Robert A. Arthur, Jr. (1909–1969)

The Three Investigators — Jupiter Jones, Pete Crenshaw and Bob Andrews — are between cases and trying to practice their deduction skills when they visit a museum exhibit of some spectacular jewels from Japan. Of course, while they are there the lights go out and when they come back on, one of the most distinctive and valuable works of art (an elaborate gold belt set with huge emeralds) is missing. They try to get the museum curator to hire them to investigate, but he seems unenthused by show more the notion of hiring three teen-age boys to investigate a multimillion dollar robbery in broad daylight. Some people, amirite?

Jupiter, Pete and Bob do eventually get to the bottom of the case, of course, but not before fulfilling a personal request from their patron, Alfred Hitchcock (yes, that one), who asks them to help an old friend who is being harassed by a gang of garden gnomes. No, really. Stop laughing! I'm serious. And if you don't believe a gang of garden gnomes harassing the friend of a world-famous movie director can't be mixed up with a daring jewel theft in downtown Los Angeles, I can only suggest you visit a mechanic to have your disbelief's suspension repaired.

These books are such goofy fun. I'm sure middle-school Julia enjoyed them at least as much as middle-aged Julia does. They are the perfect reads when I don't want to think too hard about who done it. show less

An excellent introduction to the Three Investigators. Acquaints us with many of the recurring characters we will enjoy throughout the series.

Fast-paced, well written story. The castle itself features as a prominent character with all its terror inducing charm. As in many other stories in this series, the geography of the area (I picture Rocky Beach as being somewhere along the coast between Santa Monica and Malibu) is also important. Old Hollywood and its uncomfortable transition to the show more later 20th century is also a prominent theme, as it is in multiple other books in the series. A great start to the series!!

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Two of the Three Investigators — teenage boys Bob Andrews and Pete Crenshaw, their ringleader Jupiter Jones busy with other duties — are scoping out a deserted mansion that is scheduled for demolition. Legend says the house is haunted by its last owner, Matthias Green, who married a princess in China and fled to California with her and a purloined string of priceless pearls, but ended up dead the foot of the stairs in his great mansion.

Bob is making a tape recording of their show more investigation when they hear a scream coming from the house. A group of neighborhood who happened to be passing by (yeah, right) also hear the scream, and convince the boys to join them in a search of the house. They don't find the source of the scream but they do spot a strange green ghost who floats about here and there and eventually disappears through a wall. The ghost, to no one's surprise, seems to resemble old man Green.

It's not so easy for the police to dismiss this as the overactive imaginations of children because the men saw and heard the same thing. And the ghost makes further appearances through the night around town, including in a graveyard where it's observed by the chief of police, who really does not want to admit he saw a ghost. That makes him more open than usual to enlisting the Three Investigators' help to find out what's really going on, especially after the body of Matthias Green's wife, who was presumed to have fled back to China after her husband's untimely death, is found walled up in a secret room of the mansion, wearing the priceless pearls.

The investigation takes Bob and Pete to San Francisco, where a descendant of Matthias Green owns a vineyard and wants the boys' help to protect the pearls. The vineyard turns out be a a satisfying setting for all sorts of adventurous capers, from roaming around in underground mine shafts to being kidnapped by Chinese gangsters, before Jupiter gallops (well, lumbers) in to solve the case and rescue his friends.

It was strange to have Jupiter, the "chunky but brainy" one, in such a secondary role, as if he were the star of a TV series taking time off to have a baby or something. But the action sequences hit all the right notes and Bob especially gets his chance to shine. I might quibble with why the book cover depicts the ghostly Green as a Chinese man when the story plainly states he is an American who married a Chinese princess, but if you're reading these books for their historical accuracy you're probably not reading these books, if you know what I mean. show less

Reading Robert Arthur’s collection of fantastic tales for young readers was among my most distinct memories from elementary school. As a kid I loved the stories in it, the details of many of which I carried with me for years afterward. When my young son started to get interested in horror stories, the book came to mind once again and I tracked down a copy, as much for my benefit as for his. Revisiting it again brought back all of those wonderful memories while simultaneously giving me new show more insights into the stories it contained. These are:

“Footsteps Invisible” – A blind news vendor is asked by a famed British archaeologist to use his keen hearing to help stay one step ahead of the relentless force hunting him. This one provides a nice, creepy start to the book, highlighting Arthur’s ability to evoke dread in his tales.

“Mr. Milton’s Gift” – A man searching for an anniversary gift for his wife gets more than he bargains for when he comes upon an unusual curio shop. It’s one of the more humorous tales in the collection, and reflects nicely the range of stories of which Arthur was capable.

“The Rose Crystal Bell” – Another story centered around an anniversary gift, it’s about a surgeon and his wife who purchase a unique bell with a forbidding reputation. It’s one of the darkest stories, and one to which Arthur adds an enjoyable element of uncertainty right through to the end as to whether there is even a supernatural force at play in it.

“The Marvelous Stamps from El Dorado” – Easily my favorite tale in the book, it’s about a young man who stumbles across a unique set of postage from a far-off land. The premise is wonderfully magical and the story is fun, with just a touch of melancholy at the end.

“The Wonderful Day” – A feverish child with a magical gift becomes a force of karma in the small town where he lives. This is another story that leans more towards the fantastic rather than the horrific, as it serves up a sizeable heaping of just desserts in a very literal fashion.

“Don’t Be a Goose” – In an attempt to achieve greatness, a nebbish physics professor uses a spell to transport himself into the past, but with surprising results. This is one of my least favorite stories in the collection, largely because it isn’t long into the story before the outcome becomes predictable. Nevertheless, it’s still a fun read.

“Do You Believe in Ghosts?” – A radio show host proves a little too successful at stoking the imagination of his listeners. This is one of the few stories where the premise is better than the execution, though largely because it’s such a fantastic idea.

“Obstinate Uncle Otis” – After being struck by lightning, a stubborn man gains the power to bend his world to fit his views. This is another one that features Arthur’s ability to take a potentially grim premise and turn it into a fun tale about the dangers of being unable to accept reality, which is probably why my memory of it held up as well as it did.

“Mr. Dexter’s Dragon” – An amateur antiquarian discovers more than he bargained for when he stumbles across a book of spells with a special illustration inside it. This was another one of my favorites, and reading it again made for a nice demonstration of how effectively Arthur could write a tale that invokes horror in a story that can still be appropriate for young readers.

“Hank Garvey’s Daytime Ghost” – Another take about the power of obstinacy, as a local character defines the life of his grandson even from beyond the grave. While an enjoyable enough story it’s one of the weakest in the book, as Arthur employs many of the elements in it to better effect in the ones that preceded it.

Though the ghosts themselves are surprisingly few in a book with the title given to this one, there’s plenty of the fantastic and the supernatural for young readers to enjoy. That the book is no longer in print means that the ability for them to do so depends upon stumbling across a yellowing copy on a library shelf or in a used bookstore, but those who do so are in for an enjoyable treat. show less