The Mystery of the Stuttering Parrot (Three Investigators S., #2) (The Three Investigators, #2)

by Robert Arthur

I read a few of these when I was younger and always rather enjoyed them. It's always different reading such stories when you're older but I still really enjoyed the first two in the series.

Jupiter Jones, Pete Crenshaw and Bob Andrews are three boys who have decided to start a detective agency, aptly named The Three Investigators. They use 3 question marks as their symbol and are willing to solve any mystery, riddle or puzzle. Jupiter is the brains of the operation, Pete the muscle and Bob the researcher. The boys have their own secret Headquarters - (a portable office that's been hidden under many piles of junk) that has secret entrances and a phone, use chalk (each boy a different colour) to leave directions, clues and messages to each other - and even a driver (Worthington) with Rolls Royce - courtesy of a competition Jupiter wins to have a chauffeur for 30 days. I'm not sure how long they actually have the car for - I don't think I ever read any without it but I haven't read all of them, so who knows.

The Mystery of the Stuttering Parrot has the boys going on a treasure hunt. Reminiscent of Treasure Island, "John Silver" has trained seven parrots to speak the clues that lead to his buried treasure. The boys are busy hunting down missing parrots, dodging 'the fat man' who keeps threatening them and creating havoc with Ghost to Ghost hookups (which is actually really cool - although might be better known as a phone tree. I enjoyed how this worked to help them solve the case). The mystery is interesting and I still really enjoy the characters. The adult figures aren't particularly fleshed out but then again - they so rarely are.

I'll definitely be reading (and rereading for some) the rest of the series. 3.5 stars.