Look Out, Secret Seven

The Secret Seven #14

by Enid Blyton

What on earth would the Secret Seven do without Scamper the spaniel? First he discovers an unwanted visitor - then he protects them as they spy on a thief late at night in Bramley Woods!

Genres: Childrens, Mystery, Fiction, Adventure, Young Adult, Classics, Middle Grade

136 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1962

About the author

See also:
Ένιντ Μπλάιτον (Greek)
Enida Blaitona (Latvian)
Энид Блайтон (Russian)
Inid Blajton (Serbian)
Інід Блайтон (Ukrainian)

Enid Mary Blyton (1897–1968) was an English author of children's books.

Born in South London, Blyton was the eldest of three children, and showed an early interest in music and reading. She was educated at St. Christopher's School, Beckenham, and - having decided not to pursue her music - at Ipswich High School, where she trained as a kindergarten teacher. She taught for five years before her 1924 marriage to editor Hugh Pollock, with whom she had two daughters. This marriage ended in divorce, and Blyton remarried in 1943, to surgeon Kenneth Fraser Darrell Waters. She died in 1968, one year after her second husband.

Blyton was a prolific author of children's books, who penned an estimated 800 books over about 40 years. Her stories were often either children's adventure and mystery stories, or fantasies involving magic. Notable series include: The Famous Five, The Secret Seven, The Five Find-Outers, Noddy, The Wishing Chair, Mallory Towers, and St. Clare's.

According to the Index Translationum, Blyton was the fifth most popular author in the world in 2007, coming after Lenin but ahead of Shakespeare.

See also her pen name Mary Pollock

Reviews

[Dr. Appu Sasidharan (Dasfill) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The seven deals with the case of missing medals in this book. An old General loses his precious medals. Colin promises to find them for him.

This is one of the most challenging cases that the seven had to face and will make it an entertaining experience for the readers to find out whether they will solve this case with minimum clues.

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[David Sarkies · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Hunt for Some Missing Medals
3 December 2013

Well, here we have it, the final Secret Seven book that I needed to read to complete the entire Secret Seven series (and as I have said a number of times previously since I hadn't read the entire series when I was I kid I can't really put it down as a reread). That leaves only one more Enid Blyton book to read when I can say that I have finally completed all the books of hers that I have wanted to read (and I am really going to resist the temptation to grab the Amelia Jane and Naughtiest Schoolgirl books). Anyway, you can blame Goodreads for this goal simply because back in the days when I first signed up to the site I was looking for as many books as possible to inflate the number of books that I had read, and of course the Enid Blyton books came to mind. Well, I think my have-read list is inflated enough, but then again I guess one can argue that there is never enough books on your have-read list, though I do note that one's to read list always seems to grow faster (and I ordered another eight books from the internet last night).

So, in this story the Secret Seven are on school holidays, but while they have some free time to devote to their secret society, they don't actually have a mission, that is until Colin learns that his next door neighbour has had all of his medals stolen. Well, stolen medals surely equates to an exciting mystery. However the other children also discover that some rather naughty people have been stealing eggs from bird nests in the forest and scaring off all the birds, so it looks like there are two mysteries a foot (not that fighting off poachers is a mystery, more like security detail). However, as it turns out, the poachers are none other than mischievous children. However, as they quickly discover, dealing with naughty children, and dealing with adult criminals, is a whole different ball game (for some reason in Blyton's world adult criminals don't actually harm children – they just tie them up and set a guard dog on them, or simply lock them in a room where there happens to be a way out).

Anyway, I noticed in this book that the SS descriptor of their club seems to be used quite regularly, and I don't know if it was me, or the book, but every time I saw the letters SS, it seemed to look more and more like the SS that we all know and hate. Okay, it was probably just me, but I still sort of wonder about these books, especially the modern incarnations. The version that I read had a section at the back about starting up our own secret society (though this was only a section as they are spread across the entire collection). It sort of makes me wonder what is going on with these series, especially the modern ones.

It sort of reminds me of what happens in fascist governments, or even not so fascist governments. The idea of getting children to act as agents of the government, even if the government happens to be the local police, is one of the signs of a totalitarian regime. Not only did it happen during the rise of the Nazi party in Germany, it also occurred during the 1950s in America where school children were encouraged to sniff out any nefarious, or suspicious, activity. This was much more pronounced in Nazi Germany though because not only where children encouraged to dob in their parents to the authorities, but there was also the establishment of Hitler Youth, which was designed to indoctrinate the young. While one may suggest that such organisations do not exist in out society, I will have to point to the scouts, which is one of the throwbacks from the British Empire. The organisation was established by the British Army Officer Baden Powell, and there are a lot of ceremonies where you pledge your allegiance to the monarch. I even remember movies back when I was a kid where they had Gary Coleman playing an adventurous scout, no doubt to encourage children to follow in his footsteps.

