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Five Find-Outers are a series of children’s novels written by the English author Enid Blyton, who is best-known for her work in the field of children’s fiction. The Five Find-Outers series are a series of mystery novels that has a gang of five children and their dog investigating mysteries during the school holidays, and who always seem to catch the culprit or solve the mystery before the inept local policeman manages to.
Order of The Five Find-Outers Series
| # | Read | Title | Published | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Mystery of the Burnt Cottage | 1943 | Description / Buy | |
| 2 | The Mystery of the Strange Bundle | 1943 | Description / Buy | |
| 3 | The Mystery of the Disappearing Cat | 1944 | Description / Buy | |
| 4 | The Mystery of the Secret Room | 1945 | Description / Buy | |
| 5 | The Mystery of the Spiteful Letters | 1946 | Description / Buy | |
| 6 | The Mystery of the Missing Necklace | 1947 | Description / Buy | |
| 7 | The Mystery of the Hidden House | 1948 | Description / Buy | |
| 8 | The Mystery of the Pantomime Cat | 1949 | Description / Buy | |
| 9 | The Mystery of the Invisible Thief | 1950 | Description / Buy | |
| 10 | The Mystery of the Vanished Prince | 1951 | Description / Buy | |
| 11 | The Mystery of Holly Lane | 1953 | Description / Buy | |
| 12 | The Mystery of Tally-Ho Cottage | 1954 | Description / Buy | |
| 13 | The Mystery of the Strange Messages | 1956 | Description / Buy | |
| 14 | The Mystery of the Missing Man | 1956 | Description / Buy | |
| 15 | The Mystery of Banshee Towers | 1961 | Description / Buy |
The Five Find-Outers featured in the title of the series are Bets, Daisy, Fatty, Larry and Pip, as well as Fatty’s dog Buster. The first book in the series was published in 1943, while the final book in the series was published in 1961. In all, there were 15 books published in Five Find-Outers series, the first book being The Mystery of the Burnt Cottage, while the last book be published was Ths Mystery of Banshee Towers. The stories were set in the fictional village of Peterswood, which is supposedly in the south of England.
In the first book in the Five Find-Outers series, The Mystery of the Burnt Cottage, we are introduced to the Five Find-Outers and Buster the dog when they convene at the site of a suspected case of arson. The Five Find-Outers have to find out who set fire to the cottage of Mr Hicks. They soon create a list of suspects and, as they find various clues, they have to eliminate each of the suspects from their investigation until only the culprit is left. In this story, we also meet the local police officer, Inspector Jenks, who becomes a mainstay in the Five Find-Outers series of book.
The final book of the Five Find-Outers series is The Mystery of Banshee Towers, which was released in 1961. The Mystery of Banshee Towers is set, as ever, during the school holidays. This time, the children’s parents encourage them to go out and explore the local countryside instead of doing their usual school holidays activity of solving mysteries in the village. However, while out exploring the countryside, the happen upon the stately home known as Banshee Towers. The group become taken by the art in Banshee Towers and upon return visits, they begin to notice strange things in the paintings, as well as being told of ghostly goings-on. Unfortunately for the Five Find-Outers, this discovery lands them in trouble, and yet again they must solve a mystery, this time about what is going on in Banshee Towers.
First published in 1943, the books take place a fictional village known as Peterswood and they follow the adventures of five children who spend their school holidays solving difficult mysteries.
Featuring Larry, Bets, Fatty, Daisy, and Pip, not to mention their dog Buster, the kids are a varied bunch. They often engage in conflict with a character known as Mr. Goon. As the local policeman, Mr. Good does not take kindly to the efforts of the children to do his job and solve mysteries, especially when they seem to do a far better job than he does.
Goon is always trying to stay a few steps ahead of his opponents, but he can never quite catch up to them. It doesn’t help that Mr. Goon’s own nephew keeps helping the young detectives make a fool out of his uncle.
As young detectives, the kids do everything from analyzing clues to interviewing witnesses and experimenting with disguises, not to mention checking out alibis.
While the kids are all written in a way that allows them to play important roles, Fatty, whose real name is Frederick Algernon Trotteville, often takes center stage. Boasting a vibrant personality, Fatty is almost larger than life in the way he is written.
It often falls on the shoulders of Fatty to put all the pieces together. While everyone participates in the collection of clues, Fatty is responsible for looking at the bigger picture and seeing what tends to baffle the others.
Most Enid Blyton fans agree that Fatty is responsible for the charm that the books have despite his arrogant nature. Fatty seems to possess the greatest collection of talents, what with his ability to deduce complicated clues, work with disguises and manifest ventriloquist and escapologist skills.
The Five Find-Outers series is as much about the village as it is the mysteries. Enid has been commended for painting a warm picture of the cozy and quirky life in a 20th Century village. Her books are filled with plenty of humor and colorful characters.
The first book in the Five Find-Outers series, The Mystery of the Burnt Cottage, finds the young detectives investigating a fire at Mr. Hick’s Cottage.
Five Find-Outers Books into Movies/TV
Gonin to Ippiki was a Japanese Television show that first aired in 1969. The title translates into Five Children and Dog. The series was created by the Japan’s National Broadcaster (NHK) and, even though the names and identities of the children were changed, there is no doubt that the series was based on Enid Blyton’s Five Find-Outers series.
As far as anyone knows, all tapes of the show were deleted by NHK.
Best Five Find-Outers Books
The Five Find-Outers series is one of the lesser known Enid Blyton series, though the novels definitely have their fans, with some of the best books in the Five Find-Outers series including:
The Mystery of the Secret Room: Fatty is disappointed. Even though he has so many new disguises, the cold Christmas holidays seem like they might be completely mystery-free. Or at least that was what they all expected. Then Pip comes across a furnished room in a deserted house.
When strange men trap Fatty inside the house, the note he leaves provides his friends with the clues they need to uncover the truth of the secret room.
This book places Fatty in jeopardy when he and Mr. Goon are trapped inside a seemingly deserted house.
The Mystery of the Invisible Thief: Fatty and group are mystified by a pair of robberies that take place in the village. Even though the thief left overtly large footprints, no one seems to have seen him leave or enter the houses.
In this book, the young detectives encounter two robberies that seem to suggest that there might be an invisible thief in the village. But Fatty and his friends know that cannot be true, so they try to get to the bottom of the matter.
Other Book Series you May Like
“Famous Five” is one of Enid Blyton’s most popular series. Starting in 1942, the books follow an adventurous group of children who come back home from their respective boarding schools during the holidays to solve crimes.
“The Secret Seven” series by Enid Blyton. Also called the Secret Seven Society, this series, like many of Enid Blyton’s other works, follows a group of kids who solve crimes. While most of Enid’s other mystery novels take place during the holidays, this series is set during the normal school term because the characters here do not attend boarding school.
Five Find-Outers FAQs
Q: Who wrote the Five Find-Outers series?
A: The Five Find-Outers series was written by the prolific English children’s author Enid Blyton.
Q: What is the first book in the Five Find-Outers series?
A: The first book in Enid Blyton’s Five Find-Outers series is The Mystery of the Burnt Cottage, which was published in 1943.
Q: What is the last book in the Five Find-Outers series?
A: The last book in Enid Blyton’s Five Find-Outers series is The Mystery of Banshee Towers, which was published in 1961.
What Is The Next Book in The Five Find-outers Series?
There doesn't seem to be an upcoming book in The Five Find-outers Series. The newest book is The Mystery of Banshee Towers and was released on January, 1st 1961.