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The Hardy Boys #15
The Sinister Signpost
Racing cars! Mystery! Adventure! These elements combine to give Frank and Joe Hardy one of the most dangerous and intriguing cases of their careers.
It all starts when their father, Fenton Hardy, is engaged by an experimental race car and motor designer to investigate a series of mysterious accidents. Three of the company's drivers have crashed because the windshields of their cars were suddenly crazed, thus cutting off forward vision.
Frank and Joe uncover one slim clue. Each of the drivers had seen a signpost marked DANGER shortly before the accident. The young detectives investigate, only to discover that the signposts have vanished. What happened to them? And what sinister purpose did they serve?
The attempted theft of a secret experimental motor and the kidnapping of a famous race horse are part of this thrilling case, which proves to be as sinister as the signposts themselves.
It all starts when their father, Fenton Hardy, is engaged by an experimental race car and motor designer to investigate a series of mysterious accidents. Three of the company's drivers have crashed because the windshields of their cars were suddenly crazed, thus cutting off forward vision.
Frank and Joe uncover one slim clue. Each of the drivers had seen a signpost marked DANGER shortly before the accident. The young detectives investigate, only to discover that the signposts have vanished. What happened to them? And what sinister purpose did they serve?
The attempted theft of a secret experimental motor and the kidnapping of a famous race horse are part of this thrilling case, which proves to be as sinister as the signposts themselves.
175 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1936
86 people are currently reading
1090 people want to read
About the author
Franklin W. Dixon
734 books991 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 - 30 of 104 reviews
August 1, 2023
A Nazi is the bad dude. And I think this was published in the 1930s when the US was striving to distance itself from the growing menace in Europe. I remember this as being one of the best stories and super dramatic 😬
[Ah, yes. Did some research. First published January 1st, 1936. The year Berlin hosted the Olympic Games. I wonder if the new edition is scrubbed because the villain was for sure the quintessential Nazi maniac in the original. Not sure how you make a Nazi PC though.]
[Ah, yes. Did some research. First published January 1st, 1936. The year Berlin hosted the Olympic Games. I wonder if the new edition is scrubbed because the villain was for sure the quintessential Nazi maniac in the original. Not sure how you make a Nazi PC though.]
May 19, 2025
The Sinister Sign Post was the fifteenth novel in the Hardy Boys series. It was written by the great Leslie McFarlane for the Stratemeyer Syndicate and was published by Grosset & Dunlap in 1936 under the house pseudonym Franklin W. Dixon. From 1959 - '73, one of Stratemeyer's daughters oversaw a program that shortened, simplified, and updated the first original thirty-eight books in the series. Some of them were simply edited and some were completely replaced by new novels. This one is in that latter category; the new book was written by Tom Mulvey and debuted in 1968. I read both books back-to-back in order to compare the two and have rated the original a four-star read and the new one a two. The 1936 book has 25 chapters and 215 pages, and the title is "Sign Post", while the revision has 20 chapters and is 175 pages long and the title is "Signpost". It's fall in the original because it's football season in Bayport, but summer vacation is commencing in the short version. Both books involve a stolen racehorse named Topnotch, but the first one centers on a (presumably Nazi) scheme to steal Army plans and the second one concerns a new car racing engine design. One annoying thing is that the Hardy's car breaks down or runs out of gas a lot, which is an over-used device to advance the plot. (I did like the word use of "crazed" to describe cracked windshields.) In the first one Chet has a cousin Bill, a red herring who doesn't do much, but he builds a rocket bike in the second. Neither one offers a resolution to the problem of Aunt Gertrude and the horse retirement farm she inherits, and the confusion caused by twins surfaces in both stories. The cover illustration on the newest printing is kind of a spoiler, as it shows the deadly ray beam shooting the sports car out of the mysterious titular signpost. Overall, both are decent reads, though I much preferred the original. It's a complex mystery, with a good number of participating characters, and kept me engaged through to the end.
