The Mystery of the Pantomime Cat

The Five Find-Outers #7

by Enid Blyton

Who could have robbed the theatre's safe? The theatre safe has been robbed and Boysie, the pantomime cat, is top of the list of suspects. But could his best friend and fellow actress, Zoe, be the real thief?

Genres: Mystery, Childrens, Fiction, Adventure, Classics, Middle Grade, Crime

234 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1949

About the author

See also:
Ένιντ Μπλάιτον (Greek)
Enida Blaitona (Latvian)
Энид Блайтон (Russian)
Inid Blajton (Serbian)
Інід Блайтон (Ukrainian)

Enid Mary Blyton (1897–1968) was an English author of children's books.

Born in South London, Blyton was the eldest of three children, and showed an early interest in music and reading. She was educated at St. Christopher's School, Beckenham, and - having decided not to pursue her music - at Ipswich High School, where she trained as a kindergarten teacher. She taught for five years before her 1924 marriage to editor Hugh Pollock, with whom she had two daughters. This marriage ended in divorce, and Blyton remarried in 1943, to surgeon Kenneth Fraser Darrell Waters. She died in 1968, one year after her second husband.

Blyton was a prolific author of children's books, who penned an estimated 800 books over about 40 years. Her stories were often either children's adventure and mystery stories, or fantasies involving magic. Notable series include: The Famous Five, The Secret Seven, The Five Find-Outers, Noddy, The Wishing Chair, Mallory Towers, and St. Clare's.

According to the Index Translationum, Blyton was the fifth most popular author in the world in 2007, coming after Lenin but ahead of Shakespeare.

See also her pen name Mary Pollock

Reviews

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this mystery. It was intriguing and I had no idea who the culprit was. Mr Goon's arrogance and cruelty is to the fore here. He really showed his true colours in this story. Fatty is as full of himself as ever. There are some interesting theatre folk and I felt for Boysie. A good story.

[Misha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fantastic novel. Very interesting. I wish I could be a find outer too because their mysteries are so amazing and this one was one of my favourites. Really a nice one. In the starting it was really difficult for them to solve this mystery but off course it was young bets who suddenly had a brainwave and as usual fatty used his clever mind to solve the mystery along with the other four and the dog!!

Also I wish Enid Blyton was alive so she could write more books like these !!

[Kavita · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is quite a grown-up style mystery, but the children manage to solve it. One of the best books from Blyton's Mystery series.

[Lady Clementina ffinch-ffarowmore]

Findouters Challenge: Book 7. The second of the Findouters books with a “cat” in the title and theme. In this one, Goon is going away on holiday and is being replaced by a much-friendlier PC Pippin who is in every way Goon’s opposite. However, when it starts off Pippin is quite eager to please Mr Goon though he doesn’t quite believe what he has to say about the children. But Goon’s behaviour towards the children, and particularly Buster soon changes his mind. The children in the meantime have decided to make up a mystery, yet again for Pippin to “solve”―clearly not having learnt very much from their past experiences. Their “mystery” as is usual leads Pippin to stumble onto a real one, a robbery at the village pantomime. Someone has broken into the safe and stolen all that was in it. Goon’s (who is back by then) chief suspect is the pantomime cat Boysie Summers, and his friend, one of the actors Zoe (who plays Dick Whittington). And it doesn’t at all help that Boysie is somewhat slow and can be browbeaten into a confession, while the clues the children “planted” included a handkerchief with the initial “Z” as well as the cigarette ends of the brand Zoe used, making Goon’s case stronger. So of course, it falls on the children to solve the mystery and clear their names. So starts off a new adventure where the children interview suspects and witnesses, check alibis, and of course, beat Goon to it. But this time around, only just.

