Judy Bolton Mystery Series



Inside Cover, First Edition

The urge to review the Judy Bolton series by Margaret Sutton is really eBay's fault. I was checking something on my account last night and they notified me that they are going to a "newsfeed" system (similar-ish to the Facebook setup), where they post items that you might be interested in on your "newsfeed." One of the pre-programmed searches they had for me was "Judy Bolton Margaret Sutton" and I though, "Ok, why not. It's not like the vintage 1930s editions are going to flood my newsfeed at reasonable prices." 

Boy was I wrong! 

I couldn't believe how many of them were for sale! I haven't looked into buying them for a couple of years...I gave up when the cheapest ones I could find were over $20 each (in fair/poor condition). Last night some of the ones I found were under $15, including shipping and a few for less than $10, because no one was bidding on them...admittedly they weren't in mint condition, but they weren't too worn either. These are prices for older editions too...I'm sure newer reprints are less expensive, but for myself a) the older ones are cooler and b) I want my collection to match. :)

I cannot express how hard it was for me to not place bids on at least two or three of them. For those who don't know, I love books and am virtually incapable of walking out of a bookstore empty handed. And this is one of my favorite book series ever, in my favorite edition (I'm a HUGE fan of first or second edition books)! I own a couple first edition Nancy Drews and while I liked that series too (I read almost all of them; ditto for the Hardy Boys), the Judy Bolton series, in its red cloth-bound hardback loveliness, was my favorite.  I've reread the ones I own several times and have often wished I had the complete series to fill in the blanks and complete the story. 


Part of my personal collection

But instead of spending money I shouldn't (I literally texted a friend for an "intervention" because I wanted to buy them so badly!), I decided to post a review and information about the series instead. 

We first meet Judy Bolton in The Vanishing Shadow (1932) as a fifteen year old spending the summer on her grandparents' farm. She's the auburn-haired, feisty (and a bit quick tempered), but kindhearted daughter of a country doctor. She has an older brother, Horace, who is a reporter...ooh, and a cat named Blackberry. Her best friends are Grace (nicknamed Honey) and Irene...she even has a "archenemies," the local snob named Kay Vincent. There are also two suitor characters...a wealthy young man named Arthur and a young lawyer named Peter. Fun fact: this is one of the few series where the heroine actually gets married, and less than halfway through the series no less (book 10 of 38, I believe)...a change from the norm that Margaret Sutton had to fight with the publishers about, apparently.  

One of my favorite things about the series (other than Judy marrying the suitor I liked best) was it felt more realistic than other popular, contemporary young adult mysteries. Judy was emotional, self conscious, made mistakes, got into trouble...and was willing to look to her friends and family for help. So not only was she a very relate-able character, but the story lines where less far fetched than say, Nancy Drew...apparently Margaret Sutton a stickler for the scenarios to be "based on things that actually happened." 

In doing some research for this post, I found out that there are 38 books in the original series, published from 1932-1967. A 39th volume was published last year, a collaborative work by Kate Duvall and Beverly Hatfield, written with permission from Margaret Sutton's family (Margaret Sutton passed away in 2001, age 98), and was based on Sutton's original plot outline, research, and conversations with Sutton many years ago. The book was edited by Sutton's youngest daughter, Lindsay Sutton Stroh, and illustrated by another daughter, Marjorie Sutton Eckstein. Possibly more than you ever needed to know about the series, but there you have it.

My small personal collection consists of #1 The Vanishing Shadow (1932), #3 The Invisible Chimes (1932, second edition?),  #4 Seven Strange Clues (1932), #5 The Ghost Parade (1933), #6 The Yellow Phantom (1933), #10 The Riddle of the Double Ring (1937), #12 The Midnight Visitor (1939) and #17 The Rainbow Riddle (1946, non-first edition). I have every intention of one day completing my collection, preferably with first or second edition copies. They will be the pride of my tiny library!

Another fun fact: This is the series that inspired me to try my hand at writing, which is another reason why it will always hold a special place in my heart!  :)  That aside, I'm a big fan and highly recommend giving the series a try. They make for an excellent read and definitely rate very high on my list of all time favorite pieces of literature. 


~ Katie