Customer Reviews

The Short-Wave Mystery (Hardy Boys, Book 24)

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

 

 

Up to this book in the series, each of the stories was relatively consistent. Even when the stories were weak, they still had a measure of interest. However, this story is the weakest yet in the series. There are some problems with the way the story was written, and the entire premise is not fully exploited.

Chet Morton, the Frank and Joe Hardy's best friend, has started yet another hobby. This time he is into taxidermy. Chet convinces the brothers to attend an auction at the Elias Batter Estate. Elias was well-known for his abilities as a taxidermist, and Chet is hoping to purchase samples of his work.

No sooner does the trio arrive at the auction when they encounter a station wagon roaring away from the auction and someone yelling "Stop, thief." The two Hardys jump into their car to give pursuit, leaving Chet with his auction purchases. The boys finally lose the car after encountering a deer that was hit by the escaping car. The Hardy Boys have encountered another mystery!

We soon discover that someone is stealing animals stuffed by Elias Batter from all over the place. We also encounter Elias Batter's nephew, and his greedy wife is hovering in the background. We are given a tantalizing tidbit that there may be something hidden in one of the animals, and that something may have been the result of a crime committed by Elias Batter. We also learn that there may be some sort of spies involved in stealing secrets from a number of industrial plants. The question is: what does that have to do with the stuffed animals?

The problem with this mystery is that it never really takes off. The pace of the story just seems to plod along. Even near the end, from the time the boys learn who the criminals likely are to the time the boys encounter the criminals and the criminals are captured only requires five pages of description. There is no time to build any suspense or to place the boys in any danger. Even at the end of the story Mrs. Batter gets one line, and then the author ignores her completely. I get the feeling from the writing that the author was just trying to wring a story from a concept, and did not want to put any effort into really developing the plot.

This story is nearly so weak to deserve two stars, but I only give two stars to things that I could not recommend to anyone. I will say that this book is worth having for a fan of the Hardys, especially those collecting the series. However, this story is not the place to begin reading the series, and if you are seeking the better books in the series, you can definitely pass this one by.

Though the Hardy Boys series was 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.

This book continues the feel of the series that had been present since The Mark On The Door of 1934. After this volume however, the writing style would change. McFarlane wrote the original version of the book during his second stint with the Syndicate. I think the Syndicate had other ideas and let him finish The Melted Coins and World War II end before letting the hammer fall. In 1945 when the war ended this book was published then the heat was put on the author to bring the Hardy's into the scientific age. Like any of us at work, when change is implemented, we react with negativity. McFarlane at this point I feel became uninterested in the series and wrote his worst book to date only to be surpassed in 1947 by The Phantom Freighter. The book was medicore by Hardy Boys standards but subpar by McFarlane standards. Taxidermy becomes the sub plot and fingerprinting is performed for the first time in the series with this volume. The child like innocence held in the earlier volumes is now gone. I find this book somewhat difficult to rate. To me it is a 2.4 - Still it is worth reading and not among the worst of the series by any means. RATED C

McFarlane wrote the original version of the book during his second stint with the Syndicate. I think the Syndacate had other ideas and let McFarlane finish The Melted Coins and World War II end before letting the hammer fall. In 1945 when the war ended this book was published then the heat was put on the author to bring the Hardy's into the scientific age. Like any of us at work, when change is implemented, we react with negativity. McFarlane at this point I feel became uninterested in the series and wrote his worst book to date only to be surpassed in 1947 by The Phantom Freighter. The book was average by the sets standards but sub par by McFarlane's standards. The revision was not much worse. Taxidermy become the sub plot and fingerprinting is performed for the first time in the series in this volume. The child like innocence held in the earlier volumes is now gone.

ORIGINAL Rated C+ Revision: Rated C

Let me just say that this is an awesome book!

Kept me breathless till the last page! Awesome cover art and The Hardys had major action! As the book starts out, the Hardys are operating their ham radio when they hear aunt gertrude yell "There's an ape out there!" They find out it's just a stuffed replica. Then on their radio they hear APEMAN CALLING THE HARDYS! MY AGENT IS WATCHING YOUR HOUSE! and then growls and snorting. It turns out to be their chum, Chet, who is into taxidermy. He wants them to go with him to an auction for stuffed animals at Elias Batter's old mansion. When they get there, someone yells "Theif! Stop theif!" and the boys give chase! At the same time, their father is investigating an industrial spy ring. Are the 2 cases connected? Did old Mr. Batter hide a pearl necklace he stole twenty five years ago in one of his animals? How do the copycat companies get the info so fast? Why does evey business they go to have a stuffed animal in it? To find out the ending of this bizarre mystery, check it out at your local library!

This review concerns the original 1945 edition. Frank and Joe help their father capture a group of thieves that steal valuable radio equipment and communicate in code using short-wave radio. Also, an old friend of Mr. Hardys asks for the detective's help in locating some missing friends. This was the first book in which Chet had a hobby (in this case, taxidermy) that played a part in the mystery. Not much to say about this book, actually, it's neither good nor bad, just average. The mystery is not spectacular and it's not boring either. Most Hardy Boys fans would probably not be very excited by this book, but it probably won't put them to sleep either.

This review concerns the revised 1966 edition. Frank and Joe investigate the theft of a number of stuffed animals from a country auction and aid their father with his case concerning an industrial spy ring that is using short-wave radio to send coded messages containing the names of various wild animals. This book was average; the mystery was alright and it had a moderate amount of action. Most fans would probably not be bored with this book, but I don't think that many would be very excited by it either.

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."

When "F.W.Dixon's" daughter began revising the Hardy Boys in the 1950s, she left this one out.

It could be because youth's fascination with "short wave radio" had waned by the late 1950s, and she thought that no amount of revision could fix this problem.

But, of course, this was before the world wide web was invented by Al Gore.

Since this story is so inventive, lively and strong, it would be a great candidate for updating today, with the "Short-Wave" in the title shifted to some other technology. Some possibilities:

"The Universal Record Locator Mystery."

"The World Wide Web Mystery"

"The Internet Protocol Dispute Mystery"

"The Domain Name Mystery"

"The Mystery of the Swollen Sock."

Possibilities abound. I wonder why no one's jumped one yet.

A tremendous action packed book. One of the best in the series. Brings back memories of my childhood days when I was crazy about the Hardy boys.

A fair representation of the Hardy Boys series where they incorporate short-wave radios into the plot of the story. A very interesting read.