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The Five Find-Outers #8
Misteri Pencuri Siluman
Pencuri siluman beraksi! Tampaknya ia bebas masuk keluar rumah orang tanpa terlihat oleh siapa pun. Dalam setiap aksinya ia hanya meninggalkan bekas sarung tangan dan jejak sepatu bot yang besar sekali. Padahal di Peterswood hanya dua orang yang kakinya sebesar itu: Kolonel Cross--yang baru kembali dari tugasnya di India setelah dua pencurian pertama terjadi, dan Pak Goon...
241 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1950
97 people are currently reading
989 people want to read
About the author
Enid Blyton
5,134 books6,317 followersSee 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
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
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews
November 2, 2019
I think I'm going to cry. The nostalgia is overwhelming. I was tidying up my bookshelves and came across this series and just had to head over to Goodreads to write a review.
The Mystery of the Invisible Thief is the eighth book in The Five Find-outers and Dog series. The story follows the five children and the dog, Buster, as they investigate the robberies that are occuring in their village by a seemingly invisible thief. They are determined to find the culprit before the village policeman, Mr. Goon (oh, I hated him) can.
This was the first mystery book, the first Enid Blyton book that I read at the age of seven. And guess what? I still remember the culprit.
This book was what made me fall in love with reading. I still remember the day my uncle was visiting and he gifted me the entire set of fifteen hardcover books of The Five Find-outers and Dog series—the colors of the covers were vibrant and extremely appealing to my seven-year-old self. Not knowing anything about the order of the books, I grabbed this one (for no other reason than I liked the color of the cover—it was a pinkish purple) and started to read. I was holed up in my room the entire day, oblivious to the passage of time, transported into the world of Fatty, Daisy, Larry, Pip, Bets and Buster. I read this book in one day and I couldn't wait to read the next. I realised there was an order to be followed and so, slowly, I went through them all.
Back then, I would wish that I had a childhood as adventurous as those kids but now that I think about it, thanks to Enid Blyton, I did. What followed was my love for all her books—Secret Seven, Famous Five, Malory Towers, St. Clare's and The Naughtiest Girl. I am indebted to her for igniting the love for reading in me and I'm pretty sure that most of us are. Truly, Enid Blyton, I owe you one.
The Mystery of the Invisible Thief is the eighth book in The Five Find-outers and Dog series. The story follows the five children and the dog, Buster, as they investigate the robberies that are occuring in their village by a seemingly invisible thief. They are determined to find the culprit before the village policeman, Mr. Goon (oh, I hated him) can.
This was the first mystery book, the first Enid Blyton book that I read at the age of seven. And guess what? I still remember the culprit.
This book was what made me fall in love with reading. I still remember the day my uncle was visiting and he gifted me the entire set of fifteen hardcover books of The Five Find-outers and Dog series—the colors of the covers were vibrant and extremely appealing to my seven-year-old self. Not knowing anything about the order of the books, I grabbed this one (for no other reason than I liked the color of the cover—it was a pinkish purple) and started to read. I was holed up in my room the entire day, oblivious to the passage of time, transported into the world of Fatty, Daisy, Larry, Pip, Bets and Buster. I read this book in one day and I couldn't wait to read the next. I realised there was an order to be followed and so, slowly, I went through them all.
Back then, I would wish that I had a childhood as adventurous as those kids but now that I think about it, thanks to Enid Blyton, I did. What followed was my love for all her books—Secret Seven, Famous Five, Malory Towers, St. Clare's and The Naughtiest Girl. I am indebted to her for igniting the love for reading in me and I'm pretty sure that most of us are. Truly, Enid Blyton, I owe you one.
