Favourite Five Find-Outers book

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booklover
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Favourite Five Find-Outers book

Post by booklover »

Hello everyone :)

I was wondering what everyone's favourite Five Find-Outers book is. Favourite book, not necessarily the best book! - although I accept that may mean the same thing.

This is a very strong series, with many well-written stories.

Some of my favourites are Secret Room, Hidden House and Invisible Thief . But for my all time favourite, I've chosen Missing Necklace - I think the plot is very clever, the story features many of Fatty's disguises, and there's a nice ending to the story with Bets solving the mystery.

My least favourite: Banshee Towers, a weak ending to the series (imo), even though I enjoyed Ern's detection of the art substitution racket.

PS Unfortunately, a poll could not be run with 15 choices. :( If everyone's choices narrow the field, perhaps we can then run a poll with a smaller selection of books.
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Kirrin
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hi

Post by Kirrin »

The mystery of the burnt cottage no1 is very good!
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Rob Houghton
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Post by Rob Houghton »

All of the books in this series are strong, with the exception of 'Banshee Towers', in which I feel Enid was merely 'going through the motions' to satisfy readers cries for more.

The book I would have to choose as my all time favourite (and its a very, very hard choice) is probably 'The Mystery of the Pantomime Cat'.

This story has so many suspects and a very surprising outcome. Also, Goon gets a proper dressing-down from Jenks, which is fantastic!

However, I also like 'Burnt Cottage', 'Spiteful Letters', 'Holly Lane' and 'Strange Messages'.
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Anita Bensoussane
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Favourite Find-Outers Book

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

My favourite Find-Outers book has to be The Mystery of the Strange Bundle, because of the humour ("Where's my auntie?" etc.) I also love the cosy scenes between Fatty and Bets near the start, and fully sympathise with Pip's longing for peppermint bull's eyes to go with the detective novel he's reading. It may not be the most mysterious mystery, but there are so many memorable moments.

Second would be The Mystery of the Missing Necklace. Fatty disguising as the old man on the bench ("Wassat?") is brilliant, and I like the quirky touches like the man with odd eyes, and the bicycle with a hooter rather than a bell.

Third would be The Mystery of the Invisible Thief - a classic "whodunnit."

Only two titles disappoint me - The Mystery of Banshee Towers, which seems to belong to another series altogether with the secret passage etc, and The Mystery of the Vanished Prince (partly because I don't believe for one moment that Ern would fall for all that "Princess Bonga-whatever it is" nonsense, and partly because Rollo explains much of the mystery to Fatty.)

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Georgina
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Post by Georgina »

The mystery series was always my favourite series (even over famous five and adventure series) so really difficult to chose favourite. the only one i can really find fault with is banshee towers. I remember really enjoying vanishing prince as a child but havent read it for years (because i can't find it) but burnt cottage, disappearing cat, missing necklace, and pantomime cat are among my favourites and love coleopterist/collie dog breeder bits in missing man! :)

I might collapse under the strain if i had to chose an absolute favourite but surfice to say pantomime cat comes very high in my opinion.
Carlotta
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Post by Carlotta »

It is my favourite series too - inspired by this board, I've almost completed a full re-read, such good fun!

I like nearly all the titles. Banshee Towers is disappointing, though I do like the setting, and some of the imagery - there just isn't enough Larry, Pip and Daisy, and the plot is a little weak, at least in comparison with the very strong plotting in most of the other novels. Hidden House is one that I was quite surprised to be disappointed in - I didn't really enjoy the first two thirds much at all, though the ending was rather good.

I always enjoy Vanished Prince, but I think that's because it was the first in the series that I read. I love Fatty creeping about, telephoning the Chief, et al, and the baby show! Sid and Perce are great guest-stars, I love the phrase "dippy about babies"! Spiteful Letters stands up as even better than I remembered it - sinister undertones, some of the adult suspect characterisation is really superb, and there's a cameo from Miss Trimble! Invisible Thief has some great subsidiary characters too, I love Bets' boredom with the Inspector's pony-loving god-daughter - "'Yes,' said Bets, doubtfully"!

Missing Necklace has it all, it really is a classic of the genre. Tally-Ho is another good fun one - I love Mrs Trotteville's disapproval of the Lorenzos, and though I'm not a huge Ern fan, he does have some great scenes, carpentering and making notes. And the coleopterist conference in Missing Man gives such humorous possibilities, and originality, another stand-out story.

Strange Messages is a great favourite too - contrasting the cruelty of Mr Goon with the compassion of his nephew, and also a nice insight into Fatty's relationship with his own mother.

