- Title: The Secret of Phantom Lake
- wiki: link
Throwback Tuesday takes us back to a mystery involving the Three Investigators whose mantra of “We Investigate Everything” leads them to search for pirate treasure. There are a few basic set-ups for Three Investigator mysteries such as an unexplained occurrence, riddles to be solved, or the search for something that is missing or hidden. The Secret of Phantom Lake is the latter with a trunk from the Argyll Queen being purchased by the the Jones Salvage Yard with a hidden ring and journal inside leading Jupiter Jones, Pete Crenshaw, and Bob Andrews heading out to Phantom Lake where the sole survivor of a shipwreck was killed a century before after leaving clues to the whereabouts of rumored treasure.
As is often the case, the Three Investigators aren’t the only ones searching for the treasure and will need to outwit the dastardly Java Jim go get it it first.
The novel has one of my favorite covers of the series that ties directly into the story with a creepy Cyprus tree planted at a specific spot on Phantom Lake marking the location of the treasure. Out-smarted before finding the treasure, the end offers some quick twists and a few late deductions by Jupiter that not only lead to the recovery of the treasure but the capture of Java Jim.