Status
Available
Local notes
Fic Dix (c.1)
Collection
Series
Genres
Publication
New York: Grosset & Dunlap (1959), Edition: Reprint, 180 pages
Description
After a dying criminal confesses that his loot has been stashed "in the tower," the Hardy boys make an astonishing discovery.
Original publication date
1927-06-01
1959 (revised)
Physical description
180 p.; 7.48 inches
User reviews
LibraryThing member carter_who
After the last book I read, I decided that I just needed to read something simple and fun. So, I picked the Hardy Boys, which I’ve always enjoyed reading since I was a boy. Sure the plots and characterizations are simple and at times silly, but I find these books to be good clean fun.
The Hardy
All that aside, I still enjoy reading these books. The story was fun and interesting, even if it wasn’t all that complicated. I think the fun comes in imagining that I could be involved in such exciting events. There is always that part of us that finds solving mysteries appealing.
So many kids’ books these days borrow the same basic formula from classics like the Hardy boys. The Harry Potter series, the Spiderwick Chronicles, and others continue to entertain and intrigue by placing young kids in situations where they can accomplish great things that adults seem unable or unwilling to.
I keep these books around for my kids to read. But, I still enjoy reading them myself when I need a little break from more intelligent and involved fare.
The Hardy
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boys, Frank and Joe, investigate the theft of a car and later the robbery of the “Tower Mansion”. There’s not a lot of action or suspense or really even much mystery to be found here. The clues that eventually lead to the solution of these crimes and the capture of the criminal seem to just drop into the boys’ laps. At time’s it seems that one or the other of the brothers will have a spark of inspiration and it usually pans out. There never seems to be a whole lot of effort required from them to solve the crime or track down the clues.All that aside, I still enjoy reading these books. The story was fun and interesting, even if it wasn’t all that complicated. I think the fun comes in imagining that I could be involved in such exciting events. There is always that part of us that finds solving mysteries appealing.
So many kids’ books these days borrow the same basic formula from classics like the Hardy boys. The Harry Potter series, the Spiderwick Chronicles, and others continue to entertain and intrigue by placing young kids in situations where they can accomplish great things that adults seem unable or unwilling to.
I keep these books around for my kids to read. But, I still enjoy reading them myself when I need a little break from more intelligent and involved fare.
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LibraryThing member elenchus
The Hardy Boys may be too difficult a read for W alone but he seems to have little trouble following as I read aloud. Both Hardy Boys and Three Investigators occurred to me as alternatives after he didn't take to Encyclopedia Brown. Chapters are short, often contrived to end as cliffhangers,
I read nearly all of the original novels as a kid, over 50 of them, and now recall next to nothing apart from recognizing titles. Forgotten these were written in the 1920s, evidently set in the same time period, yet (I agree with R) the narrative reads like a squeaky clean take on 1950s high school. So fair enough: it would be exceedingly easy to criticise these books on multiple fronts. For now, W's enthusiasm is all I need to continue.
//
This first case has the Boys in Bayport (location unspecified), apart from a brief trip to NYC with their father, and we're introduced to several characters from town as well as friends, townsfolk, and neighbours.
I wonder how important it was to begin with the first novel. I vaguely recall the relevant "introductory" information is repeated in each novel, and wonder if any chronology is followed (knowing that the Boys planned to build a "crime lab" in the garage, for instance, or that they work part time at the local grocers). I suspect we could pick up any book in any order and not get much out of knowing of prior cases (or miss much if we skipped one).
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there's a good bit of dialogue (though so, so stilted I almost laugh as I read it), and the occasional full-page illustrations keep his interest.I read nearly all of the original novels as a kid, over 50 of them, and now recall next to nothing apart from recognizing titles. Forgotten these were written in the 1920s, evidently set in the same time period, yet (I agree with R) the narrative reads like a squeaky clean take on 1950s high school. So fair enough: it would be exceedingly easy to criticise these books on multiple fronts. For now, W's enthusiasm is all I need to continue.
//
This first case has the Boys in Bayport (location unspecified), apart from a brief trip to NYC with their father, and we're introduced to several characters from town as well as friends, townsfolk, and neighbours.
I wonder how important it was to begin with the first novel. I vaguely recall the relevant "introductory" information is repeated in each novel, and wonder if any chronology is followed (knowing that the Boys planned to build a "crime lab" in the garage, for instance, or that they work part time at the local grocers). I suspect we could pick up any book in any order and not get much out of knowing of prior cases (or miss much if we skipped one).
