Rach's Reading Club 2024-And Beyond!

The Mystery of the Purple Pirate

This monthy's topic had me a little stuck. I immediately thought of The Color Purple but I had no desire to read that. At one point, I remembered that a picture book called Harold and the Purple Crayon but I didn't think that was appropriate. Then, i remembered that there was a Three Investigators mystery called The Mystery of the Purple Pirate by William Arden which I had never read.

For those who don't know, The Three Investigators were three boys who solved mysteries in a series of childrens' novels. The books originally contained an odd conceit that the boys received mentorship from Alfred Hitchcock who would introduce the books and sometimes appear at the end. When Hitchcock passed, someone had the idea of replacing him with a fictitious mystery author named Hector Sebastian.

Anyway, this particular story involves a mysterious organisation which offers reward money for information on local pirate history. Their biggest customers are a family which has been attempting to run a failing tourist attraction around a local pirate who famously dressed in purple. The family is happy to earn the extra money with their attraction struggling, but the three investigators soon begin to suspect something about the situation.

I won't give away too much of the plot except to say that if you're a fan of Sherlock Holmes, this story might remind you of The Red-Headed League .

Actually, it seems to me that this story is a little bit lessw cerebral than some other books in the series. At least some of them, involved figuring out riddles and treasure hunts shich this one doesn't.

Still, the thing that makes these characters work is th three personalities. Jupiter is the smart one. In fact, I think he must be something of a child prodigy not only for his ability to solve mysteries, but for his abnility to design equipment out of things from hisw Aunt and Unle's salvage Yard. Pete isa bit more reserved although ironically he is actually the most physically capable of the boys. Bob is also smart but in a more bookish way. He is the best at research.

The book was an enjoyable trip where boys go up against real criminals.