Customer Reviews

The Secret of the Old Mill (Hardy Boys, Book 3)

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The "Hardy Boys" books that you can buy at stores and on this site today are not the original stories. All the books were rewritten a few decades ago with two goals in mind: to dumb them down, and to make them more politically correct. The first goal was thought necessary because modern kids couldn't read as well; the second, because some of the books contained stereotypes unacceptable to modern sensibilities. The problem is that in making these changes, the stories were left far less interesting, and far less well written, than the originals.
I recently found a copy of the original "Secret of the Old Mill". It is far, far superior to the version people are reviewing here. And that story, at least, contained no offensive stereotypes.
You can find the original versions at used book stores (I found "Secret of the Old Mill" in good shape for seven bucks), and there is an online company that sells re-issues of the originals (I won't name it on Amazon's site, but you can search for it).
Find the originals and read them -- it's worth the effort!

In each of the first three Hardy Boys stories the author raised the ante with increasing danger for the boys and their father. In this story we have the boys threatened with guns and their father caught in an explosion. There also appear to be multiple mysteries from the beginning of the book.

Chet Morton, a good friend of the Hardy boys, is on his way to purchase a new microscope when they save a boy's life. The boy, Ken Blake, is a delivery boy for Elekton Corporation, which does top secret work on military rockets. After finding Ken's package, he is on his way to complete his delivery.

Shortly after saving Ken's life, the boys see Oscar Smuff, who thinks he is a detective, trying his cartoon best to shadow a man with a suitcase. Soon Oscar Smuff attempts to arrest the man, but then just as quickly backs down. Though Smuff had the wrong man, the boys soon learn that there is a counterfeiter operating in the Bayport area. Shortly after, the boys pick their father up from the railroad station and learn that he is working on a case that he is unable to talk about. Through much of the book we wonder whether their father is working on the counterfeiting case, and I will leave the reader to discover the rest.

Soon after, the boys spot a mysterious character riding away from their house on a bicycle, late at night. The boys try to run after the mysterious character, but are unable to catch up. What they discover is a note in their mailbox that says that the case should be given up, or there will be danger for the Hardy family.

We soon learn that the Elekton facility is new, and Elekton refurbished an old mill to act as part of the guard house for the new operation. We soon learn that there is something unusual going on in the old mill, though whether the unusual activities seem to have nothing to do with the counterfeiters. However, one day Ken Blake goes to the hardware story of Tony Prito's father and helps a man in a van pick up some materials, and the money that Ken Blake uses to pay Mr. Prito includes a counterfeit twenty dollar bill. The Hardy Boys do not believe Ken is involved in the counterfeiting operation, but they are wondering how Ken came into possession of the bill.

As the story evolves, we learn the old mill has a unique warning system, a hidden room, and a secret tunnel. We also learn that there is more than a single mystery in this book, which makes for interesting reading as the reader attempts to guess who the bad guys might be, and what their motivations are.

As in the previous story, their father is again in a dangerous situation and faces the possibility that he might be seriously injured or even killed. At one point things even look serious for the Hardy Boys. However, the crooks always seem to forget that the Hardy Boys and their friends are highly resourceful and work as a team, and just when things look the darkest the good guys arrive.

The exciting conclusion of this book involves a show down between the criminals and the Hardy Boys, and the criminals have a gun. It turns out that a portion of the mystery involves a nefarious plot that the reader can have the pleasure of discovering.

The Hardy Boys have been revised since their original publication number of decades ago. While the original stories may have been too outdated for modern children, the revisions have weaknesses in that some of the more interesting parts of the stories were removed as part of the revision. The stories could use another revision to restore the depth of the stories and provide some modifications of the stories for current audiences. For example, in this story Chet could be purchasing a new computer.

While the Hardy Boys have not aged well, 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.

My favorite Hardy Boys book is the Secret of the Old Mill. I loved the part when Ken Blake fell into the river and Frank and Joe jumped into the river to save Ken Blake. I also loved the part when Frank, Joe, and Chet were in the Sleuth and Frank pulled the wires from the engine to stop the boat. I think that the Secret of the Old Mill is the best Hardy Boys book I have read.

