Die drei ??? und der Ameisenmensch

Alfred Hitchcock and The Three Investigators #29

by M.V. Carey

Eine Vogelscheuche erwacht plötzlich zum Leben und stürzt sich auf alles, was ihr in die Quere kommt. Letitia Radford beginnt zu verzweifeln. In ihrer Todesangst beauftragt sie die drei Detektive, das Rätsel der wandelnden Vogelscheuche zu lösen. Justus, Bob und Peter nehmen den Auftrag an und geraten unversehens selbst in Lebensgefahr.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Childrens, Young Adult, Audiobook, Adventure, Detective

126 pages, Paperback

First published September 12, 1979

About the author

Also known as Mary V. Carey
Personal: Born May 19, 1925, in New Brighton, Cheshire (now Merseyside), England; brought to the United States in 1925, naturalized citizen in 1955; daughter of John Cornelius (an engineer) and Mary Alice (Hughes) Carey. Home address in 1993 was 3748 Birch St., Ventura, CA.

Ms Carey passed away in 1994.

Education: College of Mount St. Vincent, B.S., 1946.

Religion: Roman Catholic

Career: Coronet, New York City, editorial associate, 1948 - 55; Walt Disney Productions, Burbank, CA, assistant editor of publications, 1955 - 69; free-lance writer 1969 - 1994.

Member: PEN; Mystery Writers of America; Society of Children's Book Writers; Women in Communications.

Awards, Honors: Southern California Council on Literature for Children and Young People Award, 1986, for "A Place for Allie".

Hobbies and Interests: Walking on the beach.

Writings:
Novelizations of Walt Disney Motion Pictures:
(With George Sherman) WD's "Babes in Toyland" Golden Press, 1961.
WD's "The Sword in the Stone" Whitman, 1963.
The Story of Walt Disney's Motion Picture "Mary Poppins" Whitman, 1964.
WD's "The Misadventures of Merlin Jones" Whitman, 1964.
WD's "Donald Duck and the Lost Mesa Ranch" Whitman, 1966.
The Story of WD's Motion Picture "Jungle Book" Whitman, 1967.
The Story of WD's Motion Picture "Blackbeard's Ghost" Whitman, 1968.
"Mrs. Brisby's Important Package" (adapted from film "The Secret of NIMH), Golden Press, 1982.

Juveniles:
"Raggedy Ann and the Glad and Sad Day", Golden Press, 1972.
"Little Lulu and the Birthday Surprise, Whitman, 1973.
"The Tawny, Scrawny Lio and the Clever Monkey" Golden Press, 1974.
"Alonzo Purr, the Seagoing Cat", Western Pub., 1974.
"The Owl Who Loved Sunshine", Golden Press, 1977.
"The Gremlin's Storybook", Golden Press, 1984.

The Three Investigators Mystery Series (Random House):
"The Mystery of the:
#15 Flaming Footprints, 1971.
#17 Singing Serpent, 1972.
#20 Monster Mountain, 1973.
#21 The Secret of the Haunted Mirror, 1974.
#23 Invisible Dog, 1975.
#24 Death Trap Mine, 1976.
#27 Magic Circle, 1978.
#29 Sinister Scarecrow, 1979.
#31 Scar-Faced Beggar, 1981.
#32 Blazing Cliffs, 1981.
#34 Wandering Cave Man, 1982.
#36 Missing Mermaid, 1984.
#39 Trail of Terror, 1984.
#41 Creep-Show Crooks, 1985.
#43 Cranky Collector, 1987
FYF#8 The Case of the Savage Statue, 1987.

Other:
(Editor) Jane Black, "The Indispensables", Hewitt House, 1971.
"Step-by-step Candlemaking", Golden Press, 1972.
"Step-by-step Winemaking", Golden Press, 1973.
"Love Is Forever" (collection of prose and poetry), C.R. Gibson, 1975.
(With George Sherman) "A Compendium of Bunk", C.C. Thomas, 1976.
(Editor) "Grandmothers Are Very Special People", C.R. Gibson, 1977.
"A Place for Allie" (young adult novel), Dodd, 1985.

