Judy Bolton Series Final Thoughts

I read the first three Judy Bolton books for the first time in the fall of 1991.  This was in the first six months that I collected series books.  I had found those three books in tweed editions at different times in antique shops.  The Haunted Attic was the very first Judy Bolton book I purchased, and I did so because the dust jacket reminded me of the Nancy Drew dust jackets.  I soon thereafter found tweed copies of The Vanishing Shadow and The Invisible Chimes and read all three of them.  I thoroughly enjoyed all three of them and hoped to complete my set eventually.

I was able to purchase most of the books by 1997.  For the higher-numbered titles, I purchased the Aeonian reprints.  I read through the set, except for the three books that I did not have which were #14, 21, and 32.

After I finally finished my set in 1998, I read through the entire set.  This means that I had read the first three titles three times apiece and most of the set twice.  As far as I know, I enjoyed all of the books.  I never recall thinking anything negative about any of them.

Around 15 years ago, I put together the Judy Bolton page on my website.  At that time, I at least partially read some books again in order to write summaries of them.  In the intervening time, I did not touch the books.  I had read the opinions of others, and I now realize that those opinions influenced my memories.

I did clearly remember #22 and #23 as my two favorite titles in the series.  Influenced by others, I thought that I didn't like #1 and #8.  I thought the series was weak from #30 through #38.

After reading the books again in late 2018, I was surprised by how much my opinion of many of the books changed.  I ended up liking some books more than I ever did before, and I ended up disliking some books that I had previously enjoyed.

Here is a list of how I rank the books.

  1. The Vanishing Shadow, 1932 - excellent
  2. The Haunted Attic, 1932 - very good
  3. The Invisible Chimes, 1932 - very good
  4. Seven Strange Clues, 1932 - very good
  5. The Ghost Parade, 1933 - good
  6. The Yellow Phantom, 1933 - excellent
  7. The Mystic Ball, 1934 - good
  8. The Voice in the Suitcase, 1935 - good
  9. The Mysterious Half Cat, 1936 - somewhat good
10. The Riddle of the Double Ring, 1937 - good
11. The Unfinished House, 1938 - very good
12. The Midnight Visitor, 1939 - very good
13. The Name on the Bracelet, 1940 - excellent
14. The Clue in the Patchwork Quilt, 1941 - excellent
15. The Mark on the Mirror, 1942 - very good
16. The Secret of the Barred Window, 1943 - very good
17. The Rainbow Riddle, 1946 - do not like
18. The Living Portrait, 1947 - good
19. The Secret of the Musical Tree, 1948 -  excellent
20. The Warning on the Window, 1949 - excellent
21. The Clue of the Stone Lantern, 1950 - excellent
22. The Spirit of Fog Island, 1951 - excellent
23. The Black Cat's Clue, 1952 - excellent
24. The Forbidden Chest, 1953 - very good
25. The Haunted Road, 1954 - do not like
26. The Clue in the Ruined Castle, 1955 - very good
27. The Trail of the Green Doll, 1956 - do not like
28. The Haunted Fountain, 1957 - very good
29. The Clue of the Broken Wing, 1958 - very good
30. The Phantom Friend, 1959 - do not like
31. The Discovery at the Dragon's Mouth, 1960 - good
32. The Whispered Watchword, 1961 - do not like
33. The Secret Quest, 1962 - very good
34. The Puzzle in the Pond, 1963 - good
35. The Hidden Clue, 1964 - do not like
36. The Pledge of the Twin Knights, 1965 - excellent
37. The Search for the Glowing Hand, 1966 - excellent
38. The Secret of the Sand Castle, 1967 - excellent

The Vanishing Shadow is often mentioned as being a boring book where nothing happens.  I did not find it boring at all.  I found the story thoroughly engaging, and my reading experience was enhanced by reading all three versions and comparing them.  The suspense about the dam possibly breaking and Judy's great fear are what make the story compelling.

I now like The Voice in the Suitcase better than I once did.  I still find the messy house a bit disgusting.  The lengthy performance near the end of the story bores me, but otherwise, I like the book now.

My opinion of The Mysterious Half Cat went down.  The story is strange and not very compelling.

