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A run-of-the-mill adventure, 11th in the 'find-outers and dog' series by Enid Blyton. Rather too much trite discussion and a not particularly memorable storyline. The children seem to spend more time eating luscious teas than solving the crime.

Still, as part of the series it's worth reading; the plot is well done, and if there are some coincidences, there are also a couple of poignant moments that probably wouldn't happen in a modern children's book. It was written in the 1950s but the children could easily be young teens of today, albeit considerably less sophisticated.

Longer review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2021/12/the-mystery-of-holly-lane-by-enid-b... ( )

A enjoyable mystery story, the 11th of the 15 books in this series. It really is Fatty who works it all out to the disgust of Goon.

The mystery begins when the five are bored so are set tasks, Larry cleans windows of a bungalow, where an old man later has money then all his furniture stolen.

The pieces slot into place in a real Christoe-esq fashion. Great stuff. ( )

The eleventh title in Enid Blyton's fifteen-book Five Find-Outers and Dog series, in which a group of British schoolchildren play detective on their holidays, The Mystery of Holly Lane sees Fatty, Larry, Daisy, Pip and Bets (together with Buster the dog) stumbling upon a puzzling case involving an old man's missing money. When Larry's pretense at window-washing leads the children to Hollies Cottage, they discover the owner calling for the police. Naturally, the Find-Outers hope to catch the thief before their nemesis, police bobby PC Goon, and they set out to investigate. But as more and more suspects are eliminated, it begins to look as if the old man's devoted granddaughter, Marian, is the guilty party...

This installment of the series was moderately enjoyable, although I did begin to feel irritated by the persistent sexism, most frequently expressed through Fatty's orders that the girls must stay home during the exciting night-time adventures. While perfectly aware that this reflects the social mores of an earlier generation, Blyton's writing simply isn't accomplished enough to compensate for the annoyance.

The sixth most popular author in the world - despite being virtually unknown in the United States - it goes without saying that Blyton must still have immense appeal for young readers the world over. But eleven books into my project to familiarize myself with her work, I remain a little mystified by her continuing popularity. Perhaps I'm just growing a little weary of this set of characters - I found myself thinking, at the close of The Mystery of Holly Lane, "Only four more to go!" ( )