The Mystery of the Missing Mermaid

Last night after a long hard day I was too tired to go out and decided to spend the evening catching up on The Three Investigators. Earlier in the week I had begun to read the 36th book in the series, The Missing Mermaid. The story is written somewhat in the style of an Agatha Christie novel, with lots of suspects and red herrings and the crook only being revealed well towards the end. The boys have come to Venice, CA so that Bob can do some research for a school paper. They befriend the people who work and live at a little shopping centre called Mermaid Court, owned by Clark Burton, a retired actor. The five-year-old son of the woman who owns the book shop disappears and his dog is found dead and dumped in a garbage can down the street. The boys offer their services and begin to nose around. A lot of suspicious activity is going on. Mooch, a young unwashed busboy at the café, despite his unsavoury manners, has a way with animals and is said to take in stray dogs. Indeed, he has about five dogs in his back yard, but when a man brings him another dog, he calls it a mutt and tells the man to get lost. An elderly resident, Miss Peabody, is always poking around other people’s lives. She is a bit of a gossip and seems to have it in for Clark Burton. The former actor is an unusual man who seems to make up stories about his past, and changes them to suit his needs. The boys investigate and uncover a dognapping scheme, art theft and the whereabouts of the little boy. There is a lot of action and detecting, and the story rounds off with an exciting ride in a balloon and Jupiter emptying a suitcase full of dollars over the town.

This was the twelfth 3I book penned by Mary Virginia Carey. It was published in 1984. The plot is excellent and the writing is quite good, but not up to the same standard as her classic Singing Serpent and Death Trap Mine. The story is a page turner and once the action takes off after a slow start it is impossible to put it down. The only problem is the characterization and style. The three boys normally have very distinct characters, but here their roles are pretty much interchangeable, with only Pete being recognizable in part. Jupe does not seem to be as smart as usual and does not use his erudite speech and long words. This may have been the author responding to critiques of her previous books, some of which could have been called Jupiter Jones mysteries. Pete and Bob did not play much of a role in The Mystery of the Magic Circle, for example. Here it is obvious that the story has been carefully structured to give each investigator an equal role, and Jupiter has been neglected a little for this purpose. As for style, the text could have benefitted by more careful editing and more variety of grammar. At one point in a space of six lines, there are sentences with “Mooch had stopped near an open convertible… Mooch stared at the dog… Mooch started to talk to the dog… Mooch dug into the bag.” The style does seem rushed at times.

Another point that deserves to be mentioned is the mermaid. Although the cover shows the boys looking at a real mermaid perched on a rock, this scene does not occur in the book. Most 3I stories have the boys investigating an unusual phenomenon like a Green Ghost or Screaming Clock. M. V. Carey seems to experience difficulty when it comes to including this element in her stories. In the Secret of the Haunted Mirror, the ghost in the mirror and the explanation for it are very weak, even pointless. The same goes for The Mystery of the Wandering Caveman. In the present story, the mermaid is a little statue that gets broken in Clark Burton’s store and the boys notice that it is missing when they pay a second visit to the actor. It is in no way the focus of the mystery. But to call it the Mystery of the Little Lost Boy wouldn’t have sounded very interesting to potential readers.

However, there are also positive things to say about the story. The minor characters are interesting and the way we are kept guessing is fun. I enjoyed the balloon ride at the end and also the comedy that was included in the story, with Jupiter getting stuck in a dumbwaiter shaft and Bob and Pete having to rescue him. Worthington the chauffeur, a firm favourite with the readers, also puts in an appearance.

All told, this is a good little mystery and one of the brighter spots in the series at a time when it was in decline. Only three years later, The Three Investigators series would be cancelled after the publication of the 43rd story. It is not brilliant, but is easily better than some of Ms. Carey’s more recent efforts such as Scar Faced Beggar and Blazing Cliffs, and well worth the read.