Now, I'm not suggesting that Enid Blyton was trying to groom a nation of children who would act as the eyes and the ears of the local constabulary, but the thing is what better way of being about to keep your ear to the ground. Children tend to be seen and not heard, and most people generally don't pay all that much attention to them. As such they end up making the perfect spies, especially if they are reading these books and themselves wanting to go on similar great adventures. However, one needs to be aware that they can also get themselves into a lot of trouble. Mind you, while I loved the Secret Seven and Famous Five as a kid I hardly wanted to run off and bust real crooks – I could do that on my Dad's computer out in the back shed.

[Jake Collins · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've been tempted to describe this story as meandering, but it isn't really - it's very clearly but very clumsily focused on setting up the ridiculous, farcical showdown in the woods in the middle of the night, and that's really all there is to it. There is no real mystery to unravel and no interesting characterisation. There is an opportunity here to give Colin a spell in the spotlight thanks to his role as liaison with the old general, but it just isn't happening!

This book could have earned an extra star by having the gang be a bit more sensible and/or daring during their night adventure. The climax with the big Alsatian has potential, but I really wanted to see Peter lead the dog off in one direction so that the others could all scatter. This would have guaranteed that no more than two or three of them would have been caught (and possibly mauled) by the dog, allowing the others to send help. Also, it would have been satisfying to see Peter risking himself for the group and finally proving himself worthy of his position as leader!

[Tom Seward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enid Blyton is an amazing childrens author, bestselling in the
world. Although almost undiscovered by Americans.

This series (The Secret Seven) Features 7 children who form a
backyard club. They love to have meetings with Secret
Passwords, etc. Soon, they begin to fall into mysteries. This
series is for the younger reader than the other series Enid
Blyton wrote for children. 8-10 years old maybe.
Great reading. introduce your children to Enid Blyton today!

[Midnight Sun · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is why dogs are the best 🥹

[Steve Maxwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Missing war medals and a promise to safely return them sees The Secret Seven off on another exciting adventure.

[Shreyas · Rating 3 out of 5]

'Look Out, Secret Seven' (The Secret Seven #14) by Enid Blyton.


Rating: 2.5/5.


Status: Definitely a first read. I don't recall reading this particular book during my childhood. [I had first read some of the Secret Seven books about 20 years ago. At present, I'm not sure which of these I had read earlier and which I haven't.]


Review:
This was probably the worst Secret Seven book so far (and I have liked almost all of them during my current reread!). The book adventure seemed promising at first but ended up being lacklustre. The culprit was revealed right in the sixth chapter of the book and then the story dragged on and on. And even when the children got hold of the stolen medals, the ending was nowhere in sight. The ending was stretched over the next three chapters, and those chapters had nothing much to offer. They just felt to be plain filler chapters intended to just increase the page count.

Another glaring issue with this book was that it was riddled with inconsistencies concerning continuity with the previous books. It was repeatedly mentioned in the previous books that the boys and girls went to separate schools, but suddenly in this book, they seem to share the same headmaster (thus leading to the logical inference that they attend the same school). It was also implied multiple times in the previous books that the children went to day school, but this book opens in a manner suggesting that they have returned home for vacations from a boarding school (I had got a similar impression in the last book too).

I was quite frustrated with Jack in this book. Whenever he is not divulging details about the Secret Seven's mission to Susie, he finds it completely safe to share these details with a shady stranger in the woods. Susie seems to have got the better end of the deal among the siblings where brains were involved. But then again, she bragged about the telescope to a stranger in the previous book. Maybe, it's a familial thing.

And what do I say about the nighttime stakeout in the woods? It was the worst stakeout in the history of stakeouts. Everyone except Colin and George messed up. Jack indirectly revealed the details to Susie and then sneezed loudly during the stakeout. Peter almost fell from the tree. Pam shrieked loudly. Scamper barked loudly and tried to play with the culprit's dog thus betraying the Secret Seven's hidden positions. And Janet revealed herself to the culprits when she did not need to. Yeah, it was disappointing. It was unexpected from a bunch of kids who showed cleverness and great resourcefulness in the previous books.

