Alfred Hitchcock and The Three Investigators #9 THE MYSTERY OF THE SCREAMING CLOCK Paperback – 1 Jan. 1984

Arrived quickly. Exactly as described. Thoroughly enjoying reading this old book. Takes me right back to my youth.😊

“A room full of clocks and they all scream… Why?”I had it in my head that this and “Talking Skull” are the weakest Arthur books but, upon re-reading this as an adult, I don’t think that’s the case. Certainly, it’s not as sensational as the other stories and sticks resolutely close to home (coming off of the Varania trip from “Silver Spider”), but it’s a solid mystery, showing the boys detecting skills perfectly, though the story itself relies quite heavily on chance. Characterisation is good - it’s nice to see Hugenay again after “Stuttering Parrot” (and it’s a shame he never appeared again) - it’s well written, there’s some nice interplay between the lads and there are a couple of decent action sequences. Mr Jeeters, the chief villain here, is also worth a mention because he’s such a nasty bloke, especially in the threats he makes against Bob & Jupiter. It seems to me that Arthur was at his best when the boys are near to HQ, with the action taking place in Rocky Beach and Hollywood and that’s perfectly highlighted here. There’s also the very nice touch with two footnotes to previous cases, which help make this an enjoyable read and definitely one of the better entries in the series. Great stuff and very highly recommended.