December 12, 2017
Findouters Challenge: Book 8. Now this was the real thing―a “proper” complicated mystery, plenty of food, disguises galore, and a battle of wits with Mr Goon but no unnecessary baiting or tricks. The findouters are at home for the summer holidays again but with over half the holiday over and no mystery to solve, they are bored to say the least. Mr Goon is away from the village as well and this time it is PC Tonks on duty, not Pippin like last time, so no chance to play any tricks either. When Inspector Jenks comes to Peterswood one day to watch his goddaughter, Hilary, ride in the gymkhana, with him comes a baffling mystery. While he and the children who decide to take a picnic and join him are watching Hilary ride, Hilary’s home Norton House has been burgled and the only clues they have are huge footprints and glove prints to match. When another robbery takes place at Larry and Daisy’s neighbours’, with the same clues the case only gets more complicated. Meanwhile Goon comes back and gets on the case. He has just completed a refresher course and is all set to try his hand at disguises. So begins a battle of wits against the findouters and a battle of disguises against Fatty, both Goon and Fatty using disguises to follow up on clues and solve the mystery. But yet again, it is the findouters who come out victorious at the end but not before the wily burglar gets the better of them even managing to rob Fatty himself.
This was a really enjoyable instalment in the series. The mystery itself was great fun―one I would class in the “creative” category as far as the solution goes. I enjoyed Fatty and Mr Goon’s disguises (the children for the most part see through Goon’s disguises―again because of Bets’ observation) and how they used them to follow up on pretty much the same leads. The children have their fun in this one, pulling Mr Goon’s leg a little, certainly but there was none of the pointless tricks or “nastiness” that came across on the children’s part in the previous two books. On the foodmeter this one rates fairly high as well with lots of cakes, meringues, eclairs, and sandwiches among other things on the menu, besides plenty of icecream and lemonade as well. Surprisingly in this one it is Pip rather than Bets who stumbles onto the answer at the end, which Fatty interprets to solve the case. This is certainly among my favourites so far!
This was a really enjoyable instalment in the series. The mystery itself was great fun―one I would class in the “creative” category as far as the solution goes. I enjoyed Fatty and Mr Goon’s disguises (the children for the most part see through Goon’s disguises―again because of Bets’ observation) and how they used them to follow up on pretty much the same leads. The children have their fun in this one, pulling Mr Goon’s leg a little, certainly but there was none of the pointless tricks or “nastiness” that came across on the children’s part in the previous two books. On the foodmeter this one rates fairly high as well with lots of cakes, meringues, eclairs, and sandwiches among other things on the menu, besides plenty of icecream and lemonade as well. Surprisingly in this one it is Pip rather than Bets who stumbles onto the answer at the end, which Fatty interprets to solve the case. This is certainly among my favourites so far!
March 29, 2023
An enjoyable mystery for the five. Mr Goon has been away on a refresher course but still can't outwit the gang. He has some new talents to display but they don't quite go to plan. Once again it's Fatty to the fore, I wish just once, one of the others would supply the answer to the mystery. It's getting a bit wearisome listening to them extolling Fatty's virtues. At the beginning of the series Larry and Pip would squash him when he started to puff himself up and there's a token gesture of this now and again but for most of the time they're increasing his conceit with their admiration of 'his fine brains'. Only the mysteries are keeping me reading this series and because I promised myself I'd re-read them.
March 6, 2017
Gostei do livro, embora fosse demasiado previsível, pois sabia quem era o ladrão quase desde o início da história. Se tivesse lido isto quando era mais nova, de certeza que me tinha cativado mais.
July 28, 2021
Even though this is a children's mystery series, but the mystery itself was not that easy to solve. They did have the complexity of any adults mystery. And usually I was really excited for them to solve the mystery.
But for this one, I know the culprit right from the start haha. So proud of myself 🤣🤣
But for this one, I know the culprit right from the start haha. So proud of myself 🤣🤣
May 7, 2017
Didn't have this one among my old collection, so read it for the first time. Not bad at all, but I found the culprit far too easily. Maybe I'd have been more enthralled if I'd read it as a kid for the first time.
April 1, 2024
They certainly took their time to solve this one with three robberies but then fatty became a genius and worked it all out a very clever book
April 12, 2019
The eighth installment of Enid Blyton's fifteen-book Five Find-Outers and Dog series, in which a group of five British schoolchildren spend their holidays solving mysteries, The Mystery of the Invisible Thief follows Fatty, Larry, Daisy, Pip, and Bets (together with Buster the dog) as they set out to catch the elusive thief behind a string of daytime burglaries. It's a race against time, as the Find-Outers are determined to beat their nemesis - local police bobby Mr. Goon - in solving the case.