Sidelights: Carey told Contemporary Authors: "I began writing late; my first articles and stories were published after I was thirty, and I was motivated by money. Money is not a bad motivation. The need to eat keeps us from laziness, and the fact that someone is willing to pay to read what we write assures us that we have indeed written."

"I think that writing should be honest and simple, and it should say something about what it means to be a person. When God is good to us, we write in such a way that the act of reading becomes a pleasure to those who buy our books. This experience doesn't happen all the time, but when it does it is at least as heady as winning the Irish sweepstakes. It makes mere competence seem dull. It is probably also what makes writing a compulsive occupation; some of us are uncomfortable when we are away from our typewriters for any length of time."

"My lifelong ambition, aside from writing, is to finish exploring the American West. This should keep me busy for at least another thirty years, since there is a

Reviews

[Nadja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Einen super Auftakt in die zweite Runde der drei ??? Hörbücher. Unerstaulicherweise hat Judy Winter einen tollen Job gemacht. Der Fall ist spannend bis zum Schluss, jedoch zum Teil auch verwirrend, weil es soviele Verdächtige gibt.

[MaggyGray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ein spontanes Drei ??? Buch zum Abendessen.

Die Hörspielfolge zu dieser Geschichte ist eine sehr gute, die ich mir immer wieder gerne anhöre, aber ich muss sagen, das Buch dazu stellt das Hörerlebnis fast schon in den Schatten. Der Spannungsaufbau ist meisterlich umgesetzt (wie Justus das formulieren würde), der Schrecken einer gruseligen Vogelscheuche auf den Punkt gebracht. Auch die Charaktere sind jeder für sich wirklich liebevoll und plastisch gezeichnet - und als Hörspielfan hat man beim Lesen dazu auch noch die jeweiligen Stimmen im Ohr.

Auch die Auflösung ist eine Meisterleistung von Justus Jonas - und hier kommt auch mein einziger Kritikpunkt. Denn erneut bleiben bei dieser seine Freunde Peter und Bob etwas zu sehr aussen vor. Das ist schade.

Aber insgesamt: LESEN!!

[Lea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ich bin zum Schluss gekommen, dass M.V. Carey meine Lieblingsautorin der amerikanischen ???-Autoren ist. Die Geschichten sind einfach kurzweilig, spannend und ohne richtige Längen.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

original 2010 review - The boys are on their way across the Santa Monica mountains when the truck has a blow-out. Making their way to a nearby barn to use the phone, Jupe is mistaken for a scarecrow, which is plaguing a local socialite, who has a big phobia of bugs and spiders. The mystery deepens when an entomologist, who is studying army ants, has samples stolen and everything seems to tie in with the nearby Mosby museum. Filled with vivid, exaggerated characters, this suffers somewhat in that everyone accepts the scarecrow is wandering around, which doesn’t help the suspense at all. Laetitia, the socialite, is very irritating and it’s hard to feel sympathy for her and, whilst all the characters seem to have a motive, Jupe is uncharacteristically dismissive of them. Worse, when the book reveals the true mystery - a double-attempt at art theft - you’re left wondering why the criminals decided that dressing up like a scarecrow would work. As polished as ever, this seems very slight in comparison to its immediate predecessors and a lot of the detection is left to chance (including one rescue of the boys, which is almost an ‘with one bound he was free’ moment). This isn’t bad and the quick pace helps to paper over some of the cracks, but this certainly isn’t a strong entry in the series.
2016 update - I went into this without any great expectation but, perhaps because of that, I really enjoyed it. Yes there are cracks but the pace helps and there are some great images, plus the great Dr Barrister from Singing Serpent is referenced. Not one of Ms Carey’s best but still a great read.
2020 update - really enjoyable, once again, though I found myself being a lot more sympathetic to Letitia this time around. Yes, it has cracks but it’s fast paced and good fun.
2024 update - Re-reading my 2010 review, I find myself disagreeing with it - yes, there could have been more suspense and fear generated with the scarecrow, but Letitia wasn’t all that wearing and the story is good fun. I liked it a lot.

