291U: It definitely wasn’t Harriet the Spy

I’m looking for a book I read as a child in the 1960s. My clues are very vague (sorry!), but here goes:

The book was a middle-grade novel about two girls who play at being detectives. They follow people around and write in their notebooks. I thought the title was The Key House Mystery or The Key-House Mystery (with a hyphen), but I haven’t found it on sites I’ve tried.

Unfortunately, that’s all I remember.  I don’t know the color of the cover, whether there were illustrations, or when it was published.

The book definitely wasn’t Harriet the Spy.

8 thoughts on “291U: It definitely wasn’t Harriet the Spy

  1. Bethany

    Could it be “Key to the Treasure” by Peggy Parish? That story has two boys and a girl and is around the right time period.

    Reply
  2. Helen Morgan

    The Latch Key Kids? I thought it was like 4 kids in a family who were left unattended after school but who had a key to their house or flat and instructions to be good!

    Reply
  3. Deborah

    For some reason, your description made me think of Missing Melinda by Jacqueline Jackson. The title’s not right, but Ophelia and Cordelia are twins who play at being detectives, follow people around, and write alternating chapters about their mystery.

    Reply
  4. Liz

    The eleventh book in the Dana Girls series was “The Clue of the Rusty Key”. (I don’t know whether the Dana Girls used notebooks, but it wouldn’t surprise me.

    Reply

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