This one had quite a few of the trademarks of the Findouters books with Fatty using his disguises (mostly to fool poor Goon), Bets stumbling upon the right answer in the nick of time, and quite a bit of food. In fact, on the “foodmeter”, this one rates the highest so far (plenty of sandwiches and snacks, biscuits and buns). The solution to the mystery had some obvious elements but also some creative ones so it was good fun overall. The children still come across as rather arrogant about their own skills and intelligence, believing themselves “free” to trick just about anyone, despite obvious disapproval from their parents, and Inspector Jenks. [But without their tricks of course there would be no mystery.] Still, despite this, in this one their behaviour was far better than the previous book with Ern where I felt they simply gave no thought to their actions. I enjoyed their investigation though―approaching the actors and other witnesses, checking alibis, and all in a way that children could do (and Goon certainly couldn’t), but alongside also having fun with a trip to the pantomime and a picnic as well. Overall, this was a fun instalment with an interesting mystery element.

[Kirsti · Rating 5 out of 5]

This mystery really has them stumped, and of course it's little Bets who nails it. She really is a clever little thing, and what with her soft spot for Fatty I can see them married and solving crimes together! But I get ahead of myself, about the book. It was a good mystery, more serious than the usual Enid Blyton mystery. After all, being drugged and robbed is a little harsh. But there are lashings of food and fun, so you know it will end well, and the baddie seems repentant in the end. Goon makes an idiot of himself, as always. Now, there's my review for y'all, just CLEAR ORF!

[Deity World · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good adventure read for the finder outers to solve

[Raven · Rating 3 out of 5]

Untuk Tantangan Baca GRI Agustus 2019: Buku yang Membuatmu Merasakan Nostalgia

Sejujurnya saya sudah tak ingat apa dulu saya pernah membaca seri Pasukan Mau Tahu. Zaman SD dulu kebanyakan saya baca buku rentalan. Meskipun begitu, Enid Blyton adalah pengarang yang selalu menimbulkan perasaan nostalgia dan buku Misteri di Teater Kecil ini tak kalah suksesnya.


Pasukan Mau Tahu terdiri dari lima orang anak nakal dan seekor anjing. Geng ini menyadari bahwa sering sekali terjadi kasus setiap mereka berkumpul untuk liburan bersama. Kebetulan, musim panas ini, polisi desa yang menjadi musuh besar mereka, Pak Goon, ingin pergi berlibur dan dia menugaskan seorang polisi muda, Pak Pippin, untuk menggantikannya. Pasukan Mau Tahu kepikiran untuk menciptakan kasus palsu untuk mengerjai Pak Pippin. Mereka membuat petunjuk-petunjuk palsu dan membuat Pak Pippin mengejar orang-orang yang tidak ada. Sialnya, sebuah kasus betul-betul terjadi dan orang yang tak bersalah menjadi tersangka karena petunjuk palsu itu. Bagaimana Pasukan Mau Tahu akan menyelesaikannya?


Pasukan Mau Tahu (The Five Find-Outers) adalah salah satu kelompok detektif cilik sepantaran (? mungkin sepantaran?) Trio Detektif (bikinan Robert Arthur) dan kelompok STOP (karya Stefan Wolf). Dibandingkan dengan trio detektif, kasus mereka lebih mudah dan mereka lebih sering bersenang-senang mengerjai orang daripada menantang bahaya, apalagi sampai berada di ujung pistol. Namun, petualangan mereka tetap seru dan menyenangkan. Saya jadi memaafkan kasus yang kelewat cepat tertebak. Kenakalan mereka yang lucu-lucu ngeselin pun jadi tak semenyebalkan itu karena korbannya memang orang yang pantas menerimanya. Novel yang gampang dimengerti untuk anak-anak.

[Nira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mr.Goon is on holiday, a new police name Pippin are replace him. Elisabeth Hilton (Bets) very, very like Pippin. She give Pippin a name card...

[Georgia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Δείτε επίσης και στο Chill and read

Τα 5 λαγωνικά βρίσκονται και πάλι μαζί και είναι έτοιμα να λύσουν ένα ακόμα μυστήριο, ή και να δημιουργήσουν ένα.

