As when I read this book four years ago, I had some trouble getting into it. We aren't given a reason to care about Mr. Brown and his plight. Sure, we know that he is a friend of the Allens, but Ken reflects to himself about how he doesn't feel as bad as they do, since he hasn't lived in Brentwood for long. That's how I felt since I didn't know anything about Mr. Brown. The bank robbery occurred before the opening of the book, and the guilty verdict came in at the beginning of the book. I always have more trouble with books when important parts of the plot occur before the beginning of the book.
Once I got several chapters into the book, I was fine. The mystery plays out in a similar fashion to The Riddle of the Stone Elephant and is enjoyable.
When I read these books, I always wonder about how Ken and Sandy can drive a red convertible and successfully trail other vehicles without being noticed. At one point in this book, Ken and Sandy stay back 100 feet from the other vehicle so that they won't be noticed. The road is rural.
The psychological game that Ken and Sandy play with Horn towards the end of the book is fascinating.
Once I got into the story, the book was great all the way through until the end. The end did not drag, and all of it was engaging.
I found that I enjoyed most of this book more than I did the first time I read it. I began to remember some details soon into the book and was certain that I remembered the identity of one of the culprits. That piqued my interest. Unfortunately, I did grow tired of the story towards the end and skimmed parts of the last three to four chapters.
2 comments:
The Black Thumb Mystery
This struck me as one story told in two parts. At the beginning there was the outcome of the trial, and the resentment towards Ken and Sandy for telling the truth. That aspect bugged me. Were they supposed to lie? I thought that Ken standing up for Mr. Brown and setting out to clear him was in keeping with his character. Sandy going along with Ken was to be expected considering their friendship.
The boys then hit the road, and the investigation begins. One thing I like about the series is that the boys have to watch their pennies. Money isn’t lying around to fund their adventures. They have to count up their money before checking into the fancy hotel. This book, like most of them, has a bit too much unnecessary deducting, but overall is a good story and kept me reading.
The Clue Of The Marked Claw
In this story we learn a lot about lobstering. Is has some bearing on the mystery, and is not too tedious. I can see that for a youth in 1950 the lobstering would have been an adventure all on its own. As with all the stories the writing is descriptive enough so I had no difficulty putting myself in the scenes. The criminals scheme was a bit impractical, but I had no trouble going along with it. A good read overall with just a little skimming on my second reading.
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