The Three Investigators and The Mystery of the Talking Skull

When I was younger I read a bunch of these Three Investigator books and absolutely loved them. I think I must have got most of them from the library, but I owned this one. It still has my book plate inside so I know it's mine. It was packed and when we unpacked it I pulled it off the shelf immediately because I really wanted to reread one of these books as an adult. I really enjoyed it and would like to read more in the series, so I'll have to keep an eye out for them. 

So, the Three Investigators in question are Jupiter, Pete, and Bob. Jupiter Jones lives with his aunt and uncle, for reasons that I can't remember. Pete and Bob both live with their parents. The books are set in the sixties in California. Alfred Hitchcock has nothing to do with the books but his name was used, which did confuse me when I was a kid but I've read up on it since. Jupiter's aunt and uncle own a scrapyard, which is filled with weird and wonderful things. Jupiter has built a secret hideaway for the boys' detective club within the scrapyard, and there are several exits and entrances to it and the yard itself, which often comes in useful. 

Jupiter is incredibly clever, he is also very charming and good at speaking to adults. Bob is brainy and is often tasked with research for the cases that the boys get involved in. Pete is 'the muscle', I guess, but there's not a lot about him in general. I like the parts that are from Bob's point of view as he's often rolling his eyes at Jupiter. Jupiter is sometimes a know it all but I like him anyway. 

In this book they attend an auction, for no good reason at all, and Jupiter buys a suitcase for a dollar. It turns out to have belonged to a magician known as The Great Gulliver, who disappeared as one of his tricks and is missing. It takes the boys a while to open the suitcase, but inside they discover a talking skull! But a few people want the skull for themselves, adding some danger to the book. 

I would recommend this for younger teen readers, it is a bit old fashioned but in a really endearing way. I'm giving it four out of five. 

Sorry I've been so absent around here! Moving house over the summer really took it out of me and I haven't been writing as much. I have TONS of reviews to do, though, so I'll need to get caught up!