What's the Name of That Book??? discussion
► UNSOLVED: One specific book
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YA Mystery set in coastal area (part of a series)
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Does it remind you of another YA mystery book/series?
Kris wrote: "Nicole, perhaps you can say which mystery themes might or might not be relevant. We often use elimination to narrow down a search. For example:- paranormal/fantasy, time travel, police/detective/..."
Hi! Definitely a mystery theme like maybe sort of an accidental teen detective but not so predominant like Nancy Drew. But I think maybe this crime happens in this coastal area (I thought it was set on the east coast, like an east coast island). It was actually more on the darker side, just in terms of atmospheric ways. I will try to think of another series it reminded me of. It may go back as far as the 60s or 70s in terms of publicatiin year. This is a search I've recently done and these covers are more familiar to me than modern covers - https://www.google.com/search?q=coast...
It wasn't the Hardy Boys, Box Car Children or Nancy Drew...but similar to those.
Could it be one of the Trixie Belden books?
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www.goodreads.com/series/53849-trixie...
hmm I don't think it was the Bobbsey Twins....and the other one wasn't familiar either! the characters struck me as older (maybe 15?) and actually the cover wasn't too obviously one specific face or character.
OH! one detail I do remember is I feel like there was a lighthouse on the cover. the characters weren't clear at all, dim dark figures I think. definitely a coastal stormy feel to it.
Maybe something from the Dana Girls series?First set series: https://www.goodreads.com/series/4121...
Second set series: https://www.goodreads.com/series/5410...
Probably not it, but maybe one of 'The Three investigators' books?They weren't siblings, but they have had mystery's they've solved in those locations.
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I have most of the Three Investigators books, and these are the three from my collection that depict water scenes. The books take place in CA, though so it's west coast. My covers are different from thise pictured as I have older editions.
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Or one of Enid Blyton's million and a half children's mystery series? There was the Famous Five series and the Secret Seven are the main series that I remember reading. But I know that she had other series as well as some standalones.
Gloria Skurzynski's National Park Series maybe? It's a little later (80/90s, rather than 70s) but the cover of Escape from Fear sounds similar to your description.
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Oh thanks! Much appreciated. Feels like I'll never find this darn book!
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The Lighthouse Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner? There are multiple cover images."Strange things happen when the Alden children spend the summer in a lighthouse on the New England coast." | "When the Aldens take a summer trip to the New England coast, they have a fun place to stay: a lighthouse! But strange things happen after it gets dark - an unknown woman is seen walking around, and Watch, the Aldens' dog, wakes up growling late at night. Can the Boxcar Children shed light on a seaside mystery?"
Missing (Fear Street #4) perhaps?
Perhaps the Morgan Bay mystery series by John and Nancy Rambeau? Some of the titles are "Mystery of Monk's Island", "Mystery of Morgan Castle", "Mystery of the Myrmidion's Journey", etc.
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One of the Judy Bolton series? https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.c... The character is older and she has a brother who figures in some of the stories.Or Connie Blair? Also an older character who has a twin sister.
The Grey Menace These were also republished at one point in hardback that were paperback sizes.
Oh all of these are so close!! the Boxcar children REALLY gave me pause. I remember I had passed by the series a lot before deciding to read the book I saw. I'm gonna borrow this from the library! thank you everyone for your help!!
Sadly not the boxcar children book. Darn it! Similar cover though.
What about Stranger with My Face, by Lois Duncan? It's not a series, but Lois Duncan has quite a lot of books, so it's possible you could have perceived them as a series, perhaps.
Hm no. I was an active fan of Lois Duncan anyways so I would have remembered the connection.
I have 2 books that might match the cover description: http://imgur.com/ngeThLj
http://imgur.com/a/nOljC
Dead Man's Light
The Secret of Crossbone Hill
My copy of The Secret of Crossbone Hill has a diffrent cover.
Maybe one of the "Jackpine Point Adventure" books by Sandy Larsen
hmmm to recent! I definitely feel this was published in the 70s and 80s or maybe early 90s (doubt that though)
Were the ones I posted about close? Although mine were published in the late 50's early 60's they sound to be a pretty close match.Dead Man's Light
The Secret of Crossbone Hill
See my above post for pictures of the covers I think match the best.
Was there any supernatural element to the books? If so - maybe the Magician's House Quartet? The first book is The Steps Up the Chimney
One of Mary C Jane's mysteries? Some were set on the coast of Maine--The Mystery on Nine-Mile Marsh or The Ghost Rock Mystery, for example
Ahhh those last two seem like they are the closest! The covers don't seem too familiar, but I'm going to see if I can borrow them from the library!
