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The Tower Treasure — “Hardy Boys” Series

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Book Review

This book has been reviewed by Focus on the Family’s marriage and parenting magazine. It is the first book in the “Hardy Boys” series.

Plot Summary

Frank and Joe want to be just like their father, the famous Fenton Hardy, an esteemed detective. The boys live in Bayport with their parents and attend the local high school. Frank is 16 and Joe is 15 in the 1927 edition, while Frank is 18 and Joe is 17 in the later edition. Three miles from the Atlantic on Barmet Bay, Bayport has a population of about 50,000.

On the narrow, curvy road between Bayport and Willowville, a speeding car passes Frank and Joe Hardy, who are on their motorcycles. Out for a Saturday morning ride and an errand for their father, the boys are angry with the reckless driver. After venting their frustration, they continue to Willowville to deliver their father’s package. They decide to stop at their friend Chet Morton’s before returning home. On the way back, they investigate a car crash, but don’t see anyone.

At Chet’s house Frank and Joe learn that Chet’s car has been stolen. The friends talk about chasing the thief and going to the police but decide to first go back to the car crash site. They think the driver of the crashed vehicle and the car thief might be the same person.

Frank, Joe and Chet pursue their hunch for a while before heading back to Bayport and the police station. They find out from the police that someone just tried to rob the steamboat ticket office. After talking with the police, Frank and Joe go home and talk to their dad about the events of the day.

Because of differing eyewitness accounts at the police station, the brothers think there must have been two people involved. Mr. Hardy suggests it might have been the same person in all three incidents.

In the 1927 edition: Mr. Hardy gives the boys some tips for good observation skills. No new clues surface over the next week. Without his car, Chet walks and get rides with others to get to places that week. On Friday afternoon, Frank and Joe invite Chet to go swimming and fishing on Saturday with their group of friends. As the friends finish talking, Chet sees a farmer coming toward them that he can get a ride with. Saturday morning, the friends meet at the crossroads near the river.

In the 1987 edition: Mr. Hardy introduces the idea of the criminal wearing a wig and suggests that the boys go to the wig shops in Bayport. The boys start with shop owner, Mr. Schwartz. The Hardy family attends church the next day (Sunday). On Sunday while the Hardy boys are over for dinner, Chet receives a threatening phone call from a man about his car. An intruder is spotted on the farm. The intruder gets away, but the boys find a grey wig on the floor of the barn and discover a spare tire is missing. Later that night, Chet receives a call offering information about Chet’s car for a fee. The boys decide to pay the fee, and a man takes them to a body shop that has a car the same make and model as Chet’s, but the car is not Chet’s car. On Monday, Frank and Joe visit more local wig shops after school.

Frank and Joe decide to put together a search party for the next day. On Tuesday morning, they call their friends and the group meets at the Hardy home for a planning meeting. Chet’s father drives him to the meeting. Mr. Hardy volunteers to help in the search.

In both editions: Chet’s car is found undamaged and parked in a clearing among the bushes. Back in Bayport, the Hardy boys find out about a house robbery. Jewels and securities were taken from the library safe in the Applegate family’s Tower Mansion.

Hurd Applegate asks their dad to take the case. Frank and Joe are invited to go with their dad to Applegate’s mansion, where Hurd talks with the mansion caretaker. The caretaker, Henry Robinson, is the father of Frank and Joe’s friend Perry (known as “Slim”). Mr. Robinson knows the combination to the safe and had recently made a deposit to his bank account. Hurd calls the police and asks them to arrest Mr. Robinson. They do.

In the 1927 edition: On Sunday morning, the Hardy boys return to the crash scene to investigate again, and this time they discover a piece of a red wig.

In the 1987 edition: After school, Frank and Joe search Chet’s car. They find a red wig in the trunk of Chet’s car.

In both editions: The brothers take the clue back to their dad, and he agrees to talk to Hurd and the police. Mr. Robinson is released, but the case remains unsolved.

After Frank and Joe see a reward poster in the city post office, they ask their father for a list of the stolen items. Mr. Hardy gives his sons a list of the stolen property and tells them he has distributed a list of the jewels stolen to pawnshops, jewelry stores and police departments. The boys’ father is encouraging yet also realistic. He also reminds them that they are friendly competitors on this case.

Frank and Joe decide to go back to where they found Chet’s car and investigate again. There they find a coat and hat in the bushes (and the wig in the 1927 edition; in the 1987 edition, the boys find two strands of red hair in the hat). Not sure what to do next, the boys show their clues to their dad.

