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The Hardy Boys #1
The Tower Treasure
The first of an enduring series.
The Hardy Boys will soon celebrate their 100th anniversary, but they remain the quintessential mystery and detective stories for younger readers. This first one, 'The Tower Mystery,' introduced the action, mystery, and suspense themes. The boys continue to deliver thrills to this day.
It all starts with the boys, Frank and Joe, on their motorcycles delivering important papers to a lawyer in Willowville for their father, Fenton Hardy. He's the well-known private investigator who lives with his family in Bayport. A reckless driver almost forces them over the embankment. It is not long before they find that their friend Chet's yellow jalopy has been stolen, possibly by the same red-haired driver! Stolen loot may be the issue. Later a dying criminal confesses that the loot has been stashed "in the tower" and the Hardy Boys make an astonishing discovery.
The Hardy Boys will soon celebrate their 100th anniversary, but they remain the quintessential mystery and detective stories for younger readers. This first one, 'The Tower Mystery,' introduced the action, mystery, and suspense themes. The boys continue to deliver thrills to this day.
It all starts with the boys, Frank and Joe, on their motorcycles delivering important papers to a lawyer in Willowville for their father, Fenton Hardy. He's the well-known private investigator who lives with his family in Bayport. A reckless driver almost forces them over the embankment. It is not long before they find that their friend Chet's yellow jalopy has been stolen, possibly by the same red-haired driver! Stolen loot may be the issue. Later a dying criminal confesses that the loot has been stashed "in the tower" and the Hardy Boys make an astonishing discovery.
214 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1927
1639 people are currently reading
9151 people want to read
About the author
Franklin W. Dixon
734 books991 followersFranklin 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,345 reviews
May 18, 2007
I know, this book is not a great book, not by any stretch of the imagination--and the whole series is dated now but I give the book five stars because the Hardy Boys' books was the series that made me a voracious reader when I was in elementary school. How much do the Hardy Boys's books mean to me? One of the best days of my life was the last day of school at the end of the fifth grade. One of my friends was cleaning out his desk and he had a stack of seven or eight Hardy Boys' books that he didn't want to have to carry home. I said I'd take them and he gave them to me. I had to walk a mile to my house, and the books were uncomfortable. I remember I had to keep shifting them in my arms, and their hard corners hurt my wrists. . .but it was worth it because it meant I had a good series of books to read at the start of my summer vacation.
August 8, 2025
I wonder how many children of my generation began a lifetime love of reading with THE HARDY BOYS, NANCY DREW or TOM SWIFT?
April 10, 2017
Published in 1927, The Tower Treasure is the book that introduced the teenage heroes, Frank and Joe Hardy, and which also began the series that would introduce generations of young boys to the world of crime fiction. The series ran until 2005 and consists of one hundred and ninety volumes, although some purists insist that only the first fifty-eight novels constitute the real Hardy Boy Mysteries. The books were written by "Franklin W. Dixon," the pen name used by a stable of writers who worked for the publisher that produced the books. This first volume was written by a Canadian author, Leslie McFarlane.
As the book opens, Frank and Joe, sixteen and fifteen respectively, are riding their motorcycles down a narrow road, when a speeding car nearly runs them off the road. Later, the car is found wrecked and the driver has apparently stolen a yellow roadster belonging to one of the Hardy boys' chums. (There are a lot of "chums" and "lads" in these books.)
The first mystery to be resolved in the book then, involves finding the stolen car. But soon, another more serious crime is committed when the house of one of the town's wealthy families is robbed. the caretaker, who is the father of one of Frank and Joe's sons, is the prime suspect. He's fired and later arrested, with devastating consequences for his family. The Hardy boys are the sons of the famous detective, Fenton Hardy, who agrees to look into the case. But when he can't come up with a solution, it appears that only his sons may be able to solve the crime and save the family of their friend.
This is the sort of tale, along with others like it, that prompted many a young lad to race home from the third or fourth grade on a winter afternoon, grab a couple of cookies and a glass of Kool-Aid, and curl up with a book for the rest of the day, sometimes ignoring his own chums who were outside playing at one thing or another.
Later that lad might get to be eleven or twelve years old and discover in his father's library Erle Stanley Gardner's The Case Of The Vagabond Virgin. And sadly, once a lad has moved on to books with titles like that, there's no going back to the Hardy Boys. One can only move forward to Raymond Chandler, Lawrence Block, John D. MacDonald, John Sandford, Michael Connelly, and a host of other writers that might well tempt a man in his thirties or forties to bag work early in the afternoon, pour himself a beer or two, and settle in with a good book. But whatever his age, he'll always owe a debt of gratitude to those authors who got him started.
As the book opens, Frank and Joe, sixteen and fifteen respectively, are riding their motorcycles down a narrow road, when a speeding car nearly runs them off the road. Later, the car is found wrecked and the driver has apparently stolen a yellow roadster belonging to one of the Hardy boys' chums. (There are a lot of "chums" and "lads" in these books.)
The first mystery to be resolved in the book then, involves finding the stolen car. But soon, another more serious crime is committed when the house of one of the town's wealthy families is robbed. the caretaker, who is the father of one of Frank and Joe's sons, is the prime suspect. He's fired and later arrested, with devastating consequences for his family. The Hardy boys are the sons of the famous detective, Fenton Hardy, who agrees to look into the case. But when he can't come up with a solution, it appears that only his sons may be able to solve the crime and save the family of their friend.
This is the sort of tale, along with others like it, that prompted many a young lad to race home from the third or fourth grade on a winter afternoon, grab a couple of cookies and a glass of Kool-Aid, and curl up with a book for the rest of the day, sometimes ignoring his own chums who were outside playing at one thing or another.
Later that lad might get to be eleven or twelve years old and discover in his father's library Erle Stanley Gardner's The Case Of The Vagabond Virgin. And sadly, once a lad has moved on to books with titles like that, there's no going back to the Hardy Boys. One can only move forward to Raymond Chandler, Lawrence Block, John D. MacDonald, John Sandford, Michael Connelly, and a host of other writers that might well tempt a man in his thirties or forties to bag work early in the afternoon, pour himself a beer or two, and settle in with a good book. But whatever his age, he'll always owe a debt of gratitude to those authors who got him started.
October 8, 2021
Danger and intrigue bring a fast-paced start to the mystery that started the much beloved series. The plot twists help the action and suspense remain strong throughout and make a seemingly obvious conclusion incorrect. The cliffhangers also make this a real page-turner!
I can see the appeal for today's readers and the nostalgic affection of yesterday's readers. A classic read to introduce to the young readers in your life and enjoy again yourself.
I can see the appeal for today's readers and the nostalgic affection of yesterday's readers. A classic read to introduce to the young readers in your life and enjoy again yourself.
June 20, 2021
One of childhood's simple pleasures was reading these books about two brother detectives, their friends, and the adventures they had fighting criminals in their fictional hometown of Bayport and elsewhere in the world.
