Franklin W Dixon - Shastrix Books

Franklin W Dixon

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Panic on Gull Island

Panic on Gull Island

Franklin W Dixon

6th May 2023

The Hardys and Chet barely break a sweat when their friend/girlfriend/sister Iola is kidnapped in Florida. This is probably the most glaring plot hole in this novel, in which the only people to go looking for a missing teenager are three other teenagers, with all their parents just carrying on with their lives.

Beyond that, it’s the usual tale of near-misses, breaking and entering to look for clues, and eventually finding the coincidences that tie everything together. Pretty standard on that front from this era of Hardy Boys books.

Reasonably well paced though and with a good variety of characters and clues, and although Iola isn’t visible, she clearly has some level of agency throughout which is more than sometimes (although that hardly makes up for the incredibly low amount for any other female character).

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Attack of the Video Villains

Attack of the Video Villains

Franklin W Dixon

31st December 2022

The Hardys and Chet spend book 106 in New York, where Joe is playing in an early esports championship - until someone starts stealing all the game cartridges.

It’s actually a delightfully retro story in retrospect, inspiring nostalgia for the early 90s, but at the time would have been the height of modernity.

The story suffers from reverting to some older tropes though - I don’t think there was a single female character in the entire book.

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The Smoke Screen Mystery

The Smoke Screen Mystery

Franklin W Dixon

31st December 2022

For story 105 the Hardy brothers sign up to be volunteer fire-fighters, which despite this being a book from 1990 still feels like an archaic way to run your fire service.

While the plot works, the characters seem to have become a lot more willing to break a lot of laws in their investigations - this in particular is full of things which would not hold up in court as legitimate crime-fighting activity.

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Tricks of the Trade

Tricks of the Trade

Franklin W Dixon

31st December 2022

The Hardys and their friend Chet visit New York in book 104 to see a famous magician, but more than just glamorous assistants start to disappear.

It’s a more traditional story, but continues the new 1990s characterisation of Joe as a hot-head. The plot feels a bit convoluted at the end, but possibly I was just very tired when reading it.

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The Million-Dollar Nightmare

The Million-Dollar Nightmare

Franklin W Dixon

31st December 2022

The Hardy brothers are once again on their summer holidays (the last few books have leapt around the seasons, almost as if they’re targeting release in different school holidays) and find themselves in San Francisco, where a horse has been stolen.

There’s a string of coincidences, but the boys do manage some investigating - they’ve become much less concerned about breaking the law during their investigations though. I’m not sure how I feel about how far they go this time.

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Terminal Shock

Terminal Shock

Franklin W Dixon

31st December 2022

A very computer-focussed adventure 102 for the Hardy brothers, when Frank’s first online friend is poisoned.

It’s a good introduction to 1990s computing - although in retrospect Joe’s character feels like an old man when reading with a modern point of view. It’s interesting how Joe’s character has shifted in the last few novels into much more of a jock.

The mystery hangs loosely, and doesn’t feel like it’s really the main focus this time out.

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The Money Hunt

The Money Hunt

Franklin W Dixon

31st December 2022

In book 101 the Hardy brothers go on holiday again to visit an old friend of their dad’s whose cabin in the woods is being haunted.

It’s a fairly typical adventure, with a range of suspects and danger. Not much of a mystery or investigation - more just a series of cliffhangers.

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Other reviewed books

The Secret of the Island Treasure
Dungeon of Doom
Spark of Suspicion
Cast of Criminals
Wipeout
Danger on the Air
Breakdown in Axeblade
The Serpent's Tooth Mystery
The Shadow Killers
Shield of Fear
Danger on the Diamond
The Sky Blue Frame
Tricky Business
Programme for Destruction
The Mystery of the Silver Star
The Skyfire Puzzle
Revenge of the Desert Phantom
The Swamp Monster
The Blackwing Puzzle
The Demon's Den
The Roaring River Mystery
Sky Sabotage
Cave-in
The Crimson Flame
Game Plan For Disaster
Trapped at Sea
The Tic-Tac Terror
The Billion Dollar Ransom
The Voodoo Plot
Track of the Zombie
The Infinity Clue
The Four-Headed Dragon
The Submarine Caper
The Outlaw's Silver
The Vanishing Thieves
The Stone Idol
The Mystery of Smugglers Cove
The Mummy Case
The Apeman's Secret
The Pentagon Spy
The Mystery of the Samurai Sword
Night of the Werewolf
The Hardy Boys Detective Handbook
The Sting of the Scorpion
The Firebird Rocket
The Jungle Pyramid
The Witchmaster's Key
The Mysterious Caravan
The Clue of the Hissing Serpent
The Shattered Helmet
The Masked Monkey
Danger on Vampire Trail
The Bombay Boomerang
The Arctic Patrol Mystery
The Mystery of the Whale Tattoo
The Secret Agent on Flight 101
The Mystery of the Spiral Bridge
The Haunted Fort
The Mystery of the Aztec Warrior
The Viking Symbol Mystery
The Clue of the Screeching Owl
The Mystery of the Desert Giant
The Mystery of the Chinese Junk
The Mystery at Devil's Paw
The Ghost at Skeleton Rock
The Secret of Pirates' Hill
The Clue in the Embers
The Hooded Hawk Mystery
The Yellow Feather Mystery
The Crisscross Shadow
The Secret of Wildcat Swamp
The Wailing Siren Mystery
The Secret of the Lost Tunnel
The Sign of the Crooked Arrow
The Secret of Skull Mountain
The Phantom Freighter
The Secret Panel
The Short-Wave Mystery
The Mystery of the Melted Coins
The Flickering Torch Mystery
The Clue of the Broken Blade
The Mystery of the Flying Express
The Disappearing Floor
The Twisted Claw
The Secret Warning
A Figure in Hiding
The Sinister Signpost
The Hidden Harbour Mystery
The Mark on the Door
Footprints Under the Window
While the Clock Ticked
What Happened At Midnight
The Great Airport Mystery
The Mystery of Cabin Island
The Secret of the Caves
The Shore Road Mystery
Hunting for Hidden Gold
The Missing Chums
The Secret of the Old Mill
The House on the Cliff
The Tower Treasure

