The Ring O' Bells Mystery

Well that was a blast from the past and rather better than I remembered/hoped. The third in the Barney or R mysteries sees brother and sister Roger and Diana, their orphaned cousin Snubby and his dog Loony, sent off to convalesce from flu at the fairytale village of Ring O'Bells where they meet up with their older friend Barney and his monkey Miranda. There's the fairly standard Blyton emphasis on catching criminals, secret passages and wonderful meals. However I was rather delighted with some of the description of the English countryside and people and the rather charming friendly squabbling amongst the cousins. Will reread the Rubadub mystery next.

Coming after a truly excellent second book in the series, The Ring O’Bells Mystery is also the work of Enid Blyton at her best. It is inferior to the previous book in one sense: It isn’t as funny. Of course, The Rilloby Fair Mystery is the funniest Enid Blyton book I have read so far. Snubby and Great-Uncle Robert are just hilarious together.

This book is not so funny, but in all other aspects it’s near perfect. The children are sent to a small idyllic village called Ring O’Bells to finish recovering from a nasty bout of flu. The general mood of the story, the descriptions of the village and of the natural surrounding are so appealing that they fill me with cheer. It’s truly a feel-good atmosphere. It reminds me of Five Go Off show more in a Caravan, where the preparations and start of the caravan holiday also seemed full of possibility and enjoyment.

Then there’s the village itself, full of legends and old tales, with striking and colourful characters. The adventure is also very exciting, with some memorable moments like Barney ringing the bells to ask for help. There are also many of the usual elements of Blyton’s adventures, the secret passages… There’s even a cover illustration that’s kind of a spoiler, since it shows where the other end of the secret passage is. Oh, well…

The plot has some small holes, as often happens in these children adventures. For example, once they discover the kidnapped person, the children do not go straight to the police. A reason is given for that, but it did not seem very convincing. It’s really to allow for the exciting ending.
But all in all this is an excellent book, very well-rounded. The setting, the pre-adventure part, the adventure itself… everything works.

So far this has been a very enjoyable series. The first book was fine, but the second and third are among Blyton’s best. Now I’m looking forward to the fourth book, which is regarded by many as the best of the series. show less

This is my absolute favourite of the other mysteries-series by Enid Blyton. In German they made the difference clearer by naming this series "Rätsel um..." (with Barney) instead of "Geheimnis um..." (Find-Outers). I only read these novels in German, but ventured to read this particular one in its original language as well (not finished). And they are - of course - both fantastic.

It's the thrilling story of three children who spend an unexpected holiday in a small town where they believe nothing ever happens (which is what their parents wanted, as the kids need to get better after a long illness). But one night the mystery starts: bells are ringing (hence the original title: The Ring-O-Bell Mystery). And soon the children find out that show more the bells always ring when the little town is due to suffer from great danger such as an attack by enemies... Soon they are joined by their friend Barney and the mystery-solving begins.
I won't tell more about the story so not spoil the fun, but I think it's save to say that this story triggered my climbing down my grandfathers draw well in search of a certain secret passageway...

Luckily, you can jump into the Barney Mysteries series wherever you like, so that's why I recommend to start with this novel and then read the others. show less

I picked up The Ring O' Bells Mystery, by Enid Blyton, from a remaindered house for a few bucks, mainly because I love her Mallory Towers series which I read and re-read as a child. This particular novel is part of another 5-part series, "A Barney Mystery," in which all the titles are similar: "A (Something Starting with the Letter 'R') Mystery," of which The Ring O' Bells Mystery is the third. The Lynton children, Roger and Diana, and their cousin Snubby are sent to a small village to recover from the flu; soon they discover a secret passage in the local manor house, which is curated by a disagreeable woman who seems disinclined to carry out her job duties of showing the house to paying customers. It's not long before the children show more decide to write their circus friend Barney, who is readily able to join them and to look into the mystery that seems to lie at the heart of the old manor.... This is very much a children's novel, for around age 8 or 9 I'd guess. I enjoyed the glimpse into English middle-class attitudes in the middle of the 20th Century (the book was published in 1951), but I wouldn't bother to pick up the rest of the series. show less

Novels/novelettes

Mientras Roger, Diana y Chatín pasan una temporada en la Aldea de las Campanas, su viejo amigo Nabé hace auto-stop con su mona `Miranda` para reunirse con ellos. Nabé no tiene ningún lugar donde quedarse así que decide dormir en el Ayuntamiento de las Campanas que ahora es un museo. Pero comienzan a pasar cosas misteriosas, campanas que tocan solas, ruidos procedentes de un pasadizo secreto tapiado...