Záhada horiacich stôp

Alfred Hitchcock and The Three Investigators #15

by M.V. Carey

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

124 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1971

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

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a relatively late and inferior entry in the Three Investigators series. The series was created by Robert Arthur, a woefully neglected author who did a great deal of work with Alfred Hitchcock; Arthur wrote the first nine and the eleventh book in the series. Unfortunately M.V. Carey was no Robert Arthur!

I recently read the book to my son. We've read many of the books in the series together. In this one, there were several ways in which the book simply didn't work. Oh, Carey included the usual iconic elements of the series; Jupiter Jones' family, and the hidden Headquarters (a trailer buried under a pile of junk), and Pete, and Bob. But there are several false notes.

One that was particularly annoying was the use of Jupiter's name. Arthur usually referred to him as "Jupiter" or "Jupiter Jones". Once in a while his fellow Investigators, Pete or Bob, would refer to him as "Jupe". But in this book, he is almost always called "Jupe" - not just by other people, but by the narrator. I'm not that picky, but seeing "Jupe" repeated over and over in paragraph after paragraph just got weird! It started to become a meaningless sound - you know how some words get when you say them over and over? I ended up auto-correcting it to "Jupiter" when I read it aloud, except when it was said by Pete or Bob.

The mystery itself was just...okay. Nothing particularly clever or memorable about it. If anything, the resolution was rather anticlimactic. I won't bother to give it away, though.

But another thing that was quite irritating was a dramatic change in a long-standing supporting character, Police Chief Reynolds. In the early books in the series he was supportive and friendly to the Three Investigators, even going so far as to give them official cards identifying them as Junior Deputies or something like that. In Flaming Footprints, he has been completely changed. He's sneering, abusive, hostile, and sarcastic. The change was so extreme that my son remarked on it. Personally, I found the recasting of Chief Reynolds as a stereotypical negative adult authority figure so irksome that I couldn't resist editorializing: "'What do you want now, Jones?' snarled Chief Reynolds, while busily stomping on a cute kitten and simultaneously farting on a helpless old lady."

My son is more generous and/or uncritical than I am. He gave the book 4.5 stars. I feel I'm being generous in giving it three.

Oh, as always I should note that there are probably two different versions of the text extant. Older versions feature the character of Alfred Hitchcock. For legal reasons newer editions have been rewritten to replace Hitchcock with a lame-ass ersatz version. If you decide to pick this one up, try to go for an older edition. But if you're new to the series, I strongly recommend starting with the original nine books by Robert A. Arthur.

[Nadja · Rating 3 out of 5]

Highlight war klar das Telefonat mit Morton. ;)

[M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this off the shelf on impulse. My aunt bought a set of these for me as a kid, and I kept but never read them. Why? This book was an unexpected and welcome surprise! The Hardy Boys remain the joy of my reading youth, but the Three Investigators should have been there too.

The characters (Jupiter Jones, Bob Crenshaw and Pete Andrews) are engaging, as is the supporting cast. These characters have dimension, flaws and layers. Also atypical for young adult books is the dialogue. It is not stiff or forced, and there is a lot of sarcasm and wit. There is a lot of edge here, surprisingly. The plot isn't bad, either...a beloved resident of Rocky Beach disappears as a quintet of suspicious newcomers arrive. The answer to the mystery is long ago and far away.

There are eight more of these on my shelf...can't wait.

[Lea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bisher gefallen mir die meisten M.V. Carey recht gut. Ich mochte hier besonders die schrullige Art von Mr. Potter und auch Tanta Mathildas viele Auftritte. Das Buch hat Spaß gemacht, obwohl der Fall nie so wirklich spannend wurde.

[Niki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very similar to The Silver Spider, very much about a fictional country's political intrigue and stolen jewels, with other characters calling the shots instead of the boys. We never even learned how the titular flaming footprints were made, probably because the author didn't know either.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

original 2009 review - During my last read-a-thon (1993-1995), this book fared worst of all but reading it again 14+ years later, I think I was a little harsh back then. Certainly, the plot (and it’s been so long since I read it, I’d completely forgotten what happens) is thin (the flaming footprints aren’t really explained until much later and there’s a lot of coincidence), but that’s more than made up for in the characterisation, the repartee between the investigators (though Pete gets short-changed) and the general atmosphere that Carey conjures up, especially the way she expands Rocky Beach for the reader. Essentially, the boys are hired to try to find The Potter, who’s run away just as his never-seen daughter and grandson appear, a happenstance that coincides with new people in town, all of whom have an interest in The Potter’s house. I thought this was well-written, it had some nice little set-pieces in and it kept my attention, so well worth the re-appraisal, in my opinion.

