Secret around

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Book cover collage (editions 1971/72)

Mystery of ... (Original title: Mystery of or Five Find-Outers ) is a children's book series that the British author Enid Blyton published between 1943 and 1961 and which was published in Germany from 1953 by Erika Klopp Verlag .

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The books are about five children and a dog from Peterswalde (Peterswood), who solve mysterious cases during the holidays. They call themselves "The Six Sniffers". Every time they beat the fat village policeman Grimm (Goon). In the end, they always meet with Inspector Jenks and tell the whole story with resolution.

Main characters of the first translation

  • Dicki (Fatty): Dietrich Ingbert Carl Kronstein (Frederick Algernon Trotteville) is called Dicki (Fatty) because of the initials of his name and because of his overweight. He is the smartest of the children and has been the leader of the “sniffers” since the third book. Dicki is a master at masking and has tons of disguise utensils in his shed. He uses this to fool the village policeman and solve crimes . His parents are not very strict and give him a lot of freedom.
  • Gina and Rolf (Daisy and Larry): Gina (Daisy) is actually called Regine (Margaret) Tagert (Daykin), Rolf's (Larry's) real name is Rudolf (Laurence) Tagert (Daykin). The two are siblings. Rolf was the leader in the first two books because he is the oldest.
  • Flipp and Betti (Pip and Betsy): Philipp and Elisabeth Hillmann (Hilton), as the siblings are really called, often quarrel because of the age difference of 4 years. Betti would often be excluded too, if Dicki didn't put in a good word for her. Often only she gets to the crucial point in the secret.
  • Purzel (Scotty): Purzel is Dicki's little Scotch Terrier . Like all small dogs in Peterswalde, he has a habit of nibbling on Mr. Grimm's trouser legs. That is why Mr. Grimm always gives him a wide berth.
  • Mr. Grimm (Mr. Goon): The village policeman who often rushes through Peterswalde on his bike . He is always annoyed about the noses who, as he puts it, “interfere in things that are none of their business.” Since he always shouts “Away there!” When he sees the noses, they are nicknamed “Wegda “Given. You can be prepared that it will be fun as soon as Wegda meets the nose. He's always waiting for a promotion.
  • Ern Grimm : Ern is short for serious. Ern is Mr. Grimm's nephew and has to spend some holidays with his uncle, who treats him badly. He is a bit simple-minded, writes "Pösie" (poetry, which he succeeds more badly than right) and helps the six noses when he spends his vacation in Peterswalde.
  • Inspector Jenks : Grimm's boss and friend of the nose. He's looking forward to one day having Dicki as a young employee in the police force.

New translation

In 2000 the series was translated again and the Germanized names were mostly replaced by the original names:

  • Peterswood instead of Peterswalde
  • Frederick (Frederick Algernon Trotteville) “Fatty” instead of Dietrich “Dicki” Kronstein
  • Daisy (Margaret) and Laurence Daykin ("Larry") instead of Regine "Gina" and Rudolf "Rolf" Tagert
  • Philipp ("Pip") and Elisabeth ("Betsy") Hilton instead of Philipp "Flipp" and "Betti" Hillmann
  • Dog Scotty instead of Purzel (in the original Buster)
  • Mr. Goon "Clear Orf" (clear off) instead of Mr. Grimm, alias "Weg-da", the village policeman

Works by year of origin

No. German title year Original title year
01 Secret of a night fire 1953 The Mystery of the Burnt Cottage 1943
02 Secret about a Siamese cat 1953 The Mystery of the Disappearing Cat 1944
03 Secret of a hidden room 1954 The Mystery of the Secret Room 1945
04th Secret of a poisonous feather 1954 The Mystery of the Spiteful Letters 1946
05 Secret of a missing necklace 1954 The Mystery of the Missing Necklace 1947
06th Secret of a house in the forest 1955 The Mystery of the Hidden House 1948
07th Secret to a cup of tea 1955 The Mystery of the Pantomime Cat 1949
08th Secret about an invisible thief 1956 The Mystery of the Invisible Thief 1950
09 Secret of a kidnapped prince 1957 The Mystery of the Vanished Prince 1951
10 Secret of a red shoe 1959 The Mystery of the Strange Bundle 1952
11 Secret on the Elderberry Trail 1960 The Mystery of Holly Lane 1953
12 Secret of a stolen picture 1961 The Mystery of Tally-Ho Cottage 1954
13 Secret about a caravan 1962 The Mystery of the Missing Man 1956
14th Secret of an ivy villa 1963 The Mystery of the Strange Messages 1957
15th Secret of a blue boat 1964 The Mystery of Banshee Towers 1961