[julia ☾ (sirius' version) · Rating 3 out of 5]

★★★☆☆ - 2.5 sterne
(🎧)
war in ordnung

[Eva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gelesen von Judy Winter.

[Niki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty clever but lacked an "wow" factor. Somehow I was pretty bored throughout.

[Bubu · Rating 4 out of 5]

einfach ant man x drei fragezeichen crossover. jab die folge im stau gehört, hat die situation etwas erträglicher gemacht.

[Spencer · Rating 3 out of 5]

2019
Jupiter Jones gets mistaken for a living scarecrow by an entomologist (bug scientist). That's enough crazy words in one sentence to capture Jupiter's attention. He and the gang start investigating why a serious scientist and a young woman would fear a scarecrow. Leticia, the young woman, is a hysterical lady who believes the scarecrow is after her. Her unique fears certainly show that to be a possibility. She is not only terrified of scarecrows, but she also deeply fears insects. The scarecrow keeps showing itself to her and usually brings a few bug friends.

This book starts off with a woman being harassed by a scarecrow with bugs but leads to an entirely different mystery. Jupiter, of course, is one step ahead of the bad guys. He realizes that Leticia may be hysterical much of the time, but it is an oddly specific fear set that she has that the scarecrow seems to have in depth knowledge about. Thus, Jupiter eventually puts it together and solves the case (to prevent spoilers, I won't tell you why the scarecrow was harassing Leticia).

Jupiter is the leader of the gang, but in this book it almost felt like the others weren't even necessary to the story. I was really disappointed by how little Pete and Bob even seemed to be included. Their parts almost felt like an afterthought. Like it could have all been done by Jupiter, but the author was like, "oh wait, there are other boys in this gang. I better give them something to do." It really felt to me like the author was giving them pity (or pithy) assignments because he didn't know what else to do with them.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ive always thought Scarecrows were great for horror, so this title had me interested right away. It wasn't quite as cool as the cover would have you believe, but it still wasn't a bad mystery.

There were several unique characters in this one, moreso than most of these mysteries. There was a scarecrow, as well as some art thieves and some mutant army ants. That was the biggest hole in the plot. One of the characters was an entomologist investigating apparent mutant army ants in California. I assumed this would tie into the plot, but it was never really explained. So I guess there really were mutant army ants in California.

This was more of the typical "Scooby Doo" type plot, but entertaining nonetheless. If you're a three investigators fan this is worth checking out.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

These were one of my favorite books from my childhood. More modern than Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys.

[sonofabook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Letitia Redford wird Opfer von Insektenplagen. So finden sich Ameisen in einem ihrer Zimmer wieder und obendrei verfolgt sie noch eine unheimliche Vogelscheuche.
So engagiert sie die drei Detektive, Justus, Peter und Bob.
Diese setzen sich zunächst mit Dr. Woolley auseinander, einem Wissenschaftler im Bereich der Insekten.
So sind die drei ??? bald gefangen in einer Mischung aus Wissenschaft, einer Vogelscheuche mit gefährlicher Sense, einem mysteriösen Museumwärter und einem Mann der das Haus der Redfords beobachtet, welche gefüllt ist mit durch und durch rätselhaften Personen, wie z.B. die Haushälterin Mrs. Chumley oder die Diener des Hauses, das Ehepaar Borroughs.

Irgendwie waren es mir dieses Mal zu viele Namen. Vielleicht war ich auch nicht aufmerksam genug, aber irgendwie wurden dann Vornamen genannt und dann wieder Nachnamen, sodass ich gar nicht mehr wusste wer wer war.
Ansonsten war es eine schöne Folge mit cooler Auflösung.

Schon irgendwie eine Empfehlung.

[Sebastian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beim “Ameisenmensch” scheint es sich um eine in Fankreisen sehr beliebte Folge zu handeln, mich selbst konnte diese Episode aber leider nicht so wirklich abholen. Dabei ist die Geschichte sogar relativ schlüssig konstruiert und solide erzählt, wirkte auf mich insgesamt aber durchweg unspektakulär.

