Ken Holt #7 Iron Box and #8 Phantom Car

In Ken Holt #7, The Mystery of the Iron Box, Richard Holt has purchased Mom Allen an iron box for Christmas.  Someone broke into Mr. Holt's apartment and later into the Allen home.  Ken is certain that someone wants the iron box, and as a result, he is the subject of much ridicule from the Allen family.  Ken doggedly pursues a series of clues, determined to discover who wants the iron box, and why.

On page 77, a statement is made about it being odd to wear dark glasses in the winter.  I have never thought it odd, since the sun is still bright in the winter.  Some people might consider it strange to wear dark glasses on a cloudy day, but I wouldn't think anything of it, since some people's eyes are very sensitive to light.

Ken and Sandy spend 46 pages trying to get free from being captured.  It then takes them an additional 20 pages to be rescued.  I ended up skimming a lot of it, since I have read the book before.  I found that I did not care this time.  The scenes in Ken Holt books where Ken and Sandy are captives and their escapes are described in painstaking detail are my least favorite parts of the books.

While I overall enjoyed this book, the last half of the book was not that interesting to me.

In Ken Holt #8, The Clue of the Phantom Car, Ralph Conner runs off the road on a rural hill, and as a result, he and his brother, Mort, are forced to sell their company since their insurance company has dropped them.  Ralph and Mort have had too many accidents in the last six months, which is unusual for them.  Ken suspects that someone has sabotaged the Conners in order to force them to sell their business.  Unfortunately, Ken is unable to find any evidence, but he and Sandy refuse to let the matter die.

I greatly enjoyed this story.  It's interesting how some books don't appeal to me while others do.  The book takes place entirely in and near Brentwood, and that is part of the appeal.  I found this book to be thoroughly engaging from start to finish.