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harperbrum's review
adventurous
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
manwithanagenda's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
The book begins with Frank and Joe and Chet Morton exiting the Rialto theater talking about the picture they just saw, 'A Figure in Hiding'. They are rudely shoved aside by a thief! He's robbed the theater of $900. Which, wow, movies made a lot more money back then. They are unable to catch the thief, but the Hardy's father enlists them for help in another case.
You see, It's 1937 and Bayport and its environs are at the mercy of the fiendish Eye Syndicate. The men write letters to people with eye complaints promising miracle cures. They then take the money and run! Fenton Hardy just needs more evidence to put the members of the syndicate away for good. To do that he has the boys peep through keyholes at the men in their hotel room while they write their dasterdly letters.
I mean, this plot could almost still work, they would just be sending e-mails to the gullible instead of handwritten notes. Criminals just had more class back then.
Complications begin to pile up in the case when a young woman, the daughter of one of one of the crooks, bursts in and begs them to change their wicked ways. They tell her to shut up because she's adopted (!) and she runs away in tears. Holy crap. This book. I really shouldn't have laughed, but it was so damn funny.
Naturally, there are connections between the Rialto robbery, the crying girl, a quack doctor and various victims of the syndicate. The boys also eat dirt, which was also unintentionally funny. There's also some racist depictions on top of the general idea that being adopted is something to ashamed of and that an adopted parent doesn't care about you. Greatest generation my ass. Still, the laughs made me like this book more than I should have. I'm hoping to see more of the old crew in the future (especially Biff, he has to be missing his Chet), but I feel like the series has traded in its wholesome charm of mysteries discovered on outings in the jalopy for weirdly specific villains.
Next time there are octopus.
Hardy Boys
Next: 'The Secret Warning'
Previous: 'The Sinister Signpost'
You see, It's 1937 and Bayport and its environs are at the mercy of the fiendish Eye Syndicate. The men write letters to people with eye complaints promising miracle cures. They then take the money and run! Fenton Hardy just needs more evidence to put the members of the syndicate away for good. To do that he has the boys peep through keyholes at the men in their hotel room while they write their dasterdly letters.
I mean, this plot could almost still work, they would just be sending e-mails to the gullible instead of handwritten notes. Criminals just had more class back then.
Complications begin to pile up in the case when a young woman, the daughter of one of one of the crooks, bursts in and begs them to change their wicked ways. They tell her to shut up because she's adopted (!) and she runs away in tears. Holy crap. This book. I really shouldn't have laughed, but it was so damn funny.
Naturally, there are connections between the Rialto robbery, the crying girl, a quack doctor and various victims of the syndicate. The boys also eat dirt, which was also unintentionally funny. There's also some racist depictions on top of the general idea that being adopted is something to ashamed of and that an adopted parent doesn't care about you. Greatest generation my ass. Still, the laughs made me like this book more than I should have. I'm hoping to see more of the old crew in the future (especially Biff, he has to be missing his Chet), but I feel like the series has traded in its wholesome charm of mysteries discovered on outings in the jalopy for weirdly specific villains.
Next time there are octopus.
Hardy Boys
Next: 'The Secret Warning'
Previous: 'The Sinister Signpost'
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