Hardy Boys #16 Figure in Hiding and #17 Secret Warning

In the original text of Hardy Boys #16, A Figure in Hiding, Frank and Joe witness a robbery at the Rialto Theater.  Next, Fenton Hardy requests their assistance in a case involving Dr. Grafton, who is believed to be a fake doctor who operates on people with bad eyesight.  That case leads the boys to a girl named Virginia, who tries to kill herself after learning that the man believed to be her father is not her real father.  Later, Chet is arrested for the theater robbery, so the Hardys must prove his innocence.

And of course, all of these seemingly random events are ultimately connected in a series of bizarre coincidences, making this a strange and convoluted story.  I won't mention the craziest coincidences since they spoil parts of the plot, but those coincidences are too implausible to be even slightly believable.

I thought it rather concerning that the Hardy boys are not worried about a fake doctor operating on a man's eyes.  They are content to witness the operation with no concern.  If the fake doctor had gone through with the operation, the patient could have been blinded.

I enjoyed some parts of this book, but I also struggled with other parts. 

In Hardy Boys #17, The Secret Warning, Frank and Joe meet a diver, Roland Perry, who falls in the water and then borrows one of Fenton Hardy's suits.  The boys learn that valuable notes were in the suit, so they go after Perry, who then invites the boys to watch him dive for a lost ship.  Two men stalk the Hardys and try to sabotage the diving operation.

I found it quite unbelievable that the boys are allowed to dive with no training whatsoever.  Other series books emphasize diving safety and have the characters go through training before going on a dive.  Not these boys!  They are ready to go with little knowledge.

I noticed that Chet's behavior has changed.  He is not interested at all in helping Frank and Joe solve mysteries.  I thought he had more interest in the earlier books.  Not only that, but other things seemed off to me.  The author was different for this book.  The series is in transition during this and subsequent volumes.

I did not enjoy this book.

Hardy Boys #14 Hidden Harbor and #15 Sinister Sign Post

In the original text of Hardy Boys #14, The Hidden Harbor Mystery, the Hardy boys and Chet barely survive a sinking ship while sailing home along the east coast.  Before the accident with the ship, the boys speak to Mr. Blackstone, who later accuses them of stealing his money.  The boys must clear themselves of the charge.

This book was outlined by Edna Stratemeyer Squier, and the story has her fingerprints all over it.  The entire plot is crazy from start to finish.  A group of black men has a secret society, and they kidnap an insane man.  A bunch of people later search for the insane man, planning to lynch him.  Yikes.

Speaking of lynching, the culprit leaves the boys a warning note attached to a rope, threatening to lynch them.  Chapter 23 is titled " 'Lynch Him!' "

This is a wild book.  The boys get on a derelict boat, which is highly dangerous.  Later, Frank steals some personal papers from a man and takes them to his father.  We are talking about actual theft.

I actually enjoy crazy books, if they interest me.  This book highly interested me, and I greatly enjoyed it.

In the original text of Hardy Boys #15, The Sinister Sign Post, a man named Vilnoff plans to blow up Bayport.  Meanwhile, a valuable racehorse is stolen, and the boys search for it.

On page 175, the Hardy boys are following a path that they believe will lead to the villain.  They hear noises from behind them, which indicates that someone is following them.  Suddenly, they discover a trapdoor in the middle of the path.  Joe suggests, "Maybe we could hide here until they pass."  Frank yanks the door open, and a foreigner hurls angry words at the boys.  What did they think would happen? 

I greatly enjoyed most of the story, but I felt it got rather stupid towards the end, so I lost interest.

Nancy Drew Auction Results for Books with Blank Endpapers

I took some screen captures of recent Nancy Drew auctions.  I don't have any particular comments to make.  What sold and for how much should be apparent in the images.  Click on each image to see a larger version.

Hardy Boys #12 Footprints Under the Window and #13 Mark on the Door

In the original text of Hardy Boys #12, Footprints Under the Window, the Hardy boys learn that the owner of their laundromat has disappeared and has been replaced by a sinister Chinaman.  Soon, the boys see Chinamen here, there, and everywhere.  They sneak into the Hardys' house, and they get into brawls down on the dock.  They have taken over Bayport just like the Centrovians did to River Heights in the Nancy Drew book, The Scarlet Slipper Mystery. 

