The Secret Agent on Flight 101

The Hardy Boys #46

by Franklin W. Dixon

Rarely do magicians reveal their professional secrets. Consequently Frank and Joe Hardy are amazed when a well-known magician, the Incredible Hexton, offers to reveal the secret of his “Vanishing Man Act” and invited Mr. Hardy to be the subject. When their detective father fails to reappear, his sons are convinced that something sinister is afoot, despite Hexton’s insistence that Mr. Hardy is playing a joke on them. While desperately searching for their father, Frank and Joe find themselves working with SKOOL, a U.S. organization of secret agents pitted against UGLI, an international ring of spies stealing government secrets domestically and internationally. The young detective’s gripping adventures culminate in a dramatic climax when they unmask the secret agent on Flight 101.

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

176 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1967

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

[David Allen Hines · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have loved reading the classic Hardy Boys for over 40 years now, but I have to be frank in saying this one is not one of my favorites. It's not a bad story in concept: the brothers and Chet investigate Mr. Hardy disappearing and become embroilded in an international spy ring, but even as a kid I rolled my eyes at the details: Mr. Hardy disappears in a magic act? The ridiculous names of the international spy rings? The ridiculous British stereotype characters? It's a bit much, even for a Hardy Boys tale! Read this one because it is part of the traditional series, but its just not among the great Hardy Boys tales!

[Tommy Verhaegen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Een ondertussen al tot in den treure uitgemolken onderwerp waar Dixon niets nieuws aan toevoegt. Het is totaal ongeloofwaardig en hangt weer eens van de ene toevalstreffer na de andere aan mekaar om de vaart in het verhaal te houden en de opeenvolgende "vondsten" toch aan mekaar te breien.
Knoeiwerk waarbij vooral opvalt dat een privé-vliegtuig met piloot gemakkelijker is dan een taxi nemen. Over betaalbaarheid wordt veiligheidshalve niet gesproken.
De politie is over de hele lijn onbekwaam maar staat wel te springen om met man en macht een paar schooljongens op simpele verdachtmakingen te assisteren, zonder zelfs naar een identificatie te vragen. Op kosten wordt ook hier niet gekeken, blijkt alles tevergeefs te zijn dan is een sorry, volgende keer beter voldoend om als beste vrienden weer uit mekaar te gaan.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can tell that although the Hardy's never age, the adventures follow the times. This is very much a 1960's spy thriller and has a bit more sophistication in it's plotting than others in this series. So even though Joe and Frank are still in their late teens, their adventures are decidedly a little more adult.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ate these up as a kid and usually got them as gifts for birthdays, Christmas and other events. This edition would be quite dated now and I believe they have updated the books. The author was a pseudonym for a plethora of writers who contributed to this series.

[Lisa Blair · Rating 5 out of 5]

The hardy boys are solving a major mystery surrounding the disappearance of their father. Most of the book focuses on escape artist feats, but magic tricks are mentioned. Appropriate for kids ages 8-12 years.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! An international plot and magic tricks too!

[John Yelverton · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's quite a bit of mystery and intrigue in this book, which is exactly what you want from a Hardy Boys mystery story.

[Chatti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Th best hardy book I've read so far...but I've only read 2 others.

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great entry in this series.

[Kevin Findley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun entry into the series, but heavy on the tropes. Mr. Hardy brings the boys and their buddy, Chet, with him to look over who might be the villain of his next case; a stage magician named Hexton. Of course, the magician makes Mr. Hardy disappear.

From this point, the boys are nearly killed and then manipulated through a series of deceptions. Fortunately, Chet has recently taken up magic so they have a bit of an edge the bad guys don't know about, and they also find new allies in a group called SKOOL. The organization is a small-scale version of UNCLE that takes on a group known as UGLI.

Yes, it is the SKOOL boys versus the UGLI thugs. After groaning at the puns for a couple of minutes, I read on, only to find that Mr. Hardy escaped from his captors but has disappeared.

The tale then goes international with our detectives making multiple trips to Scotland. This where the final act happens, with a plane crash that was very well-written. Everyone survives, but whoever was using the pen name made it feel as if someone might not make it alive. From there, the story wraps up neatly without the bad guys confessing to everything for once.

Highly recommended for fans of the Hardy Boys, ya mystery stories or young detective literature.

Find it! Buy it! READ IT!

[Haroon Shaikh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I do not read mystery that often and I have never read a Hardy Boys book. I was not sure how this book would go and did not know what to expect. As soon as I read the book it was very hard to put down. The author starts the action right away which instantly hooks you onto the book. The plot of the book is fascinating and incredibly interesting and stays that way. The idea of kids solving the problem is a great idea which makes the book interesting to read. The author constantly keeps it suspenseful and prevents it from getting boring. The plot twists always leaves you shocked and hoping the book keeps on going. I rated the book five stars since it clearly deserves it. This book is a masterpiece and I could not find anything wrong with it. I would recommend this to all ages.

