Customer Reviews

The Mystery of the Flying Express (Hardy Boys, Book 20)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Dear Mr. Dixon,
Hi, I'm a big, big fan of yours. I just absolutely loved your Flying Express book. It was great when Frank was pushed overboard and had to hang over the the blades for thirty seconds when his hands were really wet. Whew! (...) I liked how Chet was turning into an Astrologer every time he met the Hardy Boys. I also liked how Zig who was the gangleader, liked Astrology, just like Chet. My favorite part was when the Hardy's found they're boat and Skee didn't know it belonged to them and let them test drive it but he ended up being arrested on the dock. I just wanted to congratulate you on this book and hope you keep on writing more fantastic books.
Your fan,
Bobby Hughes

After the complexity of the previous Hardy Boys book, "The Disappearing Floor," I was ready for a bit simpler story, and this book delivers. This time the mystery centers on the Flying Express, a hydrofoil that is just entering service on Barmet Bay. Someone is out to prevent the Flying Express from entering service. Who is behind these attempts?

This story is somewhat interesting in the Chet Morton's new hobby, astrology, plays a critical part in the story. Chet's hobbies have often played a part in Hardy Boys books, but in this book his hobby is central to capturing the criminals.

The Hardys discover an unusual group of criminals in this mystery, including one who does everything based on his horoscope. The boys also encounter a businessman who seems as though he might have something to do with the mystery, but how, and why?

The Hardy boys have frequently encountered criminals who have put them into danger, in addition to the danger they often encounter on their own. This time the criminals do things that could endanger dozens of lives as they try to stop the Flying Express from crossing Barmet Bay.

This story is interesting with elements that are educational and enjoyable. The story is paced well and is reasonably easy to follow. While I enjoyed the complexity of the previous story, "The Disappearing Floor," the relative simplicity of the story line in this book was welcomed. Further, though the story line is somewhat simple, there was sufficient complexity to keep the story interesting.

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.

Frank and Joe get tangled with violint crimmanls in this frightning mystery. I would give this book a hundred stars if I could!I couldn't put the book down when I was reading it. I had to see what happend next! That will happen to you too when you read the Mystery of the Flying Express! I promise, you will love this book!!!

The original 1941 version of The Flying Express was a poorly written book in certain respects. The book is very slightly disjointed in places and perhaps more to the point it contains several glaring errors all too well known to most Hardy enthusiasts - ie: The incorrect names given for Mrs. Hardy & Chief Collig. That said and those things aside this was a pretty good book. As I child I held this book in high esteem. It is a story about spies using a train called the Flying Express. It is the brothers task to find the spies and their camp and bring them to justice. It is too bad the book contains several errors because otherwise it had a great plot and was an enjoyable read. More accurately I rate it a 3.4 star, the story a 4 star, the errors within a 2 star. RATED B-

REVISION: The 1970 revision - from memory was a dud. I may not be the best person to rate the revision. I can simply say I read it once and was not impressed. Its worth reading, but ranks among the bottom dwellers.

This review concerns the revised 1970 edition. When a new hydrofoil is set to begin taking passengers between Bayport and Cape Cutlass, its owner, fearing sabotage from angry boat owners, asks Frank and Joe to come along on its maiden voyage. Arriving in Cape Cutlass, Frank and Joe also, try to help their father with his case concerning a gang that has been stealing boating supplies. I hate reviewing books like this one because there really isn't much to say. The book was neither excellent nor bad; just average. The mystery isn't one of the better ones; however , it is not boring either. I don't think that most fans of the series would rank this book as one of their favourites, but I don't believe that many fans would be disappointed with the book either.

I really liked this book, especially because it's a sea voyage story. It's weird that they call it the Flying Express if it dosen't fly. But it's a good name, still. Most parts of this book are normal, but the end is a little better than the other parts. Some parts are okay since they are just normal and what you'd expect. But overall, this was probably one of my favorites. I recommend that you try it out.

Sneaking around, discovering what other teens or adults were up to, solving crimes, ahh, I loved this series.
I read the entire series as a kid, and loved it. It chronicles two brothers and their friends adventures as they solve mysteries of all imaginable kinds. I only learned as an adult that Franklin W Dixon was a pen name used by several different authors, but the series had some great stories. I still enjoy a good mystery.

Paul Buckner,

author of "From Broke to Broker, and other stories of finding financial freedom."

this series is wonderful for youth who love the thrill of action. ive had a great time reading them myself.

When I started reading it, it was hard to understand. The author didn't give very much information at the beginning of the book. After I read a few chapters I understood it. This isn't my favorite Hardy Boy book, but it has plenty of action, and it kept me on the edge of my seat. If you are a Hardy Boy fan you will find it anything but boring.

This book right here is very suspenseful for a Hardy Boy book, and that is exactly why I liked this book. You wanna know what brought my hair standing to my head? The part where the airplane was flying right over the ship. So if you like a really suspenseful book Hardy Boys style... this one's for you baby :D.