Η Μπέτι και ο Πιπ έρχονται με το τρένο και οι φίλοι τους, ο Χάρι, η Ντέζι, ο Φούσκας και ο σκύλος του ο Μπάστερ, έχουν πάει στο σταθμό για να τους υποδεχθούν! Τουε έχουν λείψει οι φίλοι τους και ανυπομονούν να τους δουν και να ενωθεί και πάλι η ομάδα των 5 λαγωνικών! Την ίδια ώρα, ο αστυνόμος Γκουν φεύγει για διακοπές και στο πόδι του αφήνει τον νεαρό υπαστυνόμο Πίπιν. Τον ενημερώνει για ό,τι μπορεί να συμβεί όσο εκείνος απουσιάζει, τίποτα δηλαδή και του συνιστά να προσέχει ιδιαίτερα την παρέα των παιδιών, καθώς μπορούν να εξελιχθούν σε κακός μπελάς! Ο Πίπιν έχει ήδη συμπαθήσει τα παιδιά, αλλά δεν ξεχνάει τα λόγια του αστυνόμου, που άλλωστε έχει μεγαλύτερη πείρα από εκείνον.

Τα παιδιά ενθουσιάζονται που θα λείπει ο αστυνόμος Γκουν και που θα μείνει στη θέση του ο υπαστυνόμος Πίπιν! Έτσι, αποφασίζουν να σκαρώσουν ένα μυστήριο οι ίδιοι, ώστε να δημιουργήσουν ένα μυστήριο για τον υπαστυνόμο. Που να φανταζόταν όμως ότι την ίδια στιγμή, ένα πραγματικό μυστήριο θα εμφανιζόταν στην πόλη και τα ψευδή στοιχεία που φύτεψαν έξω από το θέατρο, θα παραπλανήσουν την έρευνα των αρχών!

Ο διευθυντής του θεάτρου βρίσκεται ναρκωμένος! Όταν συνέρχεται, συνειδητοποιεί ότι τον έχουν ληστέψει. Όλα δείχνουν πως μόνο ένας ηθοποιός του θιάσου θα μπορούσε να το κάνει, αυτός που πρόσφερε το τσάι στον διευθυντή και ο αστυνόμος Γκουν είναι έτοιμος να τον συλλάβει. Όμως ο Φούσκας και τα άλλα παιδιά δεν πιστεύουν σε αυτή την τόσο προφανή εξήγηση. Έτσι τα πέντε λαγωνικά λαμβάνουν δράση για να λύσουν το μυστήριο!

Η αγαπημένη γραφή της Ένιντ Μπλάιτον μας ξαναπάει πίσω στην εποχή που ήμασταν παιδιά και διαβάζαμε τα πέντε λαγωνικά, τους μυστικούς εφτά και όλα τα άλλα βιβλία της που μας κρατούσαν συντροφιά με τόση αγωνία! Χαίρομαι που έχουμε και πάλι μεταφράσεις των αγαπημένων βιβλίων, σε σύγχρονες εκδόσεις και που μπορούν να τις διαβάσουν και τα παιδιά μας! Τα βιβλία της είναι τόσο καλογραμμένα, με φράσεις κατάλληλες για τις ηλικίες που απευθύνονται και μηνύματα που μόνο θετικά μπορεί να τα χαρακτηρίσει κανείς!

Κατάλληλο για παιδιά από 7 χρονών και πάνω.

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

The seventh entry in Enid Blyton's fifteen-book Five Find-Outers and Dog series, in which five British schoolchildren spend their holidays playing detective, The Mystery of the Pantomime Cat sees Fatty, Larry, Daisy, Pip, and Bets tackling their most complex case yet. When Mr. Goon, the village police bobby and the children's nemesis, goes on vacation, the Find-Outers play a trick on his replacement, PC Pippin. Imagine their surprise when the false clues they've laid out for him, lead him to a real mystery!