Oh, I can't decide - it's impossible!
Topsy-Turvy
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A random contribution from me

Post by Topsy-Turvy »

Whilst this is the topic of the Five Find-Outers I thought I'd put up an article I came across...

http://www.lnreview.co.uk/books/diary/004391.php

I just hope the writer enjoyed the book. He never did say!

Actually I didn't mind Banshee Towers too much as a child though I didn't think much of it for an "ending" compared to Five are Together Again. I think I'm just a Fatty fan :)

My favourite book in this series...hmm it's hard but probably Pantomime Cat, though there are several seconds!
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Raci
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Re: A random contribution from me

Post by Raci »

Topsy-Turvy wrote:Whilst this is the topic of the Five Find-Outers I thought I'd put up an article I came across...

http://www.lnreview.co.uk/books/diary/004391.php

I just hope the writer enjoyed the book. He never did say!
I think he hasn't finished reading it yet, hence the lack of a decision.

Well I never saw Fatty's voice breaking as Enid breaking her 'most sacred literacy rule'!
To me it was a necessity for the disguises to be able to move on a stage. How else would Fatty have managed some of the disguises as adults? And without some of those disguises there would have been no mystery!

Also a 16 book series!!!!! :?
I thought there were 15 Findouter mysteries!
Am I missing one?
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Rob Houghton
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Post by Rob Houghton »

I thought what he said about the Find Outers was quite amusing, considering he admitted to being a big Blyton fan.

I can't believe he went through his childhood without comming across the Find-outers!!

It seemed too, that he was doing poor Enid down for all of the things she is usually accused of NOT tackling; ie, moving characters on, dealing with 'puberty' etc. It seems she cant do right for doing wrong!!
Topsy-Turvy
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Re: A random contribution from me

Post by Topsy-Turvy »

Raci wrote:Also a 16 book series!!!!! :?
I thought there were 15 Findouter mysteries!
Am I missing one?
No Raci, you are spot on it's 15. He probably saw 15 and tacked his on as the 16th or something! It's the writer of the article who's got it wrong. Also I think he means the Green Hands Gang featured in the Barney Mysteries, not Red!

He did seem to have read quite a fair few Blytons so I too am baffled how he could miss Fatty (as if anyone could!) and his Find-Outers (and Dog). Maybe he was writing the article tongue-in-cheek about EB's different stance on children growing etc in this book. Come to think of it I don't think even Julian broke his voice in the Famous Five! :)

I'm quite intrigued about the whole Japanese serial thing though I have to say. Imagine it being such a hit in Japan! It would probably be quite faithful to the whole series, plus minus a few things I reckon. Pity it would be quite impossible to get hold of.
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Anita Bensoussane
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Japanese Find-Outers TV Series

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Hi Topsy-Turvy,

I too would love to see that Japanese Find-Outers series dubbed into English 8). I doubt it would have been very faithful to the books though. It seems that there were 115 episodes, spanning 2 1/2 years, so it's likely that more than a few new stories were written!

The Red Hand Gang does sound rather like Snubby's Green Hands Gang, but it was actually an American TV series which I remember watching on TV in Britain around 1979. It was about a group of children and their dog (Boomer), who solved mysteries. I don't recall much about the storylines, though my sister and I watched it avidly, but I can still sing the theme tune: "La la la la la, la-la-la..." (Yes, those were the actual words :lol:. ) Anyone else remember this?!

Anita
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Rob Houghton
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Post by Rob Houghton »

Hi Anita!

T.V programmes again?! And I thought you said you didn't watch much TV as a child??!! :wink:

Yes, I remember the red hand gang on TV too, and I watched it avidly as you did, and I remember the theme tune now you've reminded me of it (yes, those WERE the words!). Like you, I can't seem to remember the plots or even the characters - but I know I loved it at the time.
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Anita Bensoussane
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The Red Hand Gang

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Hi,

[Robert:] "T.V programmes again?! And I thought you said you didn't watch much TV as a child??!!"

:oops: :oops: :oops:

Sorry to have strayed so far from "Favourite Five Find-Outers Book," but here's a link for Red Hand Gang fans:

http://www.culttelly.co.uk/infousa.html

Anita
Bill Smugs
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Post by Bill Smugs »

My favourite is Invisible Thief. Apart from the mystery iteself, it's the sun-drenched summer days in a perfect english village which appeal to me! I guess it's just nostalgia for my childhood. It was always summer then, wasn't it?
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Post by Moonraker »

Bill Smugs wrote:My favourite is Invisible Thief. Apart from the mystery iteself, it's the sun-drenched summer days in a perfect english village which appeal to me! I guess it's just nostalgia for my childhood. It was always summer then, wasn't it?
Hi Bill

You've hit the proverbial nail there. Yes, it was always summer then! Nostalgia is so wonderful. :wink:
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