of the Vanishing Treasure (1966)

The Three Investigators try to find the thieves who robbed a local museum and find themselves also investigating a woman who says that she has been seeing gnomes.

#6 The Secret of Skeleton Island (1966)

A film company wants to make a movie on Skeleton Island, but strange things happen to disrupt the filming. The Three Investigators are called in to learn the secrets behind these strange things and the legends of pirates and ghosts that surround the island.

#7 The Mystery of the Fiery Eye (1967)

The boys are in a race to find a mysterious treasure, a jewel called “the Fiery Eye,” which is the inheritance of an English boy named August August (yes, his first and last name are the same).

#8 The Mystery of the Silver Spider (1967)

The boys befriend a prince (of a fictional kingdom in Europe) and help him to prevent someone from stealing his throne as well as a priceless silver spider which is an important part of the prince’s coronation ceremony.

#9 The Mystery of the Screaming Clock (1968)

Jupiter’s uncle receives a bizarre clock at his salvage yard. Instead of ringing or buzzing like a normal alarm clock, it screams. When Jupiter and the others investigate the clock’s origins, they discover that it has ties to a former radio actor who disappeared and the theft of some valuable paintings.

Books by Other Authors

#10 The Mystery of the Moaning Cave (1968)

A series of strange “accidents” at a ranch may be tied to the reappearance of the ghost of a bandit who made his hideout in a nearby cave.

#11 The Mystery of the Talking Skull (1969)

The boys get more than they bargained for when they buy an old trunk at a public auction and discover that it once belonged to a magician who had a number of secrets. This was the last book in the series written by Robert Arthur.

#12 The Mystery of the Laughing Shadow (1969)

The

Bob and Pete are riding their bikes past an old mansion when they hear someone call for help and throw something small at them. The small object turns out to be a mysterious amulet that may be part of a missing treasure.

#13 The Secret of the Crooked Cat (1970)

Jupiter wins a stuffed cat at a carnival, but a strange man steals it from him! This bizarre theft may be tied to a series of accidents that have been plaguing the carnival.

#14 The Mystery of the Coughing Dragon (1970)

A man thinks that his dog has been eaten by a dragon! The boys don’t really believe that, but they investigate the caves where the man saw the “dragon” in order to find his dog . . . and end up finding much more than they expected.

#15 The Mystery of the Flaming Footprints (1971)

An artist vanishes, and his home is haunted by a ghost that leaves flaming footprints.

#16 The Mystery of the Nervous Lion (1971)

The boys visit a wildlife park to investigate the odd behavior of the park’s lion.

#17 The Mystery of the Singing Serpent (1972)

Allie Jamison’s aunt is being pressured for money by a group of snake worshipers who promise to give her power, unless the Three Investigators can convince her that they are frauds.

#18 The Mystery of the Shrinking House (1972)

#19 The Secret of Phantom Lake (1973)

The boys find a journal in an old trunk with clues to a hidden treasure.

#20 The Mystery of Monster Mountain (1973)

The boys go on a camping trip and investigate a mysterious creature.

#21 The Secret of the Haunted Mirror (1974)

A woman who collects mirrors asks the boys to investigate one that may be haunted by the ghost of a magician.

#22 The Mystery of the Dead Man’s Riddle (1974)

An eccentric hermit has written a will that leaves his fortune to the person who can solve his riddles. The Three Investigators investigate on behalf of the man’s grandson.

#23 The Mystery of the Invisible Dog (1975)

The boys investigate a haunting and the theft of a mysterious crystal statue with a disturbing legend attached to it.

#24 The Mystery of Death Trap Mine (1976)

Allie invites the boys to visit her uncle’s Christmas tree farm in New Mexico. There, an old abandoned mine is reopen and a dead body discovered that might shed light on an old robbery.

#25 The Mystery of the Dancing Devil (1976)

When a mysterious statue of a Dancing Devil is stolen, the boys try to recover it . . . only to find that it seems to have come to life!

#26 The Mystery of the Headless Horse (1977)

A friend of the boys is worried because his family is short of money and may be pressured into selling their ranch. Their only hope may be to find a valuable sword that was given to one of their ancestors.

#27 The Mystery of the Magic Circle (1978)

Someone steals old films and the unpublished memoirs of an aging actress. When the boys investigate, they learn that the actress is involved in the occult.

The Three Investigatorsthe Creative Archives

#28 The Mystery of the Deadly Double (1978)

Jupiter is kidnapped, and they learn that the people who abducted him were actually trying to kidnap a boy who looks very much like him. This other boy is the son of a politician from Africa.

#29 The Mystery of the Sinister Scarecrow (1979)

A wealthy young woman has returned to her family’s mansion, but finds herself haunted by a terrifying scarecrow. Someone seems to be trying to use old, childhood fears of hers in order to frighten her. Does it have something to do with the entomologist researching ants? Or maybe the art museum nearby?

#30 The Secret of Shark Reef (1979)

Someone is trying to sabotage an environmental activist who is protesting off-shore drilling. This is the last book in the original release of the series which uses Alfred Hitchcock to present the stories.

The Three Investigatorsthe Creative Archive Books

#31 The Mystery of the Scar-Faced Beggar (1981)

#32 The Mystery of the Blazing Cliffs (1981)

An eccentric millionaire who believes in aliens may actually be the victim of con artists.

#33 The Mystery of the Purple Pirate (1982)

The Three Investigators search for a treasure hidden by pirates.

#34 The Mystery of the Wandering Cave Man (1982)

The bones of a caveman are stolen from a museum. (This book has an interesting description of an early ’80s home computer and printer, back when the technology was new.)

#35 The Mystery of the Kidnapped Whale (1983)

The boys try to help a beached whale, but it suddenly vanishes. When they try to find out what happened to it, the answer leads them on a search for sunken treasure.

#36 The Mystery of the Missing Mermaid (1983)

The Three Investigators search for a missing child.

#37 The Mystery of the Two-Toed Pigeon (1984)

The boys investigate a pigeon with only two toes that is left at a restaurant, but someone takes the bird from them and leaves another with three toes in its place. What is so special about the missing bird?

#38 The Mystery of the Smashing Glass (1984)

Someone has been smashing car windows, but for some reason, no one ever sees the vandal.

#39 The Mystery of the Trail of Terror (1984)

Pete’s grandfather is an inventor, and he’s worried that someone is out to steal his latest invention. The boys accompany him on a road trip to New York, were he plans to sell his invention.

#40 The Mystery of the Rogues’ Reunion (1985)

Jupiter attends a reunion party for the tv show he was part of as a small child. However, the people who worked with him on the show are very different from the way he remembers them, and some of them are hiding secrets.

The Three Investigators Ebooks

#41 The Mystery of the Creep-Show Crooks (1985)

The Three Investigatorsthe Creative Archive Book

The Three Investigators search for a runaway girl and encounter a shady production company that makes horror movies.

Three Investigators Pdf

#42 The Mystery of Wrecker’s Rock (1986)

#43 The Mystery of the Cranky Collector (1987)