Read as part of an ongoing project to familiarize myself with the work of Enid Blyton, who, although virtually unknown in the United States, is the sixth most popular author in the world, the Five Find-Outers and Dog is a highly formulaic mystery series. There's little suspense, as the solution to the "mystery" is usually immediately apparent, and the language is rather bland. That said, I can understand why these books are popular - they are entertaining, have a healthy dose of childhood humor, in which certain authority figures (like Mr. Goon) are safely ridiculed, and they "read" quickly.
I know that many educators credit series reading with building reading skills through repetition, and I imagine that Enid Blyton's work succeeds for that very reason. She provides her young readers with stories that are both familiar and new, encouraging them to keep reading more.
Read as part of an ongoing project to familiarize myself with the work of Enid Blyton, who, although virtually unknown in the United States, is the sixth most popular author in the world, the Five Find-Outers and Dog is a highly formulaic mystery series. There's little suspense, as the solution to the "mystery" is usually immediately apparent, and the language is rather bland. That said, I can understand why these books are popular - they are entertaining, have a healthy dose of childhood humor, in which certain authority figures (like Mr. Goon) are safely ridiculed, and they "read" quickly.
I know that many educators credit series reading with building reading skills through repetition, and I imagine that Enid Blyton's work succeeds for that very reason. She provides her young readers with stories that are both familiar and new, encouraging them to keep reading more.
May 17, 2010
Have you ever heard of Enid Blyton? How about her book series for kids called The Five Found-Outers?
My daughter my dtold me there was a book that she started reading but quit because it was kinda boring and because she didn’t understand some of it.
I was really curious about this because she LOVES to read and even reads stuff that I know she doesn’t really like all that much just to be reading. I picked up the book and noticed right away why it didn’t appeal to her.
Enid Blyton was a popular British writer from the middle of the 20th century. She wrote for all ages but it seems that her best loved stories were those she wrote for children. I’m really surprised that I was not previously aware of her writing.
I am sure that some of the vocabulary was new for my daughter but it would have seemed normal to UK readers. It also included an account of a trip to an equestrian event using words that even I was not familiar with. It wasn’t difficult reading… just set in a different time and culture from our own. I read a couple chapters and liked the book. I suggested that my daughter give it another try and I explained some of the vocabulary and themes to her.
She gave it another try and really liked the book and would like to find the other books in the series and read them too. Perhaps we’ll find them somewhere.
In this book… the Five Find-Outers (Fatty, Larry, Daisy, Pip, & Bets) try to figure out who is behind some recent robberies where the most obvious solution is that the thief is invisible… of course that can’t be… so… they try to piece the clues together to discover who is cooking up trouble. The kids have a lot of fun as they try to solve the mystery before the local police officer does.
This book is a good read for kids from 8-12 or so… and I bet the rest of the series would be good too, if this one book is any indication of the rest of the series.
My daughter my dtold me there was a book that she started reading but quit because it was kinda boring and because she didn’t understand some of it.
I was really curious about this because she LOVES to read and even reads stuff that I know she doesn’t really like all that much just to be reading. I picked up the book and noticed right away why it didn’t appeal to her.
Enid Blyton was a popular British writer from the middle of the 20th century. She wrote for all ages but it seems that her best loved stories were those she wrote for children. I’m really surprised that I was not previously aware of her writing.
I am sure that some of the vocabulary was new for my daughter but it would have seemed normal to UK readers. It also included an account of a trip to an equestrian event using words that even I was not familiar with. It wasn’t difficult reading… just set in a different time and culture from our own. I read a couple chapters and liked the book. I suggested that my daughter give it another try and I explained some of the vocabulary and themes to her.
She gave it another try and really liked the book and would like to find the other books in the series and read them too. Perhaps we’ll find them somewhere.
