What Happened at Midnight? (Hardy Boys, Book 10) [Facsimile] [Hardcover]

Franklin W. Dixon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2000 | Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

Frank and Joe break up the Taffy Marr jewel smuggling ring.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Franklin W. Dixon was the pseudonym devised by Edward Stratemeyer for the author of a series of mystery books he was developing which became the Hardy Boys series. The first book, The Tower Treasure, originally published in 1927, was written by Leslie MacFarlane who went on to write 19 more, including #2 through #16. In all, there are 58 titles in the original Hardy Boys Mysteries series published between 1927 and 1979 written by 17 different men and women. Many of the books were later revised, adding another four "Franklin W. Dixons" to the total.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 228 pages
• Publisher: Applewood Books (April 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557092680
• ISBN-13: 978-1557092687
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,245,510 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Return to the Caves!, April 13, 2005

By 

Lonnie E. Holder "The Review's the Thing" (Columbus, Indiana, United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: What Happened at Midnight (Hardy Boys, Book 10) (Hardcover)

The Hardy Boys find themselves in an unusual situation. Their father asked them to break into someone's home to retrieve a mysterious package. The boys find a way into the house, but almost as quickly as they have entered the house they see car headlights. Soon another set of thieves enter the house. After a tussle with the thieves the Hardy Boys are able to locate the mysterious package in a secret hiding place.

Soon the Hardy Boys are in the midst of one of their most dangerous cases. One of the boys is kidnapped. The boys tail a criminal to New York City and are nearly run down in a subway. Later the boys are in a plane that develops serious engine trouble, threatening the boys with death! Even with all the danger the boys face, there is yet more to come when the boys learn what is in the mysterious package and why the crooks want the package.

The author seems to be hooked on caves. The caves that appeared in "The Shore Road Mystery" appear prominently in this book. I think that once crooks find a good set of caves they must pass the location on to their friends.

I noticed a couple of rough spots where it appeared the more recent authors who revised the story may have eliminated some prose and struggled to smooth out transitions. I also thought the description of the electronics was a bit weak. Why were the electronics so valuable? Of course, today we expect electronics to be inexpensive. In another update perhaps the author will describe the electronics as the only prototype of a new video game in existence, or something similar.

This story moved along briskly, with a lot of action. This story is reasonably well written and held my attention from beginning to end. I think this story is one of the better stories in the 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.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Awesome Book, September 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: What Happened at Midnight (Hardy Boys, Book 10) (Hardcover)

This is the best Hardy Boys book. The excitement never ends. If I could only own one this would be it. They get to do all kinds of cool stuff, meet neat people and even jump out of a crashing plane. And the end eludes to technology available today.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This review is for the original text version by Applewood., May 14, 2001

By 

HardyBoys.us (Long Island USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: What Happened at Midnight (Hardy Boys, Book 10) (Hardcover)

This is a good story but, it's got some things that annoy me.
For one thing, Leslie McFarlane seems to be pandering to his audience here. The "innocent horseplay" that is so glibly dismissed as youthful hijinks in the first two chapters is only slightly short of criminal behavior and certainly is not what we expect of our heroes or their chums.
And how about that party at Chet's for 15 to 17 year olds that goes on until 2 AM, complete with orchestra and in the middle of the greatest economic depression in the country's history?
For another thing, Aunt Gertrude is at her obnoxious, overbearing worst in this story. For whatever other faults the villian Chris may have had, one can only admire his audacity for standing up to the old hag. Just once I'd like to see perennial jellyfish Laura Hardy get enough gumption to stand up to Gertie and say something along the lines of "Gertrude, you old battle axe, this is my house and these are my boys, so kindly shut up and mind your own business if you wish to continue sponging off us!" but, alas, Laura has never said a word.
Another odd thing is the complete absence of Fenton, who is out west on a case. Not a word from him or to him, even when Joe is kidnapped! I kept expecting him to show up and somehow tie his current case into the plot but he never did. Instead, those two dopey government agents show up for the climax. It would have been just as easy to tie Fenton into the plot, so why use those two dopes at all?....
We also discover another Hardy relative, a "Cousin Hattie" of Gresham. Just who she is related to is open for speculation but it is Gertie who refers to her as cousin. We also learn the Gertie is 65 years of age, which has to make her Fenton's elder, if not eldest, sister.
The one part of the story I particularly enjoyed was the Boys' trip to the city. Their adventures there are plausible and well written. The recounting of their trek back to Bayport (sleeping in Central Park, taking trollies etc.) lends an air of authenticity to the story.

Rating: B-

Originally reviewed by me in my Bayport Times Issue #21