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LibraryThing member CliffBurns
Yes, as a kid I was a rabid Hardy Boys fan--and I tried to infect my sons with the meme but as soon as I pointed out (innocently) that all the brothers' adventures seem to take place the same summer, when Frank was eighteen and Joe, his fair-haired sibling, was seventeen, they seemed to lose all
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interest. Cynical little punters... Show Less
LibraryThing member A_Reader_of_Fictions
Last night, my friend and I ended up crashing at another friend's house. We wanted to drink, so we stayed there and watched a movie and had tasty margaritas made for us in an absurdly tiny blender. Awesome, right? Well, the downside comes when my allergies wake me up at 9 in the morning. I
To my knowledge, I never read The Hardy Boys when I was younger, though I think I did read a few volumes of Nancy Drew. I wasn't really sure what to expect, but I thought it was about two young brothers who solved crimes, but I think I mixed it up with Encyclopedia Brown, which I did read way back when. In fact, the Hardy boys are 17 (Joe) and 18 (Frank). I was rather surprised they were so old since these books are for kids.
The scene opens on a country road with our young heroes riding on their motorcycles. They spot a car coming up fast and swerving all over the road. Fearful for their lives, the boys climb off the motorcycles and climb an embankment, leaving their motorcycles to be completely squashed. Lucky for their transportation, the car turns off the road before it gets there. They get back on their motorcycles and ride away, but the car comes back, having turned down a dead-end road and nearly runs them down.
The boys run their errand, dropping off a package for their detective father (the best in the world) who they totally hero-worship, as good children do. On the way home, they pass the car they saw, now crashed on the side of the road. The driver is nowhere to be seen. Rather than contacting the authorities, Frank and Joe decide to go hang out with their friend Chet.
At Chet's, the boys find more mysterious doings: Chet's car has been stolen! LE GASP! Someone took off in his precious yellow jalopy! Seriously, these kids are so spoiled. I'm pretty sure it was fairly rare for people to have cars in 1927 when this was first published, but they pretty much all have transportation and not just borrowed from dear old dad. The boys set out, with Chuck in tow, to chase after the car thief, convinced that their motorcycles are much faster, even though they couldn't outrun that car earlier. Plot hole, you say?
I don't want to spoil everything for you, because I'm sure you'll want to enjoy the unspoiled mastery of the detective work that unspools within The Tower Treasure. Frank and Joe use such unparalleled techniques as: visiting every single shop in town that might have seen a man in a wig, searching every inch of town for Chet's car with their popular buddies, and asking daddy. These boys clearly have a promising future.
The writing is quite stilted to a modern reader, and I'm not convinced it was even great for the time. One of the boys says "Have you any idea," which seemed like very odd phrasing for a hip teen. Callie, Frank's girl, on finding out that Chet's car has been stolen, responds "that's a shame." What a caring girl. Also strange is that, when offered money to help a costume store owner with his inventory, Frank and Joe say they want to work for free because it sounds fun.
Of course, the book also has plenty of sexism. The boys and men in this novel are all working hard to bring down the criminal. The women spend the entirety of the book making food to take to the people affected by the bad guy's crime spree. No joke. Frank and Joe's girlfriends keep asking them what's going on and the boys promise to fill them in later, but never do, because obviously ladies have more important things to do, like make cake. To be fair, the boys do help cook in one scene, but they leave to do some investigating (the call is totally coming from inside the house) and the girls finish the cooking alone.
The mystery plot line itself doesn't make a whole lot of sense, and is rather unsatisfying. The blurb on Goodreads even totally spoils it, so that's fun. As stupid as most of the actions taken by the Hardy boys to figure out the mystery are, this isn't the sort of mystery the reader can solve, since the guilty party has exactly no screen time in the book. This is lazy plotting. Also, despite the father's purported insane skill at being a detective, his sons wrap up the case, which I assume is only because he wanted them to earn the thousand dollar reward and save him some money on their college tuition.
All in all, The Tower Treasure was humorous and gave me something to do with my morning, but I wouldn't say that it was a good book, nor that I will be hunting down the rest of the series.