2015 update - I stand by my 2009 review, though I would add that the flaming footprints is a real macguffin (you could take them out of the story and nothing about it would change - though I’m not sure what you’d then call it). This time around, I particularly enjoyed all of the detail about the junkyard (it’s as if Ms Carey was keen to explore it) and the humour worked perfectly. Chief Reynolds was very grouchy and it was odd that Pete & Bob didn’t appear until chapter 4, but otherwise a great read.

[Jeff Stephenson · Rating 5 out of 5]

AH&T3I Update: 15 read. 13 hardbacks to go (and 15 paperbacks on top of that)!

This was the first of the Mary Virginia (M. V.) Carey books and you can certainly notice a difference in tone with this story. It is a fun book. All of the T3I elements are there--even Worthington gets a few pages in which to shine as an Investigator and not just as a chauffeur. However, the voice of the book--the narrator--speaks in a different way and with a different style. For the first time in the series, the author is female, and for whatever reason, I hear the narrator of the book as a female simply because I know that a female wrote the book. That is certainly not a bad thing at all--just different. While I did not attempt to compile a reading level on this book, I would guess that this story targets a slightly older (by maybe a year or two) reader for a couple different reasons. First, the character descriptions seem to be more involved and detailed. Second, some of the vocabulary seems a little more advanced than some of the earlier Robert Arthur tales. Third and final, the European subplot is quite involved with lots of details and multiple bad guys. Overall, it was a good book and collectors / fans of the series such as myself will enjoy the mystery even if some of my much younger colleagues might struggle somewhat with it. A good start for the M.V. Carey books, but I do hope her writing style grows on me as I read some of her other T3I titles later in the series.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good book in the series, but not one of the top notch books.

This one dealt with an eccentric old man with a secret. It also dealt with a coup in a European country that occurred long ago but still has repercussions on modern times. And to cap it all off, someone (or someTHING) is leaving flaming footprints.

Overall, I still love this series. Highly recommended.

[Ririn Aziz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Buku terakhir yg dibaca untuk siri ini. Penerbit cuma keluarkan 8 tajuk bagi setiap batch. Tak tau la bila nk keluar siri seterusnya. Siri ni pun dah 5 tahun dikeluarkan.

Sedih pulak rasanya. Macam nk kena berpisah dengan kawan baik huhu.

[John Yelverton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly well done mystery book, but it's hardly worthy to carry the name of the "Master of Suspense".

[Sebastian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Folge 20 der Hörspielreihe beginnt mit einem Besuch des Einsiedlers "Potter", einem alten und zurückgezogen lebenden Töpfer, der den Schrottplatz von Onkel Titus nach ein paar Schätzen durchstöbert. Während Justus sich um den Mann kümmert, tauchen unerwartet zwei Fremde auf, die sich nach dem "Hilltop House" erkundigen – einem eigentlich seit Jahren verlassenen Haus. Als die beiden wieder abgefahren sind wirkt Potter plötzlich etwas mitgenommen und nachdem Justus kurz verschwindet um ihm etwas Wasser zu holen, fehlt von dem alten Töpfer plötzlich jede Spur – nur eine weiterer merkwürdiger Auftritt des barfüßigen Sonderlings oder hat sein Verhalten womöglich etwas mit den beiden Gestalten zu tun, die sich nach dem verlassenen Haus erkundigt haben?

"Die flammende Spur" bietet einmal eine kleine Abwechslung zur sonst fast schon obligatorischen Schatzsuche, denn diesmal geht es in erster Linie nicht um einen Gegenstand, sondern um eine vermisste Person. Der Titel der Folge ist dabei vielleicht etwas irreführend, denn die "flammende Spur" hat nur einen sehr kurzen Auftritt und ist eigentlich auch nicht näher von Bedeutung. Abgesehen davon bekommt man hier aber einen durchaus interessanten Fall geboten, der Recherche und Action ausgewogen vermengt und auch eine relativ komplexe Hintergrundgeschichte mitbringt. Nicht unbedingt eine Episode, die nachhaltig im Gedächtnis bleiben wird, aber von vorne bis hinten ein sehr solider und schlüssiger Fall für die drei Detektive.

