The Pentagon Spy

The Hardy Boys #61

by Franklin W. Dixon

First valuable antique weather vanes are stolen in Pennsylvania Dutch Country and Frank and Joe are hired to catch the thieves. Meanwhile, their father is asked to find a missing Navy employee and a top-secret government document. What is the connection between the missing weather vanes and the Pentagon spy? The final chapters of this thrilling mystery uncover a stunning revelation!

Genres: Mystery, Young Adult, Childrens, Fiction, Adventure, Classics, Crime

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1980

About the author

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.

Reviews

[Leeann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love how this story begins and I love how it also ends. A great mystery that the hardy boys and their dad solve.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was written in 1980, as I was growing up and reading The Hardy Boys like I once had.
I don't care for the illustrations in this one- I miss the style of the older books.
Their dad is working on a case of a spy in The Pentagon, while the boys are looking into stolen valuable antique weathervanes. Part of the story takes place in Amish Country. Chet is around for the first half, but then he leaves the story. (Maybe easier for The Hardy Boys to get in danger 😂)
For me this was as unbelievable as others, but it's still clearly written for kids, with the intent of giving action and a clear cut story.
Fans of The Hardy Boys should have a good time.

[Elizabeth Meadows · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a Nancy Drew reader as a teen and now that I'm in my 50s, I can't honestly remember if I've ever read a Hardy Boys book before. I seem to recall trying one (way back when) and just not being interested enough to complete it. Of course as a teen in the 1970s, I absolutely loved The Hardy Boys tv show starring Shaun Cassidy and Parker Stevenson. I still have my old Shaun Cassidy albums and follow him on Instagram!
But when planning my #MarchMysteryMadness TBR for 2020 with the theme of the number 5, how could I resist reading a book with the word Pentagon in the title. Therefore, I read my first Hardy Boys book.
I'm going to guess that many of the earlier books in the series are preferred over some of the later ones, as is the case in several of these very long running children's series. But is it me, or do Frank and Joe come across as being just a tad bit pretentious? Arguably we could say that about Nancy Drew. Of course teenagers Frank and Joe can drive a car, but in this book they are said to be both "experienced" sailors and pilots. No doubt these are talented youths, but they also have no problem having clearance at the Pentagon and are easily let in on government cases. Really!?! Of course this is children's literature written before 9/11 so I can appreciate it for what it is. I did enjoy the experience of reading it.
However, I did think that the descriptions of their friend Chet and his weight and love of food was too much. I don't think that type of thing would be present in modern children's literature.

[David Allen Hines · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the early paperback Hardy Boys adventures, and one of the better of the many paperback titles. Re-readinfg the 190 Hardy Boys books of my youth, I was stunned to see this book that I remember as a brand-new title years ago, was published 40 years ago! Nonetheless, it has aged well, and it is still a plausible and interesting story. The Hardy Boys are called to Amish country in Lancaster, Pennsylvania to investigate a series of thefts of valuable antique weathervanes. Meanwhile, Mr. Hardy investigates a spy at the Pentagon. As in many Hardy tales, the two cases merge together. This is a fast-paced, very believable story that any fan of the series will enjoy. Many of the later paperbacks aren't very good, but the first two dozen or so published by "Wanderer Books" are mostly very good. Even the cover artwork and pencil drawings inside are excellent, though the style of the Hardys in them now is quite dated! Unlike the later poor quality paperback books that are literally now disintigrating, this early paperback first edition of mine is as good as the day it was made, with no decay of the pages, a tight binding and quality paper. I believe this book was printed later in a hardcover edition also, though I believe both are now out of print. If you enjoy the Hardys though The Pentagon Spy is a good solid read!

[Stacey Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Hardy boys are working to solve two cases at once. One with their father who's trying to find a man who left the Pentagon with some secret papers and disappeared. The other case involves stolen weather vanes from the Pennsylvania Dutch country. The weather vanes are extremely valuable antiques, especially if sold overseas. The case leads the boys from Amish country to a cove where the missing Pentagon thief was last seen. Could the two cases be related? The boys follow the clues to find out. They bring their friend Chet along who bumbles around making problems with his clumsiness. It seems like some characters are out to get the boys and threatening phone calls have them worrying about a hex. But nothing stops them in their quest....they just have to be on their toes the whole time.

[Elena Pousada]

Samantha Marte
Si yo tuviera en una situacion similar a la de los hermanos, Frank y Joe, yo no hiciera lo que ellos hicieron. A ellos le gusta la aventura y ponerses en situaciones peligrosos. Yo soy lo contrario, a mi me gusta quedarme en la casa y descansar, no buscar problema. Entonces en vez de ser una investigadora yo me quedaria tranquila. Tal vez buscaria los veletas que se robaron pero no buscaria problemas con agentes extranjeros porque soy joven y ellos están entrenados para matar. Si se mira esta novela con lógica es muy facil de determinar de no tomar medidas. Claro que es un libro de niños entonces es diferente pero creo que la mejor solucion es quedarse en casa y no involucrarse en cualquier cosa, por lo tanto me quedaria lejos de la problema.

[Nina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Buku pertama seri Hardy Boys yg saya baca, langsung no ini krn memang nemunya buku ini.
.
Walau masih remaja 17-18 tahun, petualangan Frank dan Joe bikin ngeri. Sabotase, time bomb, intentional accidents. Bukan jenis kejahatan kanak-kanak. Meski memang pelakunya siapa saja sudah di-hints. Nah, otaknya yg bukan orang terduga. Motifnya gambling.

