The Three Investigators series, a 43-volume set of mysteries for juvenile readers published by Random House between 1964 and 1987, featured three 13-year-old male amateur sleuths, Jupiter Jones, Pete Crenshaw, and Bob Andrews. Jupiter, a former child actor, was the group's leader, Pete the impulsive athlete, and Bob the reserved, studious type. Although the sleuths were amateurs, they were portrayed handling themselves in a thoroughly professional manner, including offering business cards and maintaining scrupulous files in their office, a trailer hidden in a junkyard owned by Jupiter's aunt and uncle. The office had several secret entrances, including a tunnel which could be accessed through a loose board on the junkyard fence. The Three Investigators also used modern equipment in their investigations, including the telephone and portable tape recorders.

Film director Alfred Hitchcock served as a consultant to the Three Investigators at the beginning and end of...