Hardy Boys #185 Wreck and Roll, #186 Hidden Mountain, and #187 No Way Out

In Hardy Boys #185, Wreck and Roll, Vette Smash is a hot new rock group in Bayport.  Phil's girlfriend is a member of the group, and Phil scores backstage passes for Frank and Joe.  Soon after the boys arrive, some of the group's equipment malfunctions.  Frank and Joe suspect that someone is sabotaging the group.

This is another rock band sabotage story.  If this were the very first rock band sabotage story I had ever read, I probably would have found it good.  Since I have variations of this plot several times, I was not interested.

The book is okay but nothing special.

In Hardy Boys #186, Hidden Mountain, Frank and Joe's friend, Darren Wilkerson, is on the run.  He and his family have been forced to leave Bayport since a crime group has discovered where they were living.  The family is part of the Witness Protection Program and must move to Hidden Mountain, where they will stay for the rest of their lives.  Frank and Joe must help them get to their destination.

This is an excellent story all the way through.  The story is thrilling and suspenseful.  The boys have to get some criminals separated from the Wilkerson family, and the task proves to be very difficult.  They match wits mentally, like making chess moves.  There is no physical fighting involved, which is not usually the case in a Hardy Boys book.

It is unusual that two people die in this book.

This book is outstanding.

In Hardy Boys #187, No Way Out, Frank and Joe participate in the grand opening of a maze in Nova Scotia.  When the owner of the maze disappears, the boys take the case.

The ending of the story implies that a ghost really does exist.  Additionally, the mystery is left unfinished.  A treasure is mentioned, but the boys don't look for it or find it, which is quite strange.

While I enjoyed this book, the loose ends make the story unfulfilling.