I have to give credit to the library in my grade school here in the Philippines for introducing me to their extensive Hardy Boys collection. I used to eagerly await the end of classes to get the chance to borrow a worn book at least once a week and read it at home.
However, as I grew up, I realized that the Hardy Boys series is a view of the US through rose-colored glasses. Anyway, it's just fiction. Pleasure reading you as a kid; not anymore.
I have to give credit to the library in my grade school here in the Philippines for introducing me to their extensive Hardy Boys collection. I used to eagerly await the end of classes to get the chance to borrow a worn book at least once a week and read it at home.
However, as I grew up, I realized that the Hardy Boys series is a view of the US through rose-colored glasses. Anyway, it's just fiction. Pleasure reading you as a kid; not anymore.
January 6, 2023
The Tower Treasure was the first volume in the famous, long-running Hardy Boys juvenile mystery series; it was written by Leslie McFarlane under the Stratemeyer Syndicate house pseudonym Franklin W. Dixon and published by Grosset & Dunlap in 1927. In 1959 the novel was heavily revised and updated under the direction of Stratemeyer's daughter, Harriet S. Adams, and subsequently the next thirty-seven books in the series were as well. I've just finished reading the two back-to-back, as I have with a few of the other stories, and again preferred the original. McFarlane was a fine storyteller, with a good grasp of humor as well as pacing. The original book was 214 pages over 24 chapters, and the revision is 180 pages long in 20 chapters. Most of the changes are the cutting of many of the humorous scenes and the streamlining of the characters' traits. The major difference, other than what I saw as making it more accessible for a younger aged reader, was that in the original the police were mostly incompetent, all of which disappeared in the revision. (One character who remained as a foil, Smuff, is changed from a police officer to a self-styled P.I. Wanna-Be.) There are many minor changes, some for the better, such as Tony Prito losing his silly Italian accent, and Joe's girlfriend Iola Morton (Chet's sister, naturally), is "plump" in 1927 but "pretty" in 1959. The solution to the mystery is rather implausible in both versions but leads to a feel-good proof of innocence for the father of Hardy friends, and it's a nice adventure story to boot. I was also interested to learn that this is one of the all-time kids' book bestsellers; I'll bet Mr. McFarlane never dreamed so big. I rated his original a four, and the bowdlerization a two.
September 6, 2016
★★★★★★★☆☆☆[7/10]
✅Frank Hardy is eighteen, OK? He could definitely do well to handle a case which doesn't have the culprits leaving bread crumb trails, particularly keeping in mind to make sleuthing easy for the young detectives.
✅The older detective could do well to remember that his sons are capable of doing this dirty job all on their own and get off their case.
✅Famous Five adventures have more nail biting moments than this one and Famous Five is only a bunch of kids!
✅Frank Hardy is eighteen, OK? He could definitely do well to handle a case which doesn't have the culprits leaving bread crumb trails, particularly keeping in mind to make sleuthing easy for the young detectives.
✅The older detective could do well to remember that his sons are capable of doing this dirty job all on their own and get off their case.
✅Famous Five adventures have more nail biting moments than this one and Famous Five is only a bunch of kids!
January 3, 2018
When I was a teenager I loved reading the Dana Sisters by Carolyn Keene. I own all of the old ones that were written before they were edited in 1959, and years later I began reading and buying the older Nancy Drew series. Here I am in my older years, and I am still reading them, but now I have added The Hardy Boys to the list of books I am in the process of collecting, but only if they, too, were written before 1959. I tried reading a Hardy Boys book several years ago, but I didn't care for it. Too much action; too unrealistic. Then I bought one at our library book sale and finally I liked them.
This book, the first in the series, is a 1st edition written in 1927, and I got it cheap at a used book sale because the endband is missing and is taped with paper tape, which I had to replace. Then some pages near the end of the book looked like the factory cut them a little bit or maybe some kid had. Then there is a hole in one page, but it didn't destroy the words on the page, just gave the book more character.
I wonder who owned this book? Why did they keep it for all these years? Books that are this old and are well read must have been really loved.
So now the story: Frank and Joe Hardy are driving their motorcycles along Shore Road when a speeding car almost drives them over the cliff. They got a good look at the guy, a guy who will play an important part in this mystery. They drive on and come to a culvert and see and overturned car, but it was empty. Maybe the car that passed them had also run this car off the road, they wonder, or maybe the wreck was days old. They continue on and come to the Morton farm, their destination. Their friend Chet Morton was waiting for them and informed them that his roadster had just been stolen. And the mystery begins.
This book, the first in the series, is a 1st edition written in 1927, and I got it cheap at a used book sale because the endband is missing and is taped with paper tape, which I had to replace. Then some pages near the end of the book looked like the factory cut them a little bit or maybe some kid had. Then there is a hole in one page, but it didn't destroy the words on the page, just gave the book more character.
I wonder who owned this book? Why did they keep it for all these years? Books that are this old and are well read must have been really loved.
So now the story: Frank and Joe Hardy are driving their motorcycles along Shore Road when a speeding car almost drives them over the cliff. They got a good look at the guy, a guy who will play an important part in this mystery. They drive on and come to a culvert and see and overturned car, but it was empty. Maybe the car that passed them had also run this car off the road, they wonder, or maybe the wreck was days old. They continue on and come to the Morton farm, their destination. Their friend Chet Morton was waiting for them and informed them that his roadster had just been stolen. And the mystery begins.
December 15, 2019
The Hardy Boys was another series that was super popular in my youth. As the outcast, loser-ish nerd of the class I striked against these books and would not read them! I was "too cool" and only wanted to read the books the popular kids didn't like (Bunnicula, Goosebumps, a Series of Unfortunate Events and Twilight to name a few). In my adulthood, I found this book at a local charity book store and decided to pick up the first book in this series. And... I was kind of disappointed. Why? I'm an adult.
This book is clearly an older novel. The references are absolutely amazing! This book did not age well at all. As someone who loves anything "vintage" or "old" this book was right in my wheelhouse. It had my chuckling and feeling nostalgic as it reminded me of my youth and all the things my parents used to say. The book was first published in 1927, so it is a REAL gem. I didn't know it was that old so I was super shocked. Clearly, my grandparents sayings were passed along to my parents.
Like Nancy Drew, this series is written by a large majority of ghost writers. Out of curiousity, I want to continue this series to see how the books change (there is almost 200 books so good luck to me. It's going to be a life long goal...).
The original YA novel is full of mysteries that aren't easy to follow. Things just happen suddenly and appear, and isn't as "smart" as I thought it would be. It's still beautifully written and truly marvelous (this book is almost one hundred years old... and the youth back then read it... and now I'm reading it... my mind is blown). Mystery after mystery occurs and of course it is solved in the end. Our two leads are also nearly adults, and somehow are just as good at solving mysteries as their Detective Father.
This book definitely has it's flaws, but it's a total nostalgia trip. It's a cool book that I'd highly recommend readers pick up whether they want to get into young reader books or if you want to travel back in time.