Unreviewed books

A Game Called Chaos
A Killing in the Market
A Will to Survive
Acting Up
Against All Odds
Bad Chemistry
Bad Rap
Beyond the Law
Blood Money
Blood Relations
Blood Sport
Blown Away
Brother Against Brother
Campaign of Crime
Carnival of Crime
Castle Fear
Cave Trap
Choke Hold
Clean Sweep
Cliffhanger
Cold Sweat
Collision Course
Competitive Edge
Countdown to Terror
Crime in the Cards
Crime in the Kennel
Cross Country Crime
Crusade of the Flaming Sword
Cult of Crime
Danger in the Extreme
Danger in the Fourth Dimension
Danger Unlimited
Danger Zone
Daredevils
Darkness Falls
Day of the Dinosaur
Dead in the Water
Dead Man in Deadwood
Dead of Night
Dead on Target
Deadfall
Deadly Engagement
Deathgame
Deep Trouble
Diplomatic Deceit
Dirty Deeds
Disaster for Hire
Double Exposure
Double Jeopardy
Edge of Destruction
Endangered Species
Evil Incorporated
Eye on Crime
False Alarm
Farming Fear
Fast Break
Fear on Wheels
Final Cut
Final Gambit
Fire in the Sky
Flesh and Blood
Flight into Danger
Foul Play
Frame Up
Fright Wave
Ghost of a Chance
Grave Danger
Height of Danger
Hidden Mountain
Hide and Sneak
High Wire Act
High-Speed Showdown
Highway Robbery
Hostages of Hate
Illegal Procedure
In Plane Sight
In Self-Defense
Inferno of Fear
Kickoff to Danger
Law of the Jungle
Lethal Cargo
Line of Fire
Lost in Gator Swamp
Martial Law
Maximum Challenge
Mayhem in Motion
Mission: Mayhem
Moment of Truth
Motocross Madness
Murder at the Mall
Murder By Magic
Mystery on Makatunk Island
Mystery With a Dangerous Beat
Nightmare in Angel City
No Mercy
No Way Out
No Way Out
Nowhere To Run
One False Step
Open Season
Passport to Danger
Past and Present Danger
Peak of Danger
Perfect Getaway
Poisoned Paradise
Power Play
Pure Evil
Racing to Disaster
Radical Moves
Real Horror
Reel Thrills
Rigged for Revenge
Road Pirates
Rock 'n' Revenge
Rock 'n' Roll Renegades
Rough Riding
Running on Empty
Sabotage at Sea
Sabotage at Sports City
Scene of the Crime
Screamers
See No Evil
Sheer Terror
Shock Jock
Sidetracked to Danger
Skin and Bones
Sky High
Slam Dunk Sabotage
Speed Times Five
Spiked!
Strategic Moves
Street Spies
Stress Point
Survival of the Fittest
Survival Run
Tagged for Terror
Terror at High Tide
Terror on Track
The Alaskan Adventure
The Baseball Card Conspiracy
The Borderline Case
The Borgia Dagger
The Caribbean Cruise Caper
The Case of the Cosmic Kidnapping
The Case of the Counterfeit Criminals
The Case of the Psychic's Vision
The Castle Conundrum
The Chase for the Mystery Twister
The Cold Cash Caper
The Crisscross Crime
The Crowning Terror
The Dangerous Transmission
The Dead Season
The Deadliest Dare
The Demolition Mission
The Desert Thieves
The Emperor's Shield
The End of the Trail
The Genius Thieves
The Giant Rat of Sumatra
The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew meet Dracula and other stories
The Hunt for the Four Brothers
The Hypersonic Secret
The Ice Cold Case
The Last Laugh
The Last Leap
The Lazarus Plot
The London Deception
The Lure of the Italian Treasure
The Mark of the Blue Tattoo
The Mystery in the Old Mine
The Mystery of the Black Rhino
The Number File
The Pacific Conspiracy
The Phoenix Equation
The Prime Time Crime
The Robot's Revenge
The Rocky Road to Revenge
The Search for the Snow Leopard
The Secret of Sigma Seven
The Secret of Skeleton Reef
The Secret of the Soldier's Gold
The Spy That Never Lies
The Test Case
The Treasure at Dolphin Bay
The Viking's Revenge
Thick as Thieves
Three Ring Terror
Too Many Traitors
Toxic Revenge
Training for Trouble
Trial and Terror
Trick or Trouble
Trouble at Coyote Canyon
Trouble in the Pipeline
Trouble in Warp Space
Trouble Times Two
True Thriller
Typhoon Island
Uncivil War
Virtual Villainy
Warehouse Rumble
Web of Horror
Winner Take All
Without a Trace
Witness to Murder
Wreck and Roll
Wrong Side of the Law

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