The manager of the Little Theatre has been drugged, and the theater safe robbed. It looks as if Boysie Summers, the developmentally disabled young man who plays the Pantomime Cat, must be the guilty one, but the Find-Outers don't believe it. Can they prove Boysie's innocence? And will their innocent prank land goodhearted PC Pippin in hot water?

This installment of Blyton's series was fairly enjoyable, despite the clunky prose and formulaic plot that seem to characterize many of her books. Blyton does manage to inject some genuine humor into her accounts of the children's confrontations with Mr. Goon, and it was refreshing to see Fatty actually regretting some of his mischievous "interfering."

[Sha · Rating 2 out of 5]

The most baffling part of this mystery was how nobody in the entire cast realised that a costume can be taken off from one person and put on another.

There were a couple of funny lines, though. And I actually liked most of the setup. So I'm gonna go with "meh" rather than "ugh."

[aarav · Rating 5 out of 5]

A most mysterious case for the find-outer everything going just the opposite way they want it too. this book is one of my frequent read and I keep on reading it again and again, in the start the find outer's find that goon is going for a holiday or something and to take over a new policeman has been brought in, the find outer's make a kind of mystery for pippin (the policeman who took over when goon was gone) and end up leading him into a real one. one of my favorite story from the five find-outer series.

[Treveni Nagarajan]

Best

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is about a cat that was very creepy and the five kids wanted to put a police man on a false mystery but ended up not as they expected

[Jake Collins · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is a prime example of all Enid Blyton's shortcomings as a crime writer. Her nonsensical ideas about the operating methods and professional boundaries of the police force have never been more apparent or less believable, and the Five Find-Outers show themselves yet again to be devoid of any real detective skills.

I knew I didn't like this series, and now I can clearly see why. The horrendous mismatch of Enid Blyton's writing with the detective genre is actually worse here than in the Secret Seven series, as the Secret Seven books are very short and don't necessarily need a well thought out, properly investigated crime. (My main objection to the Secret Seven books is the plethora of missed opportunities for good characterisation, I now realise.)

The Five Find-Outers series, however, requires both proper detective work and strong characterisation, and both of these aspects have been steadily declining since the first couple of books, in which they were still far from perfect. This really is the first Enid Blyton series that I've re-read and judged to be all but worthless to come back and read as an adult.

The final path to the big reveal is the worst so far, as Larry suddenly has a cousin (actually introduced as his cousin's sister, but that would make her Larry's cousin too!) who happens to know all the missing pieces of the puzzle, including the fact that the real criminal has a twin sister who often pretends to be him! If I could give this less than one star, I would.

[Farseer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another find-outers mystery. This time the novelty is that Mr. Goon is on holiday and a novice policeman, PC Pippin, is substituting him. The children extend their war against Mr. Goon to PC Pippin, but the young policeman turns out to be an ally. One has to remember that these are books for children, because the find-outers planting false clues for the police as a prank is funny in a whimsical child's universe, but it is less palatable for an older reader.

It's a fine story, as these mysteries go. If you like the previous books you'll like this one. Personally, I enjoy Blyton's adventure stories more, but I admit that she does a good job at this "Agatha Christie for kids" series.

[Derelict Space Sheep · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the weaker Five Find-Outers books. Blyton recycles an earlier plot device and half-explored ethical point (the children manufacture false clues leading to and disrupting a real mystery investigation) while neglecting an obvious line of inquiry, which Bets belatedly tumbles to.

[aarav · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a fantastic book ,a lot of suspense .The reason of giving it 4 star is that it is a bit shorter than I
expected.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Of this series, I've also read The Mystery of the Burnt Cottage, The Mystery of the Disappearing Cat, The Mystery of the Secret Room, The Mystery of the Spiteful Letters and The Mystery of the Hidden House)

It's a good thing that Blyton's books can work as standalones, as we haven't always had access to whatever reading material we want at our fingertips (although it certainly feels like it!). However, it does mean that the status quo is restored and that Fatty et al have forgotten a few important lessons. You'd think by now that the Find Outers would know better than to plant fake clues for their own amusement even if Mr Goon is terrible*, but that's exactly what they do - and this time it very nearly gets the wrong folks arrested, so they need to act fast to right their wrongs.