[Cliff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another new author and along with it, some minor quibbles. M.V. Carey seems to have a different take on the Three Investigator's relationship with Chief Reynolds. From the earlier novels, it seemed that Chief Reynolds felt mostly positive towards them. Yet here, the author has decided to change this into an antagonistic relationship. It certainly makes for slightly more interesting reading, but it also doesn't ring true with the earlier books. But since Robert Arthur seemed to have ended his input into the series by this point, I suppose this is the new canon.

Bob's history of leg trouble seems to have all but ignored at this point. One helpful change though is that in the "introduction" of the book, M.V. Carey has explicitly decided to point out that Pete, while athletic, is somewhat less than courageous...a point that was implied in the past, but never directly written.

[Hal Astell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wouldn't have noticed it when I first read this book as a kid, but it's obviously written by a woman and for the first time in the series. I never felt any shame in reading genre books aimed at girls as well as those aimed at boys, so read Nancy Drew along with the Hardy Boys, but I didn't pay much attention to the gender breakdowns of any of those books. They were simply there to be fun. Now, I see that sort of thing and it's clear that there have been precious few female characters in these 'Three Investigators' books and, when they show up, they're rarely given much to do.

Sure, there was that teasing hint towards a female operative in 'The Mystery the Fiery Eye', but it never panned out, Liz Logan not having returned to the series. However, here, things are different in the very first chapter. Aunt Mathilda gets substance immediately. She's played support in many of these books, but her contributions have been restricted to making food and to putting the boys to work in the junkyard. We know you don't mess with Aunt Mathilda, but here, we learn why. She has opinions, dominates scenes and even has a role in driving the plot forward. Then a prominent female character is introduced soon afterwards. It's just unheard of!

The reason is that 'The Mystery of the Flaming Footprints' is absolutely written by a woman, Mary Virginia Carey, though she preferred initials as M. V. Carey, which wasn't unusual at the time as a standard means of hiding an author's gender to avoid losing potential readers with narrow minds who might assume that a book by a woman must be for girls. See P. L. Travers, S. E. Hinton, even J. K. Rowling., who followed advice from her publisher to use initials for this very reason. Would the 'Harry Potter' books have done as well had they been written by Joanne Rowling?

In fact, Carey would become the most prolific writer of the series. Its creator, Robert Arthur, only wrote ten books before his death (and naturally none after it), so the bulk were penned by William Arden and M. V. Carey, who wrote roughly in alternation. Arden wrote thirteen and Carey sixteen, including 'The Mystery of the Ghost Train', which would have been the forty-fourth adventure had the series not been cancelled. Instead it found publication in German, where the series, known as 'Die drei ???', ran on much longer, with original novels pushing the series over two hundred titles.

I thoroughly appreciated how Carey introduced honest-to-goodness female characters with depth and substance and even gave them things to do. However, I also appreciated her descriptive prose which is the best thus far and a long way beyond what Nick West had written in the previous book. I appreciated her use of dialogue, which is also the deepest and most believable of any book so far. And I appreciated the build too, as the first chapter serves as an excellent setup, introducing us to the local eccentric in Rocky Beach, known as the Potter, who promptly vanishes, sparking the core mystery of the novel. Carey introduces us to headquarters with panache too, capably using Tunnel Two, Red Gate Rover and Door Four.

The villains of the piece may be the new folk who have moved into Hilltop House, who are foreign, not least because it overlooks the Potter's place, which now sits empty. However, the villain of the piece may be the fisherman, who's also new in town and is usually found in a pristine outfit and with brand-new equipment, but never any fish. Maybe Eloise Dobson is be the villain, as she also shows up out of the blue with her son Tom in tow, claiming to be the Potter's daughter, even though not a single person in Rocky Beach knew that he ever had one.

