I remember reading this book when I was in junior high school back in the 60s. At the time, it was one of my favorites. It was a mystery about a boy and his pet bulldog involving codes, pirate's treasure, old coins, and architecture. I didn't remember most of the details but I always wanted to reread this one.
Well, I finally got a copy from a fellow bookcrossing member and finally got around to rereading it. The story was basically a very good mystery book for young adults. Steve Forrester is a young boy who owns a pet bulldog named Sinbad. He and his family live in Hampton, New York on Long Island that is filled with old houses with different styles of architecture. Steve's father likes to renovate old houses and is an expert on architecture which Steve has picked up from him. While his father and mother are away working on a house in Maine, Steve gets involved in trying to find a pirate's treasure after visiting an older lady, Mrs. Teska, who operates a small store nearby. She is intimidated by two men who arrive in a black limo and leave an IOU for $5000 from her son. Steve wants to help Mrs. Teska and sets out to find the lost treasure of Captain Billy Murdock who was a pirate and owned a castle on the hill outside town. Steve finds clues, ciphers, and riddles in the local graveyard and in the cave below Captain Billy's castle. His search for the treasure also involves a sunken, floating gambling casino, a suspected murder, gangsters, a ghost, a hidden passageway to the cave, and the oddly constructed old castle of Captain Billy. So do the clues and ciphers lead to the treasure?
I enjoyed this for what is: a good mystery novel for young readers. It didn't really meet my expectations from what I remembered as kid, however. I thought Steve spent too much time talking about old architecture which made the book kind of drag in some places. I thought the information on ciphers was interesting but that also seemed a little tedious. I did like the information on old coins. Several very rare coins were discussed near the end that were worth thousands of dollars. I looked up today's value on the internet of some these including an 1803 silver dollar and an 1849 gold double eagle. These could be worth millions today! Guess I should have invested in rare coins back in the 60s (of course back then I had no money to invest). Mild recommendation overall.
Well, I finally got a copy from a fellow bookcrossing member and finally got around to rereading it. The story was basically a very good mystery book for young adults. Steve Forrester is a young boy who owns a pet bulldog named Sinbad. He and his family live in Hampton, New York on Long Island that is filled with old houses with different styles of architecture. Steve's father likes to renovate old houses and is an expert on architecture which Steve has picked up from him. While his father and mother are away working on a house in Maine, Steve gets involved in trying to find a pirate's treasure after visiting an older lady, Mrs. Teska, who operates a small store nearby. She is intimidated by two men who arrive in a black limo and leave an IOU for $5000 from her son. Steve wants to help Mrs. Teska and sets out to find the lost treasure of Captain Billy Murdock who was a pirate and owned a castle on the hill outside town. Steve finds clues, ciphers, and riddles in the local graveyard and in the cave below Captain Billy's castle. His search for the treasure also involves a sunken, floating gambling casino, a suspected murder, gangsters, a ghost, a hidden passageway to the cave, and the oddly constructed old castle of Captain Billy. So do the clues and ciphers lead to the treasure?
I enjoyed this for what is: a good mystery novel for young readers. It didn't really meet my expectations from what I remembered as kid, however. I thought Steve spent too much time talking about old architecture which made the book kind of drag in some places. I thought the information on ciphers was interesting but that also seemed a little tedious. I did like the information on old coins. Several very rare coins were discussed near the end that were worth thousands of dollars. I looked up today's value on the internet of some these including an 1803 silver dollar and an 1849 gold double eagle. These could be worth millions today! Guess I should have invested in rare coins back in the 60s (of course back then I had no money to invest). Mild recommendation overall.
Lots of fun. As a kid I enjoyed the book, but couldn't make heads or tails of the puzzles. Now I'm going to read it with my puzzle-loving spouse, and hope to do better. Also if your library has a copy of a house styles book, some things will be easier to picture. Adventure / treasure hunt / mystery with a nice ending.
