While 'The Mystery of Monster Mountain' put a dent in my budding theory that M. V. Carey was responsible for excellent 'Three Investigators' books which ought to be seen on parity with the originals by Robert Arthur rather than the contemporary ones by William Arden, this restores my faith in her. It's gloriously set up, it's capably explored and it's neatly wrapped up. Jupiter is on fine form, while Pete and Bob contribute strongly in their own ways too. What's not to love?

The only negative that I'd throw out actually isn't one. When the boys bump into a black Rolls Royce with gold trim during one of Uncle Titus's buying sprees, given that old houses are being torn down all over, it's supposed to be their usual car, which I could have sworn was gold. I went back to 'The Secret of Terror Castle' and found the original description and it's absolutely black with gold trim, just as Carey describes it here. I've misremembered it for forty-plus years and it apparently failed to register on this run-through. I clearly focused on its usual description as a "gold-plated Rolls Royce". So, that's not a negative and I'm an idiot. Let's move on.

The Rolls is parked when they find it but Worthington is chasing after a thief. He gets away but it gives them an opportunity to pop into Mrs. Darnley's house to help out, because she's a long-term client of the Rent-’n-Ride Auto Rental Company and, if Worthington trusts them then so does she. She's a gift of a character for a 'Three Investigators' novel, dressed in a hooped and brocaded gown, which looks all the more flamboyant in a house full of antique mirrors. It's all reflections on reflections and it's both trippy and historic.

She's a collector, of course—she jokes that she's been looking for Alice's looking glass since she was a child—and many of her mirrors aren't just antiques, they're portals into history. One was taken from the palace in St. Petersburg, though the room in which it occupies pride of place is a replica, of course. Others were owned by luminaries like Mary Todd Lincoln, Marie Antoinette and Queen Victoria's mother. What we'll soon focus on, though, is her latest acquisition, which is a giant Spanish mirror in a grotesque frame. It was owned by a magician named Chiavo with trasgos or goblins intricately carved into its frame and Señor Santera dearly wants to buy it.

In fact, he's almost rude with his persistence. He's been to visit every day this week, is up to an offer of $10,000 and a hand mirror from Pompeii and... well, he's been lying all along. He has a real story, though. He's the last descendant of Chiavo and he would have left the mirror to his son, except it was stolen from his family and he wants it back. He believes in its fortune telling ability and—oh, by the way—the Chiavo Glass curses anyone who owns it who isn't of his blood. Mrs. Darnley is abundantly fair, offering to give it back to him if he truly is Chiavo's descendant but she wants proof first. So he sends off for documents from Spain and the intrigue mounts.

This is a wonderful set up for a 'Three Investigators' mystery. There's a characterful location to start with. There's a unique object to serve as our MacGuffin. There's a neat tie into horror and mystery through the curse and the connection to a magician. I should also add that a magician called Drakestar used to own Mrs. Darnley's house and died there, prompting rumours that it's haunted. There's intrigue in Señor Santera's multiple stories, neither of which we believe.

And we're only a few chapters in! Now it can escalate and it promptly does because Jeff, one of Mrs. Darnley's grandchildren, has been hearing things in the house and so has the houseman, John Chan, who's Oriental but speaks with a Boston accent. When Mrs. Darnley sees Chiavo in the glass itself, it's time to hire the Three Investigators. And, after the boys, with Worthington, watch Santera at his hotel and witness the thief coming to his room while he's out but helping him after he's ruthlessly bludgeoned unconscious, we're all set for a strong mystery.

It pans out too, for the most part. There's another dip into the political affairs of a non-existent country, as we saw with 'The Mystery of the Silver Spider' and Carey's first entry into the series, 'The Mystery of the Flaming Footprints', and that's never been my favourite trope. However, it plays out well enough and everything else makes up for it. In fact, even with that near textbook start, we haven't even got to my favourite section of the book yet.

That comes late after Jeff is kidnapped with the Chiavo Glass called out as the ransom demand. That prompts an excellent scene that's reminiscent of the underrated film 'Sneakers', in which Jupe dissects the sounds on a phone call, even without being blind, in order to pinpoint where the ransom call came from. That's followed by another excellent scene in which they're helped by a stranger, Henry Anderson, the driver of a bakery van, who goes above and beyond for no better reason than it's the right thing to do. I can't underline how much I like that. I also adore how much agency the boys have here.

There's plenty more here, of course, that I haven't even touched upon but that's for you to find out yourself when you pick up a copy. There are also nods back to previous books, not only in the form of homages—there's another one there, I guess, in the examination of a legendary trick of Drakestar's that reminds of 'The Mystery of the Talking Skull'—but in the form of a returning character. Sure, Prof. Barrister of Ruxton University doesn't have a lot to do here, but he's here nonetheless after his memorable exploits in 'The Mystery of the Singing Serpent'.

All in all, this is a top notch entry in the 'Three Investigators' series, certainly a step or two up on 'The Mystery of Monster Mountain' but arguably a better book than her previous best, 'The Mystery of the Singing Serpent'. Of course, given that she's on top form, next month we'll take a break from her contributions for the William Arden episode, 'The Mystery of the Dead Man's Riddle'. But hey, then it'll be two more from Carey that I've been specifically waiting for. ~~ Hal C F Astell

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