Book Review: The Four-Headed Dragon (The Hardy Boys)

Book: The Four-Headed Dragon (The Hardy Boys book #69) by Franklin W. Dixon

Edition: Paperback

Description:

Mr. Hardy's assistant is found in the woods, dazed and incoherent, and then is kidnapped from his hospital bed. Did some enemy fear that Sam Radley would be able to expose the famous detective?

While the Hardy boys are searching for Same, Mr. Hardy looks for an elusive criminal hiding out in Alaska. During the detective's absence, the Hardys' house is broken into and it's up to the boys to fend off the criminals and protect the family home.

Clues as to the whereabouts of the missing man lead to a huge mansion near the Morton farm. Its mysterious tenants somehow hold the key to the mystery. Strange goings-on during a hurricane endanger the lives of Frank and Joe, and their enemies escape with a machine so deadly and destructive that it could bring great harm to the entire country. The Hardy boys must retrieve it!



Rating: 5 stars

Review:

I'm so glad that I post my New Book Purchases because it makes it easier to remember when I bought a book. I got this Hardy Boys book a couple of years ago from the library book sale. This book was published in 1981, making it 35 years old. Aside from a little wear and tear, it's in pretty good shape.

In this story, Joe and Frank Hardy face danger at every turn as they try to find out what happened to their father's friend and business associate Sam Radley. Assisting their father on a very time sensitive case added to their stress.  

When the brothers' friend Chet Morton called and told them that Sam had been found wandering around Chet's family's farm. He also told them that Sam had been taken to the hospital. The brothers immediately rushed over to the hospital where they were informed that Sam was suffering from an extreme case of shock.

The brothers plan to investigate what happened to Sam as soon as they notify his wife Ethel. Going over to the Radley's apartment they were in for a surprise, they found the placed trashed and they were attacked by three men. They also found Ethel tied up and locked in a closet. Who were those men and what were they looking for? Did they also have something to do with Sam's condition?

Finding those same men searching their father's office in the middle of the night, the brothers had to find out what was going on. In this fast-paced mystery, the Hardy boys are dealing with a very crafty and dangerous group of men. I like how the author kept the suspense going as the boys try to figure out what was going on. It wasn't easy for the brothers to solve this case because there were multiple layers that added to their difficulty in finding clues.

I love reading these Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew books because they are very suspenseful and entertaining to read as you try to piece together the mystery. This book kicked off with a dizzying array of drama but the author included a bit a humor sprinkled throughout the story.

With this being only the second Hardy Boys book I've read, it makes me determined to read even more of them.