Two out of five stars.
This book is clearly an older novel. The references are absolutely amazing! This book did not age well at all. As someone who loves anything "vintage" or "old" this book was right in my wheelhouse. It had my chuckling and feeling nostalgic as it reminded me of my youth and all the things my parents used to say. The book was first published in 1927, so it is a REAL gem. I didn't know it was that old so I was super shocked. Clearly, my grandparents sayings were passed along to my parents.
Like Nancy Drew, this series is written by a large majority of ghost writers. Out of curiousity, I want to continue this series to see how the books change (there is almost 200 books so good luck to me. It's going to be a life long goal...).
The original YA novel is full of mysteries that aren't easy to follow. Things just happen suddenly and appear, and isn't as "smart" as I thought it would be. It's still beautifully written and truly marvelous (this book is almost one hundred years old... and the youth back then read it... and now I'm reading it... my mind is blown). Mystery after mystery occurs and of course it is solved in the end. Our two leads are also nearly adults, and somehow are just as good at solving mysteries as their Detective Father.
This book definitely has it's flaws, but it's a total nostalgia trip. It's a cool book that I'd highly recommend readers pick up whether they want to get into young reader books or if you want to travel back in time.
Two out of five stars.
January 6, 2023
The Tower Treasure was the first volume in the famous, long-running Hardy Boys juvenile mystery series; it was written by Leslie McFarlane under the Stratemeyer Syndicate house pseudonym Franklin W. Dixon and published by Grosset & Dunlap in 1927. In 1959 the novel was heavily revised and updated under the direction of Stratemeyer's daughter, Harriet S. Adams, and subsequently the next thirty-seven books in the series were as well. I've just finished reading the two back-to-back, as I have with a few of the other stories, and again preferred the original. McFarlane was a fine storyteller, with a good grasp of humor as well as pacing. The original book was 214 pages over 24 chapters, and the revision is 180 pages long in 20 chapters. Most of the changes are the cutting of many of the humorous scenes and the streamlining of the characters' traits. The major difference, other than what I saw as making it more accessible for a younger aged reader, was that in the original the police were mostly incompetent, all of which disappeared in the revision. (One character who remained as a foil, Smuff, is changed from a police officer to a self-styled P.I. Wanna-Be.) There are many minor changes, some for the better, such as Tony Prito losing his silly Italian accent, and Joe's girlfriend Iola Morton (Chet's sister, naturally), is "plump" in 1927 but "pretty" in 1959. The solution to the mystery is rather implausible in both versions but leads to a feel-good proof of innocence for the father of Hardy friends, and it's a nice adventure story to boot. I was also interested to learn that this is one of the all-time kids' book bestsellers; I'll bet Mr. McFarlane never dreamed so big. I rated his original a four, and the bowdlerization a two.
August 20, 2019
I wish I would have started reading these sooner. I am really enjoying it and plan to continue with the series
June 1, 2025
4.25 stars ...
Got the first 8 books of the iconic (and original) 'Hardy Boys' series on Amazon/Kindle for 99 cents. Went in with low expectations but ... surprise! ... I and my inner 12 year old were both quite pleasantly surprised and very entertained. Despite having been written and published in the 1920s, this was still super fun! Lookin' forward to the remaining seven books ... then maybe I'll find more. 👍😁👍
Got the first 8 books of the iconic (and original) 'Hardy Boys' series on Amazon/Kindle for 99 cents. Went in with low expectations but ... surprise! ... I and my inner 12 year old were both quite pleasantly surprised and very entertained. Despite having been written and published in the 1920s, this was still super fun! Lookin' forward to the remaining seven books ... then maybe I'll find more. 👍😁👍
May 30, 2020
Lol my brother read this to me and it was very fun and cute
December 14, 2020
My parents and brothers don’t gobble the immense quantity of books that I do. It is thus special that Dad has referred to “The Hardy Boys” series, however many he read, as one of his favourites. As a small child I acquired a few of his books but looked towards “Nancy Drew”. After over thirty years, I am so pleased to open up the first page and begin this very famous and very long series. It’s almost surreal to read at last: “The Tower Treasure”! The 1927 franchise’s penname is Franklin W. Dixon but I recently found out, with great interest, that the pioneering writer was a Canadian! I shall refer to him as the author: Leslie McFarlane.
June 14, 2012
Pa: So you finished The Tower Treasure last week after a long, long read. How're you feeling about it now?
Miloš: Good.
Pa: Just good?
Miloš: Not exactly. I really did like the book. I like how they were private detectives. I like how it is set on the grounds of a tower, and I don't know, I just liked it and how it was set in the 50s, but I read it in the hundreds, whatever it's called.
Pa: I suppose it's the teens now. It's not the noughties anymore.
Miloš: Yeah.
Pa: So who did you like better?
Miloš: Umm ... Joe.
Pa: How come?
Miloš: Well, I like this moment in it somewhere at the end where Joe just starts thinking of stuff right off the bat.
Pa: Like Sherlock Holmes?
Miloš: Yeah. I guess I like both of them, though. Frank is the star of it; he's older by a year. They're both reall cool.
Pa: Are you going to read more Hardy Boys?
Miloš: Yeah. But first I am going to finish Frankie Pickle and the Mathematical Menace, then read James and the Giant Peach, then read book two.
Pa: Wow. That's ambitious. Where's James and the Giant Peach?
Miloš: I dunno. But I'll try and find it.
Pa: I couldn't find it the other night.
Miloš: You couldn't? Not in the house.
Pa: None of the places I looked. We can both look again. Maybe it should be a Hardy Boys mystery? You could clues and hunt it down.
Miloš: I think I know where it is?
Pa: So I lookked for a half an hour and after two seconds of thinking you know wehre it is?
Miloš: Where?
Pa: Didn't you just say you know where it is?
Miloš: Oh! In the car.
Pa: I see. I'll check when I go to work.
Miloš: I can check now.
Pa: Anything else to say about the Hardy Boys?
Miloš: No.
Pa: You're effusive.
Miloš: Although it was cool.
Pa: I'm going to read it again soon. So we can chat about it. Maybe we should do this interview thing for my review. You can ask me questions.
Miloš: Sure.
Pa: Groovy. Go look for your book.
Miloš: Good.
Pa: Just good?
Miloš: Not exactly. I really did like the book. I like how they were private detectives. I like how it is set on the grounds of a tower, and I don't know, I just liked it and how it was set in the 50s, but I read it in the hundreds, whatever it's called.
Pa: I suppose it's the teens now. It's not the noughties anymore.
Miloš: Yeah.
Pa: So who did you like better?
Miloš: Umm ... Joe.
Pa: How come?
Miloš: Well, I like this moment in it somewhere at the end where Joe just starts thinking of stuff right off the bat.
Pa: Like Sherlock Holmes?
Miloš: Yeah. I guess I like both of them, though. Frank is the star of it; he's older by a year. They're both reall cool.