As I mentioned above, this was my least favourite Secret Seven adventure. However, this story might be appealing to young readers. But I doubt they would find it as interesting as the earlier Secret Seven stories.



Disclaimer: Ratings reflect the enjoyability factor of these books considering they are intended mostly for children. Not to be compared with my ratings and reviews for books primarily intended for YA and adults.

[Black Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, great investigation, I don't have a word to describe because it's very great 😊

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty good instalment, showing the Secret Seven go to great lengths to recover an elderly neighbour's stolen medals. The 'small hands' plot was a bit exaggerated and the final scene in which seven children are held captive in the woods by one dog was a bit ridiculous, but I forgive that because SUZIE SAVES THE DAY. This series would be nothing without Suzie.

Favourite quote:
"'We boys will do that,' said George. 'You can just stand by and agree with everything we say.'"

[Jenna Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is the first book where there's actually a reasonable reason fort the kids to be mad at Susie for - as she actually played a mean prank on them this time.

However, I was really pleased to see the kids being truly thankful to Susie for her nosy behaviour (tldr: she wouldn't be so nosy if they didn't exclude her for no reason lol), as this time it saved them.

Anyway, the useless thieves were really funny.

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great Secret Seven mystery. A great action scene when the Police dog handler brings in a couple of working dogs to help. Second last book in the series, I need to work out what we will read next!

[Lorelei · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I read these as a child I loved them. Introducing to my own children they remain just as good today.

[Sahil (w7) · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was half-way fun and half-way boring.

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

Scamper got short shrift a little, when you think about it. Seven kids plus one dog equals the Secret Seven, but then four kids plus one dog equals the Famous Five! Tch.

[Guntas Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

a good book for children from 9 to 11. but after that u outgrow this and read better books. but as a reader reading this since 3 years, i like it

[Inshal Abidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was interesting and i was very curious to read and know what was coming next .....
WELL DONE Secret seven!

[Frederick Tan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read.

[Masako Ch'ng · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story a bit bored compare to others

[Sam Crossland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nostalgic.

[Singapore_progods123 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked reading this book

[Nira Ramachandran · Rating 3 out of 5]

The term has just ended and the holidays have begun much to the dismay of Cookie, who doesn’t look forward to having Peter and Janet emptying her cake tins and begging for raisins at all odd hours of the day. While the children are just idly thinking of what to do during their school break, a visit by Peter’s Godmother who brings a huge tin of chocolate biscuits for them and the other members of their secret society, sparks off the idea of an immediate reunion. Calls are made to all the members, as Peter is too lazy to pen notes when not in school. As usual, he leaves a message with Suzy, Jack’s mischievous sister, as Jack is out with his father. The little, dim garden shed where the Secret Seven regularly meet, is spruced up, the biscuit tin and glasses to hold the drinks, which the other members will bring, are set up, and Peter, the leader of the group, sister Janet and the beautiful friendly golden spaniel, Scamper are all set to meet their friends at the appointed hour. One by one the members troop in giving the required password and settle down. When all seven have assembled, the door is closed, and the meeting begins. But wait, why is Scamper growling? There must be something wrong! Of course, Suzy and her best friend Binkie are up to mischief again.
A new meeting is set up and the group decides that they need an aim for the Society, perhaps, to help those in need. Janet suggests helping to patrol the woods and prevent ruffians from destroying bird nests. Colin has a more difficult proposition. His neighbour, a retired General, was recently robbed of all his precious war medals. The old gentleman feels that he has lost not only his medals but also his precious memories. Without them he is in tears, totally lost and depressed.
While the children are not very confident that they can find the medals, when the police have failed to do so, they send Colin to meet the General and get the details, while they go to the woods. Colin goes on his assignment and finds the old General Branksome in such distress that he promises to find his medals for him. While a reward of fifty pounds has been offered by the gentleman, Colin feels that if the SS find the stolen goods, they could save the General from this additional expenditure as his finances are limited, and none of the members would dream of taking money from him.
In the meanwhile, the rest of the group goes to the woods and gets into a fight with a gang of boys out to rob nests. They call for help and a man Tom Smith, who claims to be writing a book on birds, comes to their rescue and when Colin joins them, they tell him the full story. Suddenly, there is a change in their new acquaintance’s behaviour. He tells them that he spotted a man hiding a case in a hollow tree and would like one of the children to help pull it out as the opening is too small for his large hand. They could then split the reward. The children, of course, are shocked and refuse to do so, and run away. Not a group who give up easily, they decide to come back late at night and see if Tom Smith leads them to the hiding place. They return after dinner and hide themselves up the trees and in the bushes, though it is a really cold night. Their vigil is rewarded and soon they see Tom and his partner Wily return with a huge Alsatian, but even the smaller man Wily cannot retrieve the case. Soon the dog smells Scamper and the children emerge to save him. The thieves now try to force them to pull out the case from the hollow, but the children flatly refuse. The two crooks leave them to freeze in the woods with the dog on guard, hoping that a night of imprisonment will help change their minds. How will the children escape their predicament? Who will come to the rescue?

