The Secret of Pirates Hill

The Secret of Pirates Hill has the  Hardy boys in search of a lost treasure off the coast of Bayport- near a sandy dunes area known as, you guessed it, Pirates Hill. This one starts off with a bang, as Frank and Joe are skin diving when another diver shoots speargun at them. Frank is nearly killed and they return to Bayport, where they are approached by a man who wants to hire them- to find a cannon. He offers them a thousand dollars to find it. Frank is skeptical of the man and his offer, and sure enough when their dad checks on him he finds that the man is a fake. He may also be involved in a swindling case that the elder Hardy investigating. Mr. Hardy advises the boys to stay friendly with the man, to earn his trust- it amazes me how he encourages the boys to put themselves in danger.

The girlfriends show up early in this one. They are all supposed to have a fourth of July beach party, complete with a clambake.

Fourth of July arrives and as they prepare for their beach party another man in a boat warns them off, telling them he saw a stingray in the area. When they see someone else in the man's boat they get suspicious and try to get close, but the boat takes off. They have their feast on the beach, and everyone is enjoying themselves but Joe sees someone on the hill watching them.

The boys put together that one or more parties are looking for an old treasure in the Pirates Hill area. They soon find a message written in Portuguese that gives a clue as to the location, and they are off. They find a suitable place to dig, and after some help from an old timer who lives out there, they hit the jackpot. They also discover that a cannonball fired at the right angle will show the location of the treasure. They prepare to dive after the treasure when someone tries that, obliterating their pal Tony's boat. They survive but Tony's boat is history. All that remains is to find the treasure. Maybe Tony will get a new boat after all.

I didn't like this one as much as The Short Wave Mystery (reviewed last week), in spite of an interesting premise this one felt just average. As usual the small touches- parties on the beach, the time spent with friends - the world was different when these were written, simpler perhaps- and I am enjoying them for that. The mysteries for me are not even the draw, instead I am enjoying the glimpse into a different time, and enjoying the interactions between the friends.

Sunday Post #82

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer.
It's Monday! What Are You Reading is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. 

Another quiet week on the blog, I got some reading done and I've been binging on Agent Carter (that show rocks). If you haven't been watching it I highly recommend it, it's a lot of fun. 

My Hardy Boys project is going well, I reviewed The Short-Wave Mystery here. I'm enjoying this so much I've sketched out an informal schedule through March or so- in addition to my usual reads, I'll be doing more of these reviews and may include some other ones as well. I read Trixie Belden as a kid so I may give those a try. So keep an eye out for The Mystery off Glen road in the next few weeks. I appreciate everyone who comes by to comment on these- it's been fun to go a bit retro! 

I purchased some art from one of my favorite artists this week- you can click here and here to see some of my favorites. 

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone celebrating it.


The Attic interviewed Rather Be Reading YA last week. 

Read Me away announced their Away To Fairy Tale Land event- you can check that out here.

Fantasy Is More Fun and Books Movies Reviews Oh MY had some fun posts this week- they invited several cozy mystery writers to write competing endings to a mystery setup. Check out their posts- they were a lot of fun.

The Short Wave Mystery

The Short Wave Mystery is this weeks foray into the Hardy boys stories, and it's a good one. The Hardys are spending some time with their short-wave ham radio when then hear a garbled message- perhaps being scrambled? Their suspicions are aroused but before they can give it much thought, they are contacted by their pal Chet Morton, who has taken up a new hobby- taxidermy. Chet has a habit of taking up new hobbies- and they often factor into the mysteries. Chet asks them to come to an auction with him, where some taxidermy stuff will be up for sale, and they agree. True to form, the plot picks up quickly, and at the auction some thieves make off with some of the exhibits. They practically run the boys down in the process. Naturally they give chase, but the perps get away

Their dad then comes home from Europe and reports that his current case is industrial espionage- someone is stealing commercial aircraft secrets that could have military applications. And guess what - there's a link to taxidermy. No way! Shortly afterward the boys are asked investigate the theft of the exhibits. Later when the boys are listening to their ham radio they hear a coded message- could it be the gang their dad is after? As the story progresses they hear more coded messages which gives them valuable clues. The espionage and theft are related, and as the boys trace the clues down they find themselves in more dangerous situations, culminating in a trip to Canada and a showdown at a remote hunting lodge. I thought this was a nice touch, and provided a tense conclusion to a fine story.

I liked this one quite a bit, it has the usual coincidences and unrealistic elements,but I think this is one of the best ones I've read. I especially liked the short-wave radio element. I remember this when I was growing up, and thought it would be neat to do ham radio stuff. So this probably appealed to me as a kid, and still does today. There's a lot of old time goodness in this one, actually. Stops at diners, old fashioned family values, the kids are respectful, and it's just a very comfortable read. There's also a lot of food in this one- the boys' Aunt gertrude is constantly whipping up something for them to eat, and they're always having cocoa and cookies it seems like. There is some good chow going on at the Hardy household! I enjoyed this one a lot, and it has a lot of fun stuff going on.

Sunday Post #81

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer.
It's Monday! What Are You Reading is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. 

It's been a quiet week on the blog. Not much going on, got some reading done- not a lot- but some reviews are on the way. Went out to Carabba's today (love that place), but other than that it's a quiet weekend too.  Maybe I'll get some reading done tonight. 

My Hardy Boys project is well underway, with two reviews up and more to come. I'm having a lot of fun picking out which ones to read, and it's fun revisiting that world again. It's been a long time...  I just finished The Short- Wave Mystery and my thoughts will be up on Tuesday. I'm thinking of expanding this to include other vintage juveniles as well. It is nice to go back and see how they hold up. 