So far, so good, but there are caveats and negatives to raise too. From one angle, this is agreeably grounded, with Carey focusing on character and setup to provide the bedrock of the novel. That's not a bad thing and it may well be that this is the most believable book in the series thus far, much more so than the other one that had a historical backdrop, 'The Mystery of the Silver Spider'. From a different angle, though, this is agreeably grounded, meaning that there's nothing supernatural or exotic, aspects that often make these books memorable.

The only aspect that could be considered supernatural are the flaming footprints of the title, as they appear within the Potter's house apparently at random without anyone causing them. Sure, that's mysterious, but there are no other truly unusual elements and that makes this component notably weak compared to say, whispering mummies, screaming clocks or talking skulls. The only angle that could be called exotic is the fact that there are double-headed eagles everywhere, not just on the pots the Potter makes but also on the medallion around his neck. Bucking a tradition for the series, Carey avoids making the new kid exotic, Tom hailing from Belleview, Illinois.

I missed the outre subject matter, whether it seems supernatural, serves as exotic in California or is merely eccentric, the only aspect here fitting that being the Potter himself, who doesn't appear to have a name, just the Potter, and walks around in a long robe like a hippy. However, it turns out that the Potter is merely Alexander Potter, who is indeed a potter. We don't even go anywhere, as we never leave Rocky Beach except for a brief side mission for Worthington in Los Angeles. In fact, the vast majority of the book takes place within walking distance of Uncle Titus's junkyard.

At the end of the day, I can see readers reacting to this in two very distinct ways. Some might love it, because it's better written, it's more believable and it has a real grounding in Rocky Beach. It also features multiple female characters of substance and they're not the only ones who benefit from strong dialogue. Others may like it less than usual, because there's not much that counts as supernatural, eccentric or exotic. It also doesn't really have real villains, at least in the style or to the degree that the series has shown us. We never go anywhere and the ending is inherently sad. Perhaps only a few will sit in the middle, liking some of these things from each side but not all.

I'm in the latter category, but right now I'm looking forward a lot more to book seventeen, which is the next of M. V. Carey's contributions to the series, 'The Mystery of the Singing Serpent', than the second and last from Nick West, which comes before it. That's next month's read, 'The Mystery of the Nervous Lion'.

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

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

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

During my last read-a-thon (1993-1995), this book fared worst of all but reading it again 14+ years later, I think I was a little harsh back then. Certainly, the plot (and it’s been so long since I read it, I’d completely forgotten what happens) is thin (the flaming footprints aren’t really explained until much later and there’s a lot of coincidence), but that’s more than made up for in the characterisation, the repartee between the investigators (though Pete gets short-changed) and the general atmosphere that Carey conjures up, especially the way she expands Rocky Beach for the reader. Essentially, the boys are hired to try to find The Potter, who’s run away just as his never-seen daughter and grandson appear, a happenstance that coincides with new people in town, all of whom have an interest in The Potter’s house. I particularly enjoyed all of the detail about the junkyard (it’s as if Ms Carey was keen to explore it) and the humour worked perfectly. Chief Reynolds was very grouchy and it was odd that Pete & Bob didn’t appear until chapter 4, but otherwise a great read. I should also mention Eloise Dobson (the Potter’s daughter) who’s a wonderfully sparky character (and compared to Aunt Matilda for her stubbornness). I thought this was well-written, it had some nice little set-pieces in and it kept my attention, so well worth the re-appraisal, in my opinion.

[EverAfter1904]

This book is a great book to read. When I first read it I couldn't put the page down! The Three Investigators are Jupiter, Pete, and Bob. They have a gold plated Rolls Royce which Jupiter has won in a contest. With the car, there also came a chauffeur called Worthington. Worthington likes to drive the boys everywhere they go. This series is an addictive series. When I first read it, I couldn't stop reading other books of the series. I hope you can read all of the books and enjoy them as much as I did, even though I had only read 9 books of this series. Good luck reading them!

