Alfred Hitchcock: Die Drei ??? und der rasende Löwe

Alfred Hitchcock and The Three Investigators #16

by Nick West

Quale sarebbe la vostra reazione se facendo tranquilli quattro passi vi capitasse dinnanzi, libero, un enorme leone furioso? Fuggire a perdifiato? No, è il felino in due balzi vi azzannerebbe. Starsene lì impalati? Già, ma allora per prendervi gli basta un balzo solo. Che fare, insomma? Via, non lambiccatevi e lasciate che a farlo sia un detective che ama i casi astrusi e complicati e che risponde al riverito nome di Jupiter Jones. Certo, per lui la situazione è tragica, anche perchè è ben in carne, e nessuno può dirgli da quanto tempo la belva sia a digiuno...

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

152 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1971

Reviews

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this to be one of the better volumes. It was set in a wildlife park, which automatically upped the cool factor. The boys also had to deal with lions, panthers and gorillas, so we had a little more adventure than usual as well. Add in the usual twisty mystery with bad guys and good guys being all mixed up and you have another great mystery from the three investigators.

[Niki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a very strong entry in the series, it was one of the I-figured-it-out-early-and-had-to-wait-for-the-characters-to-catch-up cases (Someone is buying all the steel bars available from the Jones Salvage Yard -> the boys see some of cage bars removed from the gorilla's cage -> they observe the dude that was buying all the bars looking for a mysterious something in a junkyard -> they deduce that the dude is actually searching for diamonds and the Halls may be running a diamond smuggling ring via the animals' cages -> GEE, I wonder where the diamonds could be hidden?? Jupiter, get it together, I'm NOT smarter than you normally), not to mention a convenient plot hole Jupiter recognized a raw and uncut diamond that looked like a regular rock back in The Moaning Cave, but now he couldn't even make the connection that the "rocks" in the message could mean valuable gems and not money, let alone diamonds, which Africa is well known for. That last part, however, could be me applying 2022's "well known facts" to 1971, the year the book came out, and that may be a bit unfair. Information didn't get around as quickly and widespread as today..

I know that it's because it was several different authors writing the series, and they didn't or couldn't necessarily read the previous books, but it still reads sloppy ("sloppy" describes Hank Morton's entire subplot too, btw). Also, the wannabe cliffhanger endings of every chapter grew old real quick, they are of the "Huge danger coming the boys' way!!!! ...No, actually, it was nothing" clickbait-style variety.

Overall not impressed.

[Nadja · Rating 2 out of 5]

Irgendwie sehr verworren zum Teil und man muss gut aufpassen, damit man den Faden nicht verliert.

[Lea · Rating 2 out of 5]

»Hm, Koks für eine halbe Million? Wie soll das zugehen? Ich meine, wer hat für sowas Interesse?«

Abgesehen von Peters amüsanter, doch recht kindlich anmutender Aussage, war das Buch nicht so wirklich meins. Das hat mich wenig überrascht, weil ich auch das Hörspiel nicht sonderlich mag. Die meisten Fälle in denen es um wilde Tiere gehen hinterlassen bei mir einen schalen Nachgeschmack. So auch hier, allein die Art wie ein Leopard erschossen wird und Justus versucht die Blutlache auf dem Boden zu ignorieren... Dass Wilderei und Tier-Entertainment-Orte an sich schon viel mit Kriminalität und Ungerechtigkeit zu tun hat wurde gerade bei den alten amerikanischen Büchern immer ignoriert. Ich weiß, man kann das als Zeichen der Zeit sehen, aber mir macht das die drei Jungs immer ziemlich unsympathisch wie unkritisch sie dabei sind.