In this book… the Five Find-Outers (Fatty, Larry, Daisy, Pip, & Bets) try to figure out who is behind some recent robberies where the most obvious solution is that the thief is invisible… of course that can’t be… so… they try to piece the clues together to discover who is cooking up trouble. The kids have a lot of fun as they try to solve the mystery before the local police officer does.
This book is a good read for kids from 8-12 or so… and I bet the rest of the series would be good too, if this one book is any indication of the rest of the series.
November 3, 2021
A high point of the series. In retrospect, the denouement is obvious—not least of all because Blyton has twisted a plot contrivance from the previous two books!—but the clues are cleverly seeded and remain overlooked amidst a resplendence of Goon-baiting.
June 22, 2025
When I first read this aged 7/8 I was so excited to find out the name of the Invisible Thief ,I just couldn't work it out but the clues were all there.
Rereading it now many years later,it is still a great mystery story.
Yes it's dated with tradesmen calling with groceries, milk etc and the households all have a cook or housemaid but I quite like that. It's a part of history too ,written at a time when society was different but kids solving a mystery before the grumpy policeman will always stand the test of time.
Rereading it now many years later,it is still a great mystery story.
Yes it's dated with tradesmen calling with groceries, milk etc and the households all have a cook or housemaid but I quite like that. It's a part of history too ,written at a time when society was different but kids solving a mystery before the grumpy policeman will always stand the test of time.
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October 25, 2018Misterio del Ladrón Invisible.
Vuelta a mis lecturas de adolescencia, Los Cinco Pesquisidores y el perro según la traductora C. Peraire del Molino o los Cinco Indagadores según la también traductora María Dolores Raich Ullán lamentan que después de 4 semanas de vacaciones de verano todavía no ha aparecido el siempre ansiado misterio. Los comienzos de estas aventuras suelen ser similares con la variante de vacaciones de Navidad. El hastío lo entretienen con pantagruelicas merendolas o haciendo salir de sus casillas al Viejo Ahuyentador, sobrenombre del policía local Mr. Goon.
El Misterio aparece naturalmente y una vez las dotes de Fatty, líder natural del grupo, tras un acto inconsciente de otro de los niños del grupo, resuelve el caso. ¿Previsible? Diría que para los avezados en el género sí. Para el público en general, tal vez no.
Naturalmente el juicio de un adulto al releer las lecturas de su infancia y adolescencia esta desprovisto de cualquier rigor. Es más, casi una impostiura. Que cada cual saque sus conclusiones.
Manuel Salvador Redón, autor de Cuentos Arquitectónicos.
Vuelta a mis lecturas de adolescencia, Los Cinco Pesquisidores y el perro según la traductora C. Peraire del Molino o los Cinco Indagadores según la también traductora María Dolores Raich Ullán lamentan que después de 4 semanas de vacaciones de verano todavía no ha aparecido el siempre ansiado misterio. Los comienzos de estas aventuras suelen ser similares con la variante de vacaciones de Navidad. El hastío lo entretienen con pantagruelicas merendolas o haciendo salir de sus casillas al Viejo Ahuyentador, sobrenombre del policía local Mr. Goon.
El Misterio aparece naturalmente y una vez las dotes de Fatty, líder natural del grupo, tras un acto inconsciente de otro de los niños del grupo, resuelve el caso. ¿Previsible? Diría que para los avezados en el género sí. Para el público en general, tal vez no.
Naturalmente el juicio de un adulto al releer las lecturas de su infancia y adolescencia esta desprovisto de cualquier rigor. Es más, casi una impostiura. Que cada cual saque sus conclusiones.
Manuel Salvador Redón, autor de Cuentos Arquitectónicos.
December 17, 2023
A fun read with Olivia - so cool to see her piecing it together for herself!
January 1, 2014
I discovered Enid Blyton's books in a used bookstore in Katmandu when I was twelve years old. They were the only English-language kids' books in the place and they opened 1950s English village life to me as if I'd stepped directly into a painting of it.
