Cult of Crime

The Hardy Boys Casefiles #3

by Franklin W. Dixon

Enjoy a little peace and murder

High in the untamed Adironack Mountains lurks one of the most fiendish plots Frank and Joe Hardy have ever encountered. On a mission to rescue their good friend Holly from the cult of the lunatic Rajah, the boys unwittingly become the main event in one of the madman's deadly rituals - human sacrifice.

Fleeing from gun-wielding "religious" zealots and riding a danger-infested train through the wilderness, Frank and Joe arrive home to find the worst has happened. The Rajah and his followers have invaded Bayport. As their hometown is about to go up in flames, the boys look to Holly for help. But Holly has plans of her own, and one deadly secret. . . .

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Young Adult, Thriller, Childrens, Mystery Thriller, Adventure

151 pages, Paperback

First published January 21, 1987

About the author

Franklin W. Dixon is the pen name used by a variety of different authors who were part of a team that wrote The Hardy Boys novels for the Stratemeyer Syndicate (now owned by Simon & Schuster). Dixon was also the writer attributed for the Ted Scott Flying Stories series, published by Grosset & Dunlap.
Canadian author Leslie McFarlane is believed to have written the first sixteen Hardy Boys books, but worked to a detailed plot and character outline for each story. The outlines are believed to have originated with Edward Stratemeyer, with later books outlined by his daughters Edna C. Squier and Harriet Stratemeyer Adams. Edward and Harriet also edited all books in the series through the mid-1960s. Other writers of the original books include MacFarlane's wife Amy, John Button, Andrew E. Svenson, and Adams herself; most of the outlines were done by Adams and Svenson. A number of other writers and editors were recruited to revise the outlines and update the texts in line with a more modern sensibility, starting in the late 1950s.
The principal author for the Ted Scott books was John W. Duffield.

Reviews

[Marie]

Guess what I found at Powell's?

This very book! one of my favorites in the days I read this series. I've actually hung onto my collection because they've never been easy to find. But I ask you, who doesn't love goofy spy thrillers with populated by teen heroes? (Well apparently everyone but me, but I'm OK with that. I even liked that Abduction movie the Twilight actor did.)

Back in the day I liked this one, but never could find it for sale and the local library had to send out for it. But there it was, in the bestest bookstore in the world. I don't regret my fondness foot it either. The book is as silly as any in the series, but it does touch with some sensitivity on real issues. Clearly a decent ghostwriter. So I'll hang on to it this time.

[Bookish Indulgenges with b00k r3vi3ws · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I first read Hardy Boys, I think I was in class 5, I had such a crush on Frank Hardy. I liked the brainy one over the brawny one and that sums up my first impression of Hardy Boys.
In their late teens, Frank and Joe Hardy take after their detective father Fenton Hardy. Frank is the older of the two and has more breakthroughs in the cases because he is the brainy one. Joe is the younger brother who more often than not is useful when things get hot and they need to fight their way out.
Like Nancy Drew, the books in the The Hardy Boys series re written by ghostwriters under the collective pseudonym Franklin W. Dixon. And yes, the earlier books were better than the latter ones.

