Meg Duncan #5 The Mystery of the Black-Magic Cave and #6 Mystery in Williamsburg

In Meg Duncan #5, The Mystery of the Black-Magic Cave, Meg, Kerry, and Uncle Hal travel to Merrybones, Maine, where Uncle Hal stays in his cabin and the two girls stay in a boarding house.  Uncle Hal's friend, Emily Hawthorne, is being threatened.  Emily's family once lived in the town, and she recently returned.  For some reason, she is not welcome.

Meg and Kerry learn that a coven of witches has meetings in a nearby cave.  The girls soon suspect that many of the prominent women of the town may be involved.  The girls wonder whether the women are the ones threatening Emily.

This is a really good mystery.  The story is excellent.

In Meg Duncan #6, Mystery in Williamsburg, Meg and Kerry are hostesses at an antique toy show in Williamsburg.  Meg searches for the valuable George Washington clothespin dolls, which have been missing for years.  An old dollhouse loaned to the show by Miss Mariah apparently holds the key to finding the dolls.  Several men appear to be way too interested in the dollhouse, and Meg fears that the clothespin dolls will be located by one of the men before she and Kerry can find them.

This is a very good book.

If the entire Meg Duncan series had been written exactly like the first two books, I would not have a very good overall opinion of it.  Instead, the series gets better and better, and in particular, #3, 4, and 5 are quite good.  I enjoyed #6 slightly less than the preceding three volumes but better than #1 and 2.  Overall, the Meg Duncan series is a very good series.

Meg Duncan #3 The Treasure Nobody Saw and #4 The Ghost of Hidden Springs

In Meg Duncan #3, The Treasure Nobody Saw, Meg enjoys the thrill of a thunderstorm.  As she looks outside, she is astonished to see a car drive up to the deserted Haywood house.  A figure in white goes up the steps.  Meg cannot get anybody to believe her, but she is certain that someone is staying in the Haywood house.  Meg investigates and becomes acquainted with the family that is staying in the house.

On page 114, Meg suggests that Abby put something white in the attic window if she needs something.  Meg tells her that she read about it in a book, and Abby remarks that she remembers the book.  In Nancy Drew #28, The Clue of the Black Keys, Terry signals by putting something white in the attic window.  I wonder if this is the book.

This book is very good.

In Meg Duncan #4, The Ghost of Hidden Springs, the old Hannigan house is reputedly haunted by the spirit of a young girl named Kathleen who drowned.  Several people see the ghost near the summer house.  Meg and Kerry find flowers on Kathleen's grave, then they meet a girl named Kathleen who is staying in the area with her mother.  Kathleen looks just like the dead girl.  What is going on?

As I read this book, I noticed that the sentences are not as short and that I like the style better.  I assume that this has to do with the different authors who wrote the books.  In any case, the series keeps getting better and better.  This is a very good book.

Meg Duncan #1 Disappearing Diamonds and #2 Witch's Stairway

The Meg Duncan series consists of six books first published by Whitman in hardcover and later reprinted by Golden Press in softcover.

1.  Meg and the Disappearing Diamonds, 1967
2.  The Secret of the Witch's Stairway, 1967
3.  The Treasure Nobody Saw, 1967
4.  The Ghost of Hidden Springs, 1970
5.  The Mystery of the Black Magic Cave, 1971
6.  Mystery in Williamsburg, 1972

These books are aimed at a slightly younger audience than the Trixie Belden series.  I was concerned when I began revisiting the Trixie Belden series that I might struggle with it since it is skewed younger than most books I enjoy.  My Trixie Belden experience went well after I adjusted to reading the books.  I decided to read Meg Duncan immediately after reading Trixie Belden, since that would give me the best chance of enjoying the Meg books.  As I have stated previously, what I have read just before reading a series can influence how much I enjoy it or whether I can even read it.

In Meg Duncan #1, Meg and the Disappearing Diamonds, Mrs. Partlow's diamonds vanish during a tea party.  At first, Meg fears that her friend Kerry's cousin might have taken the diamonds and hidden them.  Later, Meg realizes that someone else must be to blame.

This is a good story, but the culprit is way too obvious.  The reading level is a tad bit too low for me, and that affected my enjoyment.

In Meg Duncan #2, The Secret of the Witch's Stairway, Meg searches for the missing Ashley family silver.  Meg has a few clues, which she follows during her search.

This mystery is also a bit too simple.  After all, the title of the book pretty much tells us all we need to know about where the silver might be hidden

Even though the reading level is also a bit too low for me, I did enjoy this book more than the first book.  Generally, this series gets better as it continues.