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Mystery on Nine Mile Marsh:
and https://pictures.abebooks.com/isbn/97...The Ghost Rock Mystery:
and
Any new ideas on what this one could be would be nice!
Could it possibly be something by Joan Aiken? I haven't read much of her work yet, but she wrote a lot of mystery-ish/gothic children's novels with continuing characters, definitely dark & very atmospheric, and some of them are probably coastal (Nightbirds on Nantucket) just based on the titles. Some of the older covers are more abstract with less defined figures.Another possibility which seems much less likely -- the Meg Duncan mysteries by Holly Beth Walker -- she's young (definitely pre-teen) and solves mysteries with her best friend in a town in Virginia IIRC. The 70s/80s reprints are neon yellow but the older covers are more atmospheric, although I wouldn't call these books dark from what I remember.
Finally, you might look here: http://www.series-books.com/ -- you might have seen it already, but it has series going back to the early 20th century, and some of them stayed in print (or were reprinted in newer packaging) for a surprisingly long time.
Oh I don't think those are it only because the book wasn't quite so fantastical (I think it was about a mystery or something on an island?) and I don't think the character's name was part of the title predominantly...but I will absolutely look at the website for series books you sent me!!! Thank you!
Also not sure if this will help anyone but a ghost/haunting element could've been involved in the house...
The Aiken's are not fantasy, but they are pretty unrealistic in the amount of gothic excitement that occurs.Another thought, maybe Peggy Parish? She wrote 5-6 mysteries featuring a group of 3 kids, and while the modern covers are very realistic, the older ones tend towards the sort of art you were describing.
I read so many slightly-spooky mysteries as a child in the 80s, I feel sure I must have read yours, but I just can't pinpoint it!
Hmmm Peggy Parish doesn't quite hit the mark...Ah, oddly I know this book stayed with me because I ignored it initially as a kid but then ended up really liking it.
I know it's definitely coastal like the 3 figures are going up a stairwell but they are not predominantly drawn and I think they're going to a house or lighthouse or something.
Possibly a Phyllis A Whitney juvenile mystery? They would have been in the same general vicinity as the Boxcar Children books in the library. I don't believe they were series, but there were quite a few, and I loved reading them in the 70's.
Someone already mentioned Enid Blyton's books in general, but could it have been Mystery Island by Blyton? Seems like it has since been re-titled Adventure island or The Island of Adventure.It's about a group of teens in Cornwall who uncover a mystery, originally published in 1945.
This is the 1963 cover:
Those sound really close! None of the covers I'm seeing line up but I feel like Enid Blyton could be maybe!
Not sure if this helps but just based on what I was reading a lot during that time, I'd venture a guess the main character is female and in her teens. And I just have a feeling it was focusing on her and her siblings (maybe cousins). It definitely has a coastal feel like somewhere in Maine or something and the cover was very dark.
could it be the Losing Cristina series by Caroline Cooney? Takes place in Maine on an island off the coast, at a creepy boarding school. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
Hmmm, no sadly just because the cover doesn't match what I remember (even previous versions). I know the cover depicted 3 characters going up a huge flight of stairs (or even maybe up a hill?) headed towards a dark house in the distance. No distinctive character features were shown either but there was one girl in the front looking behind her (I think). Dark sort of cover. BUT I did add this book to my reading list! I loved this author growing up!
Is it “twisted summer” by willo Davis Roberts?
What's the Name of That Book???
Books mentioned in this topic
Master your Emotions: Beginners Guide to Controlling Your Emotions (other topics)Nightbirds on Nantucket (other topics)
The Ghost Rock Mystery (other topics)
The Ghost Rock Mystery (other topics)
Mystery on Nine Mile Marsh (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Joan Aiken (other topics)Holly Beth Walker (other topics)
Mary C. Jane (other topics)
John F. Rambeau (other topics)
Gertrude Chandler Warner (other topics)
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This was borrowed from a library and I highly doubt this was anything published within the last ten years of me reading it, simply because it just didn't look new (it was the size and shape of a paperback but it was hard cover. I'm certain this was young adult as the characters were mid-teens/late teens from what I remember.
I am sorry for such a vague description! I've been looking for a long time (in the 1970s mystery series for young adults especially or 80s, (or 90s, sigh).
EDIT: One detail I remember is that I recall that one the cover there were 3 characters running away from some house, maybe? I vaguely remember this part. But there were definitely like 3 or 4 faded shapes running on the cover.