September 21, 2025
4 Stars. A good adventure for the boys, with a few inventions thrown in which seemed to have no promise at the time. And, for a change, Joe and Frank are working with their father. He's not off in far wherever advising some government agency as in many of the other volumes. Fenton Hardy has been retained by the Alden Automotive Research and Development Company to find out why their experimental race cars are suddenly crashing. Without warning the windshields crack in a thousand places making visibility impossible. It's called crazing. Did you know that? The boys go undercover at the plant and soon focus on a set of twins, Barto and Vilno Sigor. Barto still works for Alden but his brother was fired months ago. Are they the men behind efforts to steal the latest motor the company is developing? It doesn't seem so. At the same time Aunt Gertrude inherits a horse farm near Baltimore. The last thing she wants! And then Mr. Alden's prize thoroughbred, Topnotch, gets kidnapped! What's with all the horses? Of course this is The Hardy Boys and it all gets tied together. As to the inventions, Chet's jet bike idea or something similar is working today! (Se2025)
May 19, 2025
The Sinister Sign Post was the fifteenth novel in the Hardy Boys series. It was written by the great Leslie McFarlane for the Stratemeyer Syndicate and was published by Grosset & Dunlap in 1936 under the house pseudonym Franklin W. Dixon. From 1959 - '73, one of Stratemeyer's daughters oversaw a program that shortened, simplified, and updated the first original thirty-eight books in the series. Some of them were simply edited and some were completely replaced by new novels. This one is in that latter category; the new book was written by Tom Mulvey and debuted in 1968. I read both books back-to-back in order to compare the two and have rated the original a four-star read and the new one a two. The 1936 book has 25 chapters and 215 pages, and the title is "Sign Post", while the revision has 20 chapters and is 175 pages long and the title is "Signpost". It's fall in the original because it's football season in Bayport, but summer vacation is commencing in the short version. Both books involve a stolen racehorse named Topnotch, but the first one centers on a (presumably Nazi) scheme to steal Army plans and the second one concerns a new car racing engine design. One annoying thing is that the Hardy's car breaks down or runs out of gas a lot, which is an over-used device to advance the plot. (I did like the word use of "crazed" to describe cracked windshields.) In the first one Chet has a cousin Bill, a red herring who doesn't do much, but he builds a rocket bike in the second. Neither one offers a resolution to the problem of Aunt Gertrude and the horse retirement farm she inherits, and the confusion caused by twins surfaces in both stories. The cover illustration on the newest printing is kind of a spoiler, as it shows the deadly ray beam shooting the sports car out of the mysterious titular signpost. Overall, both are decent reads, though I much preferred the original. It's a complex mystery, with a good number of participating characters, and kept me engaged through to the end.
July 2, 2022
Voor de Hardy's vond ik het nogal rommelig en onwaarschijnlijk in mekaar zitten. Daarom maar 3 sterren terwijl ik er toch een fan van ben.
Cover: de rode hand speelt een belangrijke rol maar er wordt nooit uit de doeken gedaan welke dat eigenlijk is. Uiteraard is het niet echt slim om te geloven dat zoiets opvallends de geheimhouding bevordert. Het verhaal zit vol geheime gangen, geheime kamers, geheime valluiken, ...
Kelders vol zware apparatuur die kennelijk tot niets dient want alle dodelijke goederen worden gekocht en in het geheim aangevoerd.
Veel te veel karakters, zwak aan mekaar hangende verhaallijnen en tot overmaat van ramp nog een dubbelganger.
Er zit misschien materiaal genoeg in om er twee interessante boeken van te maken, maar dit boek is ondermaats - voor Franklin W. Dixon althans, gelijk wie deze episode van de reeks onder dit pseudoniem geschreven heeft.
Cover: de rode hand speelt een belangrijke rol maar er wordt nooit uit de doeken gedaan welke dat eigenlijk is. Uiteraard is het niet echt slim om te geloven dat zoiets opvallends de geheimhouding bevordert. Het verhaal zit vol geheime gangen, geheime kamers, geheime valluiken, ...
Kelders vol zware apparatuur die kennelijk tot niets dient want alle dodelijke goederen worden gekocht en in het geheim aangevoerd.
Veel te veel karakters, zwak aan mekaar hangende verhaallijnen en tot overmaat van ramp nog een dubbelganger.
Er zit misschien materiaal genoeg in om er twee interessante boeken van te maken, maar dit boek is ondermaats - voor Franklin W. Dixon althans, gelijk wie deze episode van de reeks onder dit pseudoniem geschreven heeft.
