The Mystery of the Manichean Mask

An ancient African mask. A devious grant. And a crime hiding in plain sight.

Step into mysteries that demand courage, discernment, and the will to seek the truth. Conceived and co-written by the daughter of Robert Arthur - the creator of the Three Investigators universe - this restoration of the classic series takes its iconic characters into a new age, with gripping contemporary adventures for young readers who crave meaning, want to share in the growth of characters they admire, and seek a world they can return to again and again.

In the thirteenth book of a 26-book story arc, when Jupiter, Pete, Bob, and Mallory are invited, at the start of a new summer, to attend a masked Gala at the Rocky Beach Summer Theatre Festival, they have no idea that the woman who owns the costume bank will tip them off about a local nonprofit that may be a lot shadier than it appears. Run by a Frenchman, an Italian-American man, and a Mexican-American woman, Old Art for Young Artists persuades wealthy patrons to donate artworks it can then auction off, with the proceeds supposedly going to young artists from disadvantaged backgrounds. But it seems its grants and awards are not dispensed according to its mission statement.

Behind their masks at the gala, Bob and Mallory eavesdrop on the trio. They also meet a woman who once danced in the Alvin Ailey dance troupe, was married to the Harlem jazz musician who founded the Red Hots, and has recently made a donation to Old Art for Young Artists. Their suspicions aroused, The Three Investigators pretend to apply for mini-grants and summer internships from the nonprofit at a local jobs fair - where they quickly discover that what they look like matters a lot more than what they can do.

Keeping calm, Jupiter manages to obtain incriminating evidence, and after soliciting the help of two hip young students who have reason to think that an extremely valuable African tribal mask has gone missing, The Three Investigators share their suspicions with Kwame Owusu, a young Ghanaian artist who comes to the Salvage Yard to buy a rare and special African wood for his artwork.

What's the real motive behind Old Art for Young Artists? Why does a painting hanging on the wall of one of its directors' houses seem so familiar? As the mystery deepens and The Three Investigators start to see what Old Art for Young Artists may really be up to, they put two and two together, go undercover as Kwame Owusu's interns, then start zeroing in on a clever but very devious scheme.

Join Jupiter, Pete, Bob, and Mallory as they reveal a nefarious fraud and bring an unsavory adversary to justice in this engrossing new chapter of the Three Investigators series.