I have always had trouble remembering the titles of #13 through 16.  I'm not sure why, but it's like they were never memorable to me and all blended together.  For that reason, I have had a negative opinion of that group of books in the years since I read them.  After all, I couldn't remember them.  If I couldn't remember them, then I concluded that I didn't like them.

I still find #16 The Secret of the Barred Window to be a bit depressing, but the book is very good.  #13 through 15 are rather good books, so hopefully I will be able to remember them now—or maybe not.  Several times in the last month I have mentally reviewed those titles to see if I can remember them.  I continue to struggle and have to think really hard about them before I can recall the titles.  I can quickly recall every title in the series outside of that group easily in order with no struggle.

I believe I liked #17 The Rainbow Riddle the first time I ever read it.  The next time I read it, I didn't find it very interesting.  This time I found it boring and did not like it at all.  Other readers consider it their very favorite title.  I suspect that those readers who love the book happen to love sentimental books.  I don't enjoy reading chapter after chapter of sentimentality about Judy and Peter getting married.  Very little happens in the book aside from the wedding and honeymoon trip.

The main Roberta books, #18 through 21, are overall as good as ever.  My opinion of #18 went down significantly, but my opinion of #19 through 21 increased considerably.

#22 and #23 were formerly my favorite titles in the series.  I still consider them excellent, but they are no longer necessarily my favorite books.

I no longer like #25 The Haunted Road.  This time I found it boring with the plot creeping along at a snail's pace.

I had a negative opinion of #29 The Clue of the Broken Wing, but this time, I found it excellent.

I have never been very fond of #30 The Phantom Friend, and I liked it even less this time.

I like #31 through #34 much less than I once did.  #32 is excruciating.

I have never liked #35 The Hidden Clue very much.  This time was no exception.

The series ends strong with all of #36 through #38 being quite good.  It's unusual for a series to end with really strong books.

I very much regret that Peter ever became an FBI agent.  I wish he had remained a lawyer.  Peter being in the FBI gives him a superiority over Judy that is a bit obnoxious at times.  He also keeps secrets from her because of his job, and that is also obnoxious.  I do not like it.

I find the Judy Bolton series to be a bit uneven.  Margaret Sutton wrote the books over the course of 35 years that included much change in her personal life.  Furthermore, Margaret Sutton had different editors over the years, and each editor had different expectations about the books.

The series can be divided into four parts.  In #1-10, Judy goes to school and is caught in a love triangle between Peter and Arthur.  These mysteries tend to be quite odd.  In #11-16, Judy is engaged to Peter, and he is an attorney.  In #17-21, Roberta lives with Judy and Peter and is like their daughter.  In #22-38, Judy's adventures tend to involve various friends and sometimes Peter's cases.

For readers wishing to try out the series, no single book will be representative of all of the books due to the variance in premise and style.  My suggestions for the very best titles to try are #18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 26, 28, 36, and 38.  These titles are the ones that would most easily be enjoyed by people who have never read a Judy Bolton book before and have no knowledge of the series.

Judy Bolton #38 The Secret of the Sand Castle and #39 The Strange Likeness

In Judy Bolton #38, The Secret of the Sand Castle, Roxy asks Judy to inspect a property on Fire Island that she is supposed to inherit.  Judy visits the property, known as the Sand Castle, along with Irene, Flo, and Pauline.  The girls only intend to visit for the afternoon, but a misunderstanding causes them to be stranded for days.  The Sand Castle is reputedly haunted by the ghost of a dead woman, and Judy even sees her!

The book opens with a fast car almost hitting Blackberry.  The driver looks just like Peter.  Margaret Sutton intended for the next title in the series to be about Peter's double, and this scene sets it up.

I like that Peter is only present at the beginning and end of the story.  Judy gets to solve a mystery on her own with her friends.  The atmosphere is spooky.  The girls are alone on a mostly deserted island with few people around.

This is an excellent book and a strong ending to the series.

The Strange Likeness was published in 2012 by Margaret Sutton's estate.  It was written by Kate Duvall and Beverly Hatfield.  The book uses the title planned by Margaret Sutton to be the 39th title in the series.  Sutton never wrote that book, since the series was canceled after the publication of #38.