February 16, 2018
Dude, The Sinister Sign Post is one of the most intense Hardy Boys books, even holding a candle to the stupidly dark and gritty Casefiles reboots later. The first part is kinda weird, racehorses and stuff, in a way that reminds me of the also bizarre racehorse plot in View to a Kill (the Bond film). But the main part is crazy. Vilnoff is actually, like, an insane mastermind evil villain, with deathtraps and everything. He seems like he's from a different universe's story. This wasn't a perfect book, but I'm giving it five stars just because it really pushed some boundaries in the Hardy Boys here. Wow.
January 28, 2021
This Hardy Boy mystery wasn't the worst I have read, but it was far from the best. There were several plot holes and the dialogue was poorly written. The added case felt forced, as if the writer realized halfway through the book that there was not enough of a story with the main case to fill a book. Chet’s side story and how he ended up saving the day was just weird. This isn’t the least favorite HB mystery I have read, but it is a close second. Still the HB mysteries are nostalgic enough to keep me reading.
March 20, 2023
"We'd have escaped if it hadn't been for that crazy friend of yours and his bicycle"
Chet's new hobby yet again saves the day
Chet's new hobby yet again saves the day
April 9, 2021
My favorite of the Hardy boys yet, though not a super complex mystery.
April 9, 2019
At 46, I have been happily re-reading my collection of Hardy Boys books from my youth, and I much enjoyed my re-reading of The Sinister Signpost. The owner of a company making experimental race car engines has a problem--several of his cars have crashed after their windshields crazed after passing by a mysterious "Danger!" traffic sign that then disappeared. Throw in several smoke bomb attacks, identical twin brothers, a never do well son of the owner, a missing racehorse and a good tie-in with a case Mr. Hardy is working on and you have all the makings of one of the better of the original hardback Hardy Boys stories.The only downside is the repeated use of the awful expression "Leaping Lizards!" by Joe Hardy; I can't believe even years ago anyone said that expression! But overall, anyone who enjoys the original Hardy Boys will appreciate The Sinister Signpost!
February 20, 2015
This book, " The Sinister Signpost" by Franklin Dixon, is one of the legendary Hardy mysteries. The Hardy's encounter a race car crash, in the heart of Bayport City, because of a reflecting signpost. The Hardy's soon figure out that criminals want to steal a secret engine of one of the racers. The boys stake out the night before the race to capture the criminals. The Hardy's capture most of them but one escaped. The quote from the Hardy's, " No! We won't give up until we are finish!" They encountered their chance to catch the remaining criminal later in the story while their friend, Chet, goes on a ride in his race car. A car drives the wrong way and makes Chet crash. The unidentified car crashes near the Hardy's and the Hardy's capture the criminal and end the case.
September 8, 2013
First of all, the book described here is NOT the original version of the book. The original version revolves around race horses, not racecars. The book I just re-read for the first time since I was a child is the original version. I didn't enjoy it as much as I remembered liking this series when I was young, but I guess that's to be expected. But really, it drives me absolutely insane that so many of the original books from this series have been rewritten. Why is that necessary? Just write totally new ones instead of messing with the ones so many of us grew up with.
July 25, 2010
I read the Hardy Boys books (and Nancy Drew) when I was a child. The stories are old fashioned, but that's why I like them so much.
February 4, 2013
A fun read, especially if you're a fan of the Naked Gun films and MacGruber from SNL!
August 9, 2016
Intriguing plot and a good read!
September 9, 2025
#Binge Reviewing My Past Reads:
Hardy Boys (Read between 1990 and 1996 in M.P. Birla School library and punctiliously collected and read thereafter.)
Even the title had a menace to it—a signpost is supposed to guide, to orient, to help travelers find their way. But here it’s sinister, treacherous, a marker pointing toward danger instead of safety. That inversion thrilled me as a boy: the everyday suddenly made uncanny.
This volume pushed the Hardy Boys into the orbit of technology and sabotage—strange cars, mechanical experiments, and signs pointing to nowhere. It was less about smugglers and treasure maps and more about the darker side of invention, about how science could be twisted to serve chaos. Reading it in the ’90s, when computer labs were first creeping into Indian schools and “Y2K” was a buzzword we didn’t yet understand, this story felt oddly modern—an early warning that progress always carried shadows.
