A locked room mystery...in an armoured car! NBT #2-The Case of the Runaway Money

Hello again! And welcome to another New Bobbsey Twins mystery review!

This time, our young detective quartet are at a kids mini-marathon. Older twins Nan and Bert are competing. The race is for charity, and it was Nan's idea to hold it. The heavy hitters of the city (Mayor Childress, wife of city Counselman Cox, director of Lakeport cultural affairs Harrison Potter, and armoured car securities owner Jackson Winters) are heavily involved with the contest, so there is quite a turnout.

Bert and Nan are in the top 10 racers (i like how they don't come in first on EVERYTHING they compete in), and so are up on stage when the donation box with the charity money is opened. GASP! Shock! The box is only filled with strips of newspaper, and the money is nowhere to be found!

Each of the "heavy hitters" have had the money box in their possession, and only they have had it by themselves, so they are naturally the suspects the Bobbseys investigate. For various reasons, each twin suspects a different one of the suspects, so they separate to investigate their quarries (except Flossie, who gets Bert to help her tail Mrs Cox). There are several misadventures the twins experience when doing their detective work:

Freddie is in trouble!

Looking for clues

Nan does a bit of snooping

Confronting a suspect!

That is REALLY inconspicuous guys!

     What it boils down to is this, each suspect has semi-suspicious behaviour, and they all handled the box. First, Mrs. Cox delivered the box to Mr. Potter's office (where the people could visit and put donations in special envelopes-which to me clears Mrs Cox, since when she had it there was no money in the box yet). From there, that morning, the box is given to Mr Winters, who drives the armoured truck, while his employee, Hank is in the back with the money box, and from there the box is given to the mayor who has it during the race, and then opened it.

     The councilman's wife when followed was buying expensive furs (i hope they're faux firs, right?) and clothes with cash! She spent $15,000 on clothes (and remember this is the '80s,. so it's probably about $30k adjusted for inflation) making her seem, at least unusual. (Turns out her family lost a bit of their fortune when one of their banks failed during the stock market crash of '29, so they always use cash).

     Mr. Potter has a sickly aunt, so not only was he not in town immediately after the theft, but he needs money to pay for her hospital bills (turns out he sold some of his stocks to cover it)

    Mr. Winters was suspected of stealing money during a theft of his armoured truck several years ago (it was suspected that he set it up, but it was a baseless accusation)

    After all of the suspects are cleared, the Bobbseys come up empty and short on ideas. So, they decide to reenact the crime and see if they can discover where the theft could have occurred.

     They figure out that the villian was Hank, the employee of Mr Winters. He had an identical donation box that he made, and whilst the armoured truck was in transit, he took the flattened box from underneath the carpet, sealed it, ripped open the genuine box and stole the money.

     The twins call Lt. Pike of the police who reluctantly goes with them to confront Hank at the armoured truck office, and browbeat and trick him into confessing.

    Ok, i don't think i gave as comprehensive or coherent a synopsis of this book as i did the last one, so if it sounds confusing, it's my description and not the story. I actually really liked this one as a kid. The twins really have to use their little grey cells to figure out the case, and on the way, they encounter enough danger (i didn't tell you how Freddie came to be menaced by a mean dog-you'll have to read the book!) to make things exciting, yet not too intense for young readers. I also like how this book shows that the rich of Lakeport each have certain idiosyncrasies that make them seem queer and suspicious, so each suspect honestly seems guilty and keeps you guessing until the end. Yet, the reveal doesn't come out of the blue-clues are scattered throughout the book so you can pick up on who the real villian is.


     Well, that about covers book #2. See you next time!

The Bobbseys are not amused at the strange happenings at the amusement park! (Review of New Bobbsey Twins book #1-The Secret of Jungle Park)

    Hello blog readers! Welcome to my first book review! (I hope my ramblings are coherent enough to understand)

  The book opens with Nan Bobbsey (the eldest girl) being helped with her makeup for a rock band she is in by her younger sister Flossie. Flossie's twin Freddie appears seemingly hurt by a monster, but it is only older brother Bert playing around with his makeup gear. We are right away introduced to town bully and general bad guy Danny Rugg, who also is in a rock band. A local amusement park (named "Jungle Park") is hosting a battle of the bands contest where youths compete with their rock bands for a prize. The show has hardly begun when what appears to be a fire disrupts the entertainment!

