The Mystery of the Million-Dollar Penny

A Power Boys Adventure #4

by Mel Lyle

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Genres: Mystery, Childrens

212 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1965

Reviews

[Craig · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Power Boys was a series of six boys' adventures that appeared from Whitman Publishing in the mid-1960's. Grosset & Dunlap had dominated the world of series books for young readers since the end of the 19th century through their affiliation with the Stratemeyer Syndicate, but other companies occasionally launched sorties into the field and The Power Boys were probably one such. The boys are seventeen year old Jack Power and his fifteen year old brother, Chip. Their mother is no longer alive and their father, a freelance photographic journalist, frequently (and conveniently, for the plots!) leaves them on their own while pursuing his career. In this one they're in the U.S. and are trying to help a Kentucky (I think) land-owner and his son open a series of caverns for tourism. There's a silly and hopelessly complicated plot involving Native American treasure and a stolen suitcase with a million dollars in it and a baffling cast of suspects... It's a silly plot with many silly twists and turns that's supposed to tie together with two pennies engraved with a map to the treasure that the thief worked on in the hospital after his helicopter crashed and he hid the suitcase in the caves. It's a fun book for kids nonetheless, I suppose, but didn't engage me nearly me as much as a couple of other books I remember in the series. I'd say it's appropriate for readers a year or two younger than The Hardy Boys or Tom Swift. The cover is exceptionally good, a wrap-around underground scene.

[Melody · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was about as good as the last one.

- Everyone is a suspect and then no they're not and they oh yes they are and then wait no they're not.

- In the end they wander around the cave for what feels like forever. It could have been shortened.

- The police seem to show up randomly. How did they know to come???

- There was a LOT less arguing then in the other books which was very nice.

- When Chip is changing into his pajamas it says he "skinned off his shirt". I love that way of saying it.

This is better than any of the previous books in the serious but still not very good.

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jack Power is seventeen and his brother Chip is fifteen, the ideal age for main characters in adventure fiction for adolescents. It opens with the Power boys hiking in a remote region of the Ozarks and they come across a small airport. It is owned and operated by a man named Clay and the scene is one where pigs and chickens are running free range.
The adventure truly begins when a small plane flies overhead and crashes in the thick brush. The only way to reach the site is by having Clay fly his helicopter. They rescue the pilot and transport him to the nearest hospital. The name of the injured man is Lewis and he is one of a small group of men involved in a million dollar stolen treasure. There is a cave nearby with the associated legend that perhaps the Jesse James gang had hidden some of their loot there.
Other men arrive that may or may not be what they claim to be. With their friend Eddie, the Power boys do what adventurous boys of their age do. They look for and attempt to create clues that will help them solve the mystery. The main clue is scratched on a rare, old penny. However, it is the treasure that is worth a million dollars, not the penny.
The adventure is constructed following the bounds of such adventures. The Power boys are in danger, but not the kind created by ruthless adversaries. There is a base resolution where all questions are answered regarding the villains, heroes and simple bystanders.

[Robert Schneider · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book started out well. Thought I would give it at least 3 stars. Then I continued reading. The main characters would argue over stupid small things and then go on to make the biggest blunders that anyone with half a brain would have avoided. Especially Chip, the younger brother, whose grand scheme to find out if (small spoiler) Lewis was a bad guy was to write him an anonymous threatening note and see how he acts. Seriously? Amazing this kid has made it to 15. Then we get to the (another bit of spoiler) ventriloquism. Ugh. This was the last of the Power Boys Adventure books I needed for my collection and I was so excited to find it and it did not live up to expectations. I would place it as one of the two worst in the series. It does have a nice wraparound cover though.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not that good a story. It's rather confusing, and not well-written.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read one of these and you’ve read them all—Dad ditches the boys, they meet a kid their own age and help him accomplish some kind of mission, they end up saving the day. This one had some fun villains, which was cool.

[Ronald]

probably read some time in fall 1966