In Judy Bolton #39, The Strange Likeness, Judy witnesses a jewelry theft by a man who looks exactly like Peter!  Judy keeps seeing the man, and she tells Peter about him.  Peter reveals that he is working on a case that involves his double, but he cannot give Judy any details.  Judy continues to see Peter's double, and Judy worries about what might happen.

Page six mentions how Lorraine and Arthur are living in Europe for a year.  This is good continuity, since Arthur and Lorraine are in Europe for a year at the end of the original series.

Pages 15 and 16 remind the reader about Peter's double almost running over Blackberry at the beginning of The Secret of the Sand Castle.  By mentioning events from the previous title, this book reads like it is part of the original series.

This is a very good book.

Judy Bolton #37 The Search for the Glowing Hand

In Judy Bolton #37, The Search for the Glowing Hand, Judy finds a frightened boy hiding in her house.  The boy is scared because he has been blamed for setting off a fire alarm, which resulted in firefighters being led away from the actual fire.  The boys swears that he is innocent.

Meanwhile, a group known as the Wasps is infiltrating the local schools, getting the students to protest against outsiders living near them.  In particular, the Wasps are against anyone who is not Christian or Caucasian.  Judy searches for the people who are in charge of the group.

On pages 11 and 12, Judy and Horace discuss how Peter became an FBI agent.

"And business school was just something to finish fast so I could work for Peter, and then he joined the FBI—"

"To please you, sis.  You know that was why he joined, don't you?  If you hadn't made such a fuss over Mr. Trent because he was a G-man, Peter might still have his little law office in Roulsville."

"I'd never seen an FBI agent before.  I guess I was a little childish about it," Judy admitted.  "I didn't mean to push Peter into a job that would take him away from me all the time."

This is the second time that Judy has expressed regret about Peter becoming an FBI agent.  I have to wonder whether Margaret Sutton regretted that decision.  I certainly do.  I wish Peter had remained in his law office with Judy helping him.

The previous book, The Pledge of the Twin Knights, mentions characters and scenes from the Oz books.  This book has a character named Oz and mentions the name Ozma.

The cover art was painted by Rudy Nappi.  This is the only Judy Bolton book done by Nappi.  It is believed that the cover art for The Search for the Glowing Hand was originally intended to be the cover of one of the revised text Nancy Drew books, possibly The Secret in the Old Attic.  The cover actually used on The Secret in the Old Attic is seen at the left.

The quality of the cover art for The Search for the Glowing Hand is not as good as Nappi's usual work.  I wonder if that is the reason the cover was not used on Nancy Drew and was then recycled for one of the other series.

The glowing hand was likely added to the cover painting later when it was used for this book instead.

A lot happens in this book.  I feel that the plot could easily have been enough for two books with perhaps the story continuing through both books.  One book could have featured the boy accused of the false alarm, and the other could have focused on the growing unrest in Farringdon.

This is a thoroughly engaging book.  It is excellent.

Judy Bolton #36 The Pledge of the Twin Knights

In Judy Bolton #36, The Pledge of the Twin Knights, Judy and Honey join the chess club at its meeting in one of the conference rooms of the Hamilton Manufacturing Company.  Judy considers the location to be strange and wonders whether any of the members could discover the company's secrets.

Horace and Donald are called back to the newspaper during the meeting, and Judy's disquiet grows.  She seeks out a radio, learning from the news that 10 prisoners have escaped.  Judy's new friend, Lorna, acts strange, and Judy wonders if she knows something.  Later, Judy learns that her father is missing.

A baby swallowed a screw, and Dr. Bolton is supposed to remove the screw by dropping a magnet down the esophagus.  Since Dr. Bolton is missing, the hospital decides to wait until Dr. Bolton is found before doing anything about the screw.  What if Dr. Bolton is never found?  What if they end up waiting too long?  The hospital's decision seems strange to me.

This story is quite compelling, since Dr. Bolton is missing.  This is an excellent book.