[Ethan Hulbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would you ever guess for a second in a Hardy Boys book that the small mystery the boys work on (in this case, weather vane theft) would line up with the big case that Fenton is working on? Who would have guessed??? In any case, although a little predictable, this book gets over the slight slump the Digests started out with and gets back to being enjoyable Hardy fare.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I realize these don't have to be realistic but the amount of coincidences was a bit over the top, even for the Hardy Boys. That said, it was a nice fast read. I want to see a social distance version of the Hardy Boys; I guess they'd have to sit behind a computer and never get in any actual danger. Make sleuthing during a pandemic interesting, I dare you!

[Jaden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well I finally managed to get the next book in the Hardy Boys series after reading the last book (The Hardy Boys Mystery of the Samurai Sword) 4 years ago. The book was really good and I cannot wait to read the next one in the series which I have. And a bunch more Hardy Boy books from the series. Now it's time to get reading.

[John Teske · Rating 3 out of 5]

These stories are not bad, just good ole fashion adventure, maybe a bit dated. The story is nicely interwoven with cultural tidbits.

And would make an excellent game for a d20 Modern campaign. I'm a gamer.

I used to read these stories a lot.

I see they have been reworked and reissued to update content.

Perhaps worth more looking.

[Kyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first Hardy Boys book in over 25 years. Just as quick paced and entertaining as I remember.

[Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little bit of nostalgia as I’m home for the holiday. Picked this one at random from my big ol’ collection of these books. I forgot how rote they are - but dang if they aren’t still such fun reads.

[Marypaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

para cuando estés aburrido.

[Hazel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty cool one, though it felt like nothing happened for a while.

[Amelia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Christine · Rating 2 out of 5]

The "blue cover" Hardy Boys series definitely started going downhill from here. This was one of the few I really didn't enjoy of all the Hardy Boys books I've read.

[Uswati Hasanah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buku yg lahir di tahun 1982, jauh sebelum sy lahir ke duni ini, saya temukan di perpustakaan masjid.
Waktu menunggu sholat isya si kakak.
Awalnya hanya iseng, setelah dibaca jd keterusan. Butuh waktu 3 hari utk menyelesaikannya.

Buku ini bercerita ttg keluarga detektif.
Sang ayah mendapatkan tugas utk menyelidiki kasus hilangnya dokumen AL USA. Mereka mencurigai seorang bernama Hunter. Hunter menghilang setelah membawa dokumen tsb.
Pada saat yg bersamaan, seorang petani bernama Hammerly pun meminta bantuan pak Hardy karena di daerahnya telah banyak kehilangan/tindak pencurian patung arah mata angin. Barang antik tsb menjadi incaran para pencuri.

Lalu siapakah yang telah mencuri dokumen rahasia AL USA?
Siapakah pencuri patung anting arah mata angin?
Apakah keluarga Hardy bisa memecahkan masalah ini?

[Bookish Indulgenges with b00k r3vi3ws · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I first read Hardy Boys, I think I was in class 5, I had such a crush on Frank Hardy. I liked the brainy one over the brawny one and that sums up my first impression of Hardy Boys.
In their late teens, Frank and Joe Hardy take after their detective father Fenton Hardy. Frank is the older of the two and has more breakthroughs in the cases because he is the brainy one. Joe is the younger brother who more often than not is useful when things get hot and they need to fight their way out.
Like Nancy Drew, the books in the The Hardy Boys series re written by ghostwriters under the collective pseudonym Franklin W. Dixon. And yes, the earlier books were better than the latter ones.

[Rick Bavera · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of a fun read.

I didn't read any of the Hardy Boys books when I was growing up, but do remember watching some of the TV series episodes.

I found this book to be "exciting" and good at the intrigue and mystery. I didn't always see things coming with the story line.

My biggest criticism of the story is the way Frank and Joe's friend Chet is described. His talents are archery and eating, it seems. And the author made a point of using some sort of word to describe Chet as being "fat" every time he is in a scene.

I was glad he went home part way through the story to take part in an archery competition. That way, the author could quit telling how "round" Chet was.

[Ayacchi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Karena Hardy Boys ini lebih tua usianya dari Lima Sekawan, bahaya-bahaya yang mengancam pun lebih wow. Kadang saya lupa kalau tantangan seperti itu sudah 'pas' dengan usianya. Nggak heran kalau ayahnya yang detektif rela-rela saja anaknya terjun ke dunia yang sama.

[Uleel]

bagus deh. kalo ga salah, ada adegan memasukkan data lewat tayangan tv yang sepersekian detik.. lupa2 ingat

[Cws]

JMAR5-Dix

[for-much-deliberation ... · Rating 3 out of 5]

Help Frank and Joe and their father detective Fenton Hardy solve two mysteries involving antique weather vanes and a missing Pentagon spy.

[Gale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read in 2005.

[Kolan · Rating 4 out of 5]

read when I was 10 through 13

[Brendan Ford · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read when I was 9 or 10, and absolutely loved it.

[John Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read it years ago. Best Hardy Boys I ever read. Hope to read it to my children.

[Frederick Tan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read.

[Xav · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy, quick, fun read. The action is well paced, so you don't get bored easily and are eager to follow the brothers till the end.