[Tommy Verhaegen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Op de cover zien we twee jongens (De Hardy's) die vluchten voor een woedende groep achtervolgers tegen een muur van laaiende vlammen.
Deze scène illustreert een stuk van de climax achteraan in het boek. Het eigenlijke verhaal gaat over hoe het zover is kunnen komen.
De plot is niet zo simpel, De kern is een sekteleider die de dochter van een bevriende bankier van de Hardy's in zijn macht heeft, gevangen houdt zegt haar vader. Fenton Hardy komt niet veel in beeld en houdt zich bezig met de beveiliging van de bankier. Hij moet zich aan de letter van de wet houden en staat machteloos tegen de sekte zolang Holly, de dochter, ontkent dat ze ontvoerd werd of er tegen haar zin verblijft.
De broers daarentegen laten hun vriendschap met Holly doorwegen en lappen de wet aan hun laars. Zij starten een commando-aktie waarbij Frank zal infiltreren in de sekte met als doel om Holly te bevrijden en Joe zal als reserve klaarstaan voor een mogelijke interventie in geval van nood.
Er wordt wel wat aandacht besteed aan de werking van een sekte, ook van binnenuit vanuit de corrupte leiding, en de wisselwerking met de wet. Want sektes werken met brain-washing en daar kan de wet niet tegenop. En door het erg gesloten karakter van een sekte valt er ook slechts erg moeilijk in door te dringen.
Het boek zit dan ook vol aktie van zodra Joe onderschept wordt bij het volgen van Frank en Frank ontmaskert wordt door de rechterhand van de sekteleider. Deze crimineel heeft zeker geen goede bedoelingen en Frank en Joe verkeren dan ook al snel in levensgevaar. Holly speelt dubbel spel, enerzijds is er een ontluikende liefde voor Frank, anderzijds is ze volledig in de - hypnotische - macht van de Rajah.
Bij een ontsnapping en achtervolging per trein wordt Frank neergeschoten en verdwijnt uit beeld. Joe staat er nu alleen voor en dan blijkt hoe machtig de sekte wel is. Toch raakt hij met Holly in Baport, gevolgd door duizenden sekteleden. Bayport dat al lang het slaperige stadje niet meer is van de eerste verhalen van de Hardy's zal nooit meer hetzelfde zijn na de confrontatie tussen sekteleden en politie enerzijds en de sekteleider en zijn lijfwacht tegen de Hardy's en hun vrienden anderzijds.
Op het einde komt Dixon (een alias waar achter in de loop der jaren meerdere schrijvers schuil gaan) nog met een verrassing van jewelste af.
Anders, veel harder, dan de originele reeks. Dit is eigentijdser maar daarom niet leuker om lezen.

[Kelly Rivera · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me just list the bananas things that happened in this book:
-Frank makes himself homeless for a week in New York City
-Frank joins a cult
-Joe is tied up sans clothing on the living room floor of the cult leader and I’m not supposed to be extremely worried for his safety in several creepy ways
-Cult leader tells Frank to burn the devil from his brother by setting Joe on fire
-Frank gets into a gun fight with a cult
-Joe is framed for murder
-The brothers meet an outdoorsman named Rosie
-The brothers jump a train
-Joe believes he witnesses his brother be shot off the back of a train and die
-Frank fakes his death and the brothers inexplicably do not hug upon being reunited
-Frank repeatedly kisses a psycho
-Bayport is basically burned to the ground in a cult riot
-The cult leader is the half brother of the girl they’re trying to rescue and commands her to stab her father to death and she almost does it
-Frank gives the weirdest speech about love I’ve ever heard
-The book ends with one of the cult members immediately joining another cult

[Xander · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like the book cult of crime. Frank went from his home in Bayport to where the Raja lived. Joe came to the Raja's house as well, and he helped Frank on a case. Joe accidentally shot someone with a gun. Then all of the cops tried to get Joe Hardy. It was sad when I thought Joe was going to be put in jail. Frank came to his rescue. I'll see how it ends and let you know.

[Jeffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book. It feels very 1980s, with taunts like "chicken" and "you think I was born yesterday!" It's from a time when it was still okay to suggest that some names weren't American, and when downtowns were dying. In it, the Hardy brothers have a black van that is half Mystery Machine (Scooby Doo) and half Inspector Gadget, and when in distress they make contact via shortwave radio with the Gray Man, some type of functionary for a secretive governmental network. A little unclear. The zombies of the 1980s were bums, and there were a number of them, and on a train! (I wonder, were the bums hobos in the original series?) And then there was Rosie the Adirondack hermit, with a very cool underground cave below his little shack in the woods. Rosie, we find out from the backstory, was never more alive than when he had helped young draft dodgers escape to Canada during the Vietnam War. All these references and you start to get the picture. Finally, let me just say that I appreciate the measure of restraint that is on display. There is only one death, a murder, in the book, and most of the violence is of the fisticuff variety. The sexual restraint is palpable too. Holly sounds like my kind of girl! (c)Jeffrey L. Otto, October 4, 2024

