Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #210501 in Books
• Published on: 1985-07-12
• Released on: 1985-07-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 179 pages

From the Inside Flap
A green ghost oozes through the walls of a crumbling old mansion, leading The Three Investigators to an open coffin and a grinning skeleton wearing a string of priceless Chinese Ghost Pearls.  When the ghost disappears--along with the pearls--the sleuths are off on their strangest case ever!

From the Back Cover
Originally published in hardcover beginning in 1964, these classic

mystery/adventure stories feature three boys--Jupiter Jones, Pete Crenshaw, and

Bob Andrews--who establish a detective firm with the motto "We Investigate

Anything!" Perfect for summer reading, these suspenseful action stories will

appeal to both boys and girls.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
The Three Investigators and a group of neighborhood men stood shivering inside the old abandoned house.  They had just heard a bloodcurdling scream.

The boys listened hard.  They couldn't escape the feeling that something horrible was about to happen.  

Suddenly one of the men gasped.  "Look! Over by the door!"

The boys turned.  And then they saw it.

The glowing green ghost of a man who had died in the house fifty years before!

Customer Reviews

Spooky Green Ghost Haunts His House!
Quite a few children's mystery book series have become classics. Most people are familiar with Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, and Tom Swift. Even the Boxcar Children are relatively well-known. However, Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators were well-written books that offered an intelligent, interesting and more contemporary alternative to many of the earlier classic series. Many people recall the earlier series well, but the Three Investigators series, which Robert Arthur wrote and debuted in 1964, has, for now, largely been overshadowed by the other series and generally forgotten. Fortunately, all of these books are available either from Amazon or from other internet sources.

This book is the fourth book in the series, following "The Mystery of the Whispering Mummy" and preceding "The Mystery of the Vanishing Treasure." This mystery begins almost immediately as the Three Investigators learn that a green-colored ghost has suddenly appeared in a variety of locations, beginning with the abandoned Mathias Green mansion and ending at a vineyard in northern California.

Soon the Three Investigators find themselves tangling with a mysterious Chinese man claiming to be more than 100-years-old, along with an array of thugs. What is everyone after? They are after an incredibly valuable piece of jewelry that could mean life to the person who possesses it. Someone understands the value, because the Three Investigators are threatened with death!

I enjoyed this Three Investigators novel. There are portions of the book that are relatively easy to figure out, but there are other portions that had to await the end of the book to figure out. The addition of the mysterious Chinese man is the most bizarre event yet in this series of stories. What the Chinese man intends on doing with the jewelry is even more bizarre. This story also had a lot of complexity and subtlety that I thought the author, Robert Arthur, constructed well.

If you are looking for mystery books for children and you are looking for an alternative to the stories I listed earlier, I highly recommend the Three Investigator series. I do recommend starting with the first book in the series, which is an excellent introduction to this series.

Enjoy!

A Harrowing Adventure
While I did not find this story quite as satisfying as the previous three books in the Three Investigators series, it featured some of the most compelling scenes thus far. The chapters describing the boys' dangerous flight through a maze of old mines and caves had me squirming in my seat. Being a claustrophobic-type person, I found Arthur's descriptions of the tight squeezes through spaces barely large enough for a youngster to be quite harrowing and intense. That part of the story really "made" this book for me. While the mystery of the green ghost is fascinating and interesting, I just did not find the conclusion to be 100% believable, although it is certainly adequate and in step with the details of the case. The plot itself basically has two story lines converging into one; while there was some danger of the two story lines not intersecting properly at times, Arthur managed to overcome these potential pitfalls and keep the plot on an even keel. It may be that a youngster reading this book (or having it read to him/her) might get a little confused as the story begins wrapping up, but I don't think such confusion would detract from his/her enjoyment of the book. As I said, the description of the mines was just intense and should produce some pretty wide-opened eyes in youngsters (and adults) following the action. Any parent reading this book to a child should certainly anticipate some "just one more chapter" and "can you leave the light on?" remarks around bedtime.

A mystery Classic
The Three Investigators was one of my favorites as I kid and I still read them now at 40. The Green Ghost was my personal favorite in excellent series--scary, exciting, and well-plotted--few adult mysteries can make the same claim these days. Lots of great details like the gray pearls make this one stand out, while Jupiter and the gang are great as ever.