Power Boys #5 Double Kidnapping and #6 Vanishing Lady

In the Power Boys #5, The Mystery of the Double Kidnapping, Mr. Power and the boys are in New York City.  Jack just happens to look like the son of a millionaire and gets kidnapped and held for ransom by accident.  Jack escapes, but in the meantime, Chip gets into trouble with one of the crooks and gets kidnapped.

Page 29 has a good example of how descriptive the Power Boys books are.

Outside, the sun burned down.  It was hot.  The weatherman had predicted rain by evening, but it did not look like rain now.  The sky was clear and the sun was a ball of fire.  Blaze strained at the leash as they walked easterly.

The streets were quiet and deserted.

I almost feel like I'm learning how to read.

From page 143:

Jack burst into laughter, then shrugged.  Chip had been through a terrific ordeal.  Why argue?

Thank you so much.  Unfortunately, the boys have a mild argument by the very next page.  Sigh.

I enjoyed this book at least as much as the third book, The Mystery of the Burning Ocean.  As with that book, it could have been written better but is a good story.

In the Power Boys #6, The Mystery of the Vanishing Lady, Jack and Chip become acquainted with elderly Mrs. Brockton when Mr. Power takes her portrait.  The next day, Jack and Chip go to Mrs. Brockton's home to deliver the proofs.  As soon as Jack enters the home, the lights are switched off, and someone struggles with him.  When the lights come back on, Jack is accused of stealing a valuable diamond ring from Mrs. Brockton's niece.

The boys don't seem to argue in this book.  If they do, it is so little that it is not memorable. 

This is an engaging story, and the culprit is not obvious.  There are several key suspects, but the reader can't tell who will turn out to be guilty, which makes this book a very good mystery.  I consider it the best title in the series, mainly because nearly all of the qualities that make the other books annoying are missing from this book.  It's like Mel Lyle finally got it right on the sixth try.

This is how I rank the books in the Power Boys series from best to worst:  #6, 5, 3, 4, 1, and 2.  #1 and 2 are the weakest two books.  I rank #2 the worst because the story is so disjointed and random.  #1 flows better, although it is just as weak.  I didn't care for #4, even though some readers might see it as one of the better books.  #3 is kind of weak, but the story flows well, so I rank it in the top half.  #5 and #6 are the best two books.

Issue No. 17 of The Mystery & Adventure Series Review has an article about the Power Boys series titled "The Case of the Counterfeit Series."  The article suggests that Mel Lyle read some Troy Nesbit and Ken Holt books and used them as idea sources for the second half of the series.  One Power Boys book does have a scene with a newspaper reporter that is similar to a scene from one of the Ken Holt books.  Most striking, perhaps, is that the reporter is named Ken.  The fourth Power Boys book is similar to one of the Troy Nesbit books. 

It does appear that the author did get ideas from other books, and perhaps that is why the second half of the series is better.  Whatever happened, the later Power Boys books are much better than the first few.

Power Boys #4 The Mystery of the Million-Dollar Penny

In the Power Boys #4, The Mystery of the Million-Dollar Penny, Mr. Power and his sons are hiking in Missouri when they spot a plane in trouble.  The plane crashes, but nobody is in the plane!  Later, the boys meet the man who was flying the plane.  He ends up staying at the same farmhouse as Mr. Power and the boys.  Two other men join them, then Mr. Power has to leave on business so that the boys can run wild and torment the others in the farmhouse.

That's not exactly what happens, but it might as well be.  In this story, the author breaks a basic rule in series books.  The boys slip warning notes under the doors of their suspects, hoping to intimidate them.  No, no!  The villains are the ones who are supposed to give the sleuths warning notes so that the sleuths have clues to follow.  While it might be more logical for children to play around with warning notes, that's not how series books work.  The grown men are supposed to give warning notes to the intrepid sleuths.  Yeah.

We finally learn that Chip is 15, two years younger than Jack.  I assumed that Chip was probably a couple of years younger as I read the first couple of books, mainly because of his behavior.  Of course, Jack has not been much more mature.

The arguing between Jack and Chip has increased again.  There were a few times when I wanted to slap both of them.

This story is a bit convoluted.  I found that the further into the story I got, the less I cared.  I enjoyed this story less than I did the third book.  I probably didn't enjoy it anymore than I did the first two books.

By this point, you might be wondering why I am reading these books.  Believe me, I've already been asking myself that very question.

Strangely, I'm enjoying these books because they fall into the category of a book that is so bad that it's kind of good.  These books remind me of the higher-numbered Nancy Drew books from the original 56, many of which are so bad that they are entertaining for that very reason.  The Power Boys books are fun in a quirky fashion.

Power Boys #3 The Mystery of the Burning Ocean

Mr. Power and the boys are in the Bahamas enjoying a vacation.  Jack and Chip help an injured man on the beach, and a short time later find the guest house owner tied up in her office.  Mrs. Wilson does not want the police told; she is certain that she will lose business if anyone hears about the trouble.  Jack and Chip are intrigued and glad when Mr. Power has to leave on an assignment.

Whew!  Those lucky boys.  They manage to get rid of dad so easily at the start of each book.

So that you won't be kept in suspense, the title of this book is about... nothing.  There is no "burning ocean."  The book is named for a single paragraph in the book that has nothing to do with the plot. 

In Chapter 4, the boys actually have a coherent discussion that lasts for several pages without them yelling at each other or taking great offense over nothing.  Perhaps the boys have taken some medication for their mood disorders.  Maybe there is hope for them.