Judy Bolton #34 The Puzzle in the Pond and #35 The Hidden Clue

In Judy Bolton #34, The Puzzle in the Pond, Judy discovers a piece of the Boltons' old furniture from the Roulsville flood in a pond near the Jewell sisters' property.  The pond is upstream from Roulville, so Judy is mystified how the furniture came to be in the pond.  Judy also helps locate a missing boy from a nearby orphanage and hopes to reunite him with his father.

On page 52, the reader learns that the Roulsville flood occurred six years ago, which puts Judy's age at about 21.

On page 142, Blackberry has gone inside an abandoned house.  He will not come when Judy calls him, so she and Peter drive off.  Judy is rather careless with that cat.  Of course, he's supposed to be as smart as a human, so the reader can assume that the cat will be found.  In real life, the cat would end up lost forever.

The ending of this book is more drawn out than I would have liked, and I became quite bored towards the end.  I do like how the book has a connection with the Roulsville flood.

This is an overall very good book, but some parts were not very compelling and bored me.

In Judy Bolton #35, The Hidden Clue, Judy cares for a young sister and brother who have no place to stay after their orphanage burned.  The girl and boy have no names and are known as Sister and Little Brother.  Judy learns about a talking doll that Sister remembers and feels that the doll is a clue to Sister's past.

I do not find Sister to be at all likable, so I was never interested in the story.

This book bored me.  I do not like it, and I have never liked it.

Only Six More Books to Go...

I am on a quest to build a complete set of Nancy Drew #57 through #175 in hardcover library editions.  I have worked on this set since 2001.  For the last couple of years, I have worked harder at locating the books.  Additionally, a few of you are now keeping an eye out for the books I do not have.

Since I wrote about my search last summer, I have acquired three more books.

115. The Suspect in the Smoke, 1993
122. The Message in the Haunted Mansion, 1994
130. The Sign of the Falcon, 1996

I acquired #130 on August 20, 2018, thanks to a fellow collector's sharp eyes.  I acquired #122 on September 24, 2018 and #115 on March 1, 2019.  These three books were the lowest-numbered books that I needed.

I still need the following books.

148. On the Trail of Trouble, 1999
158. The Curse of the Black Cat, 2001
160. The Clue on the Crystal Dove, 2001
169. The Mistletoe Mystery, 2002
170. No Strings Attached, 2003
175. Werewolf in a Winter Wonderland, 2003

I don't know if I can complete the set, since Nancy Drew #57-175 were never issued as a set in hardcover.  The hardcover books that I have acquired came from random softcover books that were sent to binderies by libraries to be rebound as hardcover books.  Not all softcover titles were necessarily ever rebound as hardcover books.  The higher the number in the set, the fewer copies that were printed in softcover.  This results in fewer copies that could have been rebound as hardcover books.

I have attempted to build sets of other library bindings for Nancy Drew #1-56.  I have run into problems since sometimes certain volumes were never bound in a particular type of binding.  Consider the binding that I refer to as the Cameo library binding.  On this page, you'll notice that I do not picture #12 Hollow Oak.  The page was put together over a decade ago.  I have far more examples of the Cameo library binding than what I have pictured on the site.  I have still never seen an example of #12 Hollow Oak.  I have all of #1-11 and #13-34 in multiple copies of each in different binding colors, but I have never found #12 Hollow Oak.

That's why I can't be sure that all of Nancy Drew #57-175 were rebound as hardcover library editions.

So now I am down to where it gets really hard to acquire the final titles, if they exist.  #169 almost certainly exists since Amazon has a product page for the library edition.  For the other titles, I consider it likely that #148 exists, somewhat likely that #158 and #160 exist, and possible that #170 exists.  I don't know about #175, but I am ever hopeful that all of the books exist in hardcover.

Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase Now on DVD

Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase starring Sophia Lillis was released on DVD on April 2.  The movie was always planned as a direct-to-DVD release.  It was released in theaters briefly in order to help promote the DVD.

The movie is available in Walmart and Target stores and is also showing up for sale online on various sites.  My Walmart store had over two dozen copies, so Walmart is probably the best option.

The last part of the movie has a teaser about a possible future adventure, and I would really like to see it come to fruition.  For that to happen, the movie needs to successful.  Let's get some DVDs purchased so that we can keep the Nancy Drew brand viable!