I kept the battered paperbacks as a reminder of a life-changing journey, and then dug one out to read aloud when my oldest son was four. He was wide-eyed, occasionally nervous, and completely captivated by the Five Find-Outers and their dog as they solved mysteries during school holidays in their village of Peterswood. That one book led to a great hunt through used bookstores and Amazon UK to find the rest of the series, and sparked the very best kind of addiction in my now 10-year-old son - reading.
So now it's my youngest son's turn. Admittedly we went a bit out of order with him. The Harry Potter series came first and now his favorite games to play usually involve a pair of glasses and a wand. Then the 10-year-old suggested I re-read the Five Find-Outers series so his brother could love them too.
And he does.
The five children have the innate manners of English schoolchildren of the 1950s, with just enough mischief to keep them current. They're smarter than the bumbling village policeman, and loved by the district Inspector. Parents are strict, yet loving, and the mysteries are just complex enough to keep even an adult guessing as the clues unfold. My older son is still just as captivated by them as his brother, and 4 o'clock tea time has been revived as a tradition in our house just because it's what Pip, Bets, Daisy, Larry, Fatty and Buster the dog do in their summer house or at the bottom of the garden.
Here's the thing about reading a book I love out loud to my kids: I enjoy it. I really do. I even suggest it at odd times during the day when they're getting antsy or fighty or their imaginations start to fail in that "Mom, I'm bored" way. And when I pick up the book and just start reading out loud to them they NEVER say "Stop reading, Mom." Not once. Never. One will usually find his way next to me, soothed by the sound of my voice reading words he's heard before, while the other shifts to quiet play with legos while he absorbs every word into the wonder that is his steel-trap-memory.
And connecting with my boys in such an effortless, lovely, enjoyable way is worth far more than the five stars I can give this book.
I kept the battered paperbacks as a reminder of a life-changing journey, and then dug one out to read aloud when my oldest son was four. He was wide-eyed, occasionally nervous, and completely captivated by the Five Find-Outers and their dog as they solved mysteries during school holidays in their village of Peterswood. That one book led to a great hunt through used bookstores and Amazon UK to find the rest of the series, and sparked the very best kind of addiction in my now 10-year-old son - reading.
So now it's my youngest son's turn. Admittedly we went a bit out of order with him. The Harry Potter series came first and now his favorite games to play usually involve a pair of glasses and a wand. Then the 10-year-old suggested I re-read the Five Find-Outers series so his brother could love them too.
And he does.
The five children have the innate manners of English schoolchildren of the 1950s, with just enough mischief to keep them current. They're smarter than the bumbling village policeman, and loved by the district Inspector. Parents are strict, yet loving, and the mysteries are just complex enough to keep even an adult guessing as the clues unfold. My older son is still just as captivated by them as his brother, and 4 o'clock tea time has been revived as a tradition in our house just because it's what Pip, Bets, Daisy, Larry, Fatty and Buster the dog do in their summer house or at the bottom of the garden.
Here's the thing about reading a book I love out loud to my kids: I enjoy it. I really do. I even suggest it at odd times during the day when they're getting antsy or fighty or their imaginations start to fail in that "Mom, I'm bored" way. And when I pick up the book and just start reading out loud to them they NEVER say "Stop reading, Mom." Not once. Never. One will usually find his way next to me, soothed by the sound of my voice reading words he's heard before, while the other shifts to quiet play with legos while he absorbs every word into the wonder that is his steel-trap-memory.
And connecting with my boys in such an effortless, lovely, enjoyable way is worth far more than the five stars I can give this book.
March 10, 2021
Nice book I liked it very much . There's a man in peterswood with very big feet who is doing robberies . The find outers have many clues but none of them is telling them anything in the end pip plays a trick in which he wears big boots and makes marks in the garden then shows it to everyone and says probably the thief came and went by , when pip reveals about the trick fatty get a thought that maybe the thief is also wearing big boots and gloves , so he fatty thinks of a smaller man with smaller hands and feet . Another fact in this book is that even Goon(the policeman ) tries to disguise himself!