Erwähnenswert ist der sehr irreführende Titel, denn der mysteriös klingende “Ameisenmensch” ist lediglich ein am Rande der Handlung involvierter Insektenforscher, stattdessen geht es in diesem Fall vielmehr um eine ihr Unheil treibende Vogelscheuche – der englische Originaltitel “The Mystery of the Sinister Scarecrow” ist hier um Welten zutreffender.

Atmosphärisch empfand ich die Folge als ebenfalls eher unauffällig und mir persönlich war es auch etwas zu viel Geschrei. Auch die sehr ausufernde Auflösung hat mich nicht wirklich überzeugt. Alles in allem eine ordentliche Folge, aber weder in erzählerischer noch akustischer Hinsicht ein Highlight.

[Charley Schnuff · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Die drei ??? und der Ameisenmensch" ist ein wirklich spannender Teil der Reihe. Im Grunde hätte der Teil auch "Und die Vogelscheuche" heißen können und die hatte es es wirklich in sich. Auch wenn es einen weiblichen Charakter gab, der mir ein wenig zu oft und zu häufig gekreischt hat - ich konnte sie verstehen, das hätte ich wahrscheinlich auch getan und zwar aus Leibeskräften.

Auf jeden Fall hat dieser Teil mal wieder richtig Spaß gemacht.

[Joe Stevens · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some bad, some good. It is pleasant to read about the three investigators, but too much of this book felt like it was contrived to try and create a clever book rather than feeling like a real adventure. People acted in ways real people never would, one suspect was telegraphed while another just had no real clues until a happenstance discovery. The whole thing felt clunky.

[Vincent T. Ciaramella · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third Three Investigators I've read with my son. This one was one of my two favorites growing up and I am glad to revisit it some thirty + years later. My son loved this one as well. I'll forgo the review but I will say that I LOVE the cover of this book. It takes me back to childhood. The Purple Pirate is next!

[mo (sie) · Rating 3 out of 5]

seeehr misogyn und ableistisch. die tochter des hauses wird als kind beschrieben und dafür belächelt, dass sie von männern ausgenutzt wird, und die gehbehinderte frau spielt ihre behinderung nur. die auflösung ist allerdings spannend und unerwartet. die sache mit den ameisen hingegen ist sehr unglaubwürdig

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book in The Three Investigators series finds our young investigators caught up in the midst of ants, art, and a scarecrow. To find out what happens, you need to read this book. It is definitely a thriller!

[Cliff · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is well-meaning, with a bit of a twist to the solution of who is the criminal. But in trying to be so clever, it has inadvertently made it extremely difficult to solve the case as the reader.

[Nectar Terzian · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Mystery of the Sinister Scarecrow

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first time reading this book in the series. The cover art is probably the most frightening in the series. There are lots of clues scattered throughout the chapters, but still plenty of surprises.

[Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Different than the other 3 investigators mystery. Don't want to put out any spoilers so I will just say that I really enjoyed this book.

[Birte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Die alten ??? sind immer noch die besten ❤️

[Redwan Hasan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad. Story didn't built up that good but the ending was pretty satisfying.

[JBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uh mal ein älterer Fall, der von mir 4 Sterne einheimst x3

[Nadja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eine stimmungsvolle und bis zum Schluss spannende Folge! Auch nach dem x-ten Hören weiss ich immer wieder nicht mehr, wer wer war. ;)

[Smultrona · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eine Ameise kommt selten allein

[Vincent Darkhelm · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would probably have enjoyed this a whole lot more when I was eleven years old. Aged twenty-four, it just didn't do it for me.

[Diba Ilupi · Rating 2 out of 5]

1979/ British

[Paul Street · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent contribution by M.V.Carey. This is the type of story that gave the series its reputation for the weird and wonderful. Indeed, this one is downright wacky - and unforgettable for all the right reasons. Some ingenious twists at the end. Bravo!