Book 69, 2024

[chez_jae]

The Mystery of the Shrinking House by William Arden

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Now that Shark Week is over, I've resumed reading. On Sunday, I read The Mystery of the Shrinking House, by William Arden, cover to cover. It's the 18th part of "The Three Investigators" vintage young adult mystery series. The main characters are friends (and investigators!) Jupiter Jones, Pete Crenshaw, and Bob Andrews.

Jupiter accompanies his Uncle Titus on a buying trip for the salvage yard that Titus owns. There, Jupe is convinced he saw someone in black climbing up the side of the house. Everyone assures him he must have merely seen the play of light and shadow, but when several people show a keen interest in the several paintings that Titus buys, Jupiter senses a mystery and gets his friends involved. The paintings were all the same, except that the house in each of them seemed to become smaller and smaller. Convinced the series of paintings hold the key to something far more valuable, The Three Investigators turn their attention to solving the mystery of the shrinking house.

The books in this series are difficult to find, so reading this one was a delight. My enjoyment was tempered somewhat by the rather serious scrapes the boys got into, however, including being abducted and tied up, and getting locked into rooms or buildings at various times. At what point do you call the police?! Nevertheless, it was a fun read.

Favorite line: "Well, here goes. Geronimo, fellows!"

I wish I could give this 3 1/2 stars, but I'll be magnanimous and round it up to four.