As a teenager in Calcutta, the word "signpost" meant something more mundane—roadside boards near school, directing traffic and destiny in equal measure. But in Franklin W. Dixon’s hands, it became a metaphor for adolescence itself: the moment when the signs pointing to adulthood, education, and ambition suddenly looked suspicious, even sinister. Which path to follow? Who set up these signposts, anyway? The Hardy Boys wrestled with villains, but I wrestled with syllabi, career choices, and the creeping sense of being directed by forces I didn’t entirely trust.
In retrospect, The Sinister Signpost feels like pulp fiction’s sly way of asking a philosophical question: what if the markers we rely on to orient ourselves are corrupted? What if every arrow points not to clarity but to danger? That’s a mystery more unsettling than any chase scene.
And yet—I loved the chase too. The mad dashes, the suspense, the thrill of Frank and Joe pulling order out of chaos. For the boy I was, the Hardy Boys offered reassurance that no matter how sinister the signpost, you could still decode it, confront it, and emerge stronger. The world, though confusing, could be navigated.
Hardy Boys (Read between 1990 and 1996 in M.P. Birla School library and punctiliously collected and read thereafter.)
Even the title had a menace to it—a signpost is supposed to guide, to orient, to help travelers find their way. But here it’s sinister, treacherous, a marker pointing toward danger instead of safety. That inversion thrilled me as a boy: the everyday suddenly made uncanny.
This volume pushed the Hardy Boys into the orbit of technology and sabotage—strange cars, mechanical experiments, and signs pointing to nowhere. It was less about smugglers and treasure maps and more about the darker side of invention, about how science could be twisted to serve chaos. Reading it in the ’90s, when computer labs were first creeping into Indian schools and “Y2K” was a buzzword we didn’t yet understand, this story felt oddly modern—an early warning that progress always carried shadows.
As a teenager in Calcutta, the word "signpost" meant something more mundane—roadside boards near school, directing traffic and destiny in equal measure. But in Franklin W. Dixon’s hands, it became a metaphor for adolescence itself: the moment when the signs pointing to adulthood, education, and ambition suddenly looked suspicious, even sinister. Which path to follow? Who set up these signposts, anyway? The Hardy Boys wrestled with villains, but I wrestled with syllabi, career choices, and the creeping sense of being directed by forces I didn’t entirely trust.
In retrospect, The Sinister Signpost feels like pulp fiction’s sly way of asking a philosophical question: what if the markers we rely on to orient ourselves are corrupted? What if every arrow points not to clarity but to danger? That’s a mystery more unsettling than any chase scene.
And yet—I loved the chase too. The mad dashes, the suspense, the thrill of Frank and Joe pulling order out of chaos. For the boy I was, the Hardy Boys offered reassurance that no matter how sinister the signpost, you could still decode it, confront it, and emerge stronger. The world, though confusing, could be navigated.
March 1, 2018
Franklin W. Dixon is a really good author at writing mysteries especially writing the hardy boys so far i liked the sinister signpost the best. Some of the parts of the book they would have to run after the person or have to run away from them cause they don’t want them to figure out what they’re doing. Also they would have to travel places to get more clues for their mystery that they need to solve for someone sometimes it would take them a little bit before they solve a clue.
I’ve liked reading mystery books for awhile and Franklin W. Dixon is my favorite mystery author cause his books show excitement to me when i read them and in some parts of the book when their about to solve mystery something bad will happen without you knowing it’s going to happen. One part of the book alden had car that went really fast and he wanted to try it out so he went to go ask to have permission and he did while he was going fast there was another car that was and it tipped over and blew up and i kinda was scared cause i thought there was someone in that vehicle but there wasn’t. Also in this one part of the book joe and franks dad got captured also alden did, joe and frank went to go try to save them but they got trapped by machine that makes it so you cannot move and they were brought down to the basement of the house that they were at.
I recommend this book because kids will have fun reading these mystery book and Franklin W. Dixon is a good author who writes mystery books, his books show a lot of excitement and i think kids will love to read books that show that. This was a good book because when i was reading it i didn’t know that some bad things were going to happen cause i was into reading the book since it was a good book to read it. Franklin W. Dixon is the best mystery author that read about so far and i hope kids will love to read his hardy boys series.