Abgesehen davon ist der Fall um einen Löwen, Gitterstäbe und Diamanten einfach ziemlich langweilig.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

original 2009 review - The boys are despatched by Alfred Hitchcock to Jungle Land, where the owner - Hitchcock’s friend Jim Hall - is having trouble with a nervous lion and not just that - escaped jungle animals, mysterious intruders and a film crew who keep getting in the way, also make an appearance. I’ve always considered this a weak story (certainly the weak link in the series) and, whilst this read disproves that, I can see why it was long-held viewpoint- the central MaGuffin doesn’t stand up to much scrutiny and is quickly and easily explained away and the tale feels padded whilst on the plus side, the characterisations are good and we get plenty of Uncle Titus and Aunt Mathilda. Nowhere near the best of the series, this is still pretty good fun all the same.
2015 update - I stand, generally, by the 2009 review though I’d question my point about characterisation - certainly, that of the boys is very brisk and the book shows none of West’s grasp of the Three Investigators that was evident in “The Mystery Of The Coughing Dragon”. Also, why does Uncle Titus suddenly sound like some kind of down-south cowboy? A quick read, this has some interesting set-pieces but moves through them too briskly and the plot is much too flimsy. A missed opportunity and, yes, perhaps the weakest of the first 30.
2022 update - I’d pretty much agree with 2009, though I’m a bit more lenient towards it than I was in 2015. It’s not brilliant but it’s streets ahead of the post-30 books (which I’ve spent most of this year reading).

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I probably first read this in my preteens.
It's okay - I like how these books have much more varied plots and situations than the average juvenile mystery of the time. However, there's no eerie element here, a whole lot of animal trafficking is glossed over as business as usual, and the solution turns out to be one of the staples of the crime novel for the younger set -- smuggling. It feels a bit stretched out and convoluted, not one of the best in the series. But it does trot along quickly and deliver its share of suspense, action, and deduction (although there are a couple of stretches in that department).

[LobsterQuadrille · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Mystery of the Nervous Lion looks to be one of the shortest T3I books, along with The Mystery of the Headless Horse. But Nervous Lion makes more out of its brevity than Headless Horse does, and is ultimately a more substantial and satisfying book. There are plenty of unexpected turns and clever ideas that go a long way towards making this feel as developed as the longer Three Investigators books!

[Sonja Rosa Lisa ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Momentan werde ich mit den Drei ??? - Büchern nicht so richtig warm. Auch diese Folge hat mir durchaus gefallen, aber so ganz ist der Funke nicht übergesprungen.
Gut gefallen hat mir an diesem Band das Setting. Die Geschichte spielt in einem Wildpark und es geht um einen eigentlich zahmen Löwen, der sich plötzlich seltsam benimmt. Warum?
Es war eine gute Unterhaltung, aber zwischendurch auch ein wenig verworren.
Da ich noch einige Bände auf meinem SUB habe, werde ich die Reihe aber natürlich fortsetzen!

[selvansoa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ein Klassiker, aber leider nicht so spannend

[Hal Astell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven't been looking forward much to 'The Mystery of the Nervous Lion', because it's the second and final contribution of author Kin Platt, writing as Nick West. Part of that is because M. V. Carey started out her contributions so strongly in between these two books, but mostly it's because 'The Mystery of the Coughing Dragon' was so weak that even a merely average series entry following it would have highlighted its shortcomings. Fortunately, this is a step up for Platt but it's still a minor entry in the series, enjoyable but flimsy.

Before I dive into its merits, or the lack of them, I have to call out the foreword for once. Each time out, Alfred Hitchcock gives us a brief introduction to the Three Investigators, just in case we might be starting out with the series. Those introductions have got skimpier as the series has run on and this one is no exception, but it begins with the words "Greetings and salutations!" which stood out to me. I routinely used that as a kid in place of "Hello" and happily passed that overblown habit to one of my nephews, but I thought I'd borrowed it from the movie 'Heathers'. Apparently, I'd seen it in print even before that, in 'The Mystery of the Nervous Lion'.

Hitch gets the story going too, because the Three Investigators haven't had a case for a while until he rings HQ with one. A film unit, albeit not one of Hitch's, has hired Jungle Land as a location. It's a sort of minimal safari place run by a gentleman named Jim Hall, who doesn't want any accidents because he's put the place up as insurance, as a $50,000 bond. However, his lion is suddenly nervous so he's even more worried than he should be. Hitch believes that the boys can figure out what's up with George the lion, so off they go in Konrad's truck and the game is afoot.

Platt does start things off well, because the gates are open so the film crew can get in and out, so the boys wander in and meet up with Jim Hall, who rather surprisingly strands them in the middle of Jungle Land with a wounded George on the loose, ready to set up the first showcase moment of suspense. Of course, it turns out that Jim Hall wasn't Jim Hall at all, but a former trainer who was fired for drunkenness, troublemaking and cruelty to animals. Hank Morton apparently didn't want to leave after he was fired, so hung around to cause more trouble.