October 25, 2012
Enjoyed the feeling of nostalgia that hit once I started reading about The Five Find-Outers and Dog trying to solve a mystery! And not forgetting the grumpy Mr Goon.
Read my review: http://www.booksloveme.com/2012/09/th...
Read my review: http://www.booksloveme.com/2012/09/th...
May 27, 2009
Not as fantastic as the Famous Five. But I figured out the mystery first. :P
August 10, 2025
Another fun mystery for the Five Find Outers and Dog. Totally jolly fun.
August 9, 2023
This is the only one of the Five Find Outers and Dog series that I have read, and I don't think I'll read any more. I came across it as we are overhauling the school library and anything dated or tatty has to go!
I loved Enid Blyton as a child and have feelings of huge nostalgia when I re-read any of her work as an adult, and maybe that is why I don't like this book - I am encountering it for the first time as an adult.
Snobby middle-class attitudes permeate everything - and, yes, I know that most middle-class people in those days would have their groceries delivered and have a cook or charwoman, but the disdain for the second hand shop and the portrayal of lower class people is awful. The treatment of the policeman by our heroes and others is also awful - the things they say to him and the fact the boys don't even apologise when they accidentally hit him in the head with a ball does not make them the polite children they are supposed to be. And when Pip trampled all over the newly dug soil in order to trick his friends with fake footprints, all I could think about was the fact that the poor gardener would have to re-dig the soil in order to plant his lettuces! (That probably says more about me than the author!)
It is interesting to note that Blyton was writing this series at the same time as The Famous Five as there are many similarities in the writing style – the children’s conversation reveals what the dog is doing (‘Oh do keep Timmy/Buster away from the picnic, he’s eating all the potted meat sandwiches’ etc). Also, Fatty (truly awful name!) and Julian can both put on a ‘grown up’ voice when they want to put a lower-class adult in his place.
(Maybe the fact that she was writing so many books so quickly explains facts like the good-looking and intelligent inspector not knowing where his god-daughter lives.)
As a primary school teacher, I have no problem with children reading Enid Blyton – we have a talk first about the fact that they were written a long time ago when attitudes were very different - but I’m glad this book is not on our shelves any more.
I loved Enid Blyton as a child and have feelings of huge nostalgia when I re-read any of her work as an adult, and maybe that is why I don't like this book - I am encountering it for the first time as an adult.
Snobby middle-class attitudes permeate everything - and, yes, I know that most middle-class people in those days would have their groceries delivered and have a cook or charwoman, but the disdain for the second hand shop and the portrayal of lower class people is awful. The treatment of the policeman by our heroes and others is also awful - the things they say to him and the fact the boys don't even apologise when they accidentally hit him in the head with a ball does not make them the polite children they are supposed to be. And when Pip trampled all over the newly dug soil in order to trick his friends with fake footprints, all I could think about was the fact that the poor gardener would have to re-dig the soil in order to plant his lettuces! (That probably says more about me than the author!)
It is interesting to note that Blyton was writing this series at the same time as The Famous Five as there are many similarities in the writing style – the children’s conversation reveals what the dog is doing (‘Oh do keep Timmy/Buster away from the picnic, he’s eating all the potted meat sandwiches’ etc). Also, Fatty (truly awful name!) and Julian can both put on a ‘grown up’ voice when they want to put a lower-class adult in his place.
(Maybe the fact that she was writing so many books so quickly explains facts like the good-looking and intelligent inspector not knowing where his god-daughter lives.)
As a primary school teacher, I have no problem with children reading Enid Blyton – we have a talk first about the fact that they were written a long time ago when attitudes were very different - but I’m glad this book is not on our shelves any more.
February 19, 2021
Five Findouters are quite disappointed. Almost half the ‘hols’ are gone and not a mystery in sight!
The five are picnicing with the Inspector and his niece Hilary when Mr Tonks, the substitute policeman interupts with reports of a burglary.
And then it all begins, hunt for footprint, search for clues, draw up the list of suspects, check the alibis, follow the leads.
No one seems to have seen the thief, although lots of people seemed to be around at the time of the burglary. It’s almost as if the thief was invisible!
