The Hal Keen Mystery Series
by
Hugh Lloyd

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The Hal Keen series was written by Percy Keese Fitzhugh using his Hugh Lloyd pseudonym.
It consists of ten volumes published by Grosset & Dunlap between 1931 and 1934.
All ten titles are illustrated by Bert Salg.
Reprints of volumes one and two were later issued as part of the Whitman "2300" series.
The artists for the two Whitman reprints are unknown.

Boys! Meet Hal Keen, that lanky, nonchalant, red-headed youth whose guiding star is the star that points to adventure, excitement and mystery. Follow him in his hunts for clues and criminals. There are plenty of thrills and shivers in these stories to keep you on your toes.
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About The Author

Percy Keese Fitzhugh (September 7, 1876 - July 5, 1950) was born in Brooklyn NY and attended Brooklyn's Pratt Institute, later moving to Oradell NJ with a studio in nearby Hackensack NJ.

The bulk of his work, having a Boy Scouting theme, revolves around the fictional town of Bridgeboro NJ (based on Hackensack and featuring many then current places in the town). Major characters included Tom Slade, Pee-Wee Harris, Roy Blakeley, and Westy Martin. Each of these characters had their own, distinctly different, series of books.

In addition, Fitzhugh contributed Boy Scout stories to a fifth series of books, Buddy Books for Boys, which featured individual stories of other characters and situations by a variety of authors. In all, Grosset & Dunlap published nearly 70 different Fitzhugh titles in these 5 series.

In the 1930's he began writing the Hal Keen Mystery Series under the pseudonym Hugh Lloyd, also published by Grosset & Dunlap. The Hal Keen books were followed by the 3 volume Skippy Dare mystery series, again published by Grosset & Dunlap. Neither of these series achieved the popularity of his earlier Boy Scout work.

Percy Keese Fitzhugh died at his home in Oradell NJ on July 5, 1950 after a long illness; he was 73


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publishing information

Style 1 (vols. 1-6): G&D publisher, 7-5/8 x 5-1/4 inches, orange cloth binding, black spine lettering, silver gray, outlined with black, lettering on cover, plain endpapers, frontispiece & 3 illustrations on glossy paper, color dustjacket on glossy paper, different for each story.

Style 2 (vols. 1-10): G&D publisher, 7-5/8 x 5-1/4, gray cloth binding, red lettering on cover & spine, decorated endpapers, frontispiece & 3 illustrations on glossy paper, color dustjacket on glossy paper, different for each story.

Style 3 (vols. 1-2): Whitman publisher, 8 x 5-1/2 (also 7-1/2 x 5), textured composition binding in various colors (red, blue, beige, etc.), black lettering, no illustrations, color dustjacket on glossy paper, different for each story.

titles in the hal keen series

Click on any cover to enlarge it.

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  1. The Hermit of Gordon's Creek - 1931
    Hal Keen goes to visit friends and stumbles on to a mystery involving an old man and a letter.

  2. Kidnapped in the Jungle - 1931
    A hint of buried treasure in the ruins of an old French mission leads Hal deep into the Central American jungle.

  3. The Copperhead Trail Mystery - 1931
    Baffling and blood-curdling events center about the ranch where Hal Keen and his friends had gone in search of gold.

  4. The Smugglers' Secret - 1931
    Hal Keen sets out to get to the bottom of a mystery that threatens the safety of a whole community.

  5. The Mysterious Arab - 1931
    Mystery, excitement, murder in a scientist's camp in the jungles of Africa, where hate, revenge, and suspicion lead to tragedy.
  1. The Lonesome Swamp Mystery - 1932
    The lonely and mysterious swamp gave up its secret only after a series of terrifying events taxed Hal's courage and ability.

  2. The Clue at Skeleton Rocks - 1932
    In this new thriller Hal Keen finds mystery and adventure in and about a lonely lighthouse on Skeleton Rocks, off the Maine coast.

  3. The Doom of Stark House - 1933
    Mystery and terror in an old house in the wilderness above Quebec where Hal Keen is the guest of a strange family.

  4. The Lost Mine of the Amazon - 1933
    Hal's sympathy for an exiled white family leads him on to solve the tragic mystery that surrounds the lost mine.

  5. The Mystery at Dark Star Ranch - 1934
Whitman Publishing Editions
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