Pa: Are you going to read more Hardy Boys?
Miloš: Yeah. But first I am going to finish Frankie Pickle and the Mathematical Menace, then read James and the Giant Peach, then read book two.
Pa: Wow. That's ambitious. Where's James and the Giant Peach?
Miloš: I dunno. But I'll try and find it.
Pa: I couldn't find it the other night.
Miloš: You couldn't? Not in the house.
Pa: None of the places I looked. We can both look again. Maybe it should be a Hardy Boys mystery? You could clues and hunt it down.
Miloš: I think I know where it is?
Pa: So I lookked for a half an hour and after two seconds of thinking you know wehre it is?
Miloš: Where?
Pa: Didn't you just say you know where it is?
Miloš: Oh! In the car.
Pa: I see. I'll check when I go to work.
Miloš: I can check now.
Pa: Anything else to say about the Hardy Boys?
Miloš: No.
Pa: You're effusive.
Miloš: Although it was cool.
Pa: I'm going to read it again soon. So we can chat about it. Maybe we should do this interview thing for my review. You can ask me questions.
Miloš: Sure.
Pa: Groovy. Go look for your book.
July 5, 2012
For a few years now, I've been interviewing my twins after they finish reading their books, posting those interviews on their own goodreads profile. My boy, Miloš, finished reading The Tower Treasure a couple of weeks ago, and I reread it just this week (I always reread the books they've read.) You can see my interview with him at this link. And you can see his interview with me right here:
Miloš: Why was the book just okay?
Pa: Well, I enjoyed it for what it was. The mystery was fun, and I really liked that most of the mystery was about finding the actual treasure rather than finding the thief, but the fifties world that they lived can't have really existed, except in books and on early TV, and I didn't like the attitudes that Dixon, he's the author, had about society and good & bad. That kind of stuff.
Miloš: Okay ... which character did you like better, Frank or Joe?
Pa: Are they different characters?
Miloš: Yes.
Pa: I don't know. They seemed kind of hard to tell apart. I liked Oscar Smuff best actually. But I guess if I had to pick one of the brothers it would be Joe because he fell over the railing in the old Tower and caught himself. I think hints at a more physical role than Frank's, maybe he'll be more impetuous in other books.
Miloš: Do you want to know why they're different?
Pa: I'd rather "how" they're different, but you can tell me whatever you think.
Miloš: This really has nothing to do with it, but Joe is lighter haired than Frank, and Frank is older than Joe.
Pa: But those are purely physical things. It's not like they're behaviour is different at all, is it?
Miloš: I don't know.
Pa: Why not?
Miloš: It is different in a way.
Pa: What makes Joe Joe? Cause I know you like him best.
Miloš: The fact that at the very end he suddenly popped out good ideas, and he was the one that actually really made them find the treasure because he figured out where it was the old water tower.
Pa: He was the one who said it was there, but Frank was thinking the same thing, remember?
Miloš: Yeah.
Pa: Is it that Joe wasn't afraid to think out loud, to maybe make a mistake, and Frank was keeping things to himself, and maybe was more self-conscious?
Miloš: Yeah.
Pa: Okay.
Miloš: But at the same time, Frank is sort of the hero of the tale.
Pa: So you like the underdog, the supporting character.
Miloš: Yeah, sometimes I do the same thing with villains. I like the villains better sometimes like the Evil Emperor Zurg, or something like that.
Pa: I do too. Which is why I like Smuff.
Miloš: Because he's an underdog. Yeah Smuff was a really cool character, and it was very rude to make him miss his flight.
Pa: I wasn't impressed with the Hardy's treatment of Smuff. Like you, that bothered me. it also bothered me that they always assumed Smuff was being "greedy" and wanted the reward, when they wanted exactly the same thing. So how can be better than Smuff when they have same motivation?
Miloš: True. And at the end there, you can see he sort of says something about, or he arrives last on purpose because he doesn't really like the Hardys, does he?
Pa: Or is it because he expects that they're going to humiliate him, so he isn't keen on showing up.
Miloš: Exactly. He doesn't want get mocked for not finding the treasure, and at the end he sort of tells us that since he's been a detective he never is the one to figure it out it is always someone else, which makes him feel even more stupid because he hasn't found anything. So he tells them that.
Pa: Yeah, poor Smuff. So do you have any other questions for me?
Miloš: Not other than, "Was it a good book?"
Pa: It was okay. I'm not sorry I read it again, and I am looking forward to reading the second one --
Miloš: -- The House on the Cliff. Besides sometimes the third or the second can be better than the first.
Pa: Looking forward to you getting through it, after James and the Giant Peach of course.
Miloš: Okay.
Miloš: Why was the book just okay?
Pa: Well, I enjoyed it for what it was. The mystery was fun, and I really liked that most of the mystery was about finding the actual treasure rather than finding the thief, but the fifties world that they lived can't have really existed, except in books and on early TV, and I didn't like the attitudes that Dixon, he's the author, had about society and good & bad. That kind of stuff.
Miloš: Okay ... which character did you like better, Frank or Joe?
Pa: Are they different characters?
Miloš: Yes.
Pa: I don't know. They seemed kind of hard to tell apart. I liked Oscar Smuff best actually. But I guess if I had to pick one of the brothers it would be Joe because he fell over the railing in the old Tower and caught himself. I think hints at a more physical role than Frank's, maybe he'll be more impetuous in other books.
Miloš: Do you want to know why they're different?
Pa: I'd rather "how" they're different, but you can tell me whatever you think.
Miloš: This really has nothing to do with it, but Joe is lighter haired than Frank, and Frank is older than Joe.
Pa: But those are purely physical things. It's not like they're behaviour is different at all, is it?
Miloš: I don't know.
Pa: Why not?
Miloš: It is different in a way.
Pa: What makes Joe Joe? Cause I know you like him best.
Miloš: The fact that at the very end he suddenly popped out good ideas, and he was the one that actually really made them find the treasure because he figured out where it was the old water tower.
Pa: He was the one who said it was there, but Frank was thinking the same thing, remember?
Miloš: Yeah.
Pa: Is it that Joe wasn't afraid to think out loud, to maybe make a mistake, and Frank was keeping things to himself, and maybe was more self-conscious?
Miloš: Yeah.
Pa: Okay.
Miloš: But at the same time, Frank is sort of the hero of the tale.
Pa: So you like the underdog, the supporting character.
Miloš: Yeah, sometimes I do the same thing with villains. I like the villains better sometimes like the Evil Emperor Zurg, or something like that.
Pa: I do too. Which is why I like Smuff.
Miloš: Because he's an underdog. Yeah Smuff was a really cool character, and it was very rude to make him miss his flight.
Pa: I wasn't impressed with the Hardy's treatment of Smuff. Like you, that bothered me. it also bothered me that they always assumed Smuff was being "greedy" and wanted the reward, when they wanted exactly the same thing. So how can be better than Smuff when they have same motivation?