The Hardy boys and Mr. Hardy decide to help each other. Mr. Hardy goes to New York in the morning to follow up on clues. Frank and Joe stay in Bayport. After several days in New York, Mr. Hardy finds a clue that connects the stolen wig, car theft and attempted steamboat ticket office robbery to a well-known criminal named John “Red” Jackley. Before Mr. Hardy can find out more about the mansion robbery though, Red Jackley crashes while trying to escape from the police and is hospitalized. Mr. Hardy returns to Bayport to wait to hear from the doctor. While Mr. Hardy was in New York, Frank and Joe find out their friend Slim has to drop out of school and go to work to support his family.

In the 1987 edition: Mr. Hardy asks his sons to come to New York to help him on the case. Frank and Joe help him follow up with the owner of the wig and do research. Then Mr. Hardy sends them back to Bayport. Mrs. Hardy bakes a ham and cake for the Robinsons and asks Frank to take it to them after school. The day is Monday. Seeing Callie between classes that day, Frank invites Callie to go with him. She agrees.

In the 1927 edition: One day after school Frank and Joe’s friend Callie Shaw invites Frank to go with her to visit the Robinsons. He agrees.

In both editions: When Mr. Hardy returns to Bayport, he learns the local police know about Red Jackley. So when the hospital doctor calls Mr. Hardy to tell him that there is not much time left for Red Jackley to live, Mr. Hardy wants to get there before the police do. Frank, Joe and a group of their high school friends plan a diversion for the Bayport police to delay their departure to New York. The diversion works.

Red Jackley confesses before he dies, but is only able to verbalize a few words. Frank and Joe follow up on that clue and search the Applegate towers, but don’t find the stolen property. Mr. Hardy goes back to help them search. Mr. Applegate helps, too. Still nothing is found. Mr. Robinson is arrested again.

After a week, there are no additional clues — until Frank and Joe take a motorcycle ride and end up by an old railroad yard. The boys remember that their dad said Red Jackley worked for the railroad. They see two water towers and search them. Frank and Joe find the treasure and solve the case.

Frank and Joe take the treasure back to Bayport to show their dad. Mr. Hardy contacts Hurd, and they arrange a meeting at the Applegate mansion with the police, asking them to bring Mr. Robinson with them. Hurd and Mr. Hardy explain the new evidence that will clear Mr. Robinson. They show the chief the recovered treasure and tell him where the boys discovered it. Hurd apologizes to Mr. Robinson and offers to employ him again. Frank and Joe get a reward.

In the 1927 edition: At a celebration hosted by the Applegates for the boys and their friends, Slim is finally able to tell his friends how his dad got the money he deposited in the bank account — a person who owed Henry Robinson money paid him back. Hurd tells the group that they are welcome anytime.

In the 1987 edition: The money Mr. Robinson deposits in the bank came from Mrs. Applegate as a loan to help him through tough times. The book closes with Hardys leaving the meeting at the mansion and talking about the reward money. The boys want to put some in the bank and use some to build their own crime lab.

Christian Beliefs

In the 1987 edition: The Hardy family attends church one Sunday morning.

Other Belief Systems

None

Authority Roles

Frank and Joe Hardy express admiration for their dad as a detective and want to do more on cases than run errands for him. The relationship between the brothers and their parents comes across as warm, open, honest and respectful throughout the story. In addition, they all seem to like each other.

Parents are regarded highly, listened to and described in positive terms. When the Hardy boys discover clues in the case, they turn to their dad for advice and listen to his suggestions. One scene describes Joe studying a new clue differently to incorporate some of his father’s tips. After Mr. Hardy returns from New York and asks not to be disturbed, Frank and Joe do not disturb him. When Slim’s dad is arrested, Slim vouches for the honesty of his dad.

Politeness toward adults is also woven into the story. One example of that is when Frank and Joe rush into their father’s study without knocking. When they realize someone is already there, Joe’s response is, “Beg pardon.”

The police force of the small town is sometimes portrayed stereotypically, and the cast of characters includes classic eccentric community residents. Traditional family and marriage roles are represented, with Mom as the homemaker and Dad working.

Profanity & Violence

None

Sexual Content

None

Discussion Topics

Get free discussion questions for this book and others, at FocusOnTheFamily.com/discuss-books.

Additional Comments

Practical jokes: Two practical joke scenarios are included in the story. The first supports the narrative of introducing the characters and setting of Bayport. Some of the characters do get frustrated with this practical joke, but no one is hurt. The pranksters are not discovered. The second is part of the investigation logistics and is used to create a diversion so Fenton Hardy can get to New York to talk to the hospitalized criminal before the criminal dies and before the Bayport police get there.

Frank and Joe Hardy help their father by delaying the police chief. In planning the diversion, Frank and Joe engage in a spirited and dramatic brainstorming session with their friends. Some of the ideas suggested would be considered dangerous, others against the law. As a brainstorming process, the ideas are used as a springboard to creativity. No one is physically harmed by the diversion the boys actually end up creating, and the community onlookers and police treat the diversion as a practical joke. The boys’ role in the diversion is not discovered.

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