Read more of my reviews at
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neglected to bring along a book, not planning to be there overnight. At least I have my iPod Touch with some Kindle books loaded on it, I thought. Nope, I forgot it at home. Everyone else is sleeping and I don't have a book! Obviously, I did what anyone would do, raided their library for something I could read during the morning. That's how I came to read The Tower Treasure.To my knowledge, I never read The Hardy Boys when I was younger, though I think I did read a few volumes of Nancy Drew. I wasn't really sure what to expect, but I thought it was about two young brothers who solved crimes, but I think I mixed it up with Encyclopedia Brown, which I did read way back when. In fact, the Hardy boys are 17 (Joe) and 18 (Frank). I was rather surprised they were so old since these books are for kids.
The scene opens on a country road with our young heroes riding on their motorcycles. They spot a car coming up fast and swerving all over the road. Fearful for their lives, the boys climb off the motorcycles and climb an embankment, leaving their motorcycles to be completely squashed. Lucky for their transportation, the car turns off the road before it gets there. They get back on their motorcycles and ride away, but the car comes back, having turned down a dead-end road and nearly runs them down.
The boys run their errand, dropping off a package for their detective father (the best in the world) who they totally hero-worship, as good children do. On the way home, they pass the car they saw, now crashed on the side of the road. The driver is nowhere to be seen. Rather than contacting the authorities, Frank and Joe decide to go hang out with their friend Chet.
At Chet's, the boys find more mysterious doings: Chet's car has been stolen! LE GASP! Someone took off in his precious yellow jalopy! Seriously, these kids are so spoiled. I'm pretty sure it was fairly rare for people to have cars in 1927 when this was first published, but they pretty much all have transportation and not just borrowed from dear old dad. The boys set out, with Chuck in tow, to chase after the car thief, convinced that their motorcycles are much faster, even though they couldn't outrun that car earlier. Plot hole, you say?
I don't want to spoil everything for you, because I'm sure you'll want to enjoy the unspoiled mastery of the detective work that unspools within The Tower Treasure. Frank and Joe use such unparalleled techniques as: visiting every single shop in town that might have seen a man in a wig, searching every inch of town for Chet's car with their popular buddies, and asking daddy. These boys clearly have a promising future.
The writing is quite stilted to a modern reader, and I'm not convinced it was even great for the time. One of the boys says "Have you any idea," which seemed like very odd phrasing for a hip teen. Callie, Frank's girl, on finding out that Chet's car has been stolen, responds "that's a shame." What a caring girl. Also strange is that, when offered money to help a costume store owner with his inventory, Frank and Joe say they want to work for free because it sounds fun.
Of course, the book also has plenty of sexism. The boys and men in this novel are all working hard to bring down the criminal. The women spend the entirety of the book making food to take to the people affected by the bad guy's crime spree. No joke. Frank and Joe's girlfriends keep asking them what's going on and the boys promise to fill them in later, but never do, because obviously ladies have more important things to do, like make cake. To be fair, the boys do help cook in one scene, but they leave to do some investigating (the call is totally coming from inside the house) and the girls finish the cooking alone.
The mystery plot line itself doesn't make a whole lot of sense, and is rather unsatisfying. The blurb on Goodreads even totally spoils it, so that's fun. As stupid as most of the actions taken by the Hardy boys to figure out the mystery are, this isn't the sort of mystery the reader can solve, since the guilty party has exactly no screen time in the book. This is lazy plotting. Also, despite the father's purported insane skill at being a detective, his sons wrap up the case, which I assume is only because he wanted them to earn the thousand dollar reward and save him some money on their college tuition.
All in all, The Tower Treasure was humorous and gave me something to do with my morning, but I wouldn't say that it was a good book, nor that I will be hunting down the rest of the series.
Read more of my reviews at
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LibraryThing member hadden
A swell book! I picked it up at a library sale, and realized I have not read this book since I was thirteen, over fifty years ago. It is still a good story, about some good chums, their roadsters, and solving mysteries with the help of their detective father. A nice way to spend some time, reading
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about old chums, indeed! Show Less
LibraryThing member richardr.b4
The best boy mystery ever! The sons of Fenton Hardy, the great detective, go on their first mystery that includes thievery, a set-up, and extreme dangers. Frank and Joe Hardy are the sons of the Fenton Hardy. Frank being the oldest at 18 by 1 year. Joe being 17 years old. Their friend's, Tony
The thief stole securities and jewelry from the Applegates. The thief stole Chets car as a getaway car. They find John "Red" Jackley. He is dying so he tells he hid it in the old tower. Everyone thinks it is hidden in the applegates mansion old tower. Yet the Hardy boys find out he meant the old train station tower. They search under a pieces of wood and find the securities and jewels.