Miloš: True. And at the end there, you can see he sort of says something about, or he arrives last on purpose because he doesn't really like the Hardys, does he?
Pa: Or is it because he expects that they're going to humiliate him, so he isn't keen on showing up.
Miloš: Exactly. He doesn't want get mocked for not finding the treasure, and at the end he sort of tells us that since he's been a detective he never is the one to figure it out it is always someone else, which makes him feel even more stupid because he hasn't found anything. So he tells them that.
Pa: Yeah, poor Smuff. So do you have any other questions for me?
Miloš: Not other than, "Was it a good book?"
Pa: It was okay. I'm not sorry I read it again, and I am looking forward to reading the second one --
Miloš: -- The House on the Cliff. Besides sometimes the third or the second can be better than the first.
Pa: Looking forward to you getting through it, after James and the Giant Peach of course.
Miloš: Okay.
August 23, 2024
4 Stars. It's been decades but isn't it great to enjoy time with old friends? The Hardys don't seem to have aged a bit! I don't recall having read this one, at 11 or 12, but the second, 'The House on the Cliff,' has stayed with me. That's next. Frank and Joe are the teenage sons, 18 and 17, of Fenton and Laura Hardy of Bayport. [Is that in New Jersey, New York or Connecticut?] Fenton is a well respected private detective. The boys would like to follow in their father's footsteps, and we get off to a quick start with friend Chet Morton's yellow jalopy, an old and uncared-for car, being stolen. The three talk to the police and the boy's father, and then it's off in pursuit of a red-haired thief. Could it have been a wig he was wearing? About the same time, the elderly and eccentric Hurd Applegate consults Fenton about the theft from a safe in his Tower Mansion of $40,000 in jewels and securities. Applegate blames Henry Robinson, the caretaker, who appears hard up. Robinson is the father of one of Frank and Joe's friends; will Perry have to leave school to help with family expenses? Can the Hardy boys get a reward for solving the mystery? It's a blast from the past. (Mar2021/Au2024)
November 1, 2022
A great start to a very long series. Though it may have been written many years ago, its appeal is timeless.
August 12, 2017
1959 version: ★★✰✰✰
1927 version: ★★★★✰
I guess that means I have to give it three stars since I can't figure out how to rate two different editions?
Finished 3/5/17. Skip down three paragraphs for the review(s).
Pre-read note, 2/23/17:
This will show two reads one right after the other, but it's not because I found the book so titillating that I had to reread it immediately. At least I doubt that will be the case. There are two versions of this book: the original written in 1927 and a revision written in 1959 which modernized it and made it a little more PC. I have both and plan to do a comparison. The Hardy Boys Unofficial Home Page says some stories were completely rewritten right down to the plot, others merely shortened to fit a 180 page length that the powers-that-be deemed proper (publishing costs; literary degradation always comes down to money), and the rest fall somewhere between those two extremes. It also considers the prose quality of the revisions to be quite sub-par. I bitch about this discovery more extensively in the beginning of my Mystery of Cabin Island review. I'm doing this project with The House on the Cliff as well just for shits and giggles.
Since there are too many cooks in the Goodreads kitchen, the two books are not listed separately even though they technically are two different books. I believe librarians who think they are being helpful combine the books when they find a different version, and there's really no way to stop it. It is confusing, after all, seeing two different books from the same author with the same title, so I won't hold it against them. I would probably do the same thing myself were I to stumble upon it without knowing any better.
Since I'm a save-the-best-for-last kind of person, and nothing will ever deter me from staying steadfast in that mindset, I'm going to read the revision first followed by the original.
Review, 3/5/17:
From The Hardy Boys Unofficial Home Page:
"Unfortunately, the quality of the writing was nowhere near as high as in the unrevised versions and the resulting stories lost much of their original charm." This is a fair assessment.
From the same website, but in a spot that discusses the revision project in more detail where the webmaster's true feelings on the matter come out:
"The quality of the revised stories is generally so far below that of the originals that it can only be considered as an act of literary vandalism." This is fucking spot on.
I read the revision first, and I tried hard to find a way to give it three stars, but fuck it, it's getting two. I used to like Stephen King's movie It until I read the book, and it was because I wanted to like it, not because it was good. But once I read the book, I saw how mangled the movie was from the source material that I had no problem calling it shit from then on. (The only redeeming quality is Tim Curry's performance.) That's what happened here. The 1927 version of this is quite good. The 1959 version made completely unnecessary changes and the whole thing became both retarded and gay as a little, red wagon rolling down a green, grassy hill. There are so many things in the revision that make no sense at all. Scenes were added that make the boys and other characters look stupid. Scenes that explain things satisfactorily were changed so that they were explained unsatisfactorily. For instance, in both versions Mr. Robinson has gotten a $900 windfall he uses to pay off a debt, and he refuses to say where it came from because he made a promise he wouldn't. In the original version .
A lot of the changes were made for the sake of drama, sensationalism, or the like, and they really suck monkey balls. Detective Smuff is a doofus in both versions, but in the revision he is such a cartoonish buffoon that you can't possibly take him seriously, and he pops up much more often to cause trouble. Some plot elements were changed to make the boys look like better detectives, but this effort fails miserably. Their deductions would never fly in the real world, and it's just coincidence that they get what they're looking for. In the original it's also coincidence that they find what they seek, but it doesn't go any further than that. They just happened to be in the right place at the right time, and the way it was written works just fine. Sometimes life really does work that way. To exemplify:
In the original the plot and deductions are plausible, like a Sherlock Holmes story (though he also had a couple of silly ones). The revision is more like 1960's Batman versus the Riddler.
Batman: What has yellow skin and writes?
Robin: A ballpoint banana!
Batman: What people are always in a hurry?
Robin: Rushing people... Russians!
Batman: So this means...
Robin: Someone Russian is going to slip on a banana and break their neck!
Batman: Precisely, Robin!
Of course.
Some of the changes were to remove racist characters or remarks, but they were realistic. There was an Italian in the original whose speech was written phonetically for his accent. I guess this is offensive? I might be inclined to agree if I didn't know some Italians with thick accents who talk that way. And, oh my God, one of them was named Tony! There was also a cop wondering if his wife was going to serve cornbeef and cabbage for dinner, so I guess he was Irish. Call the censors! Get a grip, people.
I also found out part of the revision project was to clean up the Hardy Boys' & friends' images. There was a lot of juvenile delinquency going on in the late 50's, and I assume it was all the Hardy Boys' fault. In the original they're nice kids aged 15 and 16, but still boys and they behave like typical boys. There are a few off-color jokes, a couple of pranks, a little bit of disobedience (though very little), etc., but we can't have that in the days of Father Knows Best. In the revision they're 17 and 18 (I guess to explain why they're riding motorcycles since licensing laws had changed between 1927 & 1959), and it's frequently pointed out how much they study, go to school, do their homework, and still take care of their extracurricular activities before they go sleuthing like good, responsible boys. All scenes with jokes and pranks have been removed, though a scene is added where they accidentally break a trapdoor, and they immediately tell the owner of the place about it because it's the right thing to do. The omitted scenes really added depth to the characters. The revised boys are about as two dimensional as you can get.
