A Figure in Hiding

I'm on a roll! When my life and the right books align, i can get a lot read in a short amount of time. This is 3 books in 4 days! I know, I know.....this one really doesn't count. But it sort of does, especially when you consider what these wonderfully ridiculous Hardy Boys books do for my soul! I'm sorry if you do not get it, but i cannot get enough of this. Continuing my quest to have one each of both the original brown covers and the first blue series......and I'm gonna read them both.....cuz the times changed....and so did the books! The blues i am reading first, cuz that's what i mostly grew up with.....but the browns have an extra layer of charm for me, so they will be saved for later. This was probably the most spread out show more wide-ranging adventure yet, with almost so many shady characters, I could barely keep track over the whole entire day it took me to read it! Otherwise it might have been a 4-star.....I love their wholesome fearlessness, their willingness to admit when they have blundered, the complete freedom they have as older teens (ok...maybe a little unrealistic.....but we can still dream, no?), and the steady pulse of the cars, boats, planes, etc. that are always present in these stories. So glad I've got a ton of these left to go! Yay! show less

In this installment, Frank and Joe Hardy receive a cryptic warning from an informant and are set on the trail of a mysterious medical facility.

When I was a kid my grandparents regularly gifted me Hardy Boys books for my birthday and/or Chanukkah (and this second-hand copy I've just read has an inscription to a boy from his grandmother as well!) I had quite a few of them, but I only read a couple. It may have been because I was more interested in fantastic fiction at the time, or maybe I was "saving" them (even early bibliophiles have to make sure they will always have plenty of books to read.) Or it might have been, as I've (re-?)discovered, that the books simply didn't have enough depth to hold my interest.

The Hardy Boys (and Nancy show more Drew) books were an assembly-line creation, always the exact same length, which doesn't leave much room for embellishment or you know, character development. It's all action, all the time and the characters, including the Hardys, might as well be just props to move the plot along. We know the brothers like baseball, and their friend Chet might have an eating disorder (and they are kind of mean to him!) but there's not much else and it's hard to feel for them as real people. The book does have a quaint sort of charm, but was too bare-bones to be immersive in any way.

The back cover recommends the series for ages 10-14 but I'd move that bracket down a bit. By the time I was 12 or so I was reading regular books (that were not written specifically for children). I'd say they'd be good for kids who might think reading is boring and need the non-stop action to hook them. Others might find them lacking, as I did.

Addendum: I've just re-read about the history of the Hardy Boys line. I knew that they had been revised over the years to account for changes in social sensibilities, but am also reminded that they were simplified, essentially dumbed-down from the original versions, beginning in 1959 (which would include this 1965 edition.) No doubt I would have enjoyed the original a bit more. show less

A solid read. Loved the villains in this story -- Rip Sinder and Spotty Lemuel! Along with the con man Dr. Grafton.

A blind peddler's warning and a weird glass eye plunge Frank and Joe Hardy into one of the most baffling cases they have ever tackled. The young detectives' investigation takes them to a walled estate guarded by savage dogs, where a wealthy businessman is hiding out in fear for his life. In a climax that will hold the reader spellbound with suspense, Frank and Joe find themselves trapped in a sinister house of mystery where there seems to be no escape!

This one had humor and thrills. You can easily overlook the standard items ex: Chet's involvment by the changes in the story path. I enjoyed it very much.

This book is about Frank and Joe hardy they are 2 most famous young detectives, that go on cases all the time. The Hardy boys are lead to a walled estate with guard dogs, where a rich businessman is in hiding. A phone call is made out to the Hardy boys, the phone call is a prank call that is leading right to danger they are trying to escape from death at the bottom of the bay. A speed boat has been reported missing then a mummy has been reported walking around. At then end Joe and Frank solve the case.
this is a really good book you should read it.
Lizzy

Frank and Joe Hardy realize that they have another case in their hands, when they find the first person of the Googler gang or the Evil Eye. One of the gang dropped a glass eye and that is how the Hardies got their lead on the case of the evil eye ball. There is man called Malcolm Izmir, who owns Izmir Motors. Izmir is in the gang too. Actually he is the gang leader. Malcolm is his first name. Mal in Spanish means bad or evil. And the first letter of Izmir is I or eye. So that is where the evil eye comes from. Chet Morton, the Hardies trusty friend, helped too. He works at health farm, and that is the hide out of the Googler gang.