The Judy Bolton series, 38 volumes of girl-detective adventures based on real life experiences and places, was created by Margaret Sutton beginning in 1932. Judy Bolton, a strong role model, is a realistic young woman able to solve mysteries and is noted for her forward-thinking social awareness. Originally published in 1966, this is a facsimile reproduction of the rare and highly sought-after 37th book in the Judy Bolton Series.

Back after 45 years, Margaret Sutton’s young detective, Judy Bolton, returns for her 39th mystery adventure. At the end of book #38, The Secret of the Sand Castle, the author gave the title of the next book in the series, The Strange Likeness. However, the series was canceled, and the promised book was not written…until now.  Beloved author Margaret Sutton (1903–2001) published her first Judy Bolton mysteries in 1932. The original series continued until 1967, making it the longest-lasting juvenile series written by a single author. The books are noted not only for their engaging plots and thrilling stories, but also for their realism and social commentary. To many young girls Judy was an ideal role model—smart, capable, courageous, nurturing, and always unwavering in her core beliefs. Based on conversations with Margaret Sutton and her family, plus extensive research, coauthors Kate Duvall and Beverly Hatfield recreate the magic of Judy and her friends, who find themselves pursuing a criminal who resembles Judy’s husband. Courage and keen observation are Judy’s trademarks, and they prove her up to the task once again.

"What do you mean?" Judy asks her new friend, Clarissa Valentine. "How could you look in a mirror and not see your reflection?" When Clarissa insists that this strange thing has happened to her, Judy and the other girls think she is teasing them. But when Clarissa disappears in the middle of a television show, even Judy has to admit something peculiar is going on. The three other girls are angry, because with Clarissa went the twenty dollars they had loaned her. But Judy still believes in Clarissa, though something certainly is very wrong. Judy wishes her FBI husband, Peter Dobbs, would complete his mysterious mission and join her in New York City. She wants him to help her find the young girl, who might be in real danger. What Judy does not know is that Peter himself is in danger. The next time she sees him, he is lying injured in a hospital bed. But by a weird combination of circumstance, what happens to Peter gives Judy her first clue to what might have happened to Clarissa. When Judy, with Peter's help, finally learns what really did happen, she uncovers a mystery far more exciting than she could possibly have imagined.

The one unsolved mystery from Judy's childhood is that of the haunted fountain on the Brandt estate. Judy visited the fountain one time and it told her to make a wish. She never did learn how the fountain spoke.After relating the story to Lois and Lorraine, the three girls visit the Brandt estate to see the fountain. After ignoring a "No Trespassing" sign, they are confronted by two men who threaten them. The girls leave but sneak back so they can visit the fountain. Judy finds a diamond in the fountain and wonders how it came to be there. Something is also bothering Lorraine, and it is apparently connected to the mysterious events at the Brandt estate. Judy wants to help Lorraine, but her biggest obstacle is getting proud Lorraine to speak about her problems.

"It is strange that she remembers a doll's name and not her own," Judy agrees when her friends ask about the little girl Judy and her FBI husband, Peter Dobbs, have taken into their home after the orphanage fire. The mystery deepens when the toy shop where Judy has seen the doll apparently disappears. At the library across the street the little girl, known only as Sister, puzzles Judy still further by insisting that the librarian is her mother. They both seem to know a strange character called Auntie Grumble, but is she real? And who are the mysterious men who made the doll walk and talk and sing? Can Judy and Peter be sheltering a kidnapped child? Somewhere, Judy is sure, there must be a hidden clue to the identity of Sister and her baby brother. How Judy finds it and follows it against the wishes of her father, Dr. Bolton, makes an unusual mystery story that will at first baffle and then delight readers.