[Jacqueline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frank Hardy is picked up by Cultists after living rough in New York. He agrees to go to the comune - but he's really under cover looking for a missing Bayport teenaged girl. Joe tries to follow Frank in their van but he is caught by Cultists.
Frank is unable to stay undercover for very long - Joe's been captured and the Rajah will burn him at the stake. Frank has to help Joe escape. He also has to convince Holly to leave. Holly is weird. She seems under the Rajah's control, afraid to leave, but she also has a crush on Frank.
The three have several adventures getting from the upstate commune back to Bayport, including Frank supposedly dying by falling off a train.
Once back in Bayport, Frank, Joe, Fenton, Holly's father, and the local police have to figure out Rajah's plan. It's confusing and surprisingly complex.
There's plenty of action in this book, and it's straight forward. This Hardy Boys Casefiles book is a fun and quick read.

[Logan Burger · Rating 5 out of 5]

This hardy boys book was very good.At the start the boys find out that their friend Holly joined a cult and they go and try to get her back.I enjoyed his book very much because of all the action that happens and the detail that the author gives. Another thing I like is right when you think Frank and Joe saved the day a twist happens. I like how in the end after everything happen they saw a boy join the cult and felt sorry for him. One thing I did not think was going to happen was that the cult leader kills one of his best friends so that he could blame it on the hardy boys. All in all, this book was awesome and I hope to read more of them later. rblasjo@rusdlearns.net

[Darja · Rating 3 out of 5]

Těžké to rozhodování! Když to vezmu čistě racionálně, je neuvěřitelné, jaké dovednosti a schopnosti Joe a Frank ve svém věku mají, takoví malí supermanové. Fakt reálné. A dále si člověk říká, kdy vlastně stíhají chodit do školy?
Ovšem když se odpoutám tady od toho, tak je to pro mě milá vzpomínka, návrat k mým studentským rokům, kdy mě Stopy hrůzy a Stopy zločinu děsně bavily. Navíc je to taková jednohubka, na rozptýlení, zvednutí nálady.
Podtrženo, sečteno, zprůměrováno a hodnocení je hodně ovlivněné nostalgií. :-)

[Sylvia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book!! Good story!! Never read the hardy boys books!!

[Aashey Goel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hi readers,

I just finished reading this book. It was the third book I have ever read in my life. It was an amazing book. STORY - Frank and Joe Hardy try to save their friend Holly Strand from the cult of the murderous Rajah by acting as one the members of the cult. Find out more by reading the book. MY REVEIW - This book has some neat action sequences. One of the best books I have ever read. I would prefer this book to everyone who like to read suspense genre.

This was my review on The Hardy Boys Cult of Crime
Hope it helps you! ;D

[Bill Meeks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good overall. Your classic cult story from the 1970s. Holly was an interesting, if mildly infuriating, character. I thought it was funny how the entire book was predicated on the fact that Frank was trying to let her down easily. Great twist at the end though. If you like Hardy Boys I definitely recommend this book.

[Brett Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the Hardy Boys I grew up reading, and now I remember why I enjoyed them. Gone are the days of seeking parent permission. They get into far more danger now. Growing up I remember liking Joe more than Frank but now I seem to relate to Frank more. Though clues seem to have landed in their laps at the right moment and they did little detective work in this novel.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed Nancy Drew as a kid -
I got this book, thinking that my 9y/o would like it. Of course, he could read it after I finished it. I'm done and he can so have it. Maybe he will enjoy it.

2.5 stars

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The mystery actually had me pretty well hooked. There's some dramatic parts that avoid falling into silly melodrama, and give some good character moments. A few silly moments, but entertainingly so, and not distracting. I really enjoyed it, especially the ending.

[Partridge Public]

Dixon, Franklin W.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read.

[Dannuel Delizo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I LOVE THIS BECAUSE OF VIOLENCE. IT INSPIRES ME TO KILL EVERYBODY IN THE WORLD. I WANNA START A CULT NOW. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

[Govardhan Rush · Rating 5 out of 5]

A superb book.... Must read....

[Keabetswe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too many plot twists for my liking but definitely much better than "just another nature cult book".