It doesn't help that the Chinese are called "Chinamen," which is now an offensive term.  Every time another Chinaman showed up, I got annoyed.  They were everywhere!

Mr. and Mrs. Hardy got back from a trip right at the end of the last book, and at the beginning of this book, they are back on another trip.  What's up with that?

I could not stand this book, and I ended up skimming most of it.

I detected a change in story quality beginning with #10, and that book was the first one outlined by Edna Stratemeyer Squier.  Edna typically came up with crazy story ideas, and she outdid herself with Footprints Under the Window.

In the original text of Hardy Boys #13, The Mark on the Door, the Hardys travel to Mexico to find a missing witness, Elmer Tremmer, who can provide evidence that will bring a fake oil company to justice.

On page 169, Tremmer refuses to return to the United States with the Hardys.  He believes that he will be arrested and prosecuted for being part of the fake oil company.  The boys are "aggravated by his stupidity."  I disagree.  The boys are wrong to judge Tremmer.  I can see where Tremmer would be worried, and his logic makes sense to me.  For all Tremmer knows, he would be arrested for aiding the criminals.

A Yaqui Indian guides the boys while they trek around the Mexican countryside.  The Yaqui tells the boys to call him "Yaqui."  I mean, really.

The villain has a habit of branding the letter "P" on people's foreheads.  This is a bit gruesome.

I greatly enjoyed the book, and it was a relief to read it after the torture of the previous book.

Books Read in 2015

I read 231 books in 2015.  This is a list of what I read and in the order I read them.  I have also included a rough timeline of when I read them.

January:

Ken Holt #1-18
Hal Goodwin, Feathered Cape
Nancy Drew Diaries #8

February:

5 Brains Benton by Charles Morgan
Roger Baxter #1-3
John Bellairs, The House with a Clock in Its Walls
John Bellairs, The Figure in the Shadows
Louise Dickenson Rich, Star Island
Lovecraft Middle School #1-4
Magic Repair Shop #1-3

February/March:

Troy Nesbit, Sand Dune Pony
Troy Nesbit, Jinx of Payrock Canyon
Troy Nesbit, Indian Mummy Mystery
Troy Nesbit, Rustlers' Fort
Troy Nesbit, Diamond Cave
Troy Nesbit, Forest Fire
Franklin Folsom, Hidden Ruin
Franklin Folsom, Search in the Desert
Neal Shusterman, Unwholly
Neal Shusterman, Unsouled
Neal Shusterman, Undivided
Ted Wilford #14 SS Shamrock Mystery
3 Brandon Mull Five Kingdoms

April/May:

Cherry Ames #1-27
Biff Brewster #2-13

June:

Tom Quest #1-8
Nancy Drew Diaries #9
Sandy Steele #1-6
Mill Creek Irregulars #1-10

July/August/September:

August Derleth, Beast in Holger's Woods
Ted Wilford #15 Greenhouse Mystery
Brad Forrest #1-8
Secret Circle #1-11
Phyllis Whitney, Secret of the Spotted Shell
Ted Wilford #2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13
Phyllis Whitney, Mystery of the Gulls
Phyllis Whitney, Linda's Homecoming
Phyllis Whitney, Mystery of the Strange Traveler
Phyllis Whitney, Black Diamonds
Phyllis Whitney, Isle of Skye
Phyllis Whitney, Green Cat
Phyllis Whitney, Samurai Sword
Phyllis Whitney, Haunted Pool
Phyllis Whitney, Tiger's Eye
Phyllis Whitney, Golden Horn
Phyllis Whitney, Hidden Hand
Phyllis Whitney, Emerald Star
Phyllis Whitney, Angry Idol
Phyllis Whitney, Goblin Glen
Phyllis Whitney, Crimson Ghost
Phyllis Whitney, Missing Footprint
Phyllis Whitney, Vanishing Scarecrow
Phyllis Whitney, Scowling Boy
Phyllis Whitney, Haunted Mesa
Phyllis Whitney, Stone Face

October:

Teen Witch #1-4
Nancy Drew Diaries #10
Bret King #1-6
Canby Hall #1
Bret King #7-9

November/December:

Hardy Boys #1-11
Demitria Lunetta, In the After
Demitria Lunetta, In the End
Scott Cramer, Night of the Purple Moon
Alexandra Moody, Tainted
Hardy Boys #12-45

Some books stood out as excellent or outstanding books that I enjoyed far more than the average book.  The following books fit that category.