Nowadays, I'm a fifty-something grandfather of ten living in Arizona. However, when I read this for the first time, I was a ten-year-old boy living in suburban Essex. This entire series felt exotic to me back then. Never mind Worthington and the gold-plated Rolls. Everything felt vast, with distance between everywhere and Uncle Titus's junkyard sprawling so far that the boys can hide an entire mobile home under the junk to serve as their headquarters, but this book was the pinnacle of the series for exotic.

Most of it takes place in Jungle Land, where Jim Hall lives with his nephew, an orphan called Mike, and George, who's a sort of gigantic house pet. Sure, Mike has a .22 rifle and he seems to be ready to use it, given that it's he who saves the boys from the wounded George at the outset, but I can't help but wonder how Jim passed the health and safety inspection needed to allow him to foster an orphan. They make you put plastic covers on electrical outlets and child locks on cupboards. But he can run around with a .22 rifle while Jim's wrestling with a fully grown lion in their kitchen?

If that wasn't an exotic enough lifestyle, there's a Hollywood feature being shot on their property, even if it turns out to be a quickie production and its stars are fictional ones with chiselled names like Rock Randall and Sue Stone. Hollywood's only half an hour away. Half an hour away from me at the time I read this was Liverpool Street station in London on the train. Less palatable but exotic nonetheless, next door to Jungle Land is a scrapyard with an industrial metal shredder so big that it can eat cars and scream its delight through the hills as it does so. Did I mention there's a gorilla too? Mike's other uncle, Cal Hall, is a big game hunter in Africa who sends animals back to him and this gorilla is a recent arrival. Routine for the Three Investigators was larger than life for ten-year-old me.

The limitation that hauls this all back into reality is much the same as with Platt's previous book in the series, 'The Mystery of the Coughing Dragon'. The location is an isolated one, so it's inherently self-contained. Travel here is generally between the junk yard and Jungle Land and back, with that slight expansion of scope into the scrapyard next door. There are no bystanders and the extras are kept at a distance in the film production. That means that the cast of characters is limited: the two Halls; sinister Hank Morton and his eventual replacement, Bo Jenkins; Jim's vet, Doc Dawson; the film's producer, Jay Eastland; and a suspicious customer called Olsen at Uncle Titus's junkyard who wants all the iron bars he can find.

That doesn't leave a lot of possibilities for us to sift through. One of them's going to be a bad guy, at least, and we've pretty much ruled out both Halls from moment one. Doc's the only one who's not painted in sinister colours, given that Morton is ruthless from the outset, Eastland's obvious money troubles easily solvable by that $50,000 insurance policy with Jungle Land as collateral and Olsen clearly up to no good, even if we have no idea yet why he needs iron bars. That only leaves a single character, Bo Jenkins, an unknown quantity for us to really figure out. Of course, Platt could well be misleading us, but it's not much of a shock when the mystery is eventually solved.

This is a step up on 'The Mystery of the Coughing Dragon', but clearly not far enough to keep a spot on the Three Investigators writing team for Kin Platt. The next eighteen books would be penned by M. V. Carey and William Arden in rough alternation, until Marc Brandel showed up late with a pair of books of his own, in and amongst more by Carey and Arden.

The best things about this one have to do with its exotic setting. That effect lessened on me over the years, as I grew up and travelled, but it remained more palpable in this particular book than its predecessors, however evocative some of those were. Jim Hall is very likeable and his nephew Mike too, even if, rather ironically, he's an all-American kid so not as exotic as the traditional new kid in each of these novels.

The worst have to do with reusing plot points and relying on cheap plotting. The former manifests in the core of the mystery. Did Platt really think we'd forgotten the lead pipe cinch gimmick from the best book thus far, 'The Mystery of the Stuttering Dragon'? That seems like a real stretch. The latter comes partly through hamfisted setup but mostly through one unbelievably awkward scene of exposition that's spoken aloud so that the Three Investigators can conveniently overhear some crucial clues at precisely the right moment. That's poor plotting even in a pulpy children's series.

