The Hardy Boys investigate the disappearance of an eighteen-year-old girl suspected of joining a sinister religious cult. A few days later the boys get an offbeat assignment from a comic book publisher: The real life double of his character, Apeman, is turning up everywhere and causing considerable damage! Frank and Joe tackle both cases and uncover an intricate scheme by a clever gang of crooks!
Franklin W. Dixon is the pen name used by a variety of different authors who were part of a team that wrote The Hardy Boys novels for the Stratemeyer Syndicate (now owned by Simon & Schuster). Dixon was also the writer attributed for the Ted Scott Flying Stories series, published by Grosset & Dunlap. Canadian author Leslie McFarlane is believed to have written the first sixteen Hardy Boys books, but worked to a detailed plot and character outline for each story. The outlines are believed to have originated with Edward Stratemeyer, with later books outlined by his daughters Edna C. Squier and Harriet Stratemeyer Adams. Edward and Harriet also edited all books in the series through the mid-1960s. Other writers of the original books include MacFarlane's wife Amy, John Button, Andrew E. Svenson, and Adams herself; most of the outlines were done by Adams and Svenson. A number of other writers and editors were recruited to revise the outlines and update the texts in line with a more modern sensibility, starting in the late 1950s. The principal author for the Ted Scott books was John W. Duffield.
The Apeman's comic book had great success leading to a TV show which the Hardy boys and their friends followed. When a copy cat Apeman is wreaking havoc destroying things and scaring people the Hardy boys try to catch him. Who is the fake Apeman? What is he after? Fenton Hardy is working on a job for the government involving art theft and asks his boys to help on another case involving a missing girl and a cult. But the boys have trouble infiltrating the group....they are too well known and the people on Noah's Ark are onto them. The Apeman is strong and built like a body builder so they go that route to try to figure out who is impersonating the TV Apeman....and find out why. Who has a cross to bear against the TV show? Could the cult, comic book characters and art theft all be connected? The Hardy boys delve into some interesting places to try to solve that mystery.
Padahal sudah punya dari tahun lalu eh tertimbun jadi beli lagi. Ciri khas kisah seri ini adalah adanya dua misteri yang harus dipecahkan. Bisa saja keduanya saling berhubungan, bisa juga tidak. Misteri pertama adalah hilangnya Sue Linwood, diduga ia menjadi anggota kebaktian iman Anak-anak Noah yang aneh. Misteri yang lain, bermunculan Manusia Kera yang berasal dari sebuah komik yang diangkat ke serial TV. Kemunculannya mereahkan banyak pihak.
Jadi apakah kedua misteri tersebut berhubungan? Silakan baca sendiri he he he
2 1/2 stars. A typical story with 2 very different cases that end up overlapping and of course ties in with their dad's case. The ending seemed a bit rushed.
En el Secreto del Hombre Mono, si yo fuera un personaje en el cuento, no hubiera investigado como los chicos hicieron. Los chicos fueron muy bravos e inteligentes con su investigación. Si fuera yo, no creo que habría investigado tan bien como ellos. Hubiera caminado a través de vagabundos, me hubieran atrapado y mucho más. Si tuviera que ser parte de la investigación, no habría llegado tan lejos como lo hicieron los chicos, honestamente me habría rendido, pero los chicos estaban decididos. No habría asumido un papel de liderazgo en la investigación como lo hicieron Frank y Chet, de alguna manera sabían qué hacer y sabían qué era lo mejor. Fueron inteligentes al respecto de la investigación. Probablemente habría detenido la investigación en el momento en que me enteré de la secta sólamente porque no sé mucho sobre las sectas y esas cosas me asustan un poquito, eso es lo que me lleva a decir que los chicos fueron valientes.
Yeah, so I found this in a pile of retreads passed around at work, and I had to look inside. No chance I'll finish it, but it's nice to know the Hardy Boys were still keepin' it real in 1980, holdin' it down for the 1950s, fo'reals. That language is straight thug: "Well I'll be a monkey's uncle!" "Jumpin' Jupiter!" It's all there. At my point of departure, the Boys are "jumped" on an under cover mission by a bunch of white-robe wearing cultists (the Spree?) who squirt them with ketchup and shaving cream as soon as they recognize the "famous sons of Fenton Hardy!" Frank and Joe? Well they do what any self-respecting Hardy would do. They kick the crap out of them in no uncertain terms. Never bring a squirt bottle to a fist fight. Damn them Hardy Boys is street.
Got this book when I was twelve but never got around to reading it until now. I probably would have enjoyed this better as a kid. Gets a bit unbelievable (for me, at this ripe old age) that FBI-related work gets delegated to two teenage boys, who then proceed to rope in help from their school pals.
But that's a review coming from a cynical old woman. Kids may think otherwise. I think I may still enjoy Enid Blyton adventures in which kids solve mysteries in their own way though (not in a pretend-grown-up way, that is). But it was fun seeing the trouble the boys had to go through to contact people in a world without mobile phones. The book would have been much shorter had it been set in this decade.
An eighteen year old girl suspected of joining a religious cult has disappeared, and a comic book publisher seems to have a double character called Apeman.
The hardy's boys are sent on a wild goose chase trying to hunt down a real life comic book character come to life. The apeman is going beserk. How will the hardy's save the day?