Ken Holt, Clue of the Phantom Car
5 Brains Benton by Charles Morgan
Roger Baxter #1-3
Magic Repair Shop #1-3
Troy Nesbit, Rustlers' Fort
Troy Nesbit, Diamond Cave
Troy Nesbit, Forest Fire
Franklin Folsom, Search in the Desert
Neal Shusterman, Undivided
Biff Brewster, Alaska Ghost Glacier
Sandy Steele, Fire at Red Lake
Mill Creek Irregulars, Watcher on the Heights
Hardy Boys, Hidden Harbor
Hardy Boys, Yellow Feather
Hardy Boys, Screeching Owl

There are also some books that come to mind as ones that I enjoyed the least.  I usually had to skim large portions of these books in order to get through them.

A large number of the Cherry Ames books
Both John Bellairs books
Sandy Steele, Black Treasure
Phyllis Whitney, Mystery of the Strange Traveler
Phyllis Whitney, Isle of Skye
Phyllis Whitney, Golden Horn
Phyllis Whitney, Hidden Hand
Phyllis Whitney, Vanishing Scarecrow
Hardy Boys, Footprints Under the Window
Hardy Boys, The Twisted Claw
Hardy Boys, Skull Mountain
Hardy Boys, Viking Symbol
Hardy Boys, Haunted Fort

The only books I had read before 2015 are Ken Holt #1-18, Unwholly, Unsouled, Five Kingdoms #1-2, and at least 41 of the Hardy Boys books.  So, around 63 books were repeats, and around 168 books were read for the first time.

Hardy Boys #10 What Happened at Midnight and #11 While the Clock Ticked

In the original text of Hardy Boys #10, What Happened at Midnight, the Hardy boys have an unpleasant encounter with a man in Bayport.  The man carries a grudge, and later, he kidnaps Joe. 

I have always remembered the scuffle in the automat at the beginning of this book.  The Hardy boys behave in a terrible fashion, and the owner of the automat is willing to ignore it since he feels that their actions are "harmless mischief."  If I had a business and young ruffians were creating a disturbance that affects other customers, I wouldn't be willing to put up with it.

Chet has a party, and waxed planks are placed across the lawn to create a dance floor.  That lawn must have been especially flat.

What a strange coincidence for the Hardy Boys to meet two government investigators while hitchhiking back from New York, and the two investigators just happen to be working on the same case.

I did not enjoy the last half of the book very much.  I did greatly enjoy the first half.

In the original text of Hardy Boys #11, While the Clock Ticked, Mr. Dalrymple wants Fenton Hardy to investigate who is somehow gaining entry to a locked room and leaving death threats.  Since Fenton Hardy is out of town, Mr. Dalrymple reluctantly agrees to let the Hardy boys work on the case.

This story is strange.  It annoyed me the way the Hardy boys' friends keep preventing them from investigating.

When the boys go with Dalrymple to check on the secret room for the first time, I thought it was odd that they don't search the house.  They finally search the house on their second visit, discovering stolen goods.

The culprit, who is insane, is fatally injured near the end of the story.  As soon as he is injured, his mind clears up and he admits that he had been crazy.  Right...

This story is not believable, and I didn't like it very much.

Books Purchased in 2015

I completed a number of sets of books this year, and I also read most of them before the end of the year.  As always, click on each image to see a larger version.