  It is shown that the emergency was a prank-a smoke bomb, but the police treat the matter seriously. Lieutenant Pike of the police force (more will be said about him later) knows that it's no joke when a crowd is panicked. People could get seriously hurt in the chaos that could ensue. The Bobbseys ask him if they can investigate afterwards, and he grudgingly agrees. The contest goes on, and the Bobbseys band (the Aliens) tie for first place with Danny Ruggs band (the Skulls). Both will play again in an elimination heat at a later date.

  The Bobbseys do their thing and search for clues afterwards finding an eyepatch and a swizzle stick (i always thought this was a bendable straw, or maybe a coffee cup stirrer. If anyone has any other ideas, please tell me)

  The eyepatch may point to Danny since his costume has one, but the Bobbseys know better than to assume anything without more definitive proof. Still Bert thinks that with Danny's history, he's the likely prankster. Freddie has more confidence in the clue of the swizzle stick. It has the logo for the Sunset Grill on it. Fortunately for him, the Bobbsey family goes out to eat once a week, and it's his turn to pick the restaurant. Sunset Grill it is!

  This place turns out to be a cheap one-star dive where the food is awful at best. But Freddie and Nan are able to sneak into a private hallway and listen at the door of an office where a deep-voiced man is growling on the phone "The problem is Tiny!" Of course, this isn't easily understood by our heroes who wonder if the problem is small, why is he so mad. Their eavesdropping is cut short as they are discovered. With the old standby excuse that they were looking for the washroom, Nan and Freddie take their leave and go back to the dining area.

  The next morning, the Bobbseys hear a radio report of strange accidents happening at Jungle Park. Simon Harris-co-owner (who also owns restaurants and real estate all over town) is interviewed. Freddie recognises the voice as the deep-voiced man at Sunset Grill, and Nan and the younger twins go to investigate.

  When they get there, they find Lieutenant Pike also doing an investigation. They sweet talk their way into joining him as he interviews some of the employees. First, is co-owner Mr. Loomis. He mentions that his partner Mr. Harris and he are upset that business is slow because of the accidents and strange happenings. Mr. Harris is even hiring a fix-it man from his own pocket to save expenses. He's a redhead with an eyepatch! (Dum, dum, dum!)

  Next they speak to the animal trainer, Beverly Baku. She's kind of a hippie black woman. She manages to annoy Lt. Pike, and the Bobbseys decide to take their leave (Lt. Pike only tolerated them being there by a narrow margin, and they feel that if he's annoyed, they don't want to upset the apple cart)

  As Nan and Flossie try to decide their next move, Freddie goes into action! He spotted the bald co-owner Mr. Harris and follows him. When the girls catch up, they spot the eyepatched, redheaded man. Not much happens though, and the siblings go home to regroup.

  At home, they meet up with Bert who was tailing Danny put didn't find out anything. The older twins decide to search the park after hours. They don't get far because someone let the animals loose and they almost get trampled by a stampeding elephant! Shaken from their narrow escape, they beat a hasty retreat back home.


  The next day, the kids go to Jungle Park to rehearse with the rest of the Aliens. After this, they break away to do more detecting. It seems Beverly Baku left town suddenly, and as the twins talk to Mr. Loomis, the eyepatched fix-it man comes into the office and is big and frightening:

  Mr. Loomis gives the handyman instructions and he leaves. After this, he chats with the twins for a bit, mentioning such things as how ironic it is that a big man like him has the nickname of "Tiny", and then offers to let them ride a roller coaster for free.

  The coaster ride is fun, and they even see Mr. Eyepatch waving at them from the ground far below, but then terror strikes! During the ride, the cars come loose! Realising something has gone wrong, Mr. Loomis is able to shut down the ride before the kids get hurt. When they recover from their shock, the twins determine that the coaster cars were sabotaged-this was no accident! Since the handyman supposedly worked on the roller coaster, the twins and Mr Loomis search for him. He was seen heading to the fun house, so they go there, only to find a redhead wig and an eyepatch. It was a disguise!

  Brainstorming back home, they realise that Mr. Harris was saying that Mr. Loomis (aka "Tiny") was the problem on the phone, not the size of the issue.