Hi my name is Ryan.The Secret of the Old Mill is a really good book.In the story Frank and Joe descover conterfeit $20 dollar bills and a company called Eleckton is making them.The hardys drive over in the Queen and Frank and Joe descover a secret door.Will Frank and Joe solve the conterfeit mystery? Read the book to find out.I recomend this book for people who like stories with a lot of excitement.

This book is the original story, written in 1927. It was also the third book in the series, and reading it in retrospect, it is easy to see that the long-term plot lines were just being developed. They are still very much portrayed as young boys, they complain about school and play absurd jokes on each other. Chet Morton is portrayed as a practical joker that simply will not let up. The story also has an interesting and absurd event that dates it. The Hardy boys, Chet Morton, Biff Hooper, Tony Prito and Jerry Gilroy are out walking on country roads en route to a picnic. Fed up with Chet's practical jokes, they turn the tables. They capture Chet and "forcibly divested him of his hiking-boots, socks and necktie." The idea that a sixteen-year-old boy would wear a necktie on a hike in the country is absurd now, yet not unusual in the 1920's.
The story itself is typical early Hardy boys, before they became fighters and were knocked unconscious on a regular basis. A gang of counterfeiters has moved into Bayport and the Hardy boys are among the many people who lost money. This is also the episode where they acquire their speedboat "The Sleuth" and it figures prominently in the solution of the case. The boys discover that the counterfeiters are producing the money in an old gristmill and wisely get their father and the police rather than challenge the criminals. The criminals are captured and the Hardy boys are once again praised for their intelligence and detecting ability.
This is an old story that is probably of interest only to people who are interested in the development of the Hardy boys series from the start in the middle of the 1920's to what it is today.

This review is of the 1962 Revised Version of "The Secret of the Old Mill". The first 38 titles in the series were revised over the course of 15 years (some with minor changes, others were completely re-written). "The Secret of the Old Mill" is the third Hardy Boys mystery.

Counterfeit money is being passed around Bayport. Chet Morton, the best friend of the Hardys, makes change of twenty dollars for a stranger and when he tries to purchase a microscope he learns that the bill is counterfeit. When the boys bring the bill into the police station, they learn that the chief has known about the counterfeits being passed but is keeping it quiet so as to not alert the criminals. The Hardys start some investigating on their own. Threats are made to the Hardys telling them to get off the case; but are the threats about the counterfeit case or the secret mystery that their father, Fenton Hardy, is investigating?

Reading the Hardy Boys as an adult is a nostalgic pleasure. I loved these books as a child and remember so much from when I read them years ago. What makes these books special is that I can enjoy them almost as much now as I did back then. "The Secret of the Old Mill" remains a good Hardy Boys mystery and a great story. It is fast paced and always interesting. I remember that after I read this book as a child, I started checking all of my money (such as it was) to see if it was counterfeit. That's the mark of a good story, that it can make a child interested in what is around him and comparing it to what was learned in the book.

-Joe Sherry

Frank and Joe have two mysteries to unravel- a counterfeiting case and a national security case that their father is working on. Will they b able to tie up all the loose ends?

This was a story about the Hardy Boys trying to solve a mystery about catching countefieters. It has interesting people in it like Ken Blake, a kid who in the story who becomes a friend to the brothers. There is excitement and mystery when they find a secret tunnel in a cave. This tunnel ends up being part of another hidden room that the boys find leading them to more clues. I enjoyed trying to figure out the mystery by the clues that are found in the story. Their stories are kind of predictable sometimes, but I still enjoy them. The story is exciting and makes you want to keep on reading.

This review concerns the revised 1962 edition. Counterfeit money is being circulated throughout Bayport and Frank and Joe try to track down the culprits. While not as good as the original edition, this book is still interesting and exciting, with plenty of action. Read the original edition if you can, but if not the revised edition should not disappoint you.

This review concerns the original 1927 edition. Counterfeit money is being circulated in Bayport and Frank and Joe attempt to track down the criminals. A great book and, like all of the low editions of the original set, very well written. These books are interesting enough just for the little glimpse of life back in the 1920s that they provide. This book has a good, realistic mystery and plenty of action. The only problem with this book was the ending, which was surprisingly boring. Despite this, I'd still recommend this book.