The Purple Bird Mystery

he Purple Bird Mystery (1966)

What is the connection of Fowl Relief and an English golf-playing king? Does the nickname of Jimmy Douglas's great-great-grandfather have any significance? Tie these answers with the other clues and the mystery of the purple bird is solved, but not until Djuna, the brilliant young sleuth, and his pal Jimmy go through an ordeal that almost takes their lives. The boys tangle with an antique dealer and a tiger skin diary - just to name a few of the events - in their struggle to solve the mystery. In Ellery Queen, Jr., the young mystery reader finds a master at sleuthing as well as storytelling.

“Djuna finds lost valuables in a sort of pun-it-who-dun-it technique.” Kirkus Reviews

The Purple Bird Mystery - dust cover G.P.Putnam's Son 1965 (Illustrated by David Hodges)

The Purple Bird Mystery - hardcover G.P.Putnam's Son 1965

The Purple Bird Mystery - cover eBook publication, Open Road Media Teen & Tween, March 10, 2015

The Purple Bird Mystery - cover audiobook Blackstone Audio, Inc., read by Traber Burns, November 1. 2015

Above: dust and hardcover G.P. Putnam's Son (1965); cover Open Road Media Teen & Tween (2015); cover audiobook Blackstone Audio, Inc. (2015).*

The Djuna series was reprised by James Holding in 1966 with The Purple Bird Mystery. The interruption in the series between 1954 and 1966 probably explains why the ninth (and last) title is harder to find. The copyright entry for The Purple Bird Mystery mentions "David Hodges & others" (aside from Lee and Dannay). However David Hodges was responsible for the drawings in this book. Most likely this last book in the series is the only writing Holding contributed to the Junior series aside from the manuscript for The Silver Llama Mystery, which, although Dannay revised it, was never published. (More on the authorship can be read here...)

Chronologically the final Junior book, but since it featured Djuna, it belongs in the Djuna series.

The Purple Bird Translations:
Chinese: 俱乐部紫鸟谜案
Japanese: 紫の鳥の秘密 (murasakiiro no tori no himitsu)

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