Footprints Under the Window

Nothing better on a Maine 4th of July camping trip than to delve once again into the Hardy Boys! I so love these 60's blue hardcovers and all of the art renderings of the exciting moments. This is another big adventure that takes place while the entire older family is away, and the boys are left to fend for themselves....and of course, get deeply involved in some dangerous intrigue of some local industrial espionage! Trips overseas, a near demise in an airplane flight failure, escape from rebels in a dictatorship, and SPOILER!!!!! They live to fight again! Slowly finalizing my collection of both blue and brown hardcover editions......and i cannot wait for the next one!!

Bayport's premier manufacturer of high-tech photographic equipment, Micro-Eye, is developing a top-secret project for the government; I shouldn't be ruining too much of the suspense here by saying that it turns out to be a big camera. While awaiting their aunt's return from a South American holiday, they rescue an apparent stowaway who has plunged from the deck of a cruise ship. He takes fright when the trio are approached by a phoney immigration official and from then-on it's headlong into adventure again for the boys.
This one stands slightly taller than other recent volumes for me, mostly because there are some nice touches. Frank and Joe almost seem like normal teenagers when, recieving news that several weeks of adult-free living show more are about to be interrupted by peppery Aunt Gertrude's imminent return, they perform the traditional "quick! the parents are coming" run round the house with a dustcloth and a vacuum cleaner. There's no stack of empty beer cans needing cleared out by this clean-living pair however. The other nice touch is the surprisingly vivid visit to South America including an unexpectedly descriptive jungle trip.
There are the usual trip-ups, however. There's the stumbling upon clues rather than any real sleuthing ability. There are the usual ridiculous and unnecessary plot twists such as the revelation of who actually left the eponymous footprints and stole important documents from the Hardys' home. And the cliffhanger-at-the-end-of-every-chapter formula is worn somewhat thin such as with the discovery of a skeleton which turns out to be ... absolutely unrelated to their case.
I'm probably grumbling more than I should because without it's flaws this would be an excellent book. As it stands it's still a great read. For one thing, there's proper international espionage for once, a damn good reason for one of the Boys' many extended overseas flying trips. A better than average book that nips along at the usual fast pace. show less

A plot to steal a top-secret instrument vital to the United States space program poses a challenging case for Frank and Joe Hardy. After rescuing a South American stowaway who mutters a warning about "Footprints " and then vanishes, Frank and Joe discover that documents belonging to their famous detective father are missing and that footprints linger under a window. The young detective's search for the diabolical mastermind of the "Footprints" spy ring takes them on a flight to a group of islands off the coast of South America.

I absolutely loved Nancy Drew growing up. This was a series I latched on to for dear life and never let go. So after my obsession with Nancy Drew started to dwindle (mostly because I had read all the ones I could get my hands on), I moved on to The Hardy Boys because that was the natural next step, duh. Love the Hardy Boys (though they weren't quite as amazing and Nancy Drew and her friends).

This book deals with immigration. Keep that thought in mind as you read this book. How things are worded may throw you off. Also, it helps if you have a more than average knowledge about boats. Overall this was book that had me gripped on every word until the end.

Book 12

Fine condition