This is the first book in the Hardy Boys Adventures by Franklin W. Dixon. The Hardy Boys was originally created by the author Edward Stratemeyer while the following books are written by ghostwriters under the pseudonym Franklin W. Dixon. The original series was first released in 1927, but this book was published 2013 by Aladdin. I listened to the audiobook on this short mystery novel, narrated by Tim Gregory.
The story follows Frank and Joe Hardy. Two teenage boys known to have illegally solved many cases and is now forcefully retired as they have been given the ultimatum to be send to a school for troubled teenagers or quit their sleuthing. But thing turns south when some of their classmates are targeted by someone called the Red Arrow. A criminal in the dark who has their hometown quivering in fear and only the two Hardy brothers seem to have the courage to bring the violent criminal to justice.
The characters themselves are simply idealized and good-natured boys. Frank is clever, giving speeches for his excellent essays and has been taught self-defense. Joe is the more outgoing, liking to eat, and flirt with girls. He is also extremely good at martial arts and does have a brain for logical thinking though not as good as his brother. Joe is more forward and is a man of action, though in most of the story he follows his brother’s lead.
The mystery in itself is lacking. The plot started off good, with an intriguing entrance as one boy is followed and beaten while the adults just ignore the whole thing as the boy is targeted. But as the mystery goes along there is hardly any clues. The entire mystery is solved by one thing, all other things that happens is pretty much just decoys to fill out the story.
The Hardy Boys follow a similar structure as Nancy Drew, being more about wish fulfillment and is a power fantasy for children. Nothing wrong with that, but this book series has a strange element that I’m uncertain belong there. In other books, like Nancy Drew, the cops might be disgruntled by a child solving crimes but there are no consequences of them doing so. Maybe a slap on the wrist.
The Hardy Boys has from what I can tell, previously followed a similar structure when it ignored the logic, or lack thereof, of two children solving mysteries such as terror attacks, murders and gang violence. In this book the author tries to address it by making it so that they have gotten sued to the point that they have to give it up. It makes sense in reality, but in a book about wish fulfillment, where children should feel like they can step into the shoes of a detective, it is a strange choice. It makes me wonder if the author of this series actually understood the original one. Maybe the author just wanted to try put some realism into it for once, but I’m not sure that is a good idea when it is about two teenagers, with no apparent flaws, fighting criminals better than the police do. Realism might not be an asset here.
Now, overall, it was a nice story. Too short for me to judge it harshly. It was fast paced, with decent character. Though they might not be too deep. A bit of a lacking plot, mostly because it felt a bit rushed and the realism doesn’t really suit the purpose of wish fulfillment and without a good mystery to fill the void of the wish fulfillment, all that is left is a fast paced story meant to be read if you are bored. Maybe when you are waiting for your train. I still liked it fairly well, but I cannot say that it was a good mystery. It entertained me for three hours, and I was overall satisfied despite the flaws of the book. I will give it a 6 out of 10, thinking that the realism dragged down the story along with the too simple mystery to even be called one.
With Kind Regards
Senefer.
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