I’ve liked reading mystery books for awhile and Franklin W. Dixon is my favorite mystery author cause his books show excitement to me when i read them and in some parts of the book when their about to solve mystery something bad will happen without you knowing it’s going to happen. One part of the book alden had car that went really fast and he wanted to try it out so he went to go ask to have permission and he did while he was going fast there was another car that was and it tipped over and blew up and i kinda was scared cause i thought there was someone in that vehicle but there wasn’t. Also in this one part of the book joe and franks dad got captured also alden did, joe and frank went to go try to save them but they got trapped by machine that makes it so you cannot move and they were brought down to the basement of the house that they were at.
I recommend this book because kids will have fun reading these mystery book and Franklin W. Dixon is a good author who writes mystery books, his books show a lot of excitement and i think kids will love to read books that show that. This was a good book because when i was reading it i didn’t know that some bad things were going to happen cause i was into reading the book since it was a good book to read it. Franklin W. Dixon is the best mystery author that read about so far and i hope kids will love to read his hardy boys series.
July 5, 2025
This is a review of the 60s rewrite. I was disappointed by this version. The rewrite removed some stereotyped language, but added some of its own issue too.
These books have really changed. In 15 "The Sinister Signpost" the original book has the boys come across a horse-transporting box truck and a driver who needs directions while while they are on their way to see Chet and his cohorts in a football game. At the game they meet a foreign man who hires them to find a missing horse. In the revised version, it starts with a non-street legal racecar doing a pit maneuver on them as they try to pass on their way home after a drive. They get home just in time for their famous detective father to ask them to help him on a case he is working on.
Leaping Lizards!!
Yeah, the "Leaping lizards!" stuff started in book 14. It's used so often in both books 14 and 15, that it is very distracting.
The "Leaping lizards!" were added to replace older phrases in the original, such as "By George". I have to imagine that the 1987 Hardy Boys Case Files series has its own unique phrases. I can only hope that the fat shaming of Chet has been toned down a bit in that version. At least in the original books he's a hero of the football team. In the 60s versions, there was a joking reference in book 14 that he should use his bulk to play football, but he is so slotted as comic relief in the revised version that he can't be seen to be successful at anything. So that is dropped, but the Hardy boys can play baseball in the next book.
There are also scifi deus ex machina aspects added too. I wish these rewrites has been done better and not over simplified.
These books have really changed. In 15 "The Sinister Signpost" the original book has the boys come across a horse-transporting box truck and a driver who needs directions while while they are on their way to see Chet and his cohorts in a football game. At the game they meet a foreign man who hires them to find a missing horse. In the revised version, it starts with a non-street legal racecar doing a pit maneuver on them as they try to pass on their way home after a drive. They get home just in time for their famous detective father to ask them to help him on a case he is working on.
Leaping Lizards!!
Yeah, the "Leaping lizards!" stuff started in book 14. It's used so often in both books 14 and 15, that it is very distracting.
The "Leaping lizards!" were added to replace older phrases in the original, such as "By George". I have to imagine that the 1987 Hardy Boys Case Files series has its own unique phrases. I can only hope that the fat shaming of Chet has been toned down a bit in that version. At least in the original books he's a hero of the football team. In the 60s versions, there was a joking reference in book 14 that he should use his bulk to play football, but he is so slotted as comic relief in the revised version that he can't be seen to be successful at anything. So that is dropped, but the Hardy boys can play baseball in the next book.
There are also scifi deus ex machina aspects added too. I wish these rewrites has been done better and not over simplified.
May 14, 2025
Perhaps the first truly awful of the original Hardy Boys mystery stories. Either author Leslie McFarlane was distracted as he wrote or the Stratemeyer machine tinkered villainously with his manuscript, because the result is hodgepodge of loose plot ends and bizarre, pointless gadgetry. The very titular sign post has, finally, zero plot-driven purpose; the super-secret warning about it seems arbitrary and ineffectual; and the one arguably impressive thing it does—pointing to the boys as they're hiding in its vicinity—cannot be explained within the constraints of 1930s technology. The ubiquity of the antagonist is maddening: one day the Hardys have no idea who he is; the next, seemingly no other humans exist in the world. He pops up more frequently than Mulder's sister.
And the deuteragonist Ivan is in fact more overtly villainous than his batshit dad because (a) he's sane and (b) he evades every question and obstructs the Hardys' investigation at every turn—endangering not only their lives but those of everybody living in Bayport. Ivan gets the usual sympathetic treatment in the denouement, but Frank or Joe really needed to punch the fucker's nose out the back of his head.