  Next day, the twins follow Mr. Harris and see him talking to members of a construction company. Mr. Bobbsey owns a lumberyard, and he later explained that Peabody construction wants to build a mall where the amusement park stands. The twins figure out that Mr. Harris wants to sell it, but Tiny won't agree. As co-owners, they both need to sign off on it, so "the problem is Tiny". Nan sketches Mr. Harris, and then adds a red wig and eyepatch. It's the handyman! They're one and the same person!

  Now, the twins call Lt. Pike, who lets them ride in the police car for the final showdown. They find a man in a gorilla suit (who blends in since the park has many people in costume), but wait! He's jimming the lights! After a funny chase, they capture the gorilla, aka the redhead handyman, aka Mr. Harris

  And the final band competition? Despite a dirty trick, Danny Rugg tried to pull, the Aliens win! A nice wrap up to the case!

   My thoughts: What can i say? I loved these books as a tween (this came out in '87 making me about 11 or 12 years old), and they still hold a place in my heart. Maybe some of that is nostalgia, but i really think the adventure is just right for young kids, and would recommend this to any parent with young children to read.

  Every detective has a policeman who has a love-hate relationship with them all the way down from Sherlock Holmes and Inspector Lestrade. Lt. Pike is such a policeman for our young detectives. But despite a bit of gruffness, he is kind, and really does value the twins' thoughts as can be seen by the way he does allow them to tag along.

  Each book has about 10 illustrations in them. (Here's a little secret-i love the books so much that a few years ago, i bought prints of the pictures used by the artist as a basis for his artwork! As a photographer, i find these especially interesting) These illustrations were by George Tsui in the first few books, and then by Paul Jennis until book #18. This along with the "ghostwriters" for the first half of the series marked the heyday of the series for me. Book #1 is 5 stars in my opinion, and the series has new life breathed into it!

Please join me soon for a review of book #2!

Welcome to my new blog! (My intro and very first entry!)

Hello! I have seen and enjoyed blogs on some of the books i read as a child such as Trixie Belden and the Three Investigators, but have never seen anything on the new Bobbsey Twins series. So, i decided i would start one myself!

So, what was the series about? Well, it seems that many people have heard of the Bobbsey Twins, but not many have read their books. The Bobbsey Twins series started way back in 1904 and the main characters are older twins Bert and Nan (aged 8 when the series started pre-WWI, but quickly changed to age 12), and younger twins Freddie and Flossie (aged 4 when the series started pre-WWI, but quickly changed to age 6). As a youngster, my parents would treat me by taking me to antique book stores and i actually owned several first editions dated back to the pre-WWI era. That series lasted for 72 books and ended in 1979. By the 70s, the series was less "adventure" and more mystery, but still, the writing was ok, but usually after reading those once, i didn't want to reread them. Then in 1980, Wanderer books restarted the title with paperbacks instead of hardcovers, and more of a mystery flavour (indeed, the books' cover actually said they were a "pre-Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys series". This is when the series REALLY began to take off in my opinion. At an early age, i liked reading Isaac Asimov and Agatha Christie, so anything mystery, or sci-fi related piqued my interest. I may get to reviewing the Wanderer books (there were 14 and went from 1980-1986) at some point, but for now, onto the 3rd (and thus far final) series. When Wanderer books ended, Minstrel books took over with the "New" Bobbsey Twins series. The books were a bit smaller, meaning the pace was faster, but the stories (at least the first 17) were well-written with enough mystery, danger and suspense to keep my tween mind interested, yet not too much. This series lasted 30 books and went from 1987 to 1992 where the series has died (at least until the time i write this-2013)

  While i enjoy more adult novels today instead of just kid stuff, a lot of books have things in them objectable to me (cursing, sex, violence, spirtism, etc), so it is always a pleasure for me to dust off these gems of childhood and reread them without those worries.

  I will do these reviews periodically-i hope to do at least one a week, but to be frank, we'll see how faithful i am to this. If i see that interest in them is there, i will feel like doing them more often. Please, leave comments with your thoughts on the series, questions, or what have you, but please keep the comments family-friendly. No cursing, or vulgar or crude language, please.

  And now, onto the reviews!