We're Feezing To Death Out Here (literally) (The Hardy Boys: The Yellow Feather Mystery - Franklin W. Dixon)

Member Name: keeperofthematri

Product:	The Hardy Boys: The Yellow Feather Mystery - Franklin W. Dixon
Date:	10/07/09 (26 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Hard to think of one!

Disadvantages: A bit dated, less of tension, poorly plotted

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 Yellow Feather Mystery was published in the US in 1953 & was the thirty third in the series. It was revised in 1971. The book first appeared in the UK in 1973 & was numbered 28 when it was published by Armada.

The book opens with Frank & Joe meeting Greg Woodson, a student who has phoned them before the story starts. His recently deceased grandfather, Elias Woodson, owned Woodson Academy & told Greg that the Academy would be his when he died. Unfortunately there's no will to be found & the only clue Greg has is a sheet of paper with some cut-out shapes & the word "Hardy" on it. This gets lost without the Hardys ever seeing it.

However, acting Academy headmaster Henry Kurt later contacts the boys father, claiming that Elias Woodson told him that the Academy would be his when he died. He produces a sheet of paper, also with some cut-out shapes & says that Elias give it to him shortly before he died.

But somebody is determined to stop the boy's investigations. Who is the mysterious Yellow Feather? Why is Henry Kurt so lenient with pesky student Benny Tass? Did Elias Woodson leave a will & if so, where is it? And how is the mysterious Harris Dilleau connected to things? The Yellow Feather's attempts to stop the boys once & for all then escalate to the point that they're left to freeze to death in an ice fort.......


The usual supporting characters who appear in this book are:-

+ Fenton Hardy
+ Laura Hardy
+ Aunt Gertrude
+ Chet Morton
+ Biff Hooper
+ Tony Prito
+ Callie Shaw
+ Iola Morton
+ Chief Ezra Collig

Unfortunately this is one of the poorer books in the series, based on the fact that the criminal is so blatantly obvious that it's hard to believe it takes Frank & Joe quite so long to solve the mystery. The winter setting provides a good opportunity for some excitement but somehow it just all falls rather flat, which is a pity as the winter setting really worked in The Mystery Of Cabin Island. More could have been made of the search for the will but even this lacks any pace or tension which is a bit sad. However, this isn't quite as bad as The Secret Of The Caves. Avid fans of the series may manage to read it from cover to cover out of loyalty but the more casual reader may easily get bored of it.


At the time of writing the book is available in Hardback for 7.19 from Amazon Prime. New & used paperbacks are available from 1p upwards.

Summary: Thirty third book in the series