There are flaws in the floor (The Hardy Boys: The Disappearing Floor - Franklin W. Dixon)

Member Name: keeperofthematri

Product:	The Hardy Boys: The Disappearing Floor - Franklin W. Dixon
Date:	23/06/09 (33 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: For diehard fans only

Disadvantages: Weak plot that doesn't gel well together

Frank & Joe Hardy are the teenage sons of famous private detective Fenton Hardy & his wife Laura. Together, (& sometimes from help with family & friends) they investigate all sorts of crimes & strange occurences....

The Mystery Of The Disappearing Floor was published in the US in 1940 & was the nineteenth in the series. It was revised in 1964. The book first appeared in the UK in 1971 & was numbered 5 when it was published by Armada. This review is for the Armada edition.

The story opens with Frank & Joe spotting a car that their father asked them to keep an eye out for. Unfortunately, whilst tailing it, the car releases a cloud of purple smoke & escapes from them. Later they bump into Chet who claims to have heard a ghost & seen a "funny looking tiled surface". Whilst hunting for the tiled surface they encounter a half conscious man who they initially take to their car in order to take him to hospital. He subsequently escapes from them & warns them not to follow him.

When they reach home their father tells them about a series of jewel robberies that appear to have been carried out by the same gang. At each robbery someone appears to have lost a part of their memory. None of the 'victims' recalls passing out, but they all remember a sensation of coming to. Strangely no traces of gas have been detected in the air.

Events get more serious when Fenton Hardy's usual pilot, Jack Wayne, disappears after sending a garbled radio message. But how is this linked to a college professor called Aden Darrow who has bought the old Perth Mansion which is where Noel Strang, number one suspect for the jewel robberies appears to be living? And who or what is the ghostly figure that appears & disappears at random in the grounds of the Perth Mansion? Andy why has someone stolen an amethyst that Callie & Iola have found?

The usual supporting characters who appear in the story are:-

+ Fenton Hardy
+ Laura Hardy
+ Aunt Gertrude
+ Chet Morton
+ Ton Prito
+ Callie Shaw
+ Iola Morton
+ Jack Wayne
+ Chief Ezra Collig (aka Chief Clint Collig)


Again, like all of the early Hardy Boys books this dates somewhat. When I was growing up this wasn't one of my favourite stories as I never felt it gelled particularly well together. Reading it again over 20 years later my view on that hasn't changed. Chief Collig seems to have changed his name from Ezra to Clint for the events of this story and there's an incident with a jewel delivery which leaves both the Hardys & the police baffled for a while that defies belief. Even as a child the explanation for the said jewel delivery incident seemed rather obvious to me. As an adult that view is even more reinforced.

So, all in all, one of the lesser stories in the series. It's probably best not to give this to someone as their first Hardy Boys book to read as it probably won't draw them in & make them want to read more.

At the time of writing used paperback versions can be otained from 1p upwards.

Summary: One for the casual fan to avoid