We meet the rookie PC Pippin, a pleasant young chap who's probably not much older than Fatty and willing to work with our heroes (despite them, as mentioned, wasting police time). After the kids wind him up, he stumbles upon a genuine crime - the drugging of a local theatre owner, during which a bag of money was stolen from a concealed safe behind him. Goon comes back to solve it all in a whirlwind of self-important rage. The players in the local panto are immediately under scrutiny, and the plot only thickens further when the Find Outers befriend the only two of the cast who happen to not have alibis. It's Pippin-plus-Find-Outers versus Goon. Who'll solve the case quicker - and could poor vulnerable Boysie Summers really be a criminal mastermind?

The most obvious suspect manages to prove himself innocent after a contrived conversation about the workings of 1940s cinemas**, and the only one left has a fairly solid alibi so the kids keep the suspense going until the eleventh hour. There are a couple of subtle clues dropped in the meantime, but for all their smarts around disguises, it took the gang far too long to guess that someone could have deliberately framed Boysie by wearing his cat costume. Gee, you think?! I also don't think the kids were particularly deserving of a hotel dinner with Inspector Jenks either - they helped exonerate Boysie and Zoe, but only out of the trouble that they got them into!

It's still a low-stakes, fun read. Even if Fatty's arrogance increases with each novel, he still manages to land on the side of likeability. 3/5

* we can now add 'frightening a disabled man into a false confession' and 'animal abuse' to Goon's horrific repertoire

** a modern side-effect is that this is now a point of historical interest about how 'the pictures' used to function!

[Carolina · Rating 1 out of 5]

Calhou-me ler este livro, eu que odeio a Enid Blyton de morte e que odeio ainda mais os parvalhões dos bem comportados e bons meninos dos Cinco.

Sempre achei os Cinco uns patetas, uns meninos que não sabem viver aventuras e só fazem tropelias e se metem onde não são chamados simplesmente porque são irritantes e não sabem estar. Em vez de coleccionarem pedras como os miúdos normais andam por aí a inventar que apanham ladrões e que têm "pistas" e que são muito espertos. Irritam-me todos eles sem excepção, sobretudo os mais pequenos, que raio de amigos são estes que levam estas criancinhas para situações perigosas e bizarras, uma irresponsabilidade tamanha, deviam era morrer todos numa dessas aventuras para verem o que é a realidade das coisas e nunca chegar à vida adulta irritantes como são.

Pronto, já disse.

Agora que estou mais calma, posso dizer que o livro até seria divertido se não fosse a existência dos Cinco. E se o crime do mistério fosse realmente um crime. Porque pelos vistos Enid Blyton, essa fascizóide, quer tanto inocentar as crianças e as aventuras de crianças que nada do que acontece tem qualquer tipo de consequência. O que é um pouco chato e eu já achava isso quando era miúda.

Para a próxima afastar-me-ei dos mistérios juvenis dos cinco taralhocos como da morte. Obrigada.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Back in the village of Peterwood Mr Goon has gone on holiday as he probably needs a break from all the lawlessness that goes on there.

The Five-Finder Outs dedicate their time to tormenting and leading on a merry dance replacement policeman, PC Pippin. They make up a mystery for him, which actually leads PC Pippin to an actual mystery. (This made up mystery that leads to a real mystery might feel a tad familiar.)

Luckily for PC Pippin the Finder-Outers are on the case and all is going well, until Goon returns that is and takes over. Goon goes completely power mad and picks on the man with special education needs. (Not nice Goon, not nice.)

This one feels a bit different from Enid Blyton's usual story (well ignoring the made up mystery thing). Still nuts though - which is all I really need from it.