It’s a proper mystery alright and it has Fatty quite stumped.
This time Mr Goon, the village policeman is quite determined not to be outwitted by the ‘interfering bunch of toads’. He diligently follows up on the lead, putting his retraining to good use with clever disguises of his own.
He will not be outsmarted this time. Or will he be?
I first read this series as a child, and now seeing my 8 yo laughing out loud while reading this, I felt compelled to relive the magic. Five Findouters series is by far my favorite, more so than other Enid Blyton series like Famous Five or Secret Seven. It will have you turning pages, grinning along.
Warning: This book will give you sudden cravings for all sorts of delectable snacks.
The five are picnicing with the Inspector and his niece Hilary when Mr Tonks, the substitute policeman interupts with reports of a burglary.
And then it all begins, hunt for footprint, search for clues, draw up the list of suspects, check the alibis, follow the leads.
No one seems to have seen the thief, although lots of people seemed to be around at the time of the burglary. It’s almost as if the thief was invisible!
It’s a proper mystery alright and it has Fatty quite stumped.
This time Mr Goon, the village policeman is quite determined not to be outwitted by the ‘interfering bunch of toads’. He diligently follows up on the lead, putting his retraining to good use with clever disguises of his own.
He will not be outsmarted this time. Or will he be?
I first read this series as a child, and now seeing my 8 yo laughing out loud while reading this, I felt compelled to relive the magic. Five Findouters series is by far my favorite, more so than other Enid Blyton series like Famous Five or Secret Seven. It will have you turning pages, grinning along.
Warning: This book will give you sudden cravings for all sorts of delectable snacks.
June 21, 2023
Got to love this one just for the sheer madness of the plot - five children randomly having tea at a local gymkhana with a police inspector, who greatly admires them regular needs their help, and his goddaughter. This being the same inspector who needs rushes off to a robbery in a nearby big house (leaving his goddaughter behind) while forgetting that big house is where he goddaughter actually lives.
But who reads Enid Blyton for sensible realistic plots?! In this one (which is very similar to a Secret Seven one (not sure which came first or why I remember that) Fatty and the other four use their brains and are clever (Fatty is marvelous). Goon is an idiot. Fatty uses his disguises and fools everyone. Goon uses disguises and fools noone. In an unusual turn of events it's Pip that does something rather than Bets that makes Fatty solve the mystery.
All in all it's entertaining
But who reads Enid Blyton for sensible realistic plots?! In this one (which is very similar to a Secret Seven one (not sure which came first or why I remember that) Fatty and the other four use their brains and are clever (Fatty is marvelous). Goon is an idiot. Fatty uses his disguises and fools everyone. Goon uses disguises and fools noone. In an unusual turn of events it's Pip that does something rather than Bets that makes Fatty solve the mystery.
All in all it's entertaining
June 6, 2024
Whilst I found the plot to be well thought out, I was put off by how flat all the characters were bar Fatty. Blyton might as well have excluded the rest of the 5 Find-Outers and have it be a one man show of Fatty and his dog as a sidekick. Larry, Bets, Pip, and Daisy only served to big up Fatty's ego, constantly fawning over how oh so brilliant he is 🙄, and do the mundane tasks to boost the story along.
However, the gang's incessant need to harass, heckle, and bully the town's police officer was quite funny, although they probably could've solved the mystery in half the time if they had just left the poor man alone 😂
I'm quite proud of myself as I did manage to correctly guess the thief by page 68 !!
However, the gang's incessant need to harass, heckle, and bully the town's police officer was quite funny, although they probably could've solved the mystery in half the time if they had just left the poor man alone 😂
I'm quite proud of myself as I did manage to correctly guess the thief by page 68 !!
January 4, 2026
In The Mystery of the Invisible Thief, first they thought there won't be any mystery ever again. When Fatty went to Inspector Jenk's picnic, then the mystery started. During Inspector Jenk's daughter's horse ride, the burglary happens. His daughter's house was robbed. Then another was. Then Fatty's !!
