Hardy Boys Revised Text #15 Sinister Signpost, #16 Figure in Hiding, and #17 Secret Warning

In the revised text of Hardy Boys #15, The Sinister Signpost, the Hardys investigate who is sabotaging Mr. Alden's special racing cars.  A signpost placed temporarily along the roadside is used to flash a light at the vehicles, crazing the windshield and causing a wreck.  Meanwhile, Aunt Gertrude has inherited a stable of race horses and is not happy about it.

Frank and Joe suspect Mr. Alden's son, Roger, of being the culprit responsible for sabotaging the racing cars.  Roger is quite rude to the Hardys, but I feel that they are way too rude in return and that they make the situation much worse.  I don't feel that they need to be quite as rude as they are, and I find it a bit disgraceful.

On page 95, the boys learn that the stolen racehorse might be in Maryland.  Joe exclaims, "That's a coincidence.  Aunt Gertrude's stable is located there."  It's not a coincidence; it's by design.  Joe should know that.

I enjoyed this story.  Some parts are a little weird, and the ending is way too coincidental.  Chet and then the troopers show up at the perfect moment, so the criminals get captured.  Even though this story has flaws, I like it better than the original text.

In the revised text of Hardy Boys #16, A Figure in Hiding, the boys investigate just as many random events as in the original text.  In both stories, the title of the book has nothing to do with anything.  The phrase is included in the text several times in a lame attempt to make the title mean something.

I don't think this story is an improvement over the original.  The story is too complicated with too many characters and too much going on.  Too much information is thrown at the reader and very little of it is compelling.

I would have liked more time spent at the health resort, since that part of the story interested me.  If that part had been expanded quite a bit with the Hardys investigating undercover, this book could have been outstanding.  I love undercover work of that type.  Instead, the revised text is just as mediocre as the original text.

In the revised text of Hardy Boys #17, The Secret Warning, the Hardys search for a missing golden Pharaoh's head.  Their search takes them to Whalebone Island, where the ship sank that was carrying the golden head. 

The author throws in a sly reference to Syndicate author Andrew Svenson by naming a ship Svenson.

This story is a huge improvement over the original text, which bored me from start to finish.  I love the setting around Whalebone Island and the boys' explorations.  I greatly enjoyed this story.