Customer Reviews

The Ghost at Skeleton Rock (Hardy Boys, Book 37)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

WOW, this is a great read! That's what I think of the Hardy Boys book #37, THE GHOST AT SKELETON ROCK! Anyone interested in a good read will like this book. It is full of danger, excitement, and it will leave you guessing in till the end! If I were to rate this book, I would give it: (out of ten stars)
Creativity: **********
Interest: **********
Excitement: **********
Action: **********
Overall: **********/**********
Age minimum: 10 years old

I thought that this was a pretty good book because there are lots of actions and good scenes in there. Once I started to read the book, I couldn't put it down until I was finished with it. So I highly reccomend you to read it.

In quite a few books in this series Chet Morton's hobbies either are important to solving the mystery, or they lead to a mystery. Such is the case in this story. Chet is learning to become a ventriloquist, and he has saved enough money to purchase a dummy. However, it appears that dummies are very popular and Chet has a difficult time buying one. In a shop that has a dummy to sell, two men take a dummy that Chet is about to purchase at gunpoint! Fortunately, the proprietor has another dummy in stock.

Chet's dummy is damaged by accident, and suddenly the mystery becomes more complex when the boys discover raw diamonds in the dummy's glass eyes. The mystery continues to increase in complexity and danger when an extra suitcase containing a bomb appears on the Hardys' new plane. The boys also learn that the gang includes a member who looks a lot like Joe Hardy. The resemblance between the criminal and Joe will cause Frank and Joe difficulties throughout this mystery.

The mystery leads to Puerto Rico, where the boys encounter the criminals time and again, and yet seem to have difficulties learning what the criminals are up to, only that there is something sinister and complicated going on. Eventually the boys travel to a remote island where the natives are clearly restless, and where the huge ghost of skeleton rock lives. Soon after the story reaches its climax and the Hardys, Chet Morton and Tony Prito solve all the mysteries, including one involving a group of revolutionaries.

I thought the most intriguing part of this story occurred early on, when Frank and Joe Hardy and Chet Morton were trying to figure out what was going on with the dummy and the diamonds. After everyone went to Puerto Rico the story seemed to get a little weaker. The story also dates itself because the story describes Carib Indians that appear to be living a very archaic life. Given the size of the island and its location, it seems unlikely that the Indians were indeed Carib and it seems unlikely that they would still exist in the same condition today.

I find myself conflicted about this Hardy Boys mystery. The story had good portions, but there were also portions that left me wondering what the author was thinking. I happened to be reading another book about Puerto Rico at about the same time, "The Happy Hollisters at Lizard Cove," and I noticed the same lack of attention to detail. While I am prepared to forgive a few errors, this time the author appeared lazy and that decreased my reading pleasure. However, I am determined to read all the Hardy Boys books, regardless of their quality. If I had the ability, I think I would have given this story three and a half stars.

The publisher recommends the Hardy Boys series for ages 9 to 12 because the series is relatively tame for the previous target audience of ages 10 to 14. This particular book is a good fit for the new age range. Though the Hardy Boys series contains archaic information, as reading material for an increasingly younger audience they are good. 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.

Hello my name is Aaron Fitzgerald and I am writing this review for my Literature class at school. This book number 37 in a great series is about 2 boys named Frank(16) and Joe(17) Hardy who solve mysteries. Together with the help of friends and family together solve international crimes. They have been on many perilous journies around the world together in search of mystery and danger. If you really enjoy a good mystery/danger book with plenty of action then read on to find out more about the book.

In the beginning of the book Frank and Joe recieve a message from their father(also a detective)that reads 'Find Hugo purple turban'. So they found a man named Hugo who had an assistant that wore a puple turban. Unfortunately the Hardy boys got tied up by Hugo and his assistant(Abdul)and they criminals escaped. Later when they went to buy a ventriloquist dummy it had a puple turban. Later after investigating the dummy they found uncut diamonds in the eyes. Ill stop there so you wll have to read the book to find out the rest so i wont spoil the ending.

I would reccomend this book to anyone likes books filled with action, mystery, and danger. Even if you dont after reading a coulple of Hardy Boy books you will. That is what happened to me. I love these books and now and have a collection of about 20-30 books. I really encourage all to read this book. You wont regret it.

A.F.

This is one of the hardy boy classics. It is a defninte must read.

This is certainly one of the worst books in the series not to be outdone by a few others. The book is packed with an adequate amount of action - yet it was still rather difficult to remain interested. The brothers are hardly in Bayport, the writing is weak, and the is little to no mystery whatsoever. The theme is ballooning and naturally it is Chet's hobby. ... The brothers had a lot of interaction with the criminals which was good, and I rank this a strong one star, but not deserving of a 2. RATED D.