And so, overall, this is a poor entry in the series, albeit with bonus points. So it isn't the bottom of the barrel because that's still 'The Mystery of the Coughing Dragon'? It's still clearly fifteenth out of the sixteen books thus far.

Originally posted at the Nameless Zine in November 2024:
https://www.thenamelesszine.org/Nana-...

Index of all my Nameless Zine reviews:
https://books.apocalypselaterempire.com/

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

The boys are despatched by Alfred Hitchcock to Jungle Land, where the owner - Hitchcock’s friend Jim Hall - is having trouble with a nervous lion and not just that - escaped jungle animals, mysterious intruders and a film crew who keep getting in the way, also make an appearance. I’ve always considered this a weak story (certainly the weak link in the series) and, whilst this read disproves that, I can see why it was long-held viewpoint- the central MaGuffin doesn’t stand up to much scrutiny and is quickly and easily explained away and the tale feels padded whilst on the plus side, the characterisations are good and we get plenty of Uncle Titus and Aunt Mathilda. Nowhere near the best of the series, this is still pretty good fun all the same.
2015 update - I stand, generally, by the 2009 review though I’d question my point about characterisation - certainly, that of the boys is very brisk and the book shows none of West’s grasp of the Three Investigators that was evident in “The Mystery Of The Coughing Dragon”. Also, why does Uncle Titus suddenly sound like some kind of down-south cowboy? A quick read, this has some interesting set-pieces but moves through them too briskly and the plot is much too flimsy. A missed opportunity and, yes, perhaps the weakest of the first 30.

[Cliff · Rating 2 out of 5]

Again, I'm finding that I have to make excuses for Nick West, since he is a relative newcomer to this franchise. The unfortunate fact is that we have a story in which Jupiter seemingly has lost his knowledge of gemstones (which were intact for the Mystery of the Moaning Cave) and that Pete has seemingly forgotten how to deal with tame lions (despite having done so in the Secret of the Crooked Cat). This is sadly very similar to what occurred with the Mystery of the Coughing Dragon, Nick West's first foray into this series. (On a side note, this is apparently, the only other entry from Nick West...so perhaps the powers that be agreed with me and removed him from the writer's roster.)

Apart from this oversight, we have another interesting case on our hands. Similar to the first, it's a little heavy on the Hollywood angle, but overall not terrible.

[Robert Stewart · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second and last of the 3I books by Nick West. This one is better than Coughing Dragon but hardly memorable.

[Jeff Stephenson · Rating 5 out of 5]

AH&T3I Update: 16 read, 12 Hardbacks to go (and all of the remaining 15 in paperback)

Kin Platt, aka Nick West, only wrote two of the original T3I series books. The Mystery of the Nervous Lion was his second and final effort with the series. While there was nothing wrong with this story, it just seemed to lack a certain pizzazz than many of the other T3I stories do have. All of the normal T3I elements are present in the plot. The three boys assume their normal roles. The Jones Salvage Yard and the secret headquarters are used a few times in the text. The supporting cast is all still in place including Alfred Hitchcock, Uncle Titus, Aunt Mathilda, Hans and Konrad, along with Worthington and the Rolls-Royce. The action moved along at a nice pace and at only 150 pages, the book is the shortest T3I book so far, but beyond that, nothing really popped up as being outstanding. The book is a good book and a good read, not because of the plot line and the cleverness of the story, but because it is a Three Investigators story. Three Investigator books seem to have a joyful feel to them that brings back an innocence, and optimism, of youth. The reader wants to be a part of this exciting boys world and wants the trio to succeed in solving the mystery. Yes, any adult and many youthful readers can predict who the bad guy is well before the end of the book, but the fun of the Three Investigators is to see how the boys unravel the case. Of course, Jupiter always gets his criminal even if it takes a couple attempts to get the solution correct. For those reasons, I highly recommend this book. Now that the lion has settled down and is not so nervous anymore, it is time to move onto singing serpents!

