Most Recommended Books

Track reading, wishlists & new-book alerts

Get
Skip to content
Share:

Five Find Outers Books in Order

Part ofEnid Blyton Books in Order

Explore the Five Find-Outers books by Enid Blyton in order, with short summaries, background on the series and a guide to where its stories begin.

Last updated:

As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases (at no extra cost to you).

Five Find Outers books in publication order

Sort:

15 books

1

A suspicious cottage fire brings Larry, Daisy, Pip and Bets together with newcomer Fatty and his dog. Determined to discover who started it, the children investigate local suspects while trying to stay ahead of the village policeman.

2

The Five Find-Outers investigate a ransacked house and the disappearance of its tenant, Mr Fellows. Reports of him fleeing with a strange bundle create a puzzle, while Fatty's new ventriloquism skills add confusion to their dealings with Mr Goon.

3

Lady Candling's valuable Siamese cat disappears, and the gardener's helper Luke becomes the chief suspect. The Five Find-Outers and Buster investigate to clear their friend's name, examining clues that don't fit the apparently straightforward accusation against him.

4

Pip notices a furnished room in an apparently abandoned house while escaping Mr Goon. The Five Find-Outers investigate who is using it and why, with Fatty's growing skill at disguise helping them pursue a mystery hidden in plain sight.

5

Anonymous letters are upsetting people in Peterswood, and the Five Find-Outers decide to identify their author. With several possible suspects and personal secrets being exposed, the children must look beyond gossip to discover who is causing the distress.

6

A gang of jewel thieves is operating in Peterswood, and the Five Find-Outers want to help the police. Fatty uses disguises to watch for suspicious behaviour as the children investigate burglaries and the mystery surrounding a missing necklace.

7

The Five Find-Outers invent a mystery to mislead Mr Goon's nephew Ern after being told to stop investigating. Their joke becomes entangled with real suspicious activity around a hidden house, and Ern's disappearance gives the children an urgent problem.

8

Money disappears from a theatre safe, and suspicion falls on a performer who plays a pantomime cat. The Five Find-Outers investigate, but false clues they planted as a joke threaten to complicate the real case.

9

A burglar leaves enormous footprints and glove marks, yet nobody seems to see him arrive or escape. Fatty and the other Find-Outers follow the strange clues as further thefts deepen the puzzle.

10

A visiting prince disappears from a holiday camp, giving the Five Find-Outers a new case. Fatty’s earlier prank involving foreign costumes has confused the police, so the children must separate mistaken identities from genuine clues.

11

The Mystery of Holly Lane

by Enid Blyton

1953

A blind man's stolen savings give the Five Find-Outers a new case in Holly Lane. When his furniture also disappears, the robbery becomes a stranger puzzle, and Fatty questions the conclusions that seem obvious to Mr Goon.

12

A stolen gallery picture draws Fatty and the Five Find-Outers into a case involving the Lorenzos, an elderly couple, and a poodle called Poppet. Sorting out their connections could explain a theft that has baffled the police.

13

Fatty tries to avoid the Trottevilles' unwelcome young guest, Eunice, but another master of disguise is hiding in Peterswood. The Find-Outers investigate an escaped prisoner while a fair and beetle-lovers' conference bring new faces into town.

14

Mr Goon receives puzzling messages demanding that he remove the Smiths from a house he cannot locate. Fatty and the other Find-Outers begin investigating, trying to connect the strange instructions with the people and buildings of Peterswood.

15

The Find-Outers visit Banshee Towers, a supposedly haunted house displaying sea paintings. Strange cries and an unexpected change in one picture draw Fatty, his friends, and Ern into a mystery more dangerous than their sightseeing plans.

Series background & context

The Five Find-Outers and Dog solve mysteries in Peterswood, a village where school holidays repeatedly bring something unexpected to investigate. Larry and Daisy, Pip and Bets, and their friend Fatty make up the five children. Fatty's Scottish terrier Buster completes the group. Enid Blyton keeps many of their cases close to home: a fire, a missing cat, anonymous letters or a suspicious room can turn familiar streets into a network of clues and possible suspects.

The children come together in The Mystery of the Burnt Cottage, when a fire raises questions about who had a reason to start it. Their enthusiasm quickly puts them at odds with Mr Goon, the village policeman. He resents their interference and is especially irritated by Buster. The rivalry creates a comic contest, although the children also have a more sympathetic police contact in Inspector Jenks. Adult authority isn't treated as a single thing: one policeman dismisses them, while another recognises useful information.

Peterswood is small enough for a curious child to keep noticing things.

Fatty becomes the group's most conspicuous investigator. His interest in disguises lets him approach people without being recognised, and practising those disguises supplies jokes as well as practical advantages. The others contribute observations, questions and local connections. Bets is younger, but that doesn't mean her remarks can safely be ignored. Much of the pleasure comes from watching a detail that appears unimportant acquire a different meaning when the children compare what they know.

Each mystery gives the village a fresh point of attention. In The Mystery of the Disappearing Cat, suspicion falls on a boy the children want to help. The Mystery of the Secret Room turns an apparently empty house into a puzzle about its occupants. The Mystery of the Spiteful Letters asks who is using anonymous messages to hurt other people. These cases vary the objects and people under investigation while preserving the same interest in motives, appearances and misleading assumptions.

The books allow plenty of time for interviews, experiments and arguments about clues. They are usually more focused on detection than on travelling to an isolated place and struggling to return home. There can still be danger, particularly when curiosity brings the children close to criminals. Humour comes from disguises, Buster and Mr Goon's impatience, keeping the investigations accessible without making every suspect harmless.

Begin with The Mystery of the Burnt Cottage and continue through the cases in order to see the group establish its habits. The recurring village and friendships give continuity, but each book centres on a different problem. This is a series for readers who like to consider who could have done something, why it happened and which apparently ordinary detail might help explain it.

Edited by

Richard Reis

Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.

Anurag Ramdasan

Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shape MRB and its growth.

Comments

Did we miss something? Have feedback?

Help us improve this page by sharing your thoughts

We only use your email to notify you about replies.

All comments are moderated.

Discover and track your reading on the go

Track your reading, manage wishlists, and get notified when new books are added.