Any part I found good in the revision was taken word for word from the original. Anything I found extremely stupid was added later. I can't believe anyone would prefer the revision over the original, but there are a lot of things in this world I can't fathom.
Take away point: I recommend the 1927 version for anyone (trust me, kids can handle it just fine; we as a society constantly sell the little ones short), and I recommend that you bypass the 1959 version entirely unless you're looking to practice your eye rolls because you'll be doing that a lot.
1927 version: ★★★★✰
I guess that means I have to give it three stars since I can't figure out how to rate two different editions?
Finished 3/5/17. Skip down three paragraphs for the review(s).
Pre-read note, 2/23/17:
This will show two reads one right after the other, but it's not because I found the book so titillating that I had to reread it immediately. At least I doubt that will be the case. There are two versions of this book: the original written in 1927 and a revision written in 1959 which modernized it and made it a little more PC. I have both and plan to do a comparison. The Hardy Boys Unofficial Home Page says some stories were completely rewritten right down to the plot, others merely shortened to fit a 180 page length that the powers-that-be deemed proper (publishing costs; literary degradation always comes down to money), and the rest fall somewhere between those two extremes. It also considers the prose quality of the revisions to be quite sub-par. I bitch about this discovery more extensively in the beginning of my Mystery of Cabin Island review. I'm doing this project with The House on the Cliff as well just for shits and giggles.
Since there are too many cooks in the Goodreads kitchen, the two books are not listed separately even though they technically are two different books. I believe librarians who think they are being helpful combine the books when they find a different version, and there's really no way to stop it. It is confusing, after all, seeing two different books from the same author with the same title, so I won't hold it against them. I would probably do the same thing myself were I to stumble upon it without knowing any better.
Since I'm a save-the-best-for-last kind of person, and nothing will ever deter me from staying steadfast in that mindset, I'm going to read the revision first followed by the original.
Review, 3/5/17:
From The Hardy Boys Unofficial Home Page:
"Unfortunately, the quality of the writing was nowhere near as high as in the unrevised versions and the resulting stories lost much of their original charm." This is a fair assessment.
From the same website, but in a spot that discusses the revision project in more detail where the webmaster's true feelings on the matter come out:
"The quality of the revised stories is generally so far below that of the originals that it can only be considered as an act of literary vandalism." This is fucking spot on.
I read the revision first, and I tried hard to find a way to give it three stars, but fuck it, it's getting two. I used to like Stephen King's movie It until I read the book, and it was because I wanted to like it, not because it was good. But once I read the book, I saw how mangled the movie was from the source material that I had no problem calling it shit from then on. (The only redeeming quality is Tim Curry's performance.) That's what happened here. The 1927 version of this is quite good. The 1959 version made completely unnecessary changes and the whole thing became both retarded and gay as a little, red wagon rolling down a green, grassy hill. There are so many things in the revision that make no sense at all. Scenes were added that make the boys and other characters look stupid. Scenes that explain things satisfactorily were changed so that they were explained unsatisfactorily. For instance, in both versions Mr. Robinson has gotten a $900 windfall he uses to pay off a debt, and he refuses to say where it came from because he made a promise he wouldn't. In the original version .
A lot of the changes were made for the sake of drama, sensationalism, or the like, and they really suck monkey balls. Detective Smuff is a doofus in both versions, but in the revision he is such a cartoonish buffoon that you can't possibly take him seriously, and he pops up much more often to cause trouble. Some plot elements were changed to make the boys look like better detectives, but this effort fails miserably. Their deductions would never fly in the real world, and it's just coincidence that they get what they're looking for. In the original it's also coincidence that they find what they seek, but it doesn't go any further than that. They just happened to be in the right place at the right time, and the way it was written works just fine. Sometimes life really does work that way. To exemplify:
In the original the plot and deductions are plausible, like a Sherlock Holmes story (though he also had a couple of silly ones). The revision is more like 1960's Batman versus the Riddler.
Batman: What has yellow skin and writes?
Robin: A ballpoint banana!
Batman: What people are always in a hurry?
Robin: Rushing people... Russians!
Batman: So this means...
Robin: Someone Russian is going to slip on a banana and break their neck!
Batman: Precisely, Robin!
Of course.
Some of the changes were to remove racist characters or remarks, but they were realistic. There was an Italian in the original whose speech was written phonetically for his accent. I guess this is offensive? I might be inclined to agree if I didn't know some Italians with thick accents who talk that way. And, oh my God, one of them was named Tony! There was also a cop wondering if his wife was going to serve cornbeef and cabbage for dinner, so I guess he was Irish. Call the censors! Get a grip, people.
I also found out part of the revision project was to clean up the Hardy Boys' & friends' images. There was a lot of juvenile delinquency going on in the late 50's, and I assume it was all the Hardy Boys' fault. In the original they're nice kids aged 15 and 16, but still boys and they behave like typical boys. There are a few off-color jokes, a couple of pranks, a little bit of disobedience (though very little), etc., but we can't have that in the days of Father Knows Best. In the revision they're 17 and 18 (I guess to explain why they're riding motorcycles since licensing laws had changed between 1927 & 1959), and it's frequently pointed out how much they study, go to school, do their homework, and still take care of their extracurricular activities before they go sleuthing like good, responsible boys. All scenes with jokes and pranks have been removed, though a scene is added where they accidentally break a trapdoor, and they immediately tell the owner of the place about it because it's the right thing to do. The omitted scenes really added depth to the characters. The revised boys are about as two dimensional as you can get.
Any part I found good in the revision was taken word for word from the original. Anything I found extremely stupid was added later. I can't believe anyone would prefer the revision over the original, but there are a lot of things in this world I can't fathom.
Take away point: I recommend the 1927 version for anyone (trust me, kids can handle it just fine; we as a society constantly sell the little ones short), and I recommend that you bypass the 1959 version entirely unless you're looking to practice your eye rolls because you'll be doing that a lot.
August 17, 2018
The Hardy Boys. Wow. It's been awhile. I grew up reading the Hardy Boys Casefiles Series but I also read a few from the original series. I'd never gone back to read some of the earlier works...until now. "The Tower Treasure" is the book that launched a million little boys imaginations. If a man enjoys mystery novels, I'd make a healthy wager that obsession began with this series.
Right from the start, all of the great Hardy Boys components are there:
- The father detective
- The low stakes mystery
- The rival detective
- Teamwork as far as the eye can see
Specifically, this novel had:
- More use of the word "chum" than I've ever seen any all of the books I've ever read before this combined!
- Hobo Johnny!
- Multiple Trap doors!
- Not cool jokes about fat kids!
I enjoyed this book immensely but am disappointed by the lack of quick sand. I'm sure it'll be in the next one.
