From 1964 until 1987, 43 books were published starring three teenage boys solving crimes. The first 31 installments included “Alfred Hitchcock” in the titles before dropping the famed Hollywood director's name for simply “The Three Investigators”. Arthur wrote books 1-9 and 11 before other writers like Dennis Lynds, Kin Platt, Mary Virginia Carey, and Marc Brandel became involved.
From 1985 through 1987 there were four Find Your Fate Mysteries starring the investigators. These were written by Megan and H. William Stine. From 1989 through 1990 there was a 13-book series featuring the characters titled Crimebusters authored by Dennis and Gayle Lynds among others.
In this series debut, The Secret of Terror Castle, three boys living in a fictional coastal California town called Rocky Beach, have won a contest that allows them the use of a Rolls Royce and a chauffeur named Worthington. The kids come up with an idea that they will be investigators and design business cards and a special colored coded “?” symbol to use in the investigations. The kids consist of Jupiter Jones (First Investigator, former child actor, spunky), Pete Crenshaw (Second Investigator, athlete, action), and Bob Andrews (Records and Research, librarian, nerdy).
The “terror castle” is first introduced as a way for the kids to obtain and solve their first case. Jupiter leads the trio to Alfred Hitchcock's studio office to pitch an investigation – discovering a real haunted house that the director can use for his next motion picture. Hitchcock isn't amused with the kids' idea and quickly dismisses them. But, before he scoots them out he agrees that he will introduce their mystery and resolution if they can find a haunted house – which they kinda do in a Scooby sort of way. This sets up an early theme where the end of each book features a brief introduction into the next mystery which will be unveiled in the following series installment.
The Secret of Terror Castle is a cliffside mansion once owned and inhabited by a horror actor named Stephen Terrill. He “died” under mysterious circumstances years ago when his car plunged from the rocky highway. His body was never found. Since his death the mansion is apparently haunted by a mist-like appearance deemed Fog of Fear and a music-playing apparition named Blue Phantom. As the kids dig into Terrill's disappearance they are attacked by a gang inside the mansion, placed in a basement dungeon, and fall victim to a tunnel collapse. They also interview Terrill's suspicious assistant and befriend their chauffeur Worthington.
By 1964 these types of juvenile stories had already ran through a marketing blitz and saturation thanks to Edward Stratemeyer,. His titles like The Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and Kay Tracey set the standard for juvenile mystery stories. By having the Hitchcock name attached to this series certainly made publishing waves for Random House and led to commercial success. The formula is a familiar one – some type of supernatural element appears to exist and is later debunked by the heroes. But, the enjoyment is the trio's work ethic, characterization, and interaction with the various participants in the mystery. All three kids have their own skill-set and personality that enhances the overall title and individual stories.
If you love a good mystery, no matter what your age is, then The Secret of Terror Castle is worth a stay. I really enjoyed this series debut and look forward to reading more.
You can get series installments HERE. You can also listen to a full audio dramatization of this novel, ripped from the 1984 Rainbow Communications cassette, HERE.
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