CURRENTLY READING: 



UPCOMING REVIEWS: 

 

The Wailing Siren Mystery

In this installment we start off with the boys on a boat ride when a storm comes up. Their motor gives out and while they are trying to fix it they see a yacht in the distance. They send an SOS but get no response. Shortly thereafter a helicopter appears, and they hear a wailing siren. Something is dropped in the water near them, and when they fish it out of the drink they find two thousand dollars in it! The boys report it to the police, and place an ad in the paper mentioning the money has been found, but not how much.

In the midst of this their friend Chet shows up and mentions that his truck has just been stolen. Unfortunately it was full of his uncle's high powered hunting rifles, as well as camping supplies that Chet had purchased for an upcoming camping trip. Oops. Chet left the keys in the truck. Smart. The Hardy's manage to track down the truck, but the loot is gone. The boys are thinking about how to find the stolen items when Frank goes to see if there has been a response to their ad. Turns out there has. Someone dropped off a note telling them to hang onto the money pending further instructions -and it's signed Rainy Night. Ah ha! The game is afoot.

Frank notices as he leaves that he is followed, and later they find glasses under a window at their home- someone has evidently taken an interest in them. That evening Frank is abducted while heading to his girlfriends house, and a cage arrives with two carrier pigeons. Apparently this is how the money is to be transported. Okaaaay. Frank, meanwhile, manages to free himself and once reunited, they release one of the pigeons and attempt to track it, but are unsuccessful. At this point they find out that their dad's current case involves missing money and possible gunrunning to Central America, and they think that perhaps this is related to the two thousand dollars they found. Coincidences like this are the stuff of a Hardy Boys story!

The boys then go camping in the North Woods, the area where they suspect Chet's missing items are stashed. It's also where Frank was held when he was kidnapped- so it's kinda bizarre that their dad encourages them to go there, after Mrs. Hardy remarks that she would like the thugs to not know where the boys are. Yeah- send them away to a dangerous area! So Frank, Joe and their friends Chet, Biff and Tony head into the woods. That night they are awakened by a wailing siren. Hmm.

They soon put together that something has been happening at sea with the yacht and helicopter, and so they head back out. They are followed and attacked, and from there we get a thrilling boat chase and a showdown with the gunrunners, and their dad shows up to save the day at just the right time with the state police. This  one was good- not the best I've read, but it has its moments.

The cover on this one is probably one of my favorites.

Sunday Post #80 The Sun Is Out

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer.
It's Monday! What Are You Reading is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. 

This was a good week, I didn't do a lot of reading but I did get a few reviews up. Going into February my reading is wide open- I have a few in mind but nothing set in stone yet. Vintage Science Fiction Month is wrapping up and has been a lot of fun You can check out the reviews at #VintageSciFi. 

This morning the sun is out and it looks like  nice day. We've actually had a few days now with sunshine, it hasn't been a bad week. I hope everyone out east who got blasted is staying warm and comfortable. 


INTERNET FUN: 

Angela's Anxious Life spotlights Find Momo. You have to check this out- how fun. 

If you're curious about Mr. Penumbra's you can check out a prequel of sorts here... for $2.99. It's Mr. Penumbra 1969... set during the summer of love. Groovy baby. 

Little Red Reviewer has a roundup of the Vintage Science Fiction Month reviews here. Handy dandy. 

Snap Happy Gal has some nice shots. 

No Winds of Winter this year- are you surprised? The publisher has said it won't be this year- so this seals the deal that we will get the end of this story on TV. The good news, however, is that we will get a new edition of the hedge Knight stories later this year. 

Review: Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore

Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore was an interesting read. I had heard a lot of good things about this one, and it seemed a little mysterious- a story about a bookstore and a group that meets there. It seemed like a rather eclectic mix, to be honest. I was in a bit of a lull in reading recently, and thought I'd finally give it a try. I'm glad I did.

Clay Jannon has been laid off and is looking for work- and he finds it at Mr. Penumbra's, a little old bookstore next to a strip club. This is no ordinary bookstore however- there are very few customers, and the customers that do come in are rather odd. The back of the bookstore is full of volumes that are not cataloged, and they are mysterious books- full of strange codes and puzzles. It's almost like a library- mysterious people come in, check out some of these strange volumes, and bring them back later. Clay soon finds that the bookstore is part of a society that has a very mysterious purpose -and before long he is part of that group, seeking the answers to one of life's greatest questions.

Clay also meets Kat, a Google employee who has her own reasons for wanting the answer to that question as well. Clay and Kat soon find themselves together, and as Kat is an up-and-comer at Google they marshal the resources of the tech company to help them solve the mystery. The relationship between Clay and Kat is a lot of fun- they just have a neat connection, and it's fun to see their relationship grow, and to see them navigate the ups and downs. Along with some other friends Clay and Kat find themselves drawn into a world of secrets, cryptography and questions about the meaning of life.

Set in San Francisco, this book was a lot of fun and very readable. I blew through it in no time. Sloan has a very easygoing style, and the tone is wry and quite funny, but it also has serious things to say about friendship and what's truly important. One thing I liked was how this book spotlighted friendships, and how some friendships exist because of books. What a great point, and I'm not sure I've ever really thought about it that closely- but my close friendships are, in many cases, directly affected by the books we share. This story is in many ways a celebration of that.  The only thing I didn't like was that the end didn't live up to the premise for me. I realize this is a book set in a real world, and I understand the message being sent and applaud it, but I would have liked more mysteriousness to go along with the setup. Still, it's a fine novel, with great characters and a lot of heart.

Oh, and I think I'd like to read The Dragon Song Chronicles.