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Prito, father is being set up for the crime by a notorious thief named John "Red" Jackley. A notorious thief known for wearing red wigs as a disguise. The thief stole securities and jewelry from the Applegates. The thief stole Chets car as a getaway car. They find John "Red" Jackley. He is dying so he tells he hid it in the old tower. Everyone thinks it is hidden in the applegates mansion old tower. Yet the Hardy boys find out he meant the old train station tower. They search under a pieces of wood and find the securities and jewels.
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LibraryThing member Zacswic
The Hardy Boys is about Joe and Frank Hardy who find out that the tower mansion has been robbed. Are they the ones who can find out this case? well you will find out all about it in this book. I recommend this book to all detectives world wide and kids who really love mystery.
LibraryThing member Glenajo
This audio edition of the original Hardy Boy #1: The Tower Treasure is an interesting read. Brothers Frank and Joe Hardy are the sons of an attorney that often solves mysteries. Their friend’s car is stolen and they are off to discover the thief when another friend’s father is accused of
I loved listening to the story for many reasons, first because my older brother had several of the series that I enjoyed in the 60s. The story was fun and enjoyable still, but the setting clues that I missed before really interested me. The books refer to the stolen car as a jalopy and continually rib friend Bif for his size and his love of fattening food. It was interesting to see the differences in today’s culture.
The book encourages teens to endeavor to succeed and employ good character traits in their daily lives. The characters, even under stress, choose to be honest and respect the adults in their community.
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steeling a treasure. I loved listening to the story for many reasons, first because my older brother had several of the series that I enjoyed in the 60s. The story was fun and enjoyable still, but the setting clues that I missed before really interested me. The books refer to the stolen car as a jalopy and continually rib friend Bif for his size and his love of fattening food. It was interesting to see the differences in today’s culture.
The book encourages teens to endeavor to succeed and employ good character traits in their daily lives. The characters, even under stress, choose to be honest and respect the adults in their community.
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LibraryThing member dwarfplanet9
i loved the entire series. after blazing through them all, i moved on to read the entire Nancy Drew series.
LibraryThing member DWWilkin
Nostalgia. When I was a young man, or younger than a young man, I delved and consumed Hardy Boy books as if they were the best thing ever. I remember that they had a section of these for sale in May Company in the mall. And if the next book in the series wasn't there on the shelf, we were
First books in a series, a long series, do their best to introduce the various characters that will be in the series. This does that. It also gives us a little caper to follow through on. Perhaps an enticement that will make us love mysteries for the remainder of our lives.
From the perspective of a child this is done, and probably done well. Though I imagine that the age at which one appreciates this has trended younger. And now as an adult, reading many mysteries and even writing a few, know about trying to pull the reader along, this does not hold for an adult.
It works as a piece of Nostalgia and another time, another era, a remembrance for me of when I was young and clamoring for more of the series. But as an adult, perhaps something to share with a 'Tweener. But for it's own sake, there are much more tales with depth that I as an adult are more captivated by.
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devastated, and needed to bug our parents to come back again and again to get it. Maybe even travel over to another bookstore and hope that they might have it. Bookstores were not everywhere when I was unable to drive myself. Much as they are becoming again.First books in a series, a long series, do their best to introduce the various characters that will be in the series. This does that. It also gives us a little caper to follow through on. Perhaps an enticement that will make us love mysteries for the remainder of our lives.
From the perspective of a child this is done, and probably done well. Though I imagine that the age at which one appreciates this has trended younger. And now as an adult, reading many mysteries and even writing a few, know about trying to pull the reader along, this does not hold for an adult.
It works as a piece of Nostalgia and another time, another era, a remembrance for me of when I was young and clamoring for more of the series. But as an adult, perhaps something to share with a 'Tweener. But for it's own sake, there are much more tales with depth that I as an adult are more captivated by.
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LibraryThing member RonSmedley
..some of the first books I ever read and thoroughly enjoyed.. The Hardy Boys
LibraryThing member vintage-series-Lisa
I listened to the audio version of this book. Loved it, loved the simpleness that reminded me of my childhood
LibraryThing member adamjohn
Fenton Hardy, famous New York detective, now lives in Bayport with his wife, and two sons: Frank and Joe, that are having their first case trying to find stolen
treasure.
treasure.