The main setting is San Juan that is a capital in Puerto Rico. Calypso Island is north of Puerto Rico. The story starts in the United States in a city called Bayport. Calypso Island is little and covered with shrubbery. It is small enough that an Indian tribe, a mansion and a hill just fits on it. San Juan is a town. Bayport is a big city by a bay. Most of the story takes place on Calypso Island.

Frank is dark haired, smart, brave, and clever. He is also alert, athletic, investigative, eager, and anxious. He wants to be like his Dad. His dad is a detective for the police department. Frank gets clues and organizes them. He talks with his brother, Joe who helps him solve mysteries. A few more things that describe Frank are detail oriented, a sometimes overactive mind, and self -confidence.

At the beginning of the story, Frank was mostly a happy person. He was taking flying lessons and being with his brother. Frank was a little frustrated when he first got the clues to the mystery. He was eager to get some more clues to solve the mystery. It was exciting for him to help solve the mystery. He wanted to be like his dad the detective for the police. He was smart to find the bad guy in the phonebook. He felt important after he found two of the criminals. Frank was a little scared when the bad guy started shooting at their plane. He was a bit smarter after he solved the mystery. He felt good about himself.

At the beginning of the book, Frank and his brother, Joe, were sent a secret coded letter from their father. The letter said "Hugo Purple Turban." The boys looked for all the "Hugos" in the phone book. The boys were interested in finding the "Hugo" that stole some handbags. One of the Hugos had a purple turban. The boys went to investigate where handbag robberies occurred. They followed the suspects for a long time. They heard a clue. It was "Cabezona", which means pineapple. Before the brothers left for San Juan, their friends Chet and Tony found a ticking suitcase in the cargo hold. Frank said it was a bomb and threw it as far as he could. Then Frank, Joe, Chet, and Tony went to San Juan.

When they got to San Juan all the boys saw Frank and Joe's father. The brothers went to the airport. Frank went into one of the airplane's cargo area. The plane took off with Frank still in the cargo hold. He almost ran out of air but he didn't die. Joe was waiting at the airport for Frank. Frank and Joe went to a pineapple orchard because of the "Cabezona" clue. When they were there, someone pushed them off the edge of the 50-foot railing. Frank held Joe from falling any further. He held them till help came.

Then they went North of Cabezona and found the island called Calypso. They found a mansion on the island. Someone greeted them and gave them lobster dinner. It was lightly poisoned, but not enough to kill a person. Chet got a big stomachache. Tony had a small stomachache but Frank and Joe were fine. They went to get Chet some medicine. When they got back, the man said Chet and Tony went for a walk. Frank and Joe went to find them. They found a tribe of Indians. The Indians almost fed them to the sharks. Frank and Joe found Chet, Tony and their father, tied up in an underground chamber. Then they fought the criminals. The Indians helped fight. After the bad guys were arrested the Hardys got a medal, Tony got a speedboat, and Chet got a ventriloquism doll. They earned the boat, ventriloquism doll, and the medals because they helped solve a big mystery.

I like reading this Hardy Boys book because I like mysteries. I felt like I was in the book and I was Frank. In some of the parts I felt excited. When Frank found some diamonds, I felt like I wanted to read some more. I think you should read this book also.

This was a great book and really a good read. I had a lot of fun reading it and cant wait to read the next one

The Ghost at Skeleton Rock written by Franklin dixon is a very interesting book. In this book Frank and Joe Hardy investigate smuglers that leads them to islands in the Caribbean. The investigation starts when their friend Chet goes to buy a ventriloquist dummy. Frank and Joe find diamonds in the eyes which lead them to several suspects. They track them to Tropicale and find out even more about them. All the while the smuglers are tryin to catch them. The main characters are Frank, Joe, and Fenton Hardy and also Chet Morton. The Hardys are detectives from Bayport and Chet is their friend. Frank, Joe, and Chet are in high school. This story takes place in Bayport, and in the Caribbean. This is a mystery/adventure that will make you not want to put it down. It is very fast paced which is good for young boys that really dont like to read that much will like it. It is pretty similar to the other Hardy books because of the adventure and mystery. It is different because they are mainly by themselves and they have to deal with natives of the island. The style is third person point of view which is good because it keeps u wondering whats going to happen next. I really liked this book and I didnt want to put it down. I read this book everytime I had the chance. Most of the time during class which I got in trouble for. I would encourage anyone who loves adventure books to read this one.

This book was really good because there was a lot of action and unexpected things happened.