Hardy Boys Adventures, Book 16 - Stolen Identity

When I'm doing a play, it is so hard to find free time to read - usually my free time is spent learning lines, running lines, at rehearsal, or actually performing once the play opens.  But I do manage to sneak some time in here and there to get some reading done, and that's how I was able to finally read the latest Hardy Boys Adventures book.

Stolen Identity provides readers with something refreshingly different. The brothers are drawn into a new mystery as someone toys with them, planting stolen evidence on them at every turn, forcing them to not only hide that evidence, but work extra hard to avoid police capture.  They are bring framed, but they have no idea by whom or for what reason. And with the police chief out of town and a visiting chief putting them on notice to not get involved in any mystery, it's going to be tough for Frank and Joe Hardy to solve a case without letting anyone know they are investigating!

The author draws readers in to the story pretty quickly, with the manuscript pages of the original Arthur Conan Doyle mystery being discovered stolen by the end of the second chapter.  From there, things happen quickly - missing pages turn up in the boys' lockers at school just as a surprise inspection by the police takes place. Next, two more missing pages show up in menus at the local diner where the brothers are being interrogated by the lieutenant taking the police chief's place. Then, missing pages show up in the back seat of Frank's car.  The author plays on the whole Sherlock Holmes/Moriarty comparison throughout the story, as the Hardys begin to believe they have their own Moriarty playing games with them.

Could it be a former villain they helped get locked away?  Or was it someone connected to the museum where the Arthur Conan Doyle manuscript was on display when the theft occurred?  Or perhaps it was even the new lieutenant, who was trying to pin something on the Hardy Boys to impress the out-of-town police chief?  The game is afoot, as the famed detective would say!

The story is fun, and following the brothers through the twists and turns, the red herrings and the misdirections, keeps readers on their toes trying to figure out whodunnit