The Twisted Claw

by Franklin W. Dixon

The Hardy Boys (18)

On This Page

Description

The Hardy boys embark on another puzzling mystery when they try to discover who is stealing rare collections of ancient pirate treasure and smuggling them out of the United States.

Tags

Recommendations

Member Reviews

11 reviews
This is one of the original Hardy Boys series, and one of the ones that can be attributed to original ghostwriter Leslie McFarlane. It is totally bananas but very exciting: there are ships, pirates, lots of plane flights and arcane secret societies. For those who like a light, thrilling adventure, this is well worth an hour of your time. I still don't know how Frank and Joe get all that time off school though…!
½
One of my favorite OT's of the entire series. The whole adventure aboard the Black Parrot, and the secret society on Barracuda Island == that is like a land that time forgot == is so fun and fantastical that it really makes the book quite memorable. Love the look of the OT cover too. Though Frank and Joe look more like scientists than amateur sleuths.
A series of museum thefts launch the Hardy Boys on this baffling mystery. Rare collections of ancient pirate treasure are being stolen, so Frank and Joe are asked to stake out the 'Black Parrot', a suspicious freighter docked in Bayport Harbor. This whirlwind chase after a self-styled pirate king in the Caribbean stronghold of the Empire of the Twisted Claw makes a gripping tale of suspense and high adventure.
This book almost broke the mold for Hardy Boy stories. The author stretched the personalities of Frank and Joe Hardy so you get to know them better. Their father plays a major role in this story line. His role also shows a different side of him. He is usually a side character but the author really pushed what he could do with the father and ran with it. Breaks the mold from the traditional story line that is fed to readers.
I liked this book because it makes you want to keep reading it until you are finished. You never know what is going to happen next. This book is A.R. I think this book was right at my level.

Members

Recently Added By

Lists

Favorite Childhood Books
1,646 works; 513 members
The Stratemeyer Syndicate
605 works; 1 member
Books Read in 2022
5,164 works; 111 members
1930s
262 works; 5 members
Great Pirate Books
39 works; 21 members

Author Information

Picture of author.
620 Works 117,161 Members
Franklin W. Dixon Franklin W. Dixon is actually a pseudonym for any number of ghostwriters who have had the distinction of writing stories for the Hardy Boys series. The series was originally created by Edward Stratmeyer in 1926, the same mastermind of the Nancy Drew detective series, Tom Swift, the Rover Boys and other characters. While show more Stratmeyer created the outlines for the original series, it was Canadian writer Leslie McFarlane who breathed life to the stories and created the persona Franklin W. Dixon. McFarlane wrote for the series for over twenty years and is credited with success of the early collection of stories. As the series became more popular, it was pared down, the format changed and new ghostwriters added their own flavor to the stories. Part of the draw of the Hardy Boys is that as the authors changed, so to did the times and the story lines. While there is no one true author of the series, each ghostwriter can be given credit for enhancing the life of this series and never unveiling that there really is no Franklin W. Dixon. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Some Editions

Laune, Paul (Illustrator)

Series

Belongs to Publisher Series

Work Relationships

Common Knowledge

Canonical title
The Twisted Claw
Original publication date
1939; 1969 (revised) (revised)
People/Characters
Frank Hardy; Joe Hardy; Chet Morton; Fenton Hardy; Aunt Gertrude
First words
"Why, what's the matter, Frank?" exclaimed Joe Hardy as his elder brother suddenly stopped walking and began to search his pockets frantically.
"Congratulations!" Frank Hardy shouted to his brother Joe as the track athletics meeting ended.
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"Frank," replied the younger Hardy lad, "when you get an idea it's a good one!"
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"That should be right down your alley, Chet." Joe laughed. "You might be lucky and discover another sugar bowl!"

Classifications

Genres
Fiction and Literature, Kids
DDC/MDS
813.52Literature & rhetoricAmerican literature in EnglishAmerican fiction in English1900-19991900-1945
LCC
PZ7 .D644 .TLanguage and LiteratureFiction and juvenile belles lettresFiction and juvenile belles lettresJuvenile belles lettres
BISAC

Statistics

Members
1,395
Popularity
16,884
Reviews
10
Rating
½ (3.40)
Languages
English, Norwegian (Bokmål), Norwegian
Media
Paper, Ebook
ISBNs
10
ASINs
31