Customer Reviews

The Mystery at Devil's Paw (Hardy Boys, Book 38)

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

 

 

This book was the fifth book I've read in The Hardy Boys. This is probably my second favorite book in this series because I love mysteries. This book has alot of mysteries in it. My favorite part in this book is when the the group meets Tony. My second favorite part in this book is the ending. My third favorite part in this book is the beginning. My Favorite book in this series is The Disappearing Floor. You should read this book. This is a really good book.

This is the first Hardy Boys book I ever read. I did not eavn know it was a Hardy Boys book or I would not have read it because I thought it was just for boys, but I turned out likeing it. And now I have a rather large colection of them :)

My favorite Hardy Boys book is either this one or The Disappearing Floor. They both have a lot of action and adventure. In this book, Frank, Joe, and Chet go to Alaska. There they meet up with a friend named Tony Prito. Tony says that his life is in danger, and he and the Hardys encounter a gang of crooks that are searching for valuable treasures and a rocket that crashed in the area. The crooks even try to poach some salmon. This is a great book and I recommend it to any Hardy Boys fan.

This book may not be the best in the series but like most books in the series it has plenty of excitement and cliffhangers to keep the attention of the reader. The writer takes advantage Alaska and Canada as a backdrop very well as it affects the story to the point of being another character in the story. I have never understood why the Hardy Boys have been pidgeon holed as only being for boys 8-12. I honestly think the stories could be interesting to readers of all ages and would recommend them to all readers interested in mystery and suspence.

Tony Prito, a good friend of Frank and Joe Hardy, has gone to Alaska for the summer to work as a stream guard for the Fish and Wildlife Service. A week after his departure, Tony sends Frank and Joe a telegram asking for the Hardys' help. The boys break into their piggy banks and have just enough loose change to fly to Alaska.

Once in Alaska, the boys discover that Tony has encountered poachers several times, and the poachers have shot at Tony! As if that was not enough, the boys, including best buddy Chet Morton and new friend Native American Fleetfoot, soon encounter spies and unemployable types helping the spies as well as themselves by robbing Native American burial sites of priceless artifacts. Prior to leaving for Alaska, Frank and Joe heard a news story regarding a rocket launched from White Sands going off course and possibly crashing in Alaska. You can guess that the spies are looking for the rocket.

As with most Hardy Boys mysteries, the boys and their friends are captured, escape, encounter bears, and other interesting and unusual phenomena. In the end the boys summon the cavalry (the real military-type cavalry) to rescue one and all in the nick of time.

I enjoyed this story, which is about average for the series. Because it has been a few months since the last Hardy Boys book I read, the changes in technology were much more evident in this book. Telegrams are rarely used for routine communication, even from Alaska. The metal detectors used by the spies to find the rocket are called mine detectors. Air travel in general is very different from how it is described in this story as well, even excluding the changes since September 2001.

However, the details about Alaska are still generally true. Much of Alaska remains a wilderness, much of it protected. I wondered whether the details regarding the Athapascan Native Americans were accurate, but I was unsure of how to verify those details.

If you like Hardy Boys mysteries, I think you will enjoy this one. Fans new to the series should start with the first books in the series.

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.

It was good but not great. The mystery was good but solved quickly so they had to slow the pace down.

This book was the fifth book I've read in The Hardy Boys. This is probably my second favorite book in this series because I love mysteries. This book has alot of mysteries in it. My favorite part in this book is when the the group meets Tony. My second favorite part in this book is the ending. My third favorite part in this book is the beginning. My Favorite book in this series is The Disappearing Floor. You should read this book. This is a really good book.

This review concerns the original 1959 and revised 1973 editions, which are nearly identical except for a few differences in the way some things were phrased. The Hardys receive a telegram from their friend, Tony, who took a summer job in Alaska, as a stream guard for the Fish And Wildlife Service, and now believes that he has stumbled upon a mystery. Frank and Joe, along with Chet, head to the Alaskan wilderness to investigate why a gang is determined to get Tony away from his post and to search for an employee of the Fish And Wildlife Service who has disappeared. While this is not one of the best books of the series, it wasn't one of the worst. It's not as well written as most of the early volumes, but it is better written than many of the later volumes and has a good amount of action. While I, personally, do not like the constant globetrotting that the Hardys seem to do in many of the later volumes, the setting of Alaska was used very effectively by the author. This book might be only slightly better than average, but it still should not be skipped.

My favorite Hardy Boys book is either this one or The Disappearing Floor. They both have a lot of action and adventure. In this book, Frank, Joe, and Chet go to Alaska. There they meet up with a friend named Tony Prito. Tony says that his life is in danger, and he and the Hardys encounter a gang of crooks that are searching for valuable treasures and a rocket that crashed in the area. The crooks even try to poach some salmon. This is a great book and I recommend it to any Hardy Boys fan.

Published in 1959, this volume was a swift paced adventure set in Alaska. The best part of the book was the middle whereby they walked along a trail through the wilderness for several chapters. I found that entertaining. The end was horrible and thoughtless and really the book at times did not hold my interest. Throw in the good with the bad - I rank this an average book. RATED C