LibraryThing member AnnaWaffles
It was pretty funny comparing this to the Nancy Drew I just read. Serious boy book/girl book stuff here, down to the motorcycles and dating habits. I'm glad I read this, but I don't think I'll read more from this series any time soon.
LibraryThing member krizia_lazaro
Thank you Netgalley and Dove Publication for the free ebook copy in exchange for a review. The Hardy Boys was a trend when I was young along with Nancy Drew. Being a girl, my mom buys me Nancy Drew so this is my first dabble into the Hardy Boys. It feels like a Nancy Drew mystery. It is perfect for
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middle grade students but not exactly for adults. Spoilers ahead! I have some questions about the theft that was left unanswered. The ending was also a let down, no confrontations or whatever. It was okay but lacks excitement. Show Less
LibraryThing member Ghost_Boy
Read some more Hardy Boys...finally. Only took me 15ish years to read some of the others. We only have 3 books in the house. I'm not sure I'll read the rest, but I would like to some day. These are mostly a quick read. Yes, these are dated, they were dated when I read them, but I still like the
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books. One reason I like the Hardy Boys is like Harry Potter and the Unicorn Chronicles, this book got me into reading. You can blame the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew for my liking to detective fiction. These days, I like more mature mystery stuff, but reading light stuff isn't a bad thing either. Show Less
LibraryThing member Briars_Reviews
The Hardy Boys was another series that was super popular in my youth. As the outcast, loser-ish nerd of the class I striked against these books and would not read them! I was "too cool" and only wanted to read the books the popular kids didn't like (Bunnicula, Goosebumps, a Series of Unfortunate
This book is clearly an older novel. The references are absolutely amazing! This book did not age well at all. As someone who loves anything "vintage" or "old" this book was right in my wheelhouse. It had my chuckling and feeling nostalgic as it reminded me of my youth and all the things my parents used to say. The book was first published in 1927, so it is a REAL gem. I didn't know it was that old so I was super shocked. Clearly, my grandparents sayings were passed along to my parents.
Like Nancy Drew, this series is written by a large majority of ghost writers. Out of curiousity, I want to continue this series to see how the books change (there is almost 200 books so good luck to me. It's going to be a life long goal...).
The original YA novel is full of mysteries that aren't easy to follow. Things just happen suddenly and appear, and isn't as "smart" as I thought it would be. It's still beautifully written and truly marvelous (this book is almost one hundred years old... and the youth back then read it... and now I'm reading it... my mind is blown). Mystery after mystery occurs and of course it is solved in the end. Our two leads are also nearly adults, and somehow are just as good at solving mysteries as their Detective Father.
This book definitely has it's flaws, but it's a total nostalgia trip. It's a cool book that I'd highly recommend readers pick up whether they want to get into young reader books or if you want to travel back in time.
Two out of five stars.
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Events and Twilight to name a few). In my adulthood, I found this book at a local charity book store and decided to pick up the first book in this series. And... I was kind of disappointed. Why? I'm an adult.This book is clearly an older novel. The references are absolutely amazing! This book did not age well at all. As someone who loves anything "vintage" or "old" this book was right in my wheelhouse. It had my chuckling and feeling nostalgic as it reminded me of my youth and all the things my parents used to say. The book was first published in 1927, so it is a REAL gem. I didn't know it was that old so I was super shocked. Clearly, my grandparents sayings were passed along to my parents.
Like Nancy Drew, this series is written by a large majority of ghost writers. Out of curiousity, I want to continue this series to see how the books change (there is almost 200 books so good luck to me. It's going to be a life long goal...).
The original YA novel is full of mysteries that aren't easy to follow. Things just happen suddenly and appear, and isn't as "smart" as I thought it would be. It's still beautifully written and truly marvelous (this book is almost one hundred years old... and the youth back then read it... and now I'm reading it... my mind is blown). Mystery after mystery occurs and of course it is solved in the end. Our two leads are also nearly adults, and somehow are just as good at solving mysteries as their Detective Father.
This book definitely has it's flaws, but it's a total nostalgia trip. It's a cool book that I'd highly recommend readers pick up whether they want to get into young reader books or if you want to travel back in time.
Two out of five stars.
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Lexile
740L
Pages
180