[Fonch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ladies and gentlemen before I leave I will write another review, which I hope will be to the taste of Goodreads users. I admit, that in a somewhat reluctant way, and lazy, but I needed to have the computer on, because my sister had run out of internet at work, and I could help her in this regard. I was hesitating whether to write this review, or Stephen Vizinczey's "In Praise of older Women" https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1... https://www.goodreads.com/author/show.... I can already tell you that unfortunately my experience with this last novel has been far from being a satisfactory experience. Apart from the fact that Mr. Vizinczey's novel had an unexpected problem, and that is that it would have to be translated into Hungarian, and that would have delayed my work. On the other hand, writing a critique of the Three Investigators, a classic juvenile detective novel on paper seemed easier. In addition, there was another factor in favor of these nice children, and that is that last year I read three novels by the three researchers, and I did not review any, and they did not deserve this. He also considered that it is pertinent to know other facets of Sir Alfred Hitchcock different from the cinematographic ones. It is good that he is also known as a patron, and protector of the arts, in addition to his editorial work, and compiler of detective stories. Therefore without further ado, and after this timely introduction I left you with my critique of this novel of the Three Investigators. Yes, I know that it is not necessary to explain the reason why I do it, but since medieval documents, there has always been as a reason, or a motivation, which is why the document is written, and it seemed appropriate to inform users of it. Now he left them with criticism.
This is the third novel I've read from the three researchers. Those nice children who work in very bad economic conditions for Mr. Hitchcock (I am making this up, to make a joke Mr. Hitchcock has the right to do with his fictional creatures what he deems appropriate. What I meant was that for the service performed by the Three Investigators, Hitchcock pays them paltry salaries. They do the dirty work, the three investigators offer him the stories of the cases in which they risk fortune, life, and even reputation, and it is Mr. Hitchcock who entirely takes the gross profits of the stories, which he publishes) for Sir. Alfred Hitchcock to whom they sell their cases. To all this, one wonders why Hitchcock is not on the list of Catholic writers, since, although there was a stage in which he stopped practicing his faith, and even grew cold he was always a Catholic, and at the end of his life he returned to that of his childhood. It is true that he moved away from the faith, but he returned at the end of his life https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2... It is true that this barely showed in his films, but the film that made him famous in his country was The Enemy of Blondes, which was based on the novel "The Lodger" by Marie Belloc Lowndness https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1... https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... , and surely many of the users of Goodreads will wonder, Who is Marie Belloc Lowndness? Well, this lady is the sister of our dearest friend Hilaire Belloc https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... (brother of arms, friend of our dear Chesty, or Chesnut https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... as he liked, to be called, and half of the Chesterbelloc). Although Hilaire Belloc disagreed with her sister on the question of women's suffrage, they were both fervent Catholics, but the interesting thing about this is that a link is established between Alfred Hitchcock, and G.K. Chesterton, and Hilaire Belloc. It is not ruled out, that they knew him, and that they took him under their protection, and this is something that documentaries about Alfred Hitchcock will never tell you. Alfred Hitchcock apart from that wanted to direct the novel by A.J. Cronin "The Keys of the Kingdom" https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1... https://www.goodreads.com/author/show..., which by the way a few years ago edited the publishing house @palabraes about the life of a priest, who was as a missionary in China (project, which finally fell into the hands of director John M. Stahl, starring Gregory Peck, and the always interesting Thomas Mitchell), and directed by I Confess, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1... inspired by a very third-order play entitled Nos deux consciences by Paul Anthelme Bourde, which is so irrelevant, it doesn't even appear in the Goodreads database, but people can search for it by other search engines, and it will be discovered, that you are not lying. In this film, which changed a lot the play of Paul Bourde Anthelme starring Montgomery Clift, the always interesting Anne Baxter, and the most interesting of all Karl Malden. A priest is capable of risking both his life and his honor to preserve the secrecy of confession. It is not in my opinion one of Alfred Hitchcock's best films, but it is interesting to allude to it. Hitchcock does not get the most out of Clift who has been better seen in other films such as "From Here to Eternity", based on the nihilistic, irenist novel by James Jones https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1... (this author also wrote the novel, later also adapted to the cinema "The Thin Red Line" https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9... brought to the big screen by Terrence Malick https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5... in a great multi-choral cast) (so rightly reviled by Father, and Jesuit Leonardo Castellani https://www.goodreads.com/author/show..., https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6... since the Hays code greatly sweetened it by removing the irreligious tone of the original story), it is also not as good as in the Tree of Life https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2... https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... (it's funny, but I like the Spanish title much more, than the American one) film that co-starred with Elizabeth Taylor. Anne Baxter, who I like very much, is somewhat overacted, and although Karl Malden is the best, he is also too histrionic for my taste. Of course. In honor of the truth I am convinced that this film could have inspired the scenes of Impossible Mission III by J.J. Abrams in which Tom Cruise, apart from getting married, manages to infiltrate the Vatican, and disguise himself as a priest. It reminded me enormously of Montgomery Clift, and I could appreciate the enormous resemblance that existed between both actors (that I could never hide my anger at not getting to discover, finally what the rabbit's foot was).).
Apart from being one of the best directors in history. I compile very good detective anthologies, and stories as funny as these. He usually commissioned them from other writers such as Robert Arthur https://www.goodreads.com/author/show..., William Arden https://www.goodreads.com/author/show..., Nick West https://www.goodreads.com/author/show..., Marc Brandel https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... or as in this case M.V. Carey https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... https://www.goodreads.com/series/4220..., as you can see, you should not talk about the ghostwriter, because it is not a writer who writes a story, so that Alfred Hitchcock then signs it, but the latter collaborates with others, and commissions them, to write these books in which, as in his films Sir. Alfred Hitchcock will make a cameo, usually at the end, when the case is solved, and the three investigators sell the story to the good Sir Alfred Hitchcock. I have not had the opportunity, because only three of the stories of the three researchers have been read, but, from what has been read in other reviews posted on Goodreads it seems that the best are the first. He let the users make their judgment, and forge their opinion https://www.goodreads.com/series/4220....
This story of Jupiter Jones, Pete Crensaw, and Bob Andrews (who are the three investigators, who live in the state of California Jupiter Jones is the leader of the gang, and is a fat boy, and intelligent, who seeks to sneak away from errands, sent by his aunt, leaving them to his German servants, another is an athlete, and the third is a learned bibliophile) is not as good as the "Mystery of the Ghost Lake" https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5..., which was so interesting, that it had me all night without sleep, in fact I did not stop until I finished it, since it was exciting. It was written by William Arden. But "The Mystery of the Flaming Footprints" has entertained me a lot, too. Since it tells the story of how the three investigators must investigate the whereabouts of a potter Alexander Potter, who is a mixture of Jesus Christ, and Hippy (somewhat bizarre, but it seems, that respected, and loved by the community, and that is supposed, that he was buying furniture from the family of Jupiter Jones, because his family was going to come to visit him), but, when he meets two men (one of them bald disappears) when he was ready to receive his family his daughter, and his grandson, and that is the mystery, which must be investigated by the Three Investigators. There is also danger, but the greatest difficulty that the three researchers will have to face is the incomprehension of the elderly, who will tend to underestimate them because they are children. In this case one of the biggest obstacles will be the daughter of Alexander Potter, who is a woman, who tends to hysteria, and is a bit foolish so they will have to agree with the grandson, who being of the generation of the Three Researchers, if he can understand them better, and there will be a more fluid communication between the parties. The interesting thing is the flaming footprints. Also the history of a Republic of the center east Lapathia of 500 years that goes from being a monarchy to a military Republic (it is evident that the author is very influenced by the history of Germany, and Russia. The history of the Royal Family is very reminiscent of that of the Romanovs.) There is a mysterious man posing as a fisherman, and two military Kaluk, and Ilya who look very fearsome. The history of Lapathia has much of a fictional Russian-Germanic country in the style of Anthony Hope https://www.goodreads.com/series/7513... Ruritania. One of the lords is called Ivan the Terrible (so you can see, and another is Frederick), and there is a revolution where the royal family is murdered. The key will be to demonstrate Alexander Potter's involvement in this matter. It is entertaining better than the The Mystery of the couching dragon, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4... but not as much as the mystery of the ghost lake. My grade is (3'5/5).

[Britannia Autum · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hello everyone! welcome to another book review. Today I am reviewing the mystery of the Flaming footprints which out of 43 books is the 15th book of the series. Come join me as I set foot into this baffling mystery.
I am sure by now you are familiar with Jupiter Jones, Pete Crenshaw, and Bob Andrews. Who are the three investigators, the junior detectives who live on Rocky beach near Hollywood. So, what happens is that a guy named the potter (not harry potter by the way😊) came to the jones savage yard to buy some furniture in his truck. Then when Jupiter is helping him choose some chairs, a car stops near the salvage yard and a man asks for directions, after that the potter asks if he can have a glass of water because he feels dizzy. But when Jupiter came back with a glass of water in his hands the potter had disappeared, leaving his truck behind. When Jupiter goes to look for him in his house, he didn’t find him, but somebody was lying in wait for him and so poor Jupiter was locked in a room. He could go out the window, but Jupiter was to dignified to do that, so he set to work on the lock. Just then there was somebody knocking the door shouting “Grandpa! Grandpa where are you? Open the door please grandpa!” Jupiter was surprised, so he leaned out the window and saw a boy standing on the terrace with a woman Jupiter assumed was his mother. Jupiter climbed out the window and the woman at seeing this called the police because she thought Jupiter broke into the house and was now escaping. Much much much later, they found flaming footprints in the kitchen of Mr. Potter’s house when they investigate further, they find out that the mystery is deeper than they expected. (I can’t tell you what happens next cause it’s where the plot twists come in.) But in the end, everything was back to normal.
I am sorry mister Robert Arthur junior but I rated this book three stars☹. It’s because for me, I think it needed to be more gripping and mysterious, also, I think it needs more comedy and funny stuff because in the book everything is just too serious for me. Again, I am sorry but it just gets 3 stars from me.
After reading this book and writing this book report I am eager to know what mystery the three investigators will get involved with next, but until then I have to end this book report and wait for the next adventure to happen, but whatever it is, I’m sure it’ll be hair raising!