[Brentman99 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This instalment of the series has the boys travelling to Scotland to look for criminals and their father who was kidnapped by a magicican that heads a large ring of thieves and goods and information.

Probably the lamest part of the book was that the bad guys fell into a group called UGLI - Uncover Global League of Informants. The good guys are a part of SKOOL - Secret Knowledge of Organized Lawbreakers. Horrible names that I had time keeping straight. Maybe it was knock off of Man from UNCLE that was just finishing up its series run on tv at the time.

To no one's surprise the boys solve the mystery while surviving a couple of near-death experiences.

The story may be a bit confusing for a younger reader.

[Drew E · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book entitled “The Secret Agent on Flight 101” by Franklin W. Dixon was a amazing book. This book had very, very, very high level words and it had a lot of description of what was going on. The strengths of this book is that it had many dramatic events in the whole story, which definitely drew me in. The weakness of this book is that there is so many characters I don't know which one it's really about. I would definitely recommend this book to a classmate because it's about mystery and detectives and that is something that 6th graders like. This book is part of a series it's called The Hardy Boys and I have read numerous of the books and I want to keep reading more.

[Saffron Mavros · Rating 3 out of 5]

The storyline was packed with action, drama, and intense danger. It was unique in the way that the villains were uncovered in the very first chapter, the rest of the book was a chase to bring down the syndicate.

Bit by bit, the extent and invasion of the syndicate is revealed. It feels like being in an Ocean's 8 movie, just this time, the protagonists are chasing the "8"

The villains were skilled, notorious, well connected, popular, resourceful, making the chase harder and more thrilling. Mr. Hardy in a tight spot and coming at the right moment in the end to turn the tables! That was a crowning moment in the novel!

[Stacey Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Hardy boys and Chet travel all over in this story. They even go to a castle in Scotland. Fenton Hardy, the boys' father, disappears during a magicians demonstration. The boys spend the rest of the book looking for him. The magician is somehow tied to thieves and the boys try to uncover the mystery. Heliplanes, boats, chases, fights, close calls....lots of adventure and action.

[Rex Libris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some baddies headed by a magician have a global espionage ring. Because the HQ is in Scotland, the baddies do a lot of flying on Flight 101 which is the non-stop between New York and Scotland.

The boys do not get knocked out, but they stunned from being hit in the head on several occasions, so the KO Count remains at 56.

[Anish Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wouldn’t support this to be one of the good hardy books since there wasn’t suspense in this one and it was easy dots to connect
The story starts with kidnapping the father and there was no easement or buildup towards a thrilling story line !

[Scott Kennedy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I remember reading the Hardy Boys as a kid and loving them. Recently my son has shown an interest and we got a few second hand. I thought I'd read this aloud to him. Pretty boring to be honest!! Not what I remembered. Maybe some of the other stories are better.

[Fred Daly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kind of perfunctory -- the formula is getting tired. This one was published in 1967, so they trried to capitalize on the recent craze for spy acronyms (U.N.C.L.E. vs. THRUSH, James Bond vs. SMERSH, and of course CONTROL vs. KAOS). Here it's SKOOL vs. UGLI -- sigh.

[Phoebe Hinkle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This started out intriguing because it was different from most Hardy Boys - Cold War spy rings and secret agents. But it turned out pretty meh pretty quickly, and the Hardys made a lot of stupid decisions - more than they usually do.

[Julia Rastelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book is full of suspence an fun that you'll enjoy reading. I would recommend it to anybody who enjoys reading mysteries.

[Ethan Hulbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to deduct a star from this one purely for the usage of "SKOOL" and "UGLI" as acronyms for the good and evil spy groups. Oh boy... it was still good, I mean, but wow.

[Cyd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somehow I reached age 52 without ever reading a Hardy Boys mystery/adventure novel. Great fun.

[Naomi Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hi

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[Zach Schiff · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read ALL the Hardy Boys books when I was a kid and I was obsessssssed with them. And they do NOT hold up at all when you're a grown man reading this children's mystery book from 1967.

[Brayden Sabol]

Fine book

[emmeline · Rating 3 out of 5]

they tho be thinking they're superior

[Des · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great throwback to my youth. I enjoyed this as much as when I first read it, probably over 25 years ago!

[Hazel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall it was an enjoyable story, but the secret agency/criminal agency acronym names really threw me off and aren't what I'm looking for in this type of book at all.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one had some international spy action, a little different from the normal Hardy stuff, so it gets an extra star.