The Disappearing Floor (Hardy Boys, Book 19) [Hardcover]

Franklin W. Dixon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1940 | Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

Once again Frank and Joe Hardy accept the challenge of a puzzling case when their famous detective father asks the boys to assist him in tracking down a notorious jewel thief and his accomplices. The trail leads to the outskirts of the Hardy s home town and to a weirdly guarded mansion on the old Perth estate. Author: Franklin W. Dixon Reading Level: Ages 8 to 14 years Publisher: Penguin Group USA Format: Hardcover, 192 pages ISBN: 9780448089195

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap; New edition edition (May 1, 1940)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 044808919X
• ISBN-13: 978-0448089195
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #296,678 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #41 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( D ) > Dixon, Franklin W.
  • #41 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Series > Mystery & Detective > Hardy Boys

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing Hardy Boys book, June 16, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Disappearing Floor (Hardy Boys, Book 19) (Hardcover)

This book is easily my favorite Hardy Boys book. It has jewel thieves, cool gizmos (of that time period), an old mansion full of mysteries, and an old man with an unknown purpose. Hardy Boys fans, check it out!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Disappearing Floor is Among the Best!, October 27, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Disappearing Floor (Hardy Boys, Book 19) (Hardcover)

The Disappearing Floor has always been one of my favorite Hardy Boys stories. A thrilling mystery about unscrupulous jewel thieves who are using a mysterious old mansion (which has a long-kept secret) as a hideout. It has excellent plot twists and the several intriguing storylines are woven together deftly. Awesome story!!!! I read it again for the first time in 15 years. This is one of those Hardy Boys titles where the revised text version is vastly superior to the original.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Science Fiction Hardys, June 5, 2005

By 

Lonnie E. Holder "The Review's the Thing" (Columbus, Indiana, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Disappearing Floor (Hardy Boys, Book 19) (Hardcover)

There was a fascination in the 30s with science fiction. The original Hardy Boys book which was revised into this book was originally written in the early half of the last century, as you can tell by the improbably gadgets described in this story.

This mystery is one of the most bizarre of the early Hardy Boys' books. There are supposed ghosts, a mysterious death, secret passages, missing documents, and a host of other unusual circumstances, including an eccentric scientist, missing diamonds, and a possible source of amethysts.

One of the most difficult aspects of this book is its complexity. Numerous elements are woven together from the very beginning of the book that leaves you hanging until near the end. As one example, there is a floor that seems to come and go and for a good portion of the book the Hardy boys have a difficult time knowing whether the disappearing floor actually exists.

I found the eccentric scientist and his gadgets humorous. While his devices might have seemed possible when this book was written in 1940, we are reasonably certain today that some of the devices described are unlikely to exist. However, I found it enjoyable to think back to an era when anything seemed possible.

The complexity of the story does make it a bit difficult to follow. This Hardy Boys' book would benefit from an expansion of the story, or a revision to eliminate some of the elements. I found myself re-reading portions of the book because I missed a detail. However, at the end the author does explain all the details to clarify what happened.

As complex as this story is, I enjoyed it. Much of the story is so incredible that it throws the story into another reality that allows you to ignore the dire danger that the Hardys find themselves in. This other reality also allows you to overlook the coincidences and the complexity of the story. This book is one of my favorites in this series.

Though the Hardy Boys series is written in a relatively archaic fashion, as reading material for an increasingly younger audience they are excellent. The stories were once recommended for children ages 10 to 14. As children are exposed to more violence and seem to require greater levels of stimulation, the recommended age range has move to 9 to 12. I think any child capable of reading some of the challenging words in these books will enjoy them, regardless of how tame most of the action may be. Once a child has reached age 12 or so the stories may be of less interest, but given the combination of mystery and action, these books remain good safe choices for parents who want to know what their children are reading.