The Mystery of the Fiery Eye

This book is the seventh in the Three Investigator series. "The Secret of Skeleton Island" precedes this book, and "The Mystery of the Silver Spider" follows. As we learned in previous books, The Three Investigators are Jupiter Jones, Pete Crenshaw and Bob Andrews. Jupiter is the intelligent, sometimes inadvertently arrogant member of the group. Pete Crenshaw is typically the muscle of the group. Pete is usually quite fearless. Bob Andrews works at the library and handles records and research for the group. This mystery finds the boys in difficulty. In the first mystery in this series, "The Secret of Terror Castle," Jupiter Jones had won the use of a gold-colored Rolls Royce for thirty days of twenty-four hour each. Unfortunately, thirty days has passed. Jupiter manages to convince the owner of the rental company to allow the use of the Rolls twice more, but the loss of the Rolls will be a serious blow to the aspirations of The Three Investigators. The boys travel to the office of Mr. Alfred Hitchcock to meet August August. August's recently deceased uncle left August a valuable object, but to find the object August must solve a riddle. August enlists the aid of The Three Investigators. As we know from previous books in this series, The Three Investigators are quite good at unraveling mysteries and solving enigmas and thus their success rate has been absolute. The boys believe they have solved the mystery early in the book when they learn that busts owned by August's uncle included a bust of the Roman emperor Augustus. However, Jupiter's Aunt has sold the busts and the boys have no clue as to the buyers or their addresses. Even Jupiter's superior intelligence is at a dead end. Eventually the busts are located, but finding the busts provides only more mysteries. Unfortunately for The Three Investigators, two other groups also seem to be seeking the object August's uncle left behind, and these groups include men that appear to be coldly ruthless. The Three Investigators may, once again, be in danger for their lives! I was a little disappointed with the previous book, "The Secret of Skeleton Island." That mystery was almost too simple and mundane for The Three Investigators. The Three Investigators almost solved that mystery accidentally. The danger was often accident related and perhaps a little bit of carelessness on the part of the boys rather than threats from enemies. However, this book came charging back with sinister enemies and a chilling curse on an exotic jewel. The mystery is nicely convoluted and layered and the boys solve one mystery only to find another. I also enjoyed this mystery because there were enough clues in the mystery for you to learn the hiding place of the Fiery Eye before The Three Investigators. This mystery is fun and fast paced! Enjoy!

In yet another of a series of rip-roaring puzzlers from the mind of Robert Arthur, we now see Jupe and the Three Investigators triumph over a secretly coded message and a cast of assorted bad guys to solve yet another case. The puzzle of the coded message sent to August August (yes, that's his name) by his great-uncle proves to be even more perplexing than it at first appears. The boys seemingly solve the mystery several times, only to be rewarded each of those times with yet another clue to the location of that which they seek, namely a brilliant, long-lost, cursed ruby. Racing them to the prize are a mysterious man from India and a gang of rather foolish tough guys running around with fake black mustaches. I really admired how Arthur brought everything together at the end of the book, incorporating several small details I had dismissed as tangential at the beginning of the tale. As usual, you will find a chapter named "Trapped!" in the book, but, as is also quite usual, the boys find a way out of danger and prove that criminals are no match for the brains of Jupiter Jones and the steadfastness of his intrepid companions. This isn't quite as good as some of the earlier books in the series, but it is certainly an enjoyable story; also, it makes you think. Try putting the book down as you approach the final chapters, after all of the clues are known to you, and see if you can solve the mystery along with our heroes.

I started reading the Three Investigators Mysteries back in the late 70's as a boy of ten. I believe that The Mystery of the Fiery Eye was the first and it hooked me in for many adventures to come. Now, as a man in his 30's, I am rediscovering just how wonderful these books really are. It is so refreshing to put aside adult matters for a few hours and return to a simpler time. I can't recommend this series highly enough to young and old alike.

I was a fan of these characters growing up. I was always trying to find the next case that the boys would be solving. I am buying these books for my 9 year old son so that he can enjoy them as much as I did. They were even better than the Hardy Boys! (I will probably re-read them to share the fun with my son)

This exceptional mystery from Robert Arthur has more twists and turns than an Alfred Hitchcock movie! The Mystery of the Fiery Eye (#7 in the series) is just one more fine example of how far superior the Three Investigator books are to the Hardy Boys and any other series on the market today. This book would make a fantastic gift for any kids' birthday - or for that child that is already bored one week into summer vacation. Help keep the Three Investigators alive! Purchase The Mystery of the Fiery Eye, and all the other re-issued Robert Arthur titles!