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The Hardy Boys #75
Trapped at Sea
The Hardy brothers travel from the highways of eastern United States to tropical islands trying to track down truckloads of precious cargo that are being hijacked.
181 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1982
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409 people want to read
About the author
Franklin W. Dixon
764 books997 followersFranklin 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 30, 2019
Trapped at Sea is an adventure-packed, interesting Hardy Boys mystery that any fan of the series will enjoy. Published in 1982, the book has aged well, and modern readers will find it not dated at all. The Hardys and their friend Chet investigate a series of truck hi-jackings related to expensive televisions. This leads to a sea freighter ship and the Hardys and Chet become involved in a sea adventure. Throw in criminal terrorists who plot to take control of cities through a deranged scientists small atomic bombs, and you have a surprisingly modern adventure. This book is well-written, the mystery plausible, the action non-stop and realistic. Even the book itself is good quality--the cover has a nice seaside painting, and there are a number of the well-done pencil sketch illustrations inside that mark the early Hardy Boys paperbacks from #59 to 82. Despite being almost 40 years old, my paperback was in good condition, with quality paper and the binding only a little stiff. It's a real shame Trapped at Sea is no longer in print, because this is a great Hardy Boys adventure quite relevant to today. If you can find a copy and enjoy the Hardy Boys, you will enjoy Trapped at Sea!
December 24, 2023
'Trapped at Sea' (The Hardy Boys Mystery Stories #75) by Franklin W. Dixon.
Rating: 3.5/5.
Disclaimer:
It was my first time reading this book. I have, probably, read the first 63 Hardy Boys books multiple times, but the same can not be said for the subsequent books in the series. It isn't because I'm partial to the Originals, but more so because the latter books were hard to find growing up. However, with the advent of digital books in recent times, I'm eager to pursue my childhood ambition of reading all 190 Hardy Boys books at least once.
The Hardy Boys books are a nostalgic affair. Had it not been for these books, it would have been difficult for me to cultivate my interest in reading and to later expand my reading preferences to include the fantasy and sci-fi genres. So, yeah, that's the main reason why you would rarely find me giving a rating of fewer than 3.5 stars (out of 5) to these Hardy Boys books.
Review:
After reading some great stories in my recent run of the Hardy Boys Mysteries chronological read, I found 'Trapped At Sea' to be a mediocre entry in this series.
The book tries to do a lot of things but mostly rehashed plot elements from earlier Hardy Boys books – car hijackings, smuggling, being a stowaway on a ship, and encountering a house belonging to a mad scientist in an uninhabited region on an island (whom the natives consider to be a witch doctor!). Oh, and what is this with the strange fascination of tying every story with a terrorist threat and that of nuclear bombs? Oh boy, I can see why this fascination led them to start the Casefiles universe five years (1987) later.
The plot also seems to be fueled by the brothers' stupid decisions. The hijacking case could have been easily wrapped up quite early on in the book had the boys decided to call their father and the FBI agent instead of merely waiting to see what the smugglers are doing for almost half a day! Surely, they could have persisted with the stakeout of the hideout while one of them would have gone to the emergency phone (that they mentioned was just three miles away) and informed the appropriate authorities. Anyway, at least this stupid decision worked in their favor because otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to uncover the terrorist threat and the nuclear bombing plans.
My review might make one assume that the book is bad. It isn't! Probably, I'm merely oversaturated with the amount of Hardy Boys Mysteries I have read recently. The story is fast-paced and action-packed from the first page to the last. Hell, the action begins right from the first paragraph! The Hardy Boys find themselves in yet another road accident, leaving their car wrecked. And yes, this is the same sedan they got gifted on the last page of the previous book because their earlier sedan got bombed. Bruh, their sedan needs a serious break from all their adventures!
Chet Morton features heavily in this story. As I have mentioned time and again, Chet Morton was my favorite Hardy pal when I first started reading these books – not because of all the jokes played on him, but because I found him as a perfect stand-in for the reader to be a part of the story. As a result, I greatly appreciate any story that features Chet Morton prominently along with the Hardy Brothers. A lot of jokes were played at his expense in this book, too, but Chet brings a certain feel to these stories that seem to be missing from the recent versions of the Hardy Boys stories.
Unlike the title, there's not much of the Hardys being actually trapped at the sea. They are stowaways on the smugglers' ship, but it merely lasts for a couple of chapters. Most of the story, contrary to the book's title, takes place on land. The saving grace of the book, according to me, was the way it ended with a chase scene involving a school bus. I didn't hate the book in particular, but neither did I love it like the earlier installments, but that chase sequence invigorated my interest in this story.
Overall, 'Trapped at Sea' was a mediocre entry in the original Hardy Boys continuity. I didn't love it, but I can't say I despised the story as well. It was a decent adventure and was fast-paced and filled to the brim with action enough to keep me entertained. This book is, perhaps, the last Hardy Boys book that I'll read this year (2023). I'll be taking a short break for now before picking up the next book in this series.
"If the hijackers hit my truck, they're in for a surprise," Chet said. "I just read a book on karate." He struck a pose with his hands held in the air and yelled, "Ai-yah!"
Joe winked at his brother, then hooked his foot behind Chet's ankle and jerked. With a grunt, Chet sat down on the floor.