Contents of the individual books

  1. Secret of a nocturnal fire : The summer house of the curmudgeon Schluck, used as a study, is on fire - along with his valuable papers, which he fortunately had insured. It is found that the fire was started with gasoline. So it's arson. The noses set off in search of the perpetrator.
  2. Secret about a Siamese cat : A valuable cat disappears from the neighboring garden. The noses make investigations. But her new boyfriend Luke is suspected. Now you have to manage to prove the innocence of your friend and at the same time expose the perpetrator.
  3. Secret of a hidden room : By chance, the sniffers discover a furnished and apparently inhabited room in an otherwise empty house. In the course of the investigation, Dicki is kidnapped and supposed to lure his friends into a trap.
  4. Secret about a poisonous pen : a stranger sends anonymous letters full of slander and malice. Despite great efforts by the adults to keep their noses out of the matter, the children determine who the sender might be. When they no longer know what to do, Mr. Grimm of all people inadvertently gives them the decisive clues to convict the perpetrator.
  5. The secret of a missing necklace : There is a fair in Peterswalde. There also seems to be a secret again. While Mr. Grimm is noticeably active, the noses have not the slightest idea what it could be. Does it have to do with the gang that steals valuable jewelry during break-ins? When Dicki masks himself again and slips into different roles at the fair, the nose suddenly finds himself in the middle of exciting and dangerous events.
  6. Secret about a house in the forest : Actually, the noses on Mr. Grimm's nephew Ern, who is visiting, just want to play a nice trick. To do this, they trick him into making up a secret. But while Mr. Grimm tries unexpectedly to clear up the false secret, Ern actually makes a strange discovery: In a lonely house in the forest, suspicious things happen at night. When the noses investigate, Ern is suddenly kidnapped by criminals.
  7. Secret of a cup of tea : The director of a small theater in Peterswalde is drugged and robbed with a sleeping pill. It turns out that only one of the theater staff could have been the perpetrator. A young actor is under particular suspicion. But the noses firmly believe in his innocence and want to prove it. A tough nut to crack because all other actors have alibis.
  8. Secret about an invisible thief : In the middle of the day, valuable objects are stolen from houses in Peterswalde. The perpetrator is heard and he leaves conspicuous traces. But no one has ever seen it, although it seems to move naturally everywhere. Always one step ahead of Mr. Grimm in their investigations, the noses finally see through the perpetrator's trick.
  9. The secret of a kidnapped prince : A foreign prince who is visiting Peterswalde disappears from a tent camp. Much indicates a kidnapping - except for the observations that Mr. Grimm's nephews Ern, Wern and Bern make and entrust the sniffers. What actually happened to the prince? In order to clear up this secret and free the prince, this time particularly keen observation and courage are necessary.
  10. Secret about a red shoe : A house in Peterswalde is broken into at night. The noses determine that the resident must have fled in slippers and a dressing gown. Did he have something of value that the burglar is after? And why does the man claim after his return that he was not broken into at all? When the children unexpectedly come into possession of some doll's clothes, they are suddenly followed by a strange stranger.
  11. Secret on the Elderberry Trail : An old man's entire cash savings, which he kept hidden in his house, are stolen. A few nights later, Dicki observed the theft of all of the man's furniture. In order to be able to clear up the secret, the noses have to speak to the man's granddaughter, who is the only one who otherwise knew the hiding place. But the young woman has suddenly disappeared too.
  12. Secret of a stolen picture : Purzel gets to know a poodle whose owners flee shortly afterwards with a stolen valuable picture. They leave the dog with their caretakers, who treat it conspicuously badly. One night Ern made puzzling observations on these people. The next day, however, everything seems to be the same, only the poodle is suddenly happy again. When Dicki disguises himself exactly like the caretaker to lead Mr. Grimm, he experiences astonishing things and finally sees through the perpetrators.
  13. Secret about a caravan : The sniffers are looking for an escaped convict who is said to have hidden among the showmen at a fair. Eulalie, who is visiting the Kronsteins with her father, does not want to miss this and follows Dicki at every turn. The clues lead the children to a trailer park, where the police cannot find the convict. But Dicki doesn't give up. Just before he realizes the criminal's hiding place, he is suddenly overwhelmed and locked up. Can Eulalie free him?
  14. Secret about an ivy villa : Mr. Grimm receives a series of anonymous letters about the "ivy villa". Since there is no such thing in Peterswalde, Mr. Grimm suspects a prank by the nose. In their search for the villa, the children come across an earlier jewel theft with loot that has still disappeared. But in addition to the noses, dangerous people are also interested in the jewels, who do not want to be disturbed by anyone in their project.
  15. Secret about a blue boat : The sniffers visit a picture exhibition in an old tower, in which an old ghost is also said to regularly howl a lament. On a second visit, Ern discovers something very strange: in one of the pictures a small blue boat that was there the day before has disappeared. However, when investigating the children, the tower staff seem to be significantly more dangerous than the ghost.

Audio books

Since 2002, three of the books have been published as audio books by Der Hörverlag :

  • Secret about an invisible thief
  • Secret of a hidden room
  • Secret of a house in the woods

Philipp Schepmann is the speaker for these audio books .

Radio plays

Between 1966 and 1982, eleven of the books appeared as radio plays on Fontana LP and Karusell MC (both labels of PolyGram ). The speakers changed from episode to episode.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Mystery Series. In: The radio play worlds. October 8, 2014, archived from the original ; accessed on March 8, 2019 .

Web links