On page 75, "Chip looked at Jack.  It was plain he didn't again want to say something of which his older brother would disapprove.  He was leaving it up to Jack to answer."  Wow, I'm speechless.  Since when does Chip care what Jack thinks?  This is so normal and so refreshing. 

Throughout most of the book, the fighting between Jack and Chip is greatly toned down.  Either this book has a different author, or the author was told to tone it down.  Towards the end of the book, the boys seem to argue more, but the arguing isn't nearly as annoying or significant as the arguing in the first two books.

I don't know what happened, but this book actually has a decent story and is an improvement over the first two books.  The book could have been written better and does have flaws, but in spite of that, the story is enjoyable.  I will continue to the fourth book. 

Power Boys #2 The Mystery of the Flying Skeleton

Jack, Chip, and their father are heading to Key West so that Mr. Power can photograph the International Conference.  As the group prepares to board a plane, it blows up!  Mr. Power decides that the delegates were being targeted and that Key West is too dangerous for the boys.  He rents the boys a motel room and has them stay behind.  Quickly, the boys find a mystery.

Since Indians were featured so prominently in the first book, I expected one to jump out of the hangar on page one of this book.  Alas, no Indians appeared.

Both this book and the previous one get rid of dear old dad by having him go somewhere on business so that the boys can sleuth on their own.  At least the boys sort of sleuth; they fight more than anything else.  On pages 34 and 35, the boys overhear the suspected villains in the adjacent motel room and then hear them leave the room.  Any other pair of series sleuths would have managed to pursue the villains or at minimum have had a coherent discussion about what had transpired.  But these geniuses?

The boys remained motionless for a long moment.  Chip was the first to snap into action.  He switched on an overhead light.  Jack lunged for the switch and switched off the light.

"Are you crazy?" Jack demanded.  "You want them to know that we think they are—"

"I want to get my clothes on," his brother snapped.  "Let go!  We're wasting time.  We'll lose their trail.  Let go—"

They wrestled in the darkness—Jack holding on, Chip trying to break free.  Blaze halted the wrestling match by barking.  Both Jack and Chip turned to quiet him.

"What a good job you did," Chip snapped at Jack.  "Great!  We had a chance to follow them—"

I have about decided that both boys have a mood disorder, perhaps several of them.  They have some serious problems.  The boys don't even get along well with other people.  They meet a boy named Matt, and pretty soon, Chip is telling him off for something he plans to do, something that should be none of Chip's concern. 

This story is disjointed with seemingly random events.  Of course, every random event is somehow part of the mystery, although the reader is never quite sure exactly what the mystery is.  Somehow the randomness fits together with a rough end result.  I enjoyed this story less than the first book but still enough that I will continue to the third book.  I have read far worse books, and I am interested enough in these two screwed-up boys to want to see what happens to them.

Power Boys #1 The Mystery of the Haunted Skyscraper

In the Power Boys #1, The Haunted Skyscraper, Mr. Power and his two teenage sons, Jack and Chip, arrive at their sublet apartment.  As soon as they arrive, a boy asks for their help with a mystery, thinking that Mr. Power is the private detective who owns the apartment.  Once the boy leaves, Mrs. Marsh arrives, wanting help with the poltergeists in her apartment.  Mr. Power has to travel to California to photograph a fire, leaving the boys alone in the apartment.  They decide to work on both mysteries.

This book is full of great lines.  On pages 27 and 28, the boys are threatened by a man whose face looks like a "grotesque mask."  Chip decides that the man must be the poltergeist.  Jack asks him why he would be involved in something like that, and Chip replies, "With a face like his, does he need a motive?" 

On page 32, Jack wants to be cautious before the boys get themselves in trouble.  Chip parries with "Why wait?  A mess is a mess no matter when you get into it."

We are told on page 38 that teenagers who have problems with aggression can often act out their aggression in the form of poltergeist activity.  This is presented as fact.  Somehow, I don't think that kind of statement would have made it into a Grosset and Dunlap book.

The cover art of this book makes the boys seem very young.  Jack is 17, and I'm guessing that Chip isn't much younger.  The cover shows two boys who look to be middle school age or younger.  The cover shows the red-haired boy as smaller, yet Jack has red hair and is the one who is older and taller.  The cover art does depict the boys accurately by how mature they act in the stories.  The boys come across as bratty and immature.

The boys quarrel constantly.  It's really a bit odd and unnecessary.  Here's an example from page 163.

"We still don't know," Chip said, "how we're going to get by that watchman."

"He can't be everyplace at once," Jack said irritably.  "I thought I told you that."

"He seemed like a lively character, that's all I know."

They talk like that to each other during the entire book, almost never getting along.

On page 67, the boys are amazed to see Indians on the construction job.  Oh, wow.  Seeing an Indian must be even more bizarre than seeing a horde of Centrovians in River Heights.  Boys, there are Indians in North America.  Get a grip.  They won't hurt you.

Later, Chip again expresses amazement about the Indians, and Jack informs him that Indians are suited for construction work.  The Indians get mentioned yet again, and this time we learn that the Indians are the only ones who will work at the top of the skyscraper because they are not afraid of heights.  While true that Indians traditionally worked on skyscrapers, the part about them not being afraid is a myth.

This is a quick and easy book to read, simplistic and nothing special.  I wish that the story had greater detail.  Near the end of the book, the boys were on the top of the skyscraper after dark in a thunderstorm.  It was not until after I finished the book that I realized how truly scary that situation could have been.  It was a little scary, but the author wrote the scene in a non-descriptive straightforward fashion that expressed little feeling.  Even though the book could have been written better, I found it interesting and enjoyed it enough to continue to the second book in the series.