Premise
One snowy night, when Jack accidentally stumbles across a pair of suspicious men lingering outside an old empty house belonging to a deaf old caretaker, he’s sure that an exciting mystery is on hands for the Secret Seven to solve. What were the men up to? What were the strange noises coming from the old house in the dead of the night? Will the Secret Seven get to the bottom of the mystery before time runs out?
Overview
Name – The Secret Seven [#1 of the ‘Secret Seven’ series]
Author – Enid Blyton
Genre – Adventure/Children/Mystery
First Published – March 1, 1949 (Great Britain)
Cover Rating (featured image) – 10/10! [Paperback; absolutely love this cover!]
This Edition Published – 2002 by Hodder
Chapters – 12
Pages – 119
Review
NO Spoilers
The Secret Seven. Created by the much beloved English author Enid Blyton, this group of child detectives are adored by children (and even certain grown-ups, like me) all across the globe. Other popular mystery-solving series by the author includes the likes of – the ‘Famous Five’, and the ‘Five Find-Outers’.
You also might have heard about a couple more famous detective series for children, like – The Hardy Boys by Franklin W. Dixon, ‘Nancy Drew’ by Carolyn Keene, etc.
So then… why “The Secret Seven”, you ask? Well, it stands for a “secret society” consisting of 7 members – Peter (the head), Janet (Peter’s sister), Jack, Colin, George, Pam, and Barbara. Oh, and not to forget Scamper, the golden spaniel (Peter and Janet’s pet dog). This group of child detectives plus dog, are more than a match for any and all of the bad guys. Solving lots of exciting and thrilling mysteries together, and eventually showing time and again that the SS (short for Secret Seven) are not to be taken lightly! And as Peter declares in this very first adventure –
“This society is a serious one, not a silly one.”
I myself have read quite a few of their exciting adventures, and I must say… I’m a big fan! Reading the very first adventure again after so many years brought back the nostalgia big time.
So, here’s what it was all about –
The Secret Seven. Invented by Peter and Janet (the siblings), having thought it was great fun to have a band of boys and girls who knew a certain password, and who wore a badge – a button with S.S. on, as part of a secret society.
The group are gathered for a meeting at the siblings’ house – Old Mill House after a long time (location – the old shed at the bottom of the garden, next to the boiler that heats the greenhouse). But sadly, there’s no adventure or mystery in the air for them to get their noses involved. The seven members, plus Scamper, agree to look for something exciting, while simultaneously enjoying the warm and cozy setting of the shed (which has two big, bright green colored SSs on the door), munching on biscuits, and sipping on lemonade. The new password is decided to be ‘Weekdays’ (the old one being ‘Wenceslas’, a Christmassy one). Amidst all the fun and excitement, the Seven are still short of any real adventure or mystery for the holidays. But soon enough, their wish is granted when Jack accidentally manages to find a mystery all by himself in the middle of the night.
“What in the world could the two men be doing down here in the snowy darkness, outside an old empty house?”
Thought Jack
The SS are finally in for an adventure! And as Peter excitedly declares in the very next meeting –
“You’ve discovered a most exciting mystery, Jack, and it’s up to the SS to solve it as soon as they can!”
What follows is truly an exciting first adventure for the Secret Seven, with a much bigger mystery at hand than it first seems. Jack sums it up rather accurately himself –
“… This is a bit of excitement, isn’t it?”
It certainly is! And along the way, there are a few more characters present, including Jack’s annoying sister, Susie (who will be making regular appearances in the subsequent books that follow in the series as well).
What was good?
- A super easy read; great for young readers to get into the mystery/adventure genre.
- Short and quick, with an exciting story.
What was bad?
- Honestly, I couldn’t find anything bad about this one. Nothing at all.
Final thoughts
Overall, Enid Blyton does the job superbly well. I was reading this on a cold, rainy night, and let me tell you that I felt both the thrills and the chills from the cold setting this adventure is set during. Not to forget the excitement of it all! Considering that I am not a child anymore (or at least I tend to think so), I still thoroughly enjoyed the book, and highly recommend it (to children of course… but grown-ups can try it too!).
Rating: – 10/10! (MUST READ!)