[Farseer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second to last book in the series, published in 1962, when Enid Blyton's mental capacity was just starting to decline. In that sense this is like the Famous Five, where the penultimate book is still quite enjoyable and young readers will probably notice nothing amiss, but older readers will realize that something is a bit off, starting to be out of character. Peter, for example, here forgets their password, which is something that he would have never done when Blyton was at the height of her powers.

On the other hand, the story is still enjoyable, and it has a higher sense of danger than most other Secret Seven books. It's always within the limits of a book for very young readers, of course. This is not even like the Adventure series by the same author, targeted to older children. Here the bad guys would not really hurt the child detectives, at most capture them and set a dog to prevent them from getting away until the villains have plenty of time to make their escape. That whole scene with the dog is a bit weird and unconvincing, part of this vague feeling of something feeling off.

There's also not much of an investigation; the clues mostly get to them on their own, but that's something that also happens in many other Secret Seven books. For more elaborate investigations by a band of children you'll have to read the Five Find-Outers series by the same author, meant also for older children.

This book does have nice moments, like Peter making sure that Colin personally returned the stolen medals to the old general to fulfill his promise (Colin had felt sorry for the old man's grief and, without thinking, had promised him that he'd recover his medals).

Susie saves the day, too, which is nice to see, given that she is such a good antagonist throughout the series. She wont even appear in the last book, where Blyton's decline is much more evident.

[Reah N. · Rating 3 out of 5]

My thoughts on this Secret Seven adventure are pretty much the same as they were for the last book I read from this series.

Cute adventure, but plenty of irresponsible behavior, including going out to spy on robbers after dark without telling an adult, withholding information about a robbery from the police officers because they want to solve it. Naturally, it all turns out completely fine, despite all their irresponsible and potentially harmful behavior, with the Secret Seven once again the heroes of the day.

Young readers who can't read more advanced books will probably enjoy this.

Content:
Some scary scenes, and irresponsible behavior. Jack's sister dresses up to Jack from Jack and Jill, and is mistaken for her brother by his friends.

[Shonel Teke · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Secret Seven have a dual mystery this time around: they are bent on helping an old General recover his stolen medals, while they also want to help protect the Bramley woods from nest hunters. Colin has met the General and witnessed how distraught the old man was at the loss of his precious medals, which remind him of his past years of glory and bravery. The Seven have no intention of getting the five hundred pound reward. All they want to do is help the General... And so off they go, accompanied by Scamper!

A simple, yet well-written mystery tale for kids from Enid Blyton! At 130 odd pages, it makes for a swift read with plenty of the English charm and warmth that is sure to attract your kids' attention. Superb stuff, indeed!

[Vinay Leo]

The Secret Seven series was the first “series” of Enid Blyton I came across, thanks to a book being passed on to me by my cousin. For a child, I think the series was fun. It made me want to explore the idea of forming secret clubs with badges and passwords and such. It is a box set I’ve acquired since then, and hope to reread soon.

[Saffron Mavros · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book series is meant for a younger age group, but thrilling and exciting nonetheless.

New plots, stunning escapes, and chilling mysteries keep you hanging on every word! And of course the descriptions of the elaborate meals that the seven have. Let's not forget the official "seven" meetings that each of us, deep down, wanted to be a part of, like those eavesdropping intruders.

[Sean Harding · Rating 2 out of 5]

The penultimate book in the Secret Seven series sees more of the same although the plots seem to be getting weaker and the series feels very tired at this point. It was clearly a later Blyton book, perhaps by this point she had begun to run out of ideas.

[Kylie Abecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gotta love the secret seven. I think this one is definitely one of my favourites. Was good to read this again and be transported back to memories of my childhood. These books are what made me fall in love with reading.

[juLiA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very exciting story. Whenever I read the Secret Seven series, I sometimes wonder whether I would have the same amount of courage to stand up against villains and go on adventures without parents knowing. It is inspiring to see these kids, at such a young age, so brave and inquisitive about life.

[Grace Sargeant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing book.