Meg and the Disappearing Diamonds

A Meg Mystery #1

by Holly Beth Walker

A nice day in June. A whole day ahead. Anything might happen, said Mr. Wilson. "Anything!" Meg repeated his words as she pedaled down the tree-lined drive of her home. Almost immediately things did happen. That morning Meg heard that Mrs. Partlow's Holly House had been broken into, and that very afternoon, her garden party was ruined by the appearance of Mrs. Glynn and her poodles. Then just when the guests were calm, they found that the Partlow diamonds were missing! Meg and her friend Kerry Carmody had many questions. What was Kerry's little cousin Cissie doing at Mrs. Partlow's party? Why did Mrs. Glynn decide to give Meg the collar? And most important to Meg, where was Thunder? When you are Margaret Ashley Duncan and can sense a mystery almost before it's begun, and you have a whole day ahead of you, almost anything can happen -- and does -- in Meg and the Disappearing Diamonds.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Childrens, Young Adult, Mystery Thriller, Juvenile

156 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1967

About the author

Pseudonym used by Gladys Baker Bond and others.

Reviews

[Eve · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read all of the Meg Mystery books when I was 8 or 9 (yes, close to the original publishing years) and they were my step up from little kids books to older child reading. Meg led to Trixie Belden, who led to Nancy Drew. I highly recommend them, if you can find any copies. Check every used book store you can find.

[Katt Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meg will forever be one of my favorite book series from when I was growing up. These were my first real mysteries, and came before I discovered Trixie Belden and Nancy Drew (Trixie being the ultimate best of all girl detectives ever).

The thing is, Meg has weathered the times really well. While there are some aspects that are definitely dated, I really do enjoy how she spends her time outdoors, with her drawing and her ballet, and with her best friend Kerry. The story holds up better than expected, and the mystery is still clever. To an adult reading the book, the answers seem obvious, but to a child I was fascinated by how the whole thing turned out, and even while I had a suspicion of who stole the diamonds, the HOW of it tickled me and gave me such a delight in the story that I started looking for more mysteries to read.

Overall, it's a sheer pleasure to be re-reading this series, and I'm glad I'm taking the time to do so. If you can hunt them down for your child, go for it. Yes, I know some of the other books show their age more than this one, maybe it can also be taken as a fascinating look at the world fifty years ago. Which makes me feel incredibly old as I type this...

[Sara]

The synopsis should read:

Missing diamonds! Here was a challenging mystery for Meg Duncan and her best friend, Kerry Carmody, to solve. Unfortunately, the clues seemed to point to Kerry's little cousin Cissie as the thief. But who tried to break into Meg's house the night after the robbery? And where was Meg's cat Thunder? Meg had to find out....

[Gretchen Ingram · Rating 5 out of 5]

The synopsis on this is entirely incorrect and for some reason I am not being allowed to correct this.

[Jeannette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recognized this when I found it used as a favorite of mine when I was a young girl. Exciting story, lots of action, plot twists and surprises. I remembered almost everything as I read it in one sitting. Excellent intro to the mystery genre.

[Marli · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun backlist I read as a child. The mystery part is very clever and it takes place in Virginia which is where I’m from.

[Dharia Scarab · Rating 3 out of 5]

My love of reading started when i was young, and it gives me immense pleasure to provide books to Spread the Word Nevada, an organization that passes them on to children in the community. They are a terrific organization supporting an important cause. If your local I encourage you to check them out. For those living further a field, look in your own community, their may already be a similar program in place. And if not, you can always help start one.

http://spreadthewordnevada.org/

Myself, I go out on the weekends and
shop thrift store and bulk book lots to rescue books and donate them. Sometimes I'll find a book I remember reading when I was young and will read it again before passing it on.

I don't rate these books using my normal scale, instead I give most of them three stars. This isn't a Criticism of the book, simply my way of rating them as good for children.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh my! Meg and her friends are attending a garden party when the hostess' diamonds disappear. Did her best friend's little cousin take them to her hideout? If so, then why are people sneaking around the neighborhood at night and breaking into homes? And what is with that actress and her three unruly poodles?

Fun little read with intesting characters.

Another children's book written by a syndicate. I believe there are only two books in the series.

[Kris]

This is a good mystery for readers not quite up to Nancy Drew. It's follows the exploits of young Meg, as she tries to find some stolen diamonds. There is a bit of violence from the thieves, when one of the children is slapped, and a thief wrestles with the constable. But other than that, there should be nothing upsetting for young readers. The mystery is pretty obvious to an adult, but children will probably enjoy figuring it out along with the plucky heroine.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read the Meg mysteries repeatedly over the years ever since my sister received them for Christmas when we were kids. She recently gave the paperbacks to me and I am re-reading. Meg solves the mysteries of Hidden Springs along with her butch best friend Kerry.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not first reading (date below)
June 3, 1995
June 2001
June 14, 2003
June 28, 2005--JUNE: with (above)

[babyhippoface · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the Meg books when I was little!

[Laura Quilter]

Meg and the disappearing diamonds by Holly Beth Walker (1967)

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish this series had been more successful.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this series.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a quick simple read, but it would be perfect for a young girl just getting into chapter books.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Copyright 1967. This is the first in a 6 book series. I adored these books back when I was a kid.
Meg lives in the country under the care of the Wilsons while her dad works in Washington DC.
Her best friend Kerry lives next door & she lives a great life bike riding, horseback riding & solving mysteries.
Holly Beth Walker is a pseudonym for several authors who wrote this series. The writing is intelligent & the mystery is interesting. In this case, you KNOW Mrs. Glynn is the one who stole the diamonds, but HOW is what's fun.
We have Kerry's brother, Mike who's a little younger than her. Kerry's young cousin Cissie who is a klepto. Meg's cat Thunder & Kerry's horse Chappie. Mrs Partlow is the lady who has her diamonds stolen. Constable Hosey is the local law.
Elementary school age & up.

[Cynthia Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the mystery series as a kid- loved all the books! I recently read these again. The reason? A student of mine, now a fifth grader, had come across the books at a thrift store. She was so immersed in each story that she just HAD to bring the book to school to read whenever she had a minute. She and I were delighted that we both had discovered the books around the same age, although decades apart!

[Kim Ziemann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember reading the Meg Duncan mysteries when I was young. Now I am reading them aloud to my daughters and they are loving them. They are a bit formulaic and predictable, but they have just the right amount of spookiness and suspense to keep my daughters excited for the next chapter.

[Jasmin E Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the yellow book cover edition. I read it over and over as a tween.

I grew up in the 70s that books where few and far between. So those that we did have we held onto, and it never felt strange to reread.

Jasmin E Reads

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute story for kids or adults looking for their inter child.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series was a favorite when I was a kid!!!

[Jessi Scullar'S · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this series in 3rd grade! I loved it! Memories!

[Janine · Rating 4 out of 5]

An adult reading these for the first time would probably find this series cheesy, but I loved these books when I was young. Whenever I visit a used bookstore I always look for this series.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised how much my 6 year olds enjoyed a very old school Nancy Drew style mystery. Fun change for them.

[Sean Harding · Rating 3 out of 5]

Walker Way #1
Meg #1
Mystery book for the young is not too bad but nothing that can be called memorable.

[Hildegart · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know how many times I've read this book (including reading it as an adult).

[Jessi Schullar · Rating 5 out of 5]

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