"You didn't yell!" he complained. "How am I supposed to know you're going to attack if you don't yell?"
Rating: 3.5/5.
Disclaimer:
It was my first time reading this book. I have, probably, read the first 63 Hardy Boys books multiple times, but the same can not be said for the subsequent books in the series. It isn't because I'm partial to the Originals, but more so because the latter books were hard to find growing up. However, with the advent of digital books in recent times, I'm eager to pursue my childhood ambition of reading all 190 Hardy Boys books at least once.
The Hardy Boys books are a nostalgic affair. Had it not been for these books, it would have been difficult for me to cultivate my interest in reading and to later expand my reading preferences to include the fantasy and sci-fi genres. So, yeah, that's the main reason why you would rarely find me giving a rating of fewer than 3.5 stars (out of 5) to these Hardy Boys books.
Review:
After reading some great stories in my recent run of the Hardy Boys Mysteries chronological read, I found 'Trapped At Sea' to be a mediocre entry in this series.
The book tries to do a lot of things but mostly rehashed plot elements from earlier Hardy Boys books – car hijackings, smuggling, being a stowaway on a ship, and encountering a house belonging to a mad scientist in an uninhabited region on an island (whom the natives consider to be a witch doctor!). Oh, and what is this with the strange fascination of tying every story with a terrorist threat and that of nuclear bombs? Oh boy, I can see why this fascination led them to start the Casefiles universe five years (1987) later.
The plot also seems to be fueled by the brothers' stupid decisions. The hijacking case could have been easily wrapped up quite early on in the book had the boys decided to call their father and the FBI agent instead of merely waiting to see what the smugglers are doing for almost half a day! Surely, they could have persisted with the stakeout of the hideout while one of them would have gone to the emergency phone (that they mentioned was just three miles away) and informed the appropriate authorities. Anyway, at least this stupid decision worked in their favor because otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to uncover the terrorist threat and the nuclear bombing plans.
My review might make one assume that the book is bad. It isn't! Probably, I'm merely oversaturated with the amount of Hardy Boys Mysteries I have read recently. The story is fast-paced and action-packed from the first page to the last. Hell, the action begins right from the first paragraph! The Hardy Boys find themselves in yet another road accident, leaving their car wrecked. And yes, this is the same sedan they got gifted on the last page of the previous book because their earlier sedan got bombed. Bruh, their sedan needs a serious break from all their adventures!
Chet Morton features heavily in this story. As I have mentioned time and again, Chet Morton was my favorite Hardy pal when I first started reading these books – not because of all the jokes played on him, but because I found him as a perfect stand-in for the reader to be a part of the story. As a result, I greatly appreciate any story that features Chet Morton prominently along with the Hardy Brothers. A lot of jokes were played at his expense in this book, too, but Chet brings a certain feel to these stories that seem to be missing from the recent versions of the Hardy Boys stories.
Unlike the title, there's not much of the Hardys being actually trapped at the sea. They are stowaways on the smugglers' ship, but it merely lasts for a couple of chapters. Most of the story, contrary to the book's title, takes place on land. The saving grace of the book, according to me, was the way it ended with a chase scene involving a school bus. I didn't hate the book in particular, but neither did I love it like the earlier installments, but that chase sequence invigorated my interest in this story.
Overall, 'Trapped at Sea' was a mediocre entry in the original Hardy Boys continuity. I didn't love it, but I can't say I despised the story as well. It was a decent adventure and was fast-paced and filled to the brim with action enough to keep me entertained. This book is, perhaps, the last Hardy Boys book that I'll read this year (2023). I'll be taking a short break for now before picking up the next book in this series.
The boys produced their temporary licenses.
After examining them, Ortiz said, "You Hardy boys are too well known to work under your own names. I'll put you on as Frank and Joe Harrison."
"I'm as well known as they are," Chet said. "I've been on most of their cases with them."
Cy Ortiz looked at him. "I never heard of you."
February 16, 2018
This was a 4 star good Hardy Boys book... until the end. Why does everything have to be a nuclear plot these days? Can't we just go back to the good old days of the 40s where it was always smugglers? I thought the trucking thing was cool though.
June 15, 2022
While I enjoy a juvenile action/adventure book, this was way too impractical and farfetched.
July 8, 2025
I've always loved my boys frank and joe
June 6, 2019
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.
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.
July 27, 2013
Saya menyadari Seri Hardy Boys memiliki suasana yang mirip dengan seri Trio Detektif dan Alfred Hitchcock. SELALU menyenangkan saat membaca seri ini, mungkin juga disebabkan saya dibesarkan dalam dunia Action TV Show akhir 80an dan awal 90an.. seperti NYPD, MacGyver, dan banyak lagi.. FEEL the same! Saya tidak banyak mempertanyakan logika ini dan itu, I just enjoy it! And it feels great.. :DDD
IT IS NOSTALGIA!
IT IS NOSTALGIA!
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January 21, 2009JMAR5-Dix
July 5, 2020
Melawan banyak orang jahat nan kuat diperlukan akal yang panjang.
February 23, 2020
World domination? In a Hardy Boys book? Really?
May 23, 2012
read when I was 10 through 13
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews