The Mystery of the Invisible Thief facts for kids
The Mystery of the Invisible Thief is an exciting book by Enid Blyton. It's the eighth story in her very popular series called The Five Find-Outers. This group of young detectives is also known as the Five Find-Outers and Dog because of their clever canine friend!
The Mystery Unfolds
The Five Find-Outers are enjoying tea at a local gymkhana (a fun horse riding event). They are with Inspector Jenks and his goddaughter, Hilary. Suddenly, a robbery happens at a big house nearby. The strange thief disappears without a trace! It's as if they were invisible. The house that was robbed turns out to be Hilary's home. This gives the children a perfect reason to investigate as they take the upset girl home.
The mysterious thief leaves only a few strange clues. There are huge footprints and giant glove prints. There's also a weird criss-cross mark on the ground. Plus, two torn pieces of paper are found. These clues don't seem to make any sense at all. In their village of Peterswood, only policeman Mr Goon and Colonel Cross have feet big enough for the prints. But the thief can't be either of them. The Five Find-Outers and their dog decide to solve the mystery before Mr. Goon does.
Fatty, who is very good at disguises, uses his skills to find important information. He often outsmarts Mr Goon, especially when they both try to talk to Colonel Cross about his large shoes. Mr Goon tries to use disguises three times. But the Find-Outers always see through his tricks.
The thief strikes several more times. One time, they even rob Fatty's own shed! Another time, they target Mrs Williams' house. Each time, the same strange clues are found. But nobody ever sees the thief.
Solving the Puzzle
The Find-Outers get tired and frustrated because they can't catch the thief. Pip decides to play a joke on the others. He puts on a pair of giant boots and leaves huge footprints for them to find. The others search for the thief again, but they find nothing. When they discover Pip's joke, they are angry with him.
But then, Fatty suddenly shouts that Pip has solved the mystery! The real thief had been doing exactly what Pip did as a joke. The thief is actually the baker, who is a small man. He used the giant boots to make everyone think he was a much larger person. This created a false trail for the police to follow. It also allowed him to escape in ways a big person couldn't, like climbing out a window and down a drainpipe.
Meet the Characters
- Fatty (Frederick) Trottevile: He is the smart and brave leader of the group. He is also very good at disguises.
- Larry (Laurence): A member of the Five Find-Outers and their former leader.
- Daisy: Another member of the group. It was her idea to form the team!
- Pip (Phillip) Hilton: A member of the Five Find-Outers.
- Bets: The youngest member of the group.
- Mr Tonks: A policeman who takes over from Mr Goon.
- Mr Goon: The village policeman. He doesn't like the Find-Outers getting involved in his cases. He is also known as "old clear-orf."
- The baker: A suspect in the case, who is later found to be the thief.
- Inspector Jenks: The head of the Peterswood police department.
- Hilary: Inspector Jenks' goddaughter, whose house is robbed.
Did You Know?
A similar trick was used in another of Enid Blyton's books! In Shock for the Secret Seven, a small person also used bigger shoes to seem larger than they were. In that story, the criminal was stealing dogs, not robbing houses.