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

I devoured the Hardy Boys and Tom Swift books when I was in my teens and even though I am well past that, if I encounter an adolescent adventure book in another series, I often read it. Until I encountered this book in a used bookstore, I had never heard of the “The Three Investigators” series, so I had to acquire it and read it.
The three male teen adventurers are Jupiter Jones, Bob Andrews and Pete Crenshaw and they live in Rocky Beach, California. Their base is a mobile home hidden in The Jones Salvage Yard and when they are not working a case they help out in the scrapyard. In this book, they receive their next assignment directly from Alfred Hitchcock after he calls them.
In this case, George the tame lion at the Jungle Land park is exhibiting atypical behavior. He lives in the house with the owners of the park, where there are many other animals. At this time, a movie is being shot on the grounds of the park and there are other mysterious events that could be an attempt to sabotage the making of the movie.
The story moves along in a manner typical of such adventure stories, although in this one, the three main characters face genuine and immediate mortal danger. Which is atypical of most adolescent adventure stories written in the early seventies or sooner. It involves a real criminal conspiracy with large amounts of money at stake. It is a good story, albeit a bit dated in the sense that the only female character is the mother figure that makes them sandwiches.

[Sebastian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Folge 15 der Hörspielreihe kommt mal wieder mit einem etwas sonderbaren Auftrag für die drei Detektive daher, denn Justus Jonas, Peter Shaw und Bob Andrews sollen dem Besitzer eines Tierparks aus der Patsche helfen. Jim Hall vom "Dschungelland" hat nämlich Probleme mit seinem Löwen George, der in letzter Zeit sehr unruhig war und zu unberechenbarem Verhalten neigt – warum sich nun ausgerechnet drei Kinder mit einem unkontrollierbaren Löwen auseinandersetzen und in unmittelbare Gefahr begeben sollen, wissen dabei wohl nur die Autoren...

Wenn die Folgen etwas unrund anfangen ist das meistens schon kein so gutes Zeichen für den Rest und auch "Der rasende Löwe" reiht sich in die Reihe der eher durchschnittlichen Episoden ein. So kam der Zwischenfall mit einem freilaufenden Löwen so praktisch schon 1:1 in der Folge "Die drei ??? und die schwarze Katze" vor und wirkt dadurch wenig originell, zudem macht die deutsche Übersetzung diesmal auch nicht gerade den besten Eindruck. Das führt zum Beispiel zu absurden Herleitungen beim Entschlüsseln eines Codes, der im Original noch halbwegs Sinn ergibt, im Deutschen aber gar nicht funktioniert: wie Justus von "Dox Pix Ex Rex Box" auf "Wie ein Specht an die Stäbe des Löwenkäfigs picken" kommt, bleibt leider sein Geheimnis. Überdies ist die Folge mit nicht einmal 40 Minuten auch schlichtweg zu kurz für eine etwas komplexere Story, sodass "Der rasende Löwe" zwar passabel unterhält, aber keinen wirklich bleibenden Eindruck hinterlässt.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

In my adult re-read of the first 21 books in the series (all I have gotten in the nifty hard cover originals so far) I had high hopes for this, the second and last Nick West (Kin Platt) authored mystery. All of Robert Arthur's got four stars (those are the characters I remember!)...William Arden's (Dennis Lynds) mysteries just didn't have the same characters--I caught myself saying "Nah, Jupiter wouldn't say that." and "Why are Pete and Bob acting like that." I liked Coughing Dragon (West's other) but this one. Oh, it was fun, don't get me wrong; but WHOO! The conclusion-jumping will give you a whip-lash. Jupiter acts like a complete amateur. Neither Pete nor Bob have any part in the solving of the mystery. And as another reviewer has said, the solution is bloody obvious very early on--Jupe is not that dim.

Looking forward to M V Carey's second (Serpent) I liked her first well enough. (Also hoping Arthur's daughter and son-in-law, my college advisor, get their reboot published soon: 26 new adventures!)

[David Phipps · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Three Investigators is a juvenile detective series published in the 60s, 70s, and 80s that spans about 43 books. They feature three teenage boys who mostly investigate paranormal type stuff that they debunk (somewhat like Scooby-Doo) or other abnormal crimes that the police do not handle. They report their cases to Alfred Hitchcock or a fake director depending on which versions you read. Their base of operations is hidden away in the depths of a junkyard and it has multiple hidden entrances. I discovered these books in the library during middle school and promptly read them all. As such, I have a lot of nostalgia for these books. Unfortunately it seems only a handful are available in Kindle format at this point.

The Mystery of the Nervous Lion is #16 in the series. The story is about some strange happenings at a wild animal park. This only took about 2 hours to read.