Complete Set of Troy Nesbit/Franklin Folsom Books

Complete Set of Tom Quest Books

Complete Set of the Mill Creek Irregulars Series

Complete Set of Sandy Steele Books

Complete Set of Brad Forrest Books

Complete Set of the Secret Circle Mysteries

Partial Set of the Ted Wilford Series

Complete Set of the Bret King Series

Complete Set of the Girls of Canby Hall Series

I already owned the complete set of Biff Brewster books, but this year I upgraded all of my bare tweed books to books with dust jackets.

Complete Set of the Biff Brewster Series

I read the Rick Brant series late last year and loved them so much that I wanted to own original copies of all 24 books.  I upgraded my reprint of #23 to the original edition and purchased the original edition of #22.  I also saw a Buy It Now for #24 that was priced at the lowest anybody would probably ever be willing to ask for it.  #24 was high, certainly, but it was at the lowest one would be priced and far less than what the seller asked for his second copy after I purchased mine.  The second copy was priced at about double the price I paid and also sold quickly.

Rick Brant #22, 23, and 24

If you have always been a girls' series fan like me and don't think you would ever like Rick Brant, please try at least one book to make sure.  I never thought I would like Rick Brant and had sold all the copies I had found over the years.  I found almost a complete set in the summer of 2014 and tried the first book.  I was surprised about how much I enjoyed it.  Never assume you won't like a series without making sure first.

The following two photos show four different library editions I purchased that fall into the "scarce and unusual" category, ones that seldom come up for sale.

Nancy Drew and Dana Girls Library Editions

Nancy Drew and Dana Girls Library Editions

I found a copy of Tom Swift #33 locally.  This is the second one I have ever found.  The first one was in 1998.

Tom Swift #33

Just last week I found the Hardy Boys Twisted Claw picture cover with the Nancy Drew list on the back cover.  I also found one back in around 1999.

Hardy Boys Twisted Claw with Nancy Drew Titles

It is interesting to find two different scarce books within a few months of each other, and the last time I found a copy of either book was during the late 1990s.

Hardy Boys #8 Cabin Island and #9 Great Airport Mystery

In the original text of Hardy Boys #8, The Mystery of Cabin Island, the Hardy boys rent a cabin on Cabin Island.  They plan to spend the Christmas holidays in the cabin.  During their stay, prowlers show up on the island, and some of the boys' supplies are stolen.  Soon, the boys suspect that something valuable is hidden on the island.

This story has some coincidence but not the crazy unbelievable type.  The events are mainly cause and effect, which makes for a better story.

This book is good all the way through and is an excellent read.

In the original text of Hardy Boys #9, The Great Airport Mystery, the Hardy boys are nearly run off the road by Giles Ducroy, a drunk mail pilot.  Ducroy blames the boys for the mishap, and Ducroy later frames them for the theft of valuable mail.

I have never liked the scene where Ducroy nearly crashes into the Hardy boys' vehicle.  The plane flies up behind the boys, gaining on them as it attempts to land.  Frank speeds up to try to keep ahead of the plane, which is a losing proposition.  I have always felt that Frank should have run off the road into the ditch instead of trying to keep ahead of the plane.  

In The Secret of the Caves, Toddham Todd uses what is referred to as an unusual expression, "by jing."  If "by jing" is so unusual, then why does a farmer use it on page 18 of The Great Airport Mystery?

On page 38, the boys have graduated from high school and plan a picnic with their class.  They reflect that the picnic will be "their last opportunity of being all together."  That's what they think.  In a strange twist of fate, the boys get put right back in high school in the next book, and that's where they stay.

On age 121 we learn that Mr. Hardy "was not at all rich."  Gosh, the Hardys sure act like they have plenty of money.

On page 128, Frank remarks that it "was certainly mighty white" for the men to put up bail for them. I've always known of that expression and its meaning, but I decided to look it up.  Interestingly, many people nowadays think "mighty white" is not racist and is a sarcastic expression, apparently due to its usage in a movie from a few decades ago.  There is absolutely no doubt that in this book that Frank is not being sarcastic and is praising the men by saying that they are "mighty white" for doing the good deed.

This is an excellent and exciting story.

I can't remember exactly what I thought of each particular Hardy Boys book 20 years ago, but I feel like I am enjoying them more this time than I did back then.