First they thought the person had big feet but then Pip played a trick so Fatty understood that the thief was playing the same trick (wearing boots under the big ones to make it look big). Fatty then figured out it was the baker.
First they thought the person had big feet but then Pip played a trick so Fatty understood that the thief was playing the same trick (wearing boots under the big ones to make it look big). Fatty then figured out it was the baker.
October 3, 2017
Buku ini kuambil secara acak dari koleksi Pasukan Mau Tahu ku. Ya, aku membaca ulang buku ini sembari berkelana ke masa kanak-kanak dulu. Ceritanya simple namun tetap berkesan. Aku lupa apa aku berhasil menebak pencuri silumannya ketika aku membaca buku ini pertama kalinya.
Ketika membaca lagi buat yang kedua kali aku dengan mudah menebak siapa pencuri itu. Mungkin faktor kebanyakan baca buku misteri/detektif. Lagian ini kan buat anak-anak sebenarnya :D
Anyway, aku selalu membayangkan ada versi film untuk The Famous Five dan The Find-Outer nya Enid Blyton. Bukunya kan berseri.. Nah kalau filmnya dibuat berseri atau sekuel kan seru juga tu.
Ketika membaca lagi buat yang kedua kali aku dengan mudah menebak siapa pencuri itu. Mungkin faktor kebanyakan baca buku misteri/detektif. Lagian ini kan buat anak-anak sebenarnya :D
Anyway, aku selalu membayangkan ada versi film untuk The Famous Five dan The Find-Outer nya Enid Blyton. Bukunya kan berseri.. Nah kalau filmnya dibuat berseri atau sekuel kan seru juga tu.
April 17, 2020
Another pleasant FFO mystery. The impossible crime premise was interesting, although it was easy to guess the culprit: this character was getting a disproportionate amount of focus, which only made sense if he was going to be the culprit... probably for the target audience, less experienced, this won't be a problem.
We have the usual battle of wits against the hapless Mr. Goon, the usual brilliance from Fatty, and this time it's Pip instead of little Bets the one who involuntarily discovers the final clue. All in all, a solid if unremarkable entry in the series.
We have the usual battle of wits against the hapless Mr. Goon, the usual brilliance from Fatty, and this time it's Pip instead of little Bets the one who involuntarily discovers the final clue. All in all, a solid if unremarkable entry in the series.
October 26, 2023
This was the first mystery book that I ever read. It made me fall in love with suspense and thriller books. It is an engaging addition to Enid Blyton's classic children's series. The characters are well-developed and relatable, and the plot keeps readers on their toes as they join the Find-Outers in unraveling the secrets behind the invisible thief. This book is a wonderful choice for young readers who enjoy a good mystery and the thrill of solving puzzles. A Wonderful Read!
July 4, 2017
This one was just too predictable. I knew from the start whom the thief was, and it was so annoying that it took the clever Fatty so long to find that out.
But the Swedish copy of the book that I borrowed from the library was a treat to read because it was an old copy from a local school in 1958. Waterdamaged and all.
But the Swedish copy of the book that I borrowed from the library was a treat to read because it was an old copy from a local school in 1958. Waterdamaged and all.
February 6, 2020
I did remember the mystery of this book despite reading it when I was young. Some of the stories Enid Blyton writes just stick in my memory. The mystery was intriguing and it was a quick book to read. It is comforting to read a series I loved so much as a young reader. Bets has always been my favourite character from the Find-Outers as she is smart, timid and very observant.
May 19, 2021
If Bets helps a lot in previous mysteries, in this book it is her brother Pip who breaks the mystery open in an unexpected way. To see Goon coming back from a refresher course for policemen and use tricks to solve a mystery was fun. The children though seem to be one step ahead of him as usual. I loved the end to it, and Inspector Jenks is involved more than before, which I think is good to see too.
April 24, 2021
For young minds, these books proved to be so thrilling, the zest, the tumble into adventures, cracking puzzles, finding clues and finally putting criminals and robbers behind bars!
The mystery series were one of the best series in the Enid Blyton collection.
The mystery series were one of the best series in the Enid Blyton collection.
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