The Rubadub Mystery

Another visit to my childhood. A little darker than I expected and with slightly odd pacing (most of the action happens in the last quarter of the book). Brother and sister Roger and Diana, their orphaned cousin Snubby are off to the seaside with old governess Miss Pepper as Roger and Diana's parents are off to America. They are soon joined by their itinerant circus worker friend Barney and his monkey Miranda (who in a reversal of the Ring-O-Bells mystery is the one who's been ill). The book is evocative of 1940s British seaside holidays with bathing, boat trips, a pier with a Pierrot show and loving descriptions of the four meals a day... I realised that Blyton was writing post-war and rationing was still in force, which may explain show more her penchant for giving her characters lavish meals. There's a dark undercurrent, not in the standard plucky kids and spies story, but the story of Barney, who's mother left his father before he was born, and who died when he was young, leaving him to fend for himself in the world of circuses and fairgrounds. Barney's desire to find the father he never knew has run through these stories and is cruelly (and unnecessarily) exploited by villains in this book, though ultimately there is a happy ending thanks to the kindness of Snubby. Some uncomfortable references to corporal punishment and treatment of the mentally impaired (though the character Dummy is on the whole sympathetically treated by the main characters). show less

Good, although not as perfect as books 2 and 3 of the series. Something important for the series happens at the end, but let's not get into spoiler territory.

Roger, Diana and Snubby go on holidays to a seaside inn, and as always the author has to find a way to get them together with Barney. There is a secret naval base near the town, were the Navy tests new submarines.

The adventure is slow to start in this one. There are some strange things going on, but it's a long while before we can definitely say "yes, we are in the middle of an adventure". However, the story until them is pleasant enough, while we share the children's holidays.

Apparently, this book was conceived as the last in the series, but later the author decided to write two show more more. I'm curious to see how the events at the end of this book influence the last two books. show less

Another one of EB's Mystery series, which are quite good as Blyton's go.

Novels/novelettes

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