[sonofabook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es gibt einen neuen Auftrag von Alfred Hitchcock für die drei Fragezeichen:
Bei einem Freund von ihm spielt ein Löwe verrückt. Normalerweise ist er, gerade gegenüber des Besitzers, ziemlich friedlich, allerdings in letzter Zeit nicht.
So ermitteln Peter, Bob und Justus und kommen ins Rätseln, als der neu eingetroffene Gorilla aus Afrika plötzlich aus seinem Käfig abhaut.
Steckt vielleicht der Besitzer dahinter, oder doch der Bruder aus Afrika, oder ein ehemaliger Mitarbeiter oder der Doktor oder der Sohn?

Nach einigen Folgen der drei Fragezeichen stellt man fest, dass sich bestimmte Handlungsstränge wiederholen mur mit unterschiedlichen Ausgangssituationen.
Es ist natürlich nicht schlimm, dass das Rad nicht neu erfunden wird, aber so verliert eine vielleicht eigentlich fünf Sterne Folge einen Stern.
Wirklich unterhaltsam die Folge und schöner Spannungsstrang.

Empfehlung!

[Roger · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m revisiting this series that I loved as a young reader. I don’t remember reading this one before. I don’t think our public library had it. It has almost all of the recurring elements—the chauffeur-driven gold-plated Rolls Royce, fortunate coincidences, The Three Investigators captured and tied up, a boy their age with a problem, hidden treasure, etc. But this one is missing some of the humor, the Ghost-to-Ghost hookup, use of the secret entrances to Headquarters, and a trip to the library for research.

This is the first book in the series (and possibly the only) to mention Ghana, where I’m from. So, bonus points for that!

[Chrissi · Rating 3 out of 5]

i mean, a three investigators book can’t ever really be bad, but this one was rather mediocre. the cliffhangers at the end of almost every chapter felt a bit too forced and the three getting attacked by wild animals was a thing that happened a little too often for me. i have to say tho that the animal/nature-themed cases are my second to last favorite, right before the sports-themed ones, if i had to make a ranking off the top of my head.

i wouldn’t say that the end was completely foreseeable, but some of the deductions that didn’t really have to be made as they seemed quite obvious to me took the trio way too long to do.

[Joaquin del Villar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Esta entrega, como la anterior de Nick West, parece que quiere trabajar un poco mas en los personajes de la chatarrería, algo que es de agradecer. La historia es una investigación en torno a un león que se comporta de forma anómala en una especie de zoológico / pequeño parque temático. La historia esta muy cogida por pinzas, en general bastante poco creíble, pero bueno, te hace pasar un rato entretenido.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good mystery where the investigators are hired to find out why George the lion at the tourist attraction Jungle Land is feeling nervous. Turns out that there is more than meets the eye. A straightforward solve for the lands. Entertaining stuff.

[Joe Stevens · Rating 2 out of 5]

After the original author passed away there were a few different authors who tried their hands on this series. Nick West never really got the feel for the characters or the quirky nature of the series. This was the second of the two books he contributed and neither one is very good.

[Carly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ani Tarzan to so zvieratami nevedel tak, ako Jim Hall. Ale ja obvyklé pri týchto knihách nechávam logiku za dverami, ako topánky na návšteve.

Trochu mi tam nesedela časová postupnosť, ale bolo to napínavé a utieklo to. Aj keď chudáka leoparda so mohli odpustiť.

[JBooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nääää ich weiß nicht

[Vincent T. Ciaramella · Rating 3 out of 5]

My son and I have read nothing but Three Investigators book this year. This one was good but not a favorite. Very middle of the road in my opinion. Off to the Deadly Mine tonight!

[Milia Rasmussen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Det er ved at være noget tid siden at jeg læste den men jeg synes at dem var rigtig god og spændende. Jeg har ikke rigtig læst så mange af de andre i serien men de står på listen.

[Saku Nielsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Selvom de ikke er på Safari så er det næsten som om man er taget langt væk. Nervøse løver skal man holde godt øje med. De kan dog være ganske som store katte, nogle værre forkælede kæledyr.

[Ray Quirolgico · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brought me back to my childhood! This three investigators mystery is a circus caper and perhaps one of the books that hooked me on this series as a kid.