Tag Archives: Phil Cohen

6: THE SHORE ROAD MYSTERY

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Who Wrote It?: Franklin W. Dixon

C’mon, Who Really Wrote it?: Leslie McFarlane in 1928

Was It Revised?: Yes, in 1964 by David Grambs

Cover: Rudy Nappi, yellow and red yet again With some blue on Joe.  The usual trope: the boys looking on in amazement at something dangerous and/or sinister.  Cool depiction of the human spider.  Their bikes look dated however.

Setting: Back in Bayport, that hotbed of criminal mischief.

Where’s Fenton This Time?: New York City investigating a weapons smuggling case.  Don’t worry, he shows up at the end.

Which Chums Show Up?: Chet, Tony, Biff, Jerry, Iola, Callie.  Chet gets the big action, as usual.

What’s Chet’s Hobby This Time?: Wilderness survival, aka vegetarianism.  Yup, rock, meet hard place.

Aunt Gertrude’s Dessert: Ah, a chocolate fudge cake that she has Chet deliver to a neighbor since he is on a diet and thus won’t touch it.  A hilarious scene results that is very well written.  Hint: never entrust a cake to Chet Morton.

Plot: A gang is stealing cars near Bayport, and how they do it is the key part of the plot since this is a particularly clever gang.  Lots of folks involved and moving parts.  Oh yeah, and foreign weapons.  Oh, and a long-lost treasure (the Hardy Boys find so much treasure in their career, they should be billionaires by now).

Review: I like this one a lot.  All the pieces are in place with the chums, Chet’s hobby, Aunt Gertrude, Fenton off somewhere but performing the cavalry role in the end, Bayport continuing its amazing streak of criminal behavior, clever crooks, this one has it all.

Score: 9

2: THE HOUSE ON THE CLIFF

2Who Wrote It?: Franklin W. Dixon

C’mon, Who Really Wrote it?: Leslie McFarlane in 1928

Was It Revised?: Yes, in 1959 by Harriet S. Adams

Cover: Rudy Nappi, a bit too much brown and yellow for my taste, but nice action scene that accurately pictures not only the plot but the title too.

Setting: Bayport again.

Where’s Fenton This Time?: Still at home, the slacker, though he does have the good taste to get himself kidnapped for a good long stretch.  This is truly the boy’s show now.

Which Chums Show Up?: Chet, Biff, Tony, Phil, Callie, Iola, Jerry

Aunt Gertrude’s Dessert: I told you, she ain’t showing up until book three, but Chet did get a nice slice of lemon meringue pie from a farmer and his wife.  Frank and Joe are getting hungry.

Plot: Smugglers, an abandoned house overlooking the water, and hey, bet there’s a connection between the two!

Review: This is where the Hardy Boys really get going.  Fenton gets kidnapped and is out of the picture for half of the book, so it’s Frank and Joe’s time to shine, and shine they do.  They use clues to figure out where the hiding place is, and where their father is prisoner, and then they show great courage to rescue him.  Chet and Biff get to help by going for the Coast Guard, and this division of labor is a standard part of Hardy Boys plots.

The bad guy seems awfully contrite at the end, but it is interesting to get the criminal’s perspective for once.  McFarlane wrote a good story that, though aimed at kids, is fairly sophisticated about crime and law enforcement.

The franchise is now set up and we are ready to roll.

Score: 6