The Three Investigators #11 Talking Skull and #12 Laughing Shadow

In the Three Investigators #11, The Mystery of the Talking Skull, Jupiter, Pete, and Bob attend an auction of unclaimed luggage.  Jupiter decides to purchase a locked trunk and ends up the only bidder at $1.  A local reporter writes up a humorous story about Jupiter's purchase, and suddenly, a number of people want the trunk. 

On page 14, Aunt Mathilda thinks that Jupiter wasted his money on the trunk.  While the trunk may not look like much, it is locked and could have contents worth more than $1.  I thought it was a little strange that Aunt Mathilda dismisses the purchase so easily.

I enjoyed this book from the start.  The idea of buying an old locked trunk at an auction is great.  The trunk disappears soon after Jupiter brings it home, apparently stolen.  That part is good!

I greatly enjoyed this book.

In the Three Investigators #12, The Mystery of the Laughing Shadow, Bob and Pete hear a struggle as they walk past the Sandow estate after dark one evening.  A gold amulet is thrown over the fence, and the boys hear a wild laugh.  They glimpse a strange misshapen shadow, which terrifies them.

Later, the boys learn that the amulet holds a clue to the hidden Chumash stash of gold.  The boys begin searching for the gold, but they find themselves in great danger from others who also seek the hidden stash.

I notice that these books tend to focus around a mysterious object that is somehow important or is a clue to a treasure.  I rather like that approach.  The mysterious object sets up a story with a nice hook that pulls the reader in.

This is a very engaging book, and I enjoyed it from start to finish.