The Secret of the Caves (Hardy Boys, Book 7)

Location: Home » body art - tattoo » Dixon, Franklin W. » The Secret of the Caves (Hardy Boys, Book 7)

Similar Items:

•	The Mystery of Cabin Island (Hardy Boys, Book 8)
•	The Great Airport Mystery (Hardy Boys, Book 9)
•	What Happened at Midnight (Hardy Boys, Book 10)
•	While the Clock Ticked (Hardy Boys, Book 11)
•	Footprints Under the Window (Hardy Boys, Book 12)

Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
When the Hardy boys reached the caves, they came unexpectedly upon a queer old hermit.

Customer Reviews: Read 14 more reviews...

3 out of 5 stars

The Hardy Boys in yet another Cave April 1, 2005
12 out of 13 found this review helpful

Fenton Hardy is trying to find out who is out to sabotage a new military radar installation. At the same time the boys are on the trail of a missing college professor. It seems the further the boys travel in following the missing professor, the more suspicious characters they discover. Some people they encounter who appear suspicious may not be, and others who appear to be uninvolved may be. How will the boys learn where the missing professor is located?

During the boys investigation they come across a huge complex of caves. During their stay in the cavern the boys have their stuff stolen, and are threatened. What could be so important that someone would want to chase the Hardy Boys away?

I have been a big fan of the Hardy Boys since I was a child. However, I found this particular book to be less enjoyable than some of the other books. The main reason is that the author appeared to know little about the military and military construction, and his description of the sabotage at the radar site would have involved the FBI and much heavier security, among other details. However, if you can get over the minor annoyances, the basic story has some interesting twists.

As I noted in my review of Hardy Boys #6, "The Shore Road Mystery," the author seemed to have a fixation on caves. The five previous books in the series had caves and the next story has a cave. I guess caves are just very mysterious places along with being great criminal hangouts.

Though the Hardy Boys series is written in a relatively archaic fashion, as reading material for an increasingly younger audience they are excellent. The stories were once recommended for children ages 10 to 14. As children are exposed to more violence and seem to require greater levels of stimulation, the recommended age range has move to 9 to 12. I think any child capable of reading some of the challenging words in these books will enjoy them, regardless of how tame most of the action may be. Once a child has reached age 12 or so the stories may be of less interest, but given the combination of mystery and action, these books remain good safe choices for parents who want to know what their children are reading.

2 out of 5 stars

What Was The Author Thinking? May 14, 2002
6 out of 8 found this review helpful

This review concerns the revised 1964 edition. A young girl asks Mr. Hardy, Frank and Joe to find her brother, a young university professor, who recently disappeared. A clue left by the professor leads Frank, Joe, Chet and Biff to the Honeycomb Caves, not far from Bayport, where the boys discover a connection to Mr Hardy's other case involving sabotage at a new radar station in Bayport. I don't know what the author of the revised edition was thinking; he/she took the original edition, that was already not very good, largely rewrote it, stripped away the only really good thing about the original (its rich language and descriptiveness) and made an already dull book even worse. This is a bad book with a boring mystery and not much action. If you're determined to read this title, read the original if you can, neither one is very good, but at least the original was well written.

3 out of 5 stars

The Worst Book Of The First Ten August 28, 2001
5 out of 7 found this review helpful

This review concerns the original 1929 edition. An elderly lady seeks Fenton Hardy's assistence in locating her twin brother who disappeared shortly after an accident. Meanwhile, Frank, Joe, Chet and Biff travel up the coast to camp at some caves where mysterious things are occuring. This book is easily the worst of books 1-10. The writing (language used, descriptive scenes, etc.) is excellent, like in all of the early originals; however the writing is the only saving grace of this book and the only real reason to read it. The plot is weak and their is no real mystery. There is only one criminal in the book. He is captured on page 139 and the manner in which he is captured was the second most pathetic way that I have seen in all of the Hardy Boys books that I have read; the worst being the criminal in #76 "Game plan For Disaster" that the Hardy's find already tied up on a motel room floor. Unfortunately for Frank and joe they had to tie the guy up this time, but; otherwise, it was somewhat similar. The book contains too many ridiculous coincidences. The Hardys are supposed to be miles from Bayport, yet when they look for a passing motorist to take the criminal to the police station in Bayport, not only is the very first car they stop going to Bayport, the driver is someone the Hardy's know. If that wasn't enough, a similar situation happens later in the book. The reader is left to figure out the explanation of the strange happenings at the caves because it is never explained. This book is worth reading for the writing, but that's about it.

4 out of 5 stars

still good clean fun December 13, 2004
5 out of 5 found this review helpful

"The Secret of the Caves" is book 7 in the Hardy Boys Mystery Series. This review deals with the 1964 Revised Edition and not the 1929 Original. Fenton Hardy, the father of Frank and Joe, is engaged in an investigation regarding a new radar station just outside Bayport. While the brothers want to help their father, they are brought into the mystery of a missing college professor. Their search takes them to the Honeycomb caves as they try to find clues to the location of the professor and what might have happened to him. Through the investigation they find a connection to the case their father is working on.

There is a certain charm to the Hardy Boys. These books are of a more wholesome time in which everybody seems to be part of a Lake Wobegon where all the women are pretty, all the men strong, and all the children above average. Forgive me the comparison, but I am from Minnesota. Seriously, the comparison fits as all the main characters are smart, strong, and courageous and always up to the task, even the girls. On one hand, all the Hardy Boys novels are a little silly, but they are such good tales for young boys and girls, even the ones that are not quite as good. "The Secret of the Caves" has a bit too many fortunate coincidences that are not so much a result of the sleuthing of the Hardys as plain good luck. That is a drawback here, but as with all of the earliest Hardy Boys novels, "The Secret of the Caves" remains good fun.

-Joe Sherry

4 out of 5 stars

The Secret of the Caves May 11, 2000
3 out of 4 found this review helpful

The most commonly known series, The Hardy Boys, brings you a book called, The Secret of the Caves. I recommend this book for all ages, because I thought it was a fantastic book by Franklin W. Dixon. If people like mystery, this is their kind of book. I like how there are always two cases, one with their dad and one with the Hardys. I like how both cases all come into one solution. When I read the book, I am always interested in it. It's not just for kids, anybody can read it. This book, I would say is a four star book. It has mystery, action, and it is about 280 pages. People will like this book. It also draws people into the book. It does that because, you picture the scene and wanting to be in the book and like be one of the Hardys. When I read it, I picture the action, the mystery. I sometimes think about it after I read it.

Powered by Associate-O-Matic