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13: Bound for Danger – 11/16
For Sale: Paperback – Hardcover – Kindle
Brother detectives Frank and Joe face perils in the wilderness as they try to track down their missing teacher in this thrilling Hardy Boys adventure.
As part of a research unit, Bayport High’s Green Environment Conservation Club (GECO) is taking a field trip-camping on nearby Black Bear Mountain, where the students will help field biologist Dr. Max Kroopnik investigate local flora. Frank’s there to geek out about nature while Joe’s along for the thrills. Not only does Black Bear Mountain live up to its name-the fierce furry animals are everywhere-but rumor has it that a madman lurks in the forest, and the crazy dude has a penchant for feasting on human flesh. The Hardys scoff at the urban legend, but the rest of their class isn’t so convinced.
When the campers wake up, however, not only do they find a bear roaming the campsite, but their teacher is missing.and blood is streaked across the front of his tent. The GECOs are stranded alone in the wilderness with no technology, no way to call for help, and, quite possibly, a madman on the loose.
Luckily, Frank and Joe have a good amount of survival skills under their belt. But when they venture in search of their teacher, they find themselves hunted by a mysterious axe-wielding man in face paint and bearskins, falling into dangerous rapids, and perched on the edge of a precarious waterfall. Will the Hardys be able to find their teacher and make it back to the campsite alive?

14: Attack of the Bayport Beast – 02/17
For Sale: Paperback – Hardcover – Kindle
Brother detectives Frank and Joe come face to face with a sasquatch in the fourteenth book in the thrilling Hardy Boys Adventures series.
The legend of the Bayport Beast has haunted the town for almost a century. Each summer brings rumors of a gigantic sasquatch creature roaming the nearby woods.
However, this summer brings more sightings than usual, causing all kinds of people to flock to town, including a few UFO enthusiasts who are convinced the beast could be some kind of stranded alien. More than that, the sightings cause a media blitz!
Frank and Joe have never believed in the Bayport Beast, but when Frank catches a glimpse of a furry creature running through the woods, he changes his mind fast. And when reports surface of the beast attacking people-including a few friends-the Hardy brothers are on the case!
After Frank and Joe are cornered by not one but three fearsome creatures, they have to wonder: is the Bayport Beast real after all? And is it multiplying?

4: Talent Show Tricks – 12/16
For Sale: Paperback – Hardcover – Kindle
Illustrated by Matt David
Detective brothers Frank and Joe must figure out who is sabotaging their school talent show in the fourth book in an all-new, interactive Hardy Boys chapter book mystery series.
Frank and Joe Hardy are excited to compete in the annual Bayport Elementary Talent Show. Frank is going to work behind the scenes, and Joe wants to show off his sweet juggling skills.
But during the first rehearsal, strange things start to happen-their friend’s trumpet is filled with bubbles, someone’s backing track is switched to croaking frogs, and a strategically placed batch of hair dye gives one of their classmates a bad hair day to remember. Can Frank and Joe figure out how to stop the pranks before the curtain falls early on the show?

5: Scavenger Hunt Heist – 04/17
For Sale: Paperback – Hardcover – Kindle
Illustrated by Matt David
Detective brothers Frank and Joe must solve another intriguing mystery in the fifth book in the interactive Hardy Boys Clue Book series.
Frank and Joe are excited for the class trip to Bayport Bear Park. When they arrive, the entire class is greeted with a beautiful sight: a pile of prizes and goodies in the middle of the room! Their guide, Marnie, explains that they will be split into teams to complete a scavenger hunt through the park. Whoever solves the clues the fastest will win all of the prizes.
But after they come back from solving the first few clues, the entire pile of prizes has been destroyed, with half of the loot completely missing! Can Frank and Joe figure out who the Treat Thief is and save the trip?

Hardys In Review
What Happened At Midnight

(original text)

Review by Robert Finnan

The Plot: Bayport’s got one of those new-fangled Automats and Chet Morton (who else?) brings the Boys and the rest of the gang down to sample its culinary treats. The lads engage in some “innocent” horseplay with some farmboys from Crabb Corners and Joe stumbles into a large, blond man (Chris) who becomes enraged and makes a scene that the manager of the Automat is forced to break up. Shortly thereafter, more “innocent” horseplay with the same farmboys causes Joe to stumble into the same guy again, causing him to drop his package, which breaks open in the gutter. Doubly enraged now, the man threatens Joe and only the intervention of Frank prevents a nasty street brawl.

