SOLVED. YA Mystery series featuring all-boy cast solving mysteries. [s]

[HK]

Pretty sure this was one book out of a series of many; I really only remember it vaguely, but one of the boys in the main cast (of 3-4?) was the smartest one. He wore glasses and was, according to the scene I remember, a bit chubby. When they were up against one of their suspects (or someone they had to scrutinize, not sure if he was the bad guy in the end but they just needed to hide the fact that they were detectives), he pretends to be really dumb, and the dismissive adult man, specifically because he's stereotyping the chubby boy, believes it.
Later in the book, though, the man shows them a jewel and reveals something about it being real or fake in question form, the boy replies, and his answer clues the adult man into the fact that the boy is actually really smart, which he'd already suspected. The adult man is very triumphant about this, for some reason.

I remember thinking I should've read this series from the beginning, so it was probably not the first book in the series, but then I never did read any of the other books and now I have no idea where it comes from. Read between 2009~2014, but it wasn't a new book then.

[Leonie]

Could possibly be one of Franklin W. Dixon's Hardy Boys series?

[Mely]

Maybe one of the books in the Alfed Hitchcock and the Three Investigators series?

[Kat]

I came here to suggest The Three Investigators, too. If that looks too old, there was also a slightly more modern reboot where the characters are a bit older.

[HK]

Leonie wrote: "Could possibly be one of Franklin W. Dixon's Hardy Boys series?"

I wondered about that and looked into it too, but I was pretty sure the boys were not brothers so I ruled it out.

Thanks for the suggestion tho!!

[HK]

@Mely @Kat
I think this might be it!! The smart plump boy, the age range of 14-15, the junkyard secret hideout all sound like it's the right series.
I'll be looking into it more to see exactly which book from this very long list it was that I read! Thanks so much!!

[Len]

It might be The Mystery of the Fiery Eye in the 3 Investigators series. I think the Fiery Eye was a jewel.

[Kris]

Amazon's preview of The Mystery of the Fiery Eye (book 7 of the Alfred Hitchcock and The Three Investigators series) by Robert Arthur - Len's suggestion (with Mely and Kat):

- https://www.amazon.com/Mystery-Fiery-...
- There are different cover images.

Descriptions of this book on Amazon:

- "Bob, Peter and Jupiter help a young English boy find a legendary ruby that his uncle willed him."
- "Three junior detectives solve a mystery involving a collection of antique busts, a legacy, a strange letter, and a red ruby."
- "The Three Investigators must solve an old man's riddle to uncover a great fortune for their friend, Gus. But they're racing against a sinister bunch of treasure hunters who are also hot on the trail. Who will arrive first at the mysterious Fiery Eye?"
- "... thirteen plaster busts arrive at the Jones Salvage Yard. Soon, Jupiter begins to suspect they are more than they appear, and after some of them are sold, Pete, Bob, and Jupiter have to track them down and decipher a riddle to help their new British friend August August claim his extraordinary inheritance. But several dangerous men are also on the trail of the Fiery Eye..."

[HK]

YES!!! The ruby!!! Looks like a match!!!!
You guys must be the modern detectives-- thank you so much!!

[Len]

Thank you on behalf of everyone involved.

[Kris]

Glad you found your book series, HK.

Alfred Hitchcock and The Three Investigators series by Robert Arthur starts with The Secret of Terror Castle (book 1).