[Ian Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overall Rating 9/10 Flaming Brilliant!

Plot
An eccentric man (known as “The Potter”) drives his rickerty van to the salvage yard and picks out some furniture for visitors he is expecting and then, he suddenly disappears leaving his van, the furniture and his food shopping in the yard. A strange, chauffeur driven man appears and, separately, a well dressed fisherman who failed to catch anything also seems to just “turn up”. The Three Investigators go to the Potters house to see if he is there, where they find the house being ransacked and, just then, a woman and son arrive. Add to that, some strange green flaming footprints in the hallway and, suddenly, the Three Investigators have a case on their hands.

Writing Style
Easy, flowing, short sentences. Very juvenile, with virtually no flowering at all. Pretty basic script that, just now and again, shows its age.

Point of View/Voice
Written in the 3rd Person / Past Tense (standard convention)

Critique
I loved this series of books as a youngster. Reading these now brings back a huge amount of nostalgia, and I have relived some of the feelings and sensations I experienced when I first read them. For a boy setting out on his life voyage of reading books, this is absolutely perfect. It is a wonderful world of basic script with a not-too-difficult plot wrapped in simple adventure. As an adult of 58 years, I was catapulted back in time, and I was once more 12 years old. I never want these books to end.

The plot was very well woven and, for a book that touts “mystery” from the very beginning, I was completely carried away with the story and simply could not put the book down except for a few moments, every now and again, when I wondered, “what is going on?”. Each time, I was quick to pick it back up and read on …

Definitely up there with the best of this series … I am already thinking about which one to read next!

[Demian Katz · Rating 4 out of 5]

After the previous rather dismal entry in the series, this one is a huge improvement: M. V. Carey's debut in the series is a strong one. Even though the basic plot elements don't appeal to me very much -- did we really need more political intrigue involving a second fictional European country? -- that actually doesn't matter in light of how well the book is written. The greatest strength here is in the characterizations; the author not only introduces an interesting cast of newcomers but also fleshes out the series regulars, particularly Aunt Mathilda (though its portrayal of Chief Reynolds feels more than a bit off). The book also doesn't pull its punches as much as one might expect; it addresses political violence quite directly, for example, and puts the boys in some genuinely perilous situations. In the end, you can't really expect a juvenile series book to break new ground in literature, but this one manages to not only deliver a twisty (if largely implausible) mystery but also to provide more humanity than the assignment required, including a conclusion with more emotional depth and complexity than I would have expected.

I greatly look forward to seeing what Carey does next in the series... and I rather dread having to get through another Nick West book on the way there.