I really did like the scene where the police show up at Vilnoff's house and an alarm goes off and the place turns into a nightclub and all the cops take off their clothes and go-go dance; but admittedly I might have fallen asleep by this point.
And the deuteragonist Ivan is in fact more overtly villainous than his batshit dad because (a) he's sane and (b) he evades every question and obstructs the Hardys' investigation at every turn—endangering not only their lives but those of everybody living in Bayport. Ivan gets the usual sympathetic treatment in the denouement, but Frank or Joe really needed to punch the fucker's nose out the back of his head.
I really did like the scene where the police show up at Vilnoff's house and an alarm goes off and the place turns into a nightclub and all the cops take off their clothes and go-go dance; but admittedly I might have fallen asleep by this point.
June 22, 2024
Frank and Joe encounter a little science fiction in the world automotive racing in this novel. Their father’s client owns a company that has built a new style of race car engine and someone is trying to steal the designs. As if that isn’t bad enough, they also steal his prized race horse and hold it for ransom. And somehow the client’s troubled son is mixed up in the problems.
The bad guys have a science-fiction-like invention that greatly complicates the case. It’s actually a very cool device, but it’s one of those things that when you think about it too much, makes the whole mystery fall apart. Why on earth would people who have already made a groundbreaking investigation with military and law enforcement implications (i.e. worth in the time of the books, millions of dollar) need to waste months trying to steal someone else’s relatively mundane new engine design.
On the other hand, while the boys are threatened many times, the author did not resort to multiple attempts on their lives, which I appreciated.
The bad guys have a science-fiction-like invention that greatly complicates the case. It’s actually a very cool device, but it’s one of those things that when you think about it too much, makes the whole mystery fall apart. Why on earth would people who have already made a groundbreaking investigation with military and law enforcement implications (i.e. worth in the time of the books, millions of dollar) need to waste months trying to steal someone else’s relatively mundane new engine design.
On the other hand, while the boys are threatened many times, the author did not resort to multiple attempts on their lives, which I appreciated.
May 23, 2021
The Hardy boys help their father solve a mystery. Mr. Alden is making experimental turbine motors for high speed race cars. He believes someone is trying to steal the plans. The Hardy's are brought in to find out who. During trials with a new race car the windshield goes white and the race car crashes. They can't figure out how that happened or why. The boys pose as students learning about engines at Mr. Alden's plant to try to uncover some clues. They suspect a man who's twin was recently let go from the plant. They also search the course where the race car accident occurred.
When Mr. Alden's prized race horse, another passion of the man's, gets stolen they have a different avenue to pursue. Are the two mysteries related? Meanwhile Aunt Gertrude is mad about inheriting an estate for retired race horses and Chet is making a rocket bicycle. There's always adventure and strange goings on around the Hardy boys.
When Mr. Alden's prized race horse, another passion of the man's, gets stolen they have a different avenue to pursue. Are the two mysteries related? Meanwhile Aunt Gertrude is mad about inheriting an estate for retired race horses and Chet is making a rocket bicycle. There's always adventure and strange goings on around the Hardy boys.
September 17, 2025
A trip to a rival football game has the Hardy boys, Joe and Frank, almost run off the road by a van. Then a trip to the racetrack has them finding out a racehorse has been stolen, presumably kidnapped. Finally, an errand for their father has them re-engaging with a foreign man name Mr. Vilnoff whom they'd met by happenstance at the game. How the three are connected is the basis for this mystery and makes for a wild ride. A gas station that isn't all that interested in business, a jockey without a horse, Mr. Vilnoff's home in Bayport which contains a secret workshop, and mysterious fences, signposts, and crates are all clues the boys must decode to figure out what is going on.
December 16, 2017
The two mysteries that the Hardy Boys and their father are working on become entwined. First, there is the disappearance of a racehorse, with Frank and Joe stumbling across a clue which they relentlessly pursue. Meanwhile, their father is concerned about recent sales of munitions, possibly to foreign agents. As the boys dig deeper, they begin to suspect surprising connections, but even they are surprised at the solution they discover, despite danger to themselves. Very exciting, fast-paced story.