Right from the start, all of the great Hardy Boys components are there:
- The father detective
- The low stakes mystery
- The rival detective
- Teamwork as far as the eye can see
Specifically, this novel had:
- More use of the word "chum" than I've ever seen any all of the books I've ever read before this combined!
- Hobo Johnny!
- Multiple Trap doors!
- Not cool jokes about fat kids!
I enjoyed this book immensely but am disappointed by the lack of quick sand. I'm sure it'll be in the next one.
September 2, 2012
As a kid, I read the whole series. My dad bought us a subscription, so I would get one every month. I can honestly say these books taught me the love of reading. When I got one in the mail, I would tear into it and not be able to put it down. I loved the suspense at the end of each chapter. Even today, the use of a hook will keep you turning the pages. I loved the simple adventures and the cool things the "chums" were able to do. There were boats, cars, and motorcycles, not to mention the cool remote locations they were able to go to. Now that I write my own fiction, I love to use some of the same tools the original "Franklin W. Dixon" used... mystery, intrigue, and a whole bunch of cool gadgets to bring the reader into the story. While the writing is a tad simplistic, the formula the authors used is wonderful.
February 21, 2022
The Tower Treasure, first published in 1927 via the Stratemeyer Syndicate, helped usher in a new era of detective novels. Following in the footsteps of their father, renowned private investigator Fenton Hardy, sixteen-year-old Frank and fifteen-year-old Joe have a lot to prove before their father acknowledges they might possess his talent for solving mysteries. Laura Hardy, their mother, worries over the dangers in her husband's line of work and would prefer her sons never be involved, but Frank and Joe have the inclination to match wits against criminals, and they're waiting for an opportunity to prove themselves. That chance arises when their hometown of Bayport is victimized by a thief in a long red wig who nearly runs Frank and Joe's motorcycles off the road in his hurry to escape the crime scene. When their pal Chet Morton reports his prized roadster stolen, Frank and Joe suspect the man in the red wig. What more mischief will he cause?
Local inquiry connects the car theft to an armed holdup at the city steamboat office, an attempt thwarted before the robber ended up with any money. A break-in is also reported at the Tower Mansion, the main estate of the Applegate family for generations. After Major Applegate made his fortune in canny real estate deals, the mansion became the symbol of prosperity in Bayport, but all these years later only a middle-aged brother and sister, Hurd and Adelia Applegate, live there. People generally respect their reclusiveness, so imagine their surprise to find that thousands of dollars in jewels and bonds have been stolen from their home. The Hardys believe the man in the wig is guilty, but Hurd has another theory: the transgressor is Henry Robinson, caretaker of the Tower Mansion. He's a man of meager finances, and other than Hurd and Adelia only he knows the combination to the safe. Robinson's son, Slim, is friends with the Hardy boys and they know his father isn't corrupt, but Hurd is convinced of Robinson's guilt, and Chief Ezra Collig of the Bayport police tends to agree. The only way to get Robinson off the hook is to prove his innocence.
Linking the holdup attempt, the mansion robbery, and the man who almost ran Frank and Joe off the road requires diligence, but Fenton Hardy takes his sons seriously once they provide him evidence. His sleuthing in the big city turns up an identity for the perpetrator: John "Red" Jackley, a burglar with sufficient experience to finesse the Applegate safe open without the combination. Fenton and a handful of law officers catch up to Jackley on the run, but the outlaw gets into a serious accident before they apprehend him. Seconds before dying, he admits he robbed the Tower Mansion and stashed the loot in "the old tower" to retrieve later. He must have meant the old tower wing of the mansion, opposite from the new tower erected only a few years ago. The mystery seems to be solved, a huge relief to Robinson's family; not only were legal charges pending, but the Applegates fired Robinson, and his son Slim had to quit high school and forgo his dream of attending college to take a job with the grocer. If the jewels and bonds are in the old tower as Jackley claimed, Robinson will be exonerated. A thorough search reveals nothing, however; the treasure is still missing, and Robinson is under worse suspicion than ever. It's time for Frank and Joe to buck conventional wisdom and see if they can crack this case that has stumped their father...the first of many, many cases for the legendary Hardy boys.
Most of my life I've wanted to be like the Hardy boys: formidable in physical altercations, intelligent and observant detectives, always ready to stand up to bullies. The Tower Treasure gives us all that in its most primitive form. Before Frank and Joe had cutting-edge technology and extensive infrastructure in later versions of the series, they were just as proficient at hunting down the bad guy with nothing but their wits. The Tower Treasure isn't a brilliant mystery, but it deserves credit for the phenomenon it set into motion, and for the inestimable number of kids who grew to love reading because of the Hardy boys. Whether the original series or a new incarnation, Hardy Boys books will always mean something to me.
Local inquiry connects the car theft to an armed holdup at the city steamboat office, an attempt thwarted before the robber ended up with any money. A break-in is also reported at the Tower Mansion, the main estate of the Applegate family for generations. After Major Applegate made his fortune in canny real estate deals, the mansion became the symbol of prosperity in Bayport, but all these years later only a middle-aged brother and sister, Hurd and Adelia Applegate, live there. People generally respect their reclusiveness, so imagine their surprise to find that thousands of dollars in jewels and bonds have been stolen from their home. The Hardys believe the man in the wig is guilty, but Hurd has another theory: the transgressor is Henry Robinson, caretaker of the Tower Mansion. He's a man of meager finances, and other than Hurd and Adelia only he knows the combination to the safe. Robinson's son, Slim, is friends with the Hardy boys and they know his father isn't corrupt, but Hurd is convinced of Robinson's guilt, and Chief Ezra Collig of the Bayport police tends to agree. The only way to get Robinson off the hook is to prove his innocence.
Linking the holdup attempt, the mansion robbery, and the man who almost ran Frank and Joe off the road requires diligence, but Fenton Hardy takes his sons seriously once they provide him evidence. His sleuthing in the big city turns up an identity for the perpetrator: John "Red" Jackley, a burglar with sufficient experience to finesse the Applegate safe open without the combination. Fenton and a handful of law officers catch up to Jackley on the run, but the outlaw gets into a serious accident before they apprehend him. Seconds before dying, he admits he robbed the Tower Mansion and stashed the loot in "the old tower" to retrieve later. He must have meant the old tower wing of the mansion, opposite from the new tower erected only a few years ago. The mystery seems to be solved, a huge relief to Robinson's family; not only were legal charges pending, but the Applegates fired Robinson, and his son Slim had to quit high school and forgo his dream of attending college to take a job with the grocer. If the jewels and bonds are in the old tower as Jackley claimed, Robinson will be exonerated. A thorough search reveals nothing, however; the treasure is still missing, and Robinson is under worse suspicion than ever. It's time for Frank and Joe to buck conventional wisdom and see if they can crack this case that has stumped their father...the first of many, many cases for the legendary Hardy boys.