[sonofabook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Justus Jonas, erster der Detektive um Peter Shaw und Bob Andrews, ist gerade mitten in einer Transaktion mit dem alten Potter, als dieser plötzlich verschwindet. Er macht sich auf den Weg ihn zu suchen, aber, als er das Haus betrifft, wird er niedergeschlagen und eingesperrt, ehe die Verwandten von Potter ihn finden.
Zurück in der Zentrale mit Bob und Peter, gehen die drei dem Hinweis eines Amulettes nach was der alte Potter um den Hals hängen hatte.
Zumal Justus am Tag des Verschwindens zwei Männer aufgefallen sind, die sich nach einem Haus gegenüber von Potter ungehört haben.
Nach einiger Recherche finden die drei heraus, dass es bei der ganzen Geschichte um Ikonen handelt.
Als auf die drei Detektive dann geschossen wird, ein rätselhafter Angler auftaucht und flammende Fußspuren im Haus von Potter auftauchen, beschließen sie eine Falle zu stellen.

Gerade durch die Hintergründe nach Europa ein interessanter Fall.
Auch schön zu sehen, dass zunächst Justus ohne seine beiden treuen Gefährten der Spur nachgeht und sie sich dann zusammentun.
Ebenfalls hat mir die Kleinigkeit gefallen, dass Kommisar Raynolds dieses Mal nicht ganz so freundlich Justus gegenüber war.
Definitiv spannender als die Folge davor.

Wieder eine Empfehlung.
Schön wieder in Rocky Beach zu sein.

[Jeffery Moulton · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was in middle school, I read every Three Investigator book in publication order. It took me most of a year to get all of them between the school and town libraries and inter-library loans. Some I remember. Some are completely lost to me. The only thing I recalled about Flaming Footprints was the title (which is fantastic!) and the picture on the cover (also great!). The rest of the story had long since faded from my aging memory.

Even still, as with all the Three Investigator books I’ve re-read recently, reading this book again was a blast of nostalgia. Admittedly, the mystery isn’t one of their best, but it was still an enjoyable read, and Jupiter and the gang were all there in great form.

These books are getting harder and harder to find, which is a shame. While they never had the cultural impact of the Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew, I really enjoy the mysteries in them, and think some of them are the best in the teen sleuth genre. I hope that someday they will get ported to ebooks, complete with the original illustrations, so we can enjoy them time and time again.

Until then, I’ll scavenge the ones I can and spend pleasant hours filled with nostalgia as I join Jupiter, Pete, and Bob as they hunt down the latest villain of Rocky Beach.

[Joe Stevens · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a time of transition as a number of writers were trying their hands at the three investigators. Eventually the series would settle down to two main authors of whom Carey was one. She shows a solid touch here, but is still finding her way in this novel. The boy generally feel like themselves which they haven't for a few novels so that is an improvement. The police chief got very antagonistic for some reason and there were just a number of little things that hopefully morph closer to the originals over time.

[Joaquin del Villar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Este episodio de los Tres Investigadores tiene como novedad su autora, M.V. Carey, una guionista curtida con la firma Disney. A diferencia de los anteriores episodios, la presencia de Alfred Hichcock es muy marginal, y los secundarios, especialmente la tía Mathilda, y nos enteramos de Titus Jones se llama también Andronicus. La trama presenta detalles en especial una fotografía que se muestra en un momento del libro que no son adecuadas para un público juvenil (pienso) yo. En general entretenido y diferente de los anteriores.

[Steven Vincent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great mystery story for mystery fans both young and old. If you, like me, read these books when you were young I urge you to read them all again. They will bring back wonderful memories and entertain you just as much now as then.

[Sonny · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm beginning to think that these sorts of novels were an early introduction to horror for me (either that or it was Scooby Doo). Perhaps age has befuddled my memory and I'm thinking of Bugs Bunny.
I'd love to re-read these books again, I miss TTI Inc.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

M V Carey was the best (except Robert Arthur) at capturing the characters of the three boys. (maybe not Chief Reynolds tho). this one is a fine twisty mystery. I enjoyed it both as a kid and as an adult (who forgot the plot, though he read it as a kid)

[Martina V. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nuda, nuda, nuda. Nedotiahnuté, nepochopiteľné... Syn sa rozhodoval medzi 2-3 hviezdičkami, ja inklinujem k jednej hviezde.

[Vidmal Rajapakse · Rating 5 out of 5]

good

[Redwan Hasan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Borrowed from Tintin? Maybe? but not that bad.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has been my least favorite in The Three Investigators series so far. It’s hard to beat the books written by Robert Arthur.