Who Wrote It?: Franklin W. Dixon

C’mon, Who Really Wrote it?: David Grambs in 1965.  The year before he revised 6: THE SHORE ROAD MYSTERY, then in the same 1965 he revised 12: FOOTPRINTS UNDER THE WINDOW, the next year he revised 27: THE SECRET OF SKULL MOUNTAIN, and finally in 1968 he revised 29: THE SECRET OF THE LOST TUNNEL.  So with this, his only original, we say good bye to Mr. Grambs.  Up until now his revisions have scored either a 6 or a 9.  Let’s see how an original does.

Was It Revised?: No.

Cover: Rudy Nappi.  A lot of blue with only Joe bringing the usual red.  A very nice nighttime scene with Frank and Joe typically staring at something scary.  Is that really a ghost?  Is the fort really haunted?  Remember your Scooby Doo, boys and girls, and you meddling kids will solve the mystery in no time at all.

Setting: Bayport and then New England.     

Where’s Fenton This Time?: He does not appear at all in this one.

Which Chums Show Up?: Chet.  Cameos by Callie and Iola.

What’s Chet’s Hobby This Time?: He’s an artist. Good thing they are headed to an art school.

Aunt Gertrude’s Dessert: She also does not appear in the book, evidently on a retreat to learn new pie techniques.

Plot: Chet’s uncle is an instructor at a summer art school in New England, and he asks Chet and his friends to solve a mystery.  Art work is being stolen, there is a mysterious Revolutionary War fort nearby, and there is gold treasure to be found.

Review:  Other than the silly Scooby Doo ghost, this is a decent mystery.  The bad guys play rough, and in chapter XIX the bad guys sure talk a mile a minute about who did what through the book.  It’s in a bucolic setting, with lots of red herring characters, and there are clues in paintings.  But it’s not a great one either.  Just OK.

Score: 7