Most of my life I've wanted to be like the Hardy boys: formidable in physical altercations, intelligent and observant detectives, always ready to stand up to bullies. The Tower Treasure gives us all that in its most primitive form. Before Frank and Joe had cutting-edge technology and extensive infrastructure in later versions of the series, they were just as proficient at hunting down the bad guy with nothing but their wits. The Tower Treasure isn't a brilliant mystery, but it deserves credit for the phenomenon it set into motion, and for the inestimable number of kids who grew to love reading because of the Hardy boys. Whether the original series or a new incarnation, Hardy Boys books will always mean something to me.
February 2, 2017
The iconic Hardy Boys, Joe and Frank and their intrepid father Fenton are a delightful crime-solving family and this is their very first adventure. It is full of cliff-hangers and fun. Actually written by a collective that hides behind the name Franklin W. Dixon, the books had to be re-written in the 50s to remove some of the inherent racism that pervaded them. My son and I have only read the more recent volumes. After this first one, my 9yo wanted more Hardy's and so far we have read seven of them. This first one is pretty good and a way of introducing all the characters and the circle of friends - the unforgettable Chet, Tony and Biff.
January 22, 2012
Every book should have a bad hobo.
May 14, 2023
A retroactive 5-star from my 10 year old self.
December 2, 2012
Nostalgia. When I was a young man, or younger than a young man, I delved and consumed Hardy Boy books as if they were the best thing ever. I remember that they had a section of these for sale in May Company in the mall. And if the next book in the series wasn't there on the shelf, we were devastated, and needed to bug our parents to come back again and again to get it. Maybe even travel over to another bookstore and hope that they might have it. Bookstores were not everywhere when I was unable to drive myself. Much as they are becoming again.
First books in a series, a long series, do their best to introduce the various characters that will be in the series. This does that. It also gives us a little caper to follow through on. Perhaps an enticement that will make us love mysteries for the remainder of our lives.
From the perspective of a child this is done, and probably done well. Though I imagine that the age at which one appreciates this has trended younger. And now as an adult, reading many mysteries and even writing a few, know about trying to pull the reader along, this does not hold for an adult.
It works as a piece of Nostalgia and another time, another era, a remembrance for me of when I was young and clamoring for more of the series. But as an adult, perhaps something to share with a 'Tweener. But for it's own sake, there are much more tales with depth that I as an adult are more captivated by.
First books in a series, a long series, do their best to introduce the various characters that will be in the series. This does that. It also gives us a little caper to follow through on. Perhaps an enticement that will make us love mysteries for the remainder of our lives.
From the perspective of a child this is done, and probably done well. Though I imagine that the age at which one appreciates this has trended younger. And now as an adult, reading many mysteries and even writing a few, know about trying to pull the reader along, this does not hold for an adult.
It works as a piece of Nostalgia and another time, another era, a remembrance for me of when I was young and clamoring for more of the series. But as an adult, perhaps something to share with a 'Tweener. But for it's own sake, there are much more tales with depth that I as an adult are more captivated by.
October 7, 2025
Just for a laugh, I decided to read this first installment of the famous Hardy Boys mysteries. As a kid, I had read one or two of the original stories, as well as a handful of the "Hardy Boys Casefiles" series-- the updated, more contemporary adventures of Frank and Joe Hardy (at least for the 1980s)-- but I never fully got into them; now I wish I had. Going back to the first book of the original series, there are certainly lots of anachronisms to laugh at: referring to friends with nicknames like Biff and Slim as chums or fellas, lines like "'Good night!' chorused the young sleuths," and Frank and Joe's boyish innocence and exuberance despite being 18 and 17 years old respectively. But it's amazing how well the story itself it holds up-- I was definitely entertained and sincerely wanted to know how the case would be solved. For sheer fun and simple entertainment, I would definitely recommend the Hardy Boys series to young readers, families, and anyone who just enjoys a good story.
November 1, 2021
The Tower Treasure by Franklin W. Dixon is a fun action adventure mystery aimed at middle grade boys, but fun for adults too. I have been enjoying the Hulu's The Hardy Boys and Only Murders in the Building which rely on the old Hardy Boys stories and I thought I would read the very first written in 1927 and updated in 1959. I thought the writing would be horrible but the mystery was really fun and really smart. The twist are clever and keep you guessing. The dialogue is bad at times but I was prepared for it by watching the Venture Brothers, which were also heavily influenced by the Hardy Boys, so instead of when they repeatedly say "swell" it is more humorous than bad. Fun Fact the author of the Hardy Boys Franklin W. Dixon is a pen name the story was created by Edward Stratemeyer and written by Leslie McFarlane, thinking that the books wouldn't sell if written by a woman. The through the years it has had a mix of men and women but the pen name has stuck with it form 1927 to present day.
The Plot: The Hardy Boys, Frank 18 and Joe 17, on motorcycles are practically driven off the road by a crazed red headed driver. The Hardy boys make a delivery for their detective father, and find the crazed man's car wrecked with the license plate missing. Just up the hill is the boys friend Chet who's hot rod was just stolen, and here starts the mystery that will end with a jewel theft, that only the Hardy Boys can solve.
What I Liked: the Mystery was really clever, it is almost a two in one mystery where they have to solve the stolen car which leads to a mystery about a stolen jewels involving a tower. The humor is a little hokey but generally works, there's a scene where they ask old farmers if they have seen a missing car which was pretty funny. The adventuring was fun.
What I Disliked: The dialogue is dated and in a time capsule, which is not the problem, it is that the dialogue coming from Joe and Frank is hard to tell apart, it like they have a hive mind.
Recommendation: This book is really fun for all ages. It shows a fun mystery in a time between World Wars. If you are enjoying Hulu's The Hardy Boy's then you will enjoy the books series it is based on. I rated The Tower Treasure by Franklin W. Dixon 4 out of 5 stars.
The Plot: The Hardy Boys, Frank 18 and Joe 17, on motorcycles are practically driven off the road by a crazed red headed driver. The Hardy boys make a delivery for their detective father, and find the crazed man's car wrecked with the license plate missing. Just up the hill is the boys friend Chet who's hot rod was just stolen, and here starts the mystery that will end with a jewel theft, that only the Hardy Boys can solve.
What I Liked: the Mystery was really clever, it is almost a two in one mystery where they have to solve the stolen car which leads to a mystery about a stolen jewels involving a tower. The humor is a little hokey but generally works, there's a scene where they ask old farmers if they have seen a missing car which was pretty funny. The adventuring was fun.
What I Disliked: The dialogue is dated and in a time capsule, which is not the problem, it is that the dialogue coming from Joe and Frank is hard to tell apart, it like they have a hive mind.
Recommendation: This book is really fun for all ages. It shows a fun mystery in a time between World Wars. If you are enjoying Hulu's The Hardy Boy's then you will enjoy the books series it is based on. I rated The Tower Treasure by Franklin W. Dixon 4 out of 5 stars.
March 30, 2023
Fun read, a nice change of pace.
September 12, 2024
I really liked the suspense
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