December 23, 2020
I continue to reread these books from my long-ago childhood. I actually remembered one moment from this one: the sinister signpost itself, a giant mechanical hand that scared me a little when I was a kid. My copy is the original version, from 1936; it was later totally revised, ditching the mechanical hand in place of a sign that somehow messes up car windshields. The original version has a decent story, but it's hopelessly old-fashioned: the boys wear jackets and ties while trooping around in the woods, they're called "lads" a lot of the time, and there's great suspicion of "foreigners."
April 14, 2021
A good book for Hardy Boys fans, but kind of a thin mystery for everyone else. One plot twist was way past telegraphing, despite an attempted misdirection. This is also one of the books that tried to bring some type of high-tech device to confound the brothers and their father.
Once again, Chet Morton and his latest hobby helps further the plot. Not only that, Chet gets to save the day. That's all I'm going to say about it, because you should enjoy it for yourself. It's a laugh, and what almost pushed the rating to four stars.
Find it. Buy it. Read it!
Once again, Chet Morton and his latest hobby helps further the plot. Not only that, Chet gets to save the day. That's all I'm going to say about it, because you should enjoy it for yourself. It's a laugh, and what almost pushed the rating to four stars.
Find it. Buy it. Read it!
January 23, 2023
Number 15 in the series sees the boys with a dual mystery - who is trying to steal an advanced car, as well as who stole a retired race horse.
In this book, the Hardy Boys each get rendered unconcious at least once, though I think I missed on as I'm reading these in between football commercials.
An interesting part of the book is the use of sonic waves to craze (maybe glaze?) over windshields so people can't see what they are driving/flying. A futuristic concept that I didn't expect to see.
A child may like this story.
In this book, the Hardy Boys each get rendered unconcious at least once, though I think I missed on as I'm reading these in between football commercials.
An interesting part of the book is the use of sonic waves to craze (maybe glaze?) over windshields so people can't see what they are driving/flying. A futuristic concept that I didn't expect to see.
A child may like this story.
January 18, 2024
The hardy boys are really rough and tough. They keep getting nabbed and kidnapped, punched, and thrown around, and yet they are chasing goons.
Reminds me all the out of box stuff we were into as children. Reminds me of more innocent days!
But other than the plot holes and the extremely lucky Hardy boys who have a plane whenever they feel like taking an aerial view....it was an interesting book.
Reminds me all the out of box stuff we were into as children. Reminds me of more innocent days!
But other than the plot holes and the extremely lucky Hardy boys who have a plane whenever they feel like taking an aerial view....it was an interesting book.
August 5, 2025
Now I know these books aren't "police procedurals", and they're written for kids, but this is a level of unreality verging on ear l y sci-fi!
A mysterious foreigner comes to Bayport, and in a few months he assembles a gang, and cre ates a giant underground weapons storehouse/ mad inventor's lab: underground passages, rooms, mystical signs, levers that will blow up Bayport, roads, electrified fences, an "artificial tree".... oh, and no one notices!
A mysterious foreigner comes to Bayport, and in a few months he assembles a gang, and cre ates a giant underground weapons storehouse/ mad inventor's lab: underground passages, rooms, mystical signs, levers that will blow up Bayport, roads, electrified fences, an "artificial tree".... oh, and no one notices!
December 13, 2025
Continuing my read through of the Hardy Boys series - this is the 15th one and it was quite a bit above average. We had detective work (the last couple have been all action and not much detecting) and action, stolen horses, weapons of war, kidnapping, bombs, a little bit with friends and family but Frank and Joe really are the sole stars of this one. Very enjoyable and I continue to enjoy my first ever read through of this much loved series.
April 8, 2021
Original Series.
A book that seems to be a bit of James Bond, Jr, old Marvel Comics and Tom Swift as much as a Hardy Boys mystery. It moves along at a solid clip and unfolds the strange story quite well. The boys seem to have come a long way from solving a simple mystery as they found treasure in a tower in that first adventure. If it is an improvement, I'm not sure.
A book that seems to be a bit of James Bond, Jr, old Marvel Comics and Tom Swift as much as a Hardy Boys mystery. It moves along at a solid clip and unfolds the strange story quite well. The boys seem to have come a long way from solving a simple mystery as they found treasure in a tower in that first adventure. If it is an improvement, I'm not sure.
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