[Varun Hegde · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Five Find-Outers put some fake clues and led the police to the actual mystery. Zoe one of the actresses who played Dick Whittington was one of the main suspects because one of the fake clues was a torn hanky with the letter Z on it. She was suspected even more because of two more fake clues which were cigarettes and Zoe smokes. Plus one of the clues was a piece of a navy blue coat with a nail stuck to it. And she had navy blue coats in the house. But the real person who drugged the manager and stole the money was Alec the actor who played king in the act.

[Ayacchi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Siapa sangka, niat mengisengi polisi pengganti malah berujung membantu si polisi menemukan kasus baru!

Petualangan kali ini cukup mengasyilkan, dengan adanya polisi pengganti Pak Ayo Pergi. Ditambah lagi anggota teater yang cukup banyak, yang harus diselidiki alibinya. Kasus ini cukup sulit dipecahkan, bukan hanya bagi Pasukan Mau Tahu. Dan Pak Goon harus terima kehilangan muka di depan Inspektur Jenks! Benar-benar petualangan yang penuh emosi dan tanda tanya.

[Saffron Mavros · Rating 5 out of 5]

For young minds, these books proved to be so thrilling, the zest, the tumble into adventures, cracking puzzles, finding clues and finally putting criminals and robbers behind bars!

The mystery series were one of the best series in the Enid Blyton collection.

This book was also quite interesting in a way that it had one of Enid Blyton's favorite setting, the circus. And the way through the shows, and people, to crack mysteries.

[Martin Zoul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jako dítě jsem knihy od Enid miloval. Teď jsem si tak ze srandy jednu půjčil knihovně jako vzpomínku na dětská léta a nestačil jsem se divit. Jasně, zápletka fakt jednoduchá, ale bavilo mě to a musím uznat, že i teď ve 20 letech, mě opravdu zajímalo, jak příběh dopadne.

Knihu popř knihy od enid bych doporučil každému rodiči pro jejich dítě.

Hodnotím 7/10. Ale je potřeba říct, že jako dítě bych dal 10tku :)

[Harumichi Mizuki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Karena udah terbiasa dengan image para tokoh 5 Sekawan yang terdiri dari anak-anak baik, aku agak kaget waktu baca Pasukan Mau Tahu yang anggotanya suka ngerjain polisi desa dengan bikin petunjuk palsu dan penyamaran. Tapi habis itu aku baru ngeh, si polisi, Pak Goon", emang nyebelin banget, sih. Dia sampai nyaris bikin laporan palsu, terus menggertak orang tak bersalah agar mengakui kejahatan yang tidak pernah dia lakukan. Parah lah pokoknya.

[Vijay Chengappa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review covers the entire Five Findouters series, not just this book

The Five Find outers series is the best in Enid Blyton's oeuvre of mystery novels, it has some well rounded characters, interesting plotlines and twists, give us a nice glimpse of the English countryside and customs (tea and scones, anyone?)
Recommended nostalgia reading!

[K.L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not one of my favourites. Goon is on holiday and the FFO decide to spice up young Constable Pippins life by creating a mystery for him at the Little Theatre. Imagine their shock when the theatre is robbed that very night, and their clues seem to point to Boysie the Pantomime Cat, and Zoe, one of the actresses. The FFO have to act fast to prevent a returning Goon from arresting the wrong culprit

[Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listened to in audio format.

The mystery of the Pantomime Cat is the 7th book in the Five Five Find-Outers and dog.

Actually for a childrens book this was a rather dark story, with forced police confessions and drugging.

As an adult I am starting to get annoyed with the children planting fake clues and never getting into trouble for it.

[Ceri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve picked out 12 books to read this year that meant something to my granny or have a connection to her.
She bought me this book when I was 6 and it definitely kicked off my love of mysteries as an adult!
She read it too and we spent lots of time discussing this and many other Enid Blyton mystery stories.

The book itself is fun and definitely engaging for young readers!