The Crimson Flame

Reviewed on 7th May 2022

A pretty standard early 1980s adventure for the Hardy Boys, as they are hired to protect a valuable ruby from potential thieves.

The mystery is pretty straightforward, but the adventure is quite fun.

This falls into the category in which the brothers go travelling a lot, including to another country. As an adult reading, I found it disappointing that more effort wasn’t spent exploring the culture of their destination, and spending some time actually educating the reader about what it’s like there.

Once again, there are almost no appearances by female characters in the entire book. I’m really fascinated to find out when this changes.