Rereading the Find-Outers books

[Irene Malory Towers]

Just finished reading them all apart from Banshee Towers which was such a let down and I can't decide whether Tally Ho or Missing Man is my favourite, or even Vanished Prince, which I know is not so popular with most readers. I think Tally Ho and Missing Man are both brilliant as they have so much humour and a great plot whereas the Vanished Prince has a lot of humour but not much plot. Not sure - I think will rate them as first equal.

[Nair Snehalatha]

Am reading Secret Room-- as good as ever -- each time I re read it , I learn something new. The Find Outers are really my best friends among a host of others like the Famous Five etc . Only thing is I wish Enid blyton had put in Ern from the beginning-- and also told us what other characters were doing like -- Miss Crump, Zoe , the pantomime cat , the prince in Vanished prince etc --I like to think all are friendly with the find outers or famous five-- and continue to be so

[Wolfgang]

Nair, there's always room for some fanfiction there. If you're interested in it, why don't you give it a try and write down how you imagine things could have turned out?

[Barnard]

The wonderful Find-Outers series does not need the characters appearing in one book to reappear in the other books. After all, where would it end? in Banshee Towers we would have Luke, Lady Candling, Miss Trimble, Zoe, Boysie, The Fangio Family, Eunice, Ern, Sid, Perce, Alec Grant, the Theatre Manager, Pip’s cousin Ronald, the lady painting in Sheepsale market, Mr Henri and his ‘sistair’, Gladys, Mrs Moon, Mr Larkin, the Lorenzo and a hundred others.
Where will it all end?
In fact, the series is so wonderful that all it needs as regular characters is the Find-Outers, Goon, Jenks, occasional parent appearences with Ern in a few stories. Perfect!

[Splodj]

I can't decide whether Tally Ho or Missing Man is my favourite.

Interesting. I posted something positive about Missing Man last year but it rarely gets mentioned as a favourite. In the poll it garnered only 3 votes.

[pete9012S]

Missing Man is a masterpiece.
Fatty, the hunter, and master of disguise, searching for his criminal prey, also a master of disguise - often hiding in plain sight...

Throw in Eunice, even Goon is disguise, numerous trips to the dairy and a few dirty old tramps - how could it fail!"

[Splodj]

Very true, but I think it was actually the best in terms of detection - with clues set out in plain sight rather than sprung on you at the end.

With regard to Banshee Towers being the gooseberry in terms of quality and quantity, to compensate it could be combined with the 2 short stories.

[Boodi 2]

I agree, and while I have difficulty deciding on my second favourite after "Tally Ho Cottage", Missing Man is high on my list, as are Invisible Thief and Vanished Prince, although I am aware that not everyone shares my positive opinion of them!

[Barnard]

One of my favourites is Pantomime Cat. It is a lot of fun with some really likeable characters, especially Zoe Markham. I think that is a lovely name.

[Anita Bensoussane]

I think it [The Mystery of the Missing Man] was actually the best in terms of detection - with clues set out in plain sight rather than sprung on you at the end.

I tend to agree with that, Splodj. The Mystery of Holly Lane is another good one in terms of detection, though Missing Man beats it in my opinion because it sparkles with delightful comedy and quirkiness. Those two titles aren't right at the top of my list but they're certainly not at the bottom either. Missing Man is perhaps a little too dominated by the domineering Eunice, while Holly Lane feels sombre and not as humorous as most

[Hannah]

With regard to Banshee Towers being the gooseberry in terms of quality and quantity, to compensate it could be combined with the 2 short stories.

There are short stories about the Find-Outers?

[Splodj]

Hannah wrote:
There are short stories about the Find-Outers?

1957 - Just a spot of bother

1961 - The Five Find-Outers and Dog tackle the mystery sneak thief

I haven't read them, so would be interested to hear if they are any good.

[Wolfgang]

The short stories can be read in the "Enid Blyton’s Adventure Treasury".

[Boodi 2]

I never heard of those either, so thanks for the information!

[Hannah]

Thank you, Spiodj and Wolfgang.
I'll have to search for that book. I've had a look in the cave. It seems that most of the book is useless (extracts from other books) but there are some new stories too.

Edit: Oh my brains . I actually bought that book (as e-book) some time ago but had completely forgotten. At least I realized it before buying it a second time.