I did see the movie in the theater, and I did enjoy it.  I will write up a review for this blog at some point in the near future after I have viewed the movie again on DVD.

At a Crossroads with eBay and Etsy

eBay now requires that all fixed-price listings be listed as Good 'Til Cancelled (GTC).  At least half of my listings are now GTC, and the rest will follow within the next two weeks as they are relisted.

I previously mentioned that I will no longer be able to float more than 250 listings because of this change.  On March 31, I had 211 active listings and one expired listing that needed to be relisted.  I had already used all of my 250 free fixed-priced listings, so I had to wait until my listings reset in order to avoid a listing fee of $0.25.  If all of my listings were already GTC, then that one extra listing would have auto-relisted and caused me to incur the fee of $0.25.  I still have slightly too many listings.

I have been trying to figure out how to handle this situation.  Am I better off paying higher fees on eBay?  Should I list on other venues?

On Amazon, sellers pay a $39.99 monthly fee in order to list items, and then they pay the transaction fees as items sell.  While the monthly fee is significant, Amazon does have the traffic and sales.  Sellers do not have to advertise their Amazon listings.  While intriguing, I decided not to pursue selling on Amazon at this time.

I am already on Etsy where I do not have a monthly fee.  I pay $0.20 per item for each item to be listed for four months.  That isn't bad.  I have been pretty satisfied with Etsy, but sales come and go.  I have really good periods and then nothing.

I do not care to expand my Etsy shop more than I have already done, because I am not certain about future Etsy policies.  Etsy sent out a survey to a portion of its sellers.  Sellers had to sign a nondisclosure affidavit in order to take the survey.  Read eCommercebytes for some information.

I looked into paying for a higher-level eBay store.  The screen captures seen below were taken from this page.

I have the Basic eBay store and have a yearly subscription, so I pay $21.95 per month.

This next table shows how many free listings are allocated to each store type.

There's a reason why I never mention my 250 free auction listings:  I cannot use them.  The books category is not one of the allowed categories for the free auction listings.  That really angers me.  I'm told that I get 500 free listings per month, but I only sell books.  I cannot use the 250 auction listings.  If I could use them, I'd list some of my better books in auctions.  I would then have enough free listings for each month.  It's a shame.

I've been eyeing the next level of eBay store, which is Premium.  I would get 1,000 free fixed-price listings, but that is way more than I need.  I would have to pay $59.95 per month if I go with the yearly subscription.  It's doable, but I'm not ready to seriously consider it.  $59.95 is a significant increase per month from $21.95, and I would still be paying all the final value fees and PayPal fees in addition to that.

I see myself as having three options.  For the first option, I could continue with stores on both eBay and Etsy.  I would have to keep my eBay listings down to my current level to avoid incurring any additional fees.

The second option would be to keep my stores on eBay and Etsy as they are but go ahead and incur some extra listing fees on eBay.  For instance, I could list 50 extra items per month on eBay, which would cause me to pay $12.50 extra in fees per month.

The third option would be to close my Etsy shop completely and change to the Premium eBay store.  That way, I would save the Etsy listing fees and would then list everything on eBay.  I would still end up paying higher fees on eBay than I currently do on eBay and Etsy combined.

For now, I'm going to stay at my current eBay store level and wait to see what happens with Etsy.  However, the second option is the most logical of the three options.

I have believed from the start that eBay forced all fixed-price listings to GTC in order to eliminate the float.  By eliminating the float, sellers must pay for all extra listings above the listing allocation, which is a sly way for eBay to raise fees to sellers.  My fees will increase once I decide to give in.  I do think I will ultimately yield and will go with the second option mentioned above.  The change in policy is about money, and eBay will get that money.

Meanwhile, I am still working on decreasing my eBay listings, especially the stagnant ones.  77 eBay listings are currently on sale for 15% off.  The sale ends on April 7.  After April 7, the sale will be null and void.

All orders of $35 or more on either eBay or Etsy will receive free shipping to United States addresses.

Jennifer's Series Books on eBay

Jennifer's Series Books on Etsy