The Crisscross Shadow (The Hardy Boys, No. 32) [Hardcover]

Franklin W. Dixon (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

The Hardy boys find the missing deed to an Indians' land, prevent a phony salesman from carrying through a reckless scheme, and help their father solve a top-secret case.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap; Revised edition (January 1, 1953)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0448089327
• ISBN-13: 978-0448089324
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #316,580 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #35 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( D ) > Dixon, Franklin W.
  • #35 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Series > Mystery & Detective > Hardy Boys

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Swift Paced, February 3, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Crisscross Shadow (The Hardy Boys, No. 32) (Hardcover)

Published in 1953, this was a swift paced adventure that took place primarily in the wilderness near an Indian reservation. The crooks were known early on in the book to the Hardys and there was a great amount of interaction. All & all I really enjoyed this book. The frontispiece ranks among my favorite, the cover was well drawn, the plot and mystery kept the reader turning from page to page. There actually was a good mystery here as the Hardys were in a race with the criminals to learn the location of the Crisscross Shadow. RATED B+

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars those blessed blue bound books, October 1, 2000

By 

Orrin C. Judd "brothersjudddotcom" (Hanover, NH USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Crisscross Shadow (The Hardy Boys, No. 32) (Hardcover)

In all your life, in all the places you've lived, has any touch of interior design or decoration ever looked better than that long powder blue line of Hardy Boy book spines, with the little Frank & Joe cameo, did on your bookshelf when you were a kid? I thought not.

The Hardy Boys were created, along with Nancy Drew and the Bobbsey Twins and myriad others, by Edward L. Stratemeyer (1862-1930). He would then outline stories and farm them out to writers hired through his Stratemeyer Syndicate--which sounds like the literary equivalent of the Triangle Shirt Waist factory. The resulting stable of series must surely be the most read children's books of all time, even in this era of Goosebumps and Harry Potter.

Frank and younger brother Joe are the sons of the renowned detective Fenton Hardy, who always seems to be away on an important case. Between attending class and winning football games for Bayport High, the boys manage to investigate their own fair share of suspicious doings. This fairly typical entry finds the brothers involved in a case which includes a local Indian tribe (yes they were still Indians then) and some dubious characters who keep trying to break into their Dad's safe.

Blessedly free of strong language, serious violence, sexual subtexts or weighty social issues, the books are suitable for all ages. I fondly recall plowing through pretty near the whole series, with brief timeouts for Encyclopedia Brown. I can't imagine a kid not liking them.

GRADE: B

5.0 out of 5 stars When Being 'Good' Wasn't Considered a Joke ..., December 12, 2011

By 

Just Plain Bill - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Crisscross Shadow (The Hardy Boys, No. 32) (Hardcover)

I have now read 23 of these wonderful books by Franklin W. Dixon, and The Crisscross Shadow ranks among my favorites. There are the usual 'Bad Guys' here, but these crooks are particularly rotten to the core! And it is this crookedness - as opposed to the goodness and caring of the Hardys - that leads to several (literal!) cliff hangers within this story.
And this is what I love about Dixon's books: They display to their readers a time when goodness, thoughtfulness, honor, respect, and caring were not seen as something to mock, but something to hold up as a model for (particularly young) members of society.
My wife and I have given the first 15 of these books to some friends who have just given birth to a beautiful baby boy (it'll be a while before he can read them, of course!), and the remaining 8 to our seven year old nephew. We hope that these books will be able to transport them - in some small way - to a time when the virtues listed above were something to be cherished and honored. Sure, these times weren't perfect (just look at all of the rotten bad guys!), but at least Dixon's characters like the Hardys and their friends bring a counter-balance to the 'bad stuff'!
In a time when folks like Tim Tebow are openly made fun of, and Reality TV "celebrities" who seem to live only for themselves are thought of as, well ... "celebrities!", it is refreshing to read stories about characters who actually stand for something. Now if only we could have more of that in real-life!