The Secret Warning (The Hardy Boys, No. 17) [Hardcover]

Franklin W. Dixon (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

The owner of a gold pharaoh's head clains it was aboard a frieghter Hardank but suspicions arise that he is trying to defraud theshipping l ine's insurance company.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap; New edition edition (June 1, 1938)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0448089173
• ISBN-13: 978-0448089171
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #494,279 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #74 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Series > Mystery & Detective > Hardy Boys
  • #74 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( D ) > Dixon, Franklin W.

More About the Author

Franklin W. Dixon is the pen name used by a variety of different authors (Leslie McFarlane, a Canadian author being the first) who wrote The Hardy Boys novels.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Secret Warning?, June 1, 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 Secret Warning (The Hardy Boys, No. 17) (Hardcover)

Just like the last Hardy Boys book, "A Figure in Hiding," this book is somewhat less thrilling than the others. This time the Hardys are seeking the golden head of Pharaoh Rhamaton IV, which was supposedly on board a sunken freighter, the Katawa. The Hardy Boys journey to nearby Whalebone Island where they receive the "secret warning." However, secret warning seems to be an oxymoron as the warning is received from a lighthouse. The sender of the warning did not want to be known at that time, but he wanted the Hardys to see the warning.

As the story proceeds the boys encounter a rather suspicious group of sailors on a salvage ship operating near where the Katawa sank. The Hardys believe the salvage ship might be attempting to recover the head from the Katawa. Later the Hardy boys discover even more suspicious evidence on the Katawa itself.

Later the boys discover that there is a sunken U-boat (a World War II German submarine) near where the Katawa sank. The boys also discover they have allies from an unexpected place.

As with most Hardy Boys books, there are questions galore. Who is the ghost of the pirate on Whalebone Island? What is the significance of the U-boat? Where is the golden pharaoh's head? Who is trying to warn the Hardys to stay away from Whalebone Island? The answer to these and many other questions are revealed as the pages of this mystery unfold.

This story is another story that has less excitement than many of the other early books in this series. I was somewhat jaded by this point and knew immediately that the ghost was a man, and was just a little bored with the author's shallow deceptions in this book. I am still happy that I read the book, but it is one of the weaker entries 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.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hardy Boys Books, September 29, 2010

By 

M. Perry (Olympia, WA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Secret Warning (The Hardy Boys, No. 17) (Hardcover)

I read these as a kid, and now reading to my grandson. He LOVES them.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Slightly Better Than The Original, July 6, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Secret Warning (The Hardy Boys, No. 17) (Hardcover)

This review concerns the revised 1966 edition. Frank and Joe help their father investigate for a shipping line which suspects that the owner of a valuable Egyptian treasure is trying to defraud their insurance company by claiming that the treasure was aboard their freighter, the Katawa, when it sank off Whalebone Island near Bayport. Also, Frank and Joe are haunted by the ghost of a pirate said to have haunted Whalebone Island years ago. This book sounds like it shouldn't be bad, but for whatever reason I never found that I was very interested in it. Very few of the chapter endings left me with the feeling that I had to read more. That said, for anyone who is going to read this title, read the revised edition because it is better than the original, which completely lacked a mystery and was really nothing more than an adventure story.