Guess the Book from the Blurb

[Daisy]

It's usual for the setter of the question to say that your answer is correct before you set another, but I'm sure Fiona won't mind on this occasion as you gave a very comprehensive answer. You are far better versed in then Secret Seven books than I am! I have them all but which title belongs to which story is not in my memory bank!

[Fiona1986]

You are correct, Michael it was Fun For the Secret Seven. I think having more than one question on the go would really confuse people.

[Daisy]

You're right there Fiona! It's sometimes quite confusing as it is, especially when conversations like this intersperse the questions and answers!.... and more so when you find a new page has been begun! What was the question again Michael?

[MJE]

It's usual for the setter of the question to say that your answer is correct before you set another, but I'm sure Fiona won't mind on this occasion as you gave a very comprehensive answer.

     Yes - I'm sorry for the breach of etiquette; I will try to remember not to do it again.

You are far better versed in then Secret Seven books than I am! I have them all but which title belongs to which story is not in my memory bank!

     I do remember the different plots almost as clearly as I do the Famous Five or Adventure stories, but maybe not quite. The titles help me least of all in this series, but I somehow seem to remember them in spite of the unhelpful titles.

I think having more than one question on the go would really confuse people.

     Well, I don't think it would be too confusing if we numbered the questions in order of appearance, so that a question setter could put (for example) "Question 7" at the start of their post, and people wishing to guess at an answer could start by saying something like, "My answer for question 7 is...".
     Anyway, I just thought it might be an idea worth considering.

What was the question again Michael?

     I suppose I can give it again so it's on the new page and near the end of the thread:

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The mystery seems to increasingly centre around the entrance to a secret place, which seems to suck things down into it without ever disgorging anything, until finally some of the children are sucked down there also, and end up helpless in a very tight corner from which they may not have escaped without sudden outside help.

That's my paraphrase, of course - a literal description would make it too obvious. If it's too cryptic, I'll try and rephrase, if people want.
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Regards, Michael.

[Daisy]

Is that the Rub-a-Dub Mystery where the blow-hole is a feature towards the end of the story?

[MJE]

Is that the Rub-a-Dub Mystery where the blow-hole is a feature towards the end of the story?

     No. Although some of my words may have been figurative, you need to consider a few of them quite literally.
     If it takes a while for anyone to guess, I'll try to dribble out clues progressively without giving it all out at once.

Regards, Michael.

[MJE]

     Does no-one have any idea at all? Can't anyone even guess?
     Should I give a clue or two, or rewrite the blurb?

Regards, Michael.

[Fatty]

It's not too cryptic, Michael. If anything it's too generic. Secret hiding places for children to disappear into, only to be rescued by someone in the nick of time, doesn't strike me as a particularly unique plot device. That said, I might venture to guess it's Five Get Into a Fix. The secret entrance is Aily's 'big, big hole', the 'sucking' could refer to the mysterious gravitational pull, and the sudden outside help that saved the kids could be Morgan's dogs.

[MJE]

It's not too cryptic, Michael. If anything it's too generic.

     You may be right. I'll be here for a few more hours, and if I can think of a way of wording it a bit more specifically, I'll post it. If I can't, perhaps we'd better drop the question. (And if we do that, I'll reveal what book I was thinking of, just so no-one's kept in suspense.
     It's not "Five Get into a Fix". I was using "sucked" figuratively, in the sense of something that seems to attract the children, until finally they are drawn down into that place by events.
     When I referred to a "tight corner", I meant "tight" quite literally. "Corner" not quite so literally, as I just used it to refer to the tight place they ended up in - although that place does have corners. And the entrance specifically was quite prominent in the book. Perhaps I underestimated the number of ways my description could be interpreted, because I was thinking of one particular book.
     Let me think about it, and I might try and post a better version of it if I can think of one.

Regards, Michael.

[Fatty]

And the entrance specifically was quite prominent in the book.

Um... how about Valley of Adventure?

[MJE]

     No, not "The Valley of Adventure".
     Bear in mind that things disappeared into this place, but didn't come out. By "things", I include people and anything they might be taking with them.

Regards, Michael.

[Fatty]

Sounds a bit like my wife's laundry basket.

When I guessed Valley I was thinking of the elderly couple and all that treasure that went into the caves. None of it had come out, even by the end of the book, but I was obviously on the wrong track!

[Moonraker]

Five on a Treasure Island?

[MJE]

     No, not "Five on a Treasure Island".
     Yes, it's looking increasingly clear that I've made it a bit too vague. Let me try again, without making it all too obvious:

     A number of thefts have been taking place, and the stolen items appear to be taken down a hole, into a deep, dark place. Some of the children observe this happening, and finally decide that some of them must go down there too if they are to solve the mystery.
     After they go down, they see the stolen items; but unfortunately the thieves see *them* too, and they end up trapped in a very small space that was not intended to hold humans. But for the unexpected help from someone who should have been with them but wasn't, they may not have been rescued until hours or days after the thieves made their getaway, along with their stolen items.

     I hope that's a bit better. Too much more, though, and it would give it away instantly.

Regards, Michael.

[Fatty]

Now Go Ahead Secret Seven comes to mind!