That night, the Boys and the rest of the gang attend a party at the Morton farm. Joe and Iola go for a stroll and, at the stroke of midnight, Joe gets abducted! Their chums suspect a practical joke by the Crabb Corners crew, Frank doesn’t agree and they conduct a search. When Joe doesn’t turn up by the next morning, Frank is forced to tell his mother. He then spends the next few chapters hunting for Joe until Aunt Gertrude shows up for a chapter and a half of almost unneccesary and time wasting ranting.

The old bat does drop a couple of clues however and Frank dashes out of the house to round up the gang and go searching for Joe. They spend a couple of chapters sailing the Sleuth around the caves near Barmet Bay, getting caught in a sudden fog and almost run into by a tug boat, until they find Joe stashed away in a secluded cave. They make an escape with the kidnappers in hot pursuit. As the bad guys hurl boulders and take pot-shots at them, the Boys and the gang sail away in the Sleuth. The end — hey wait a minute! It’s only Chapter 11!

Joe explains that his kidnapper was the big blond guy, Chris, who is involved with a gang of diamond smugglers. Seems that Chris had thought that Joe had seen the smuggled diamonds he dropped in the street back in Chapter 2 and so kidnapped Joe to keep him from going to the cops.

The next day, Joe is feeling better and they begin to tail Chris, following him all the way to New York City. There they discover that Chris is a member of the notorious Taffy Marr smuggling gang. They have a few adventures in the Big Apple, culminating with Joe having his pocket picked, forcing them to hitchhike all the way back to Bayport!
On their way back, they wash dishes for breakfast at a greasy spoon and manage to get a ride with a couple of Justice Department investigators. Amazingly enough, the investigators are not only going to Bayport but they are also investing the Taffy Marr gang and give the Boys the lowdown on the gang.

Back in Bayport, the Boys deduce that the new clerk at the jewelry store is none other than Taffy Marr in disguise! They tail him to the airport, where he charters a private plane. Due to the connections they made there in the last story (The Great Airport Mystery), the Boys are able to get a pilot and plane in short order and begin chasing Marr. Taking a page from just about any Ted Scott story, the plane not only runs into fog but the engine conks out, forcing all aboard to bail out!

Well, it’s back to Bayport again, where, the next day, they get a report that Taffy Marr has been spotted in town. Hooking up with the two Justice Department investigators, they chase Marr out along the Shore Road (in a violent rain storm, naturally!). Marr has hooked up with some of his gang members and a battle ensues. The bad guys are captured of course and the Boys get to split yet another reward. The next evening, there is a small celebration for the Boys at the Morton farm and all the loose ends are tied up. The End.

Comments: Leslie McFarlane seems to be pandering to his audience here. The “innocent horseplay” that is so glibly dismissed as youthful hijinks in the first two chapters is only slightly short of criminal behavior and certainly is not what we expect of our heroes or their chums.

And how about that party at Chet’s for 15 to 17 year olds that goes on until 2 AM, complete with orchestra and in the middle of the greatest economic depression in the country’s history?

For another thing, Aunt Gertrude is at her obnoxious, overbearing worst in this story. For whatever other faults the villain Chris may have had, one can only admire his audacity for standing up to the old hag. Just once I’d like to see perennial jellyfish Laura Hardy get enough gumption to stand up to Gertie and say something along the lines of “Gertrude, you old battle axe, this is my house and these are my boys, so kindly shut up and mind your own business if you wish to continue sponging off us!” but, alas, Laura has never said a word.

Another odd thing is the complete absence of Fenton, who is out west on a case. Not a word from him or to him, even when Joe is kidnapped! I kept expecting him to show up and somehow tie his current case into the plot but he never did. Instead, those two dopey government agents show up for the climax. It would have been just as easy to tie Fenton into the plot, so why use those two dopes at all?

Those of you interested in the “Where’s Bayport?” question can find some info on that here. It’s clearly stated that NYC is about 200 miles from Bayport, although in which direction is unclear.

We also discover another Hardy relative, a “Cousin Hattie” of Gresham. Just who she is related to is open for speculation but it is Gertie who refers to her as cousin. We also learn the Gertie is 65 years of age, which has to make her Fenton’s elder, if not eldest, sister.

The one part of the story I particularly enjoyed was the Boys’ trip to the city. Their adventures there are plausible and well written. The recounting of their trek back to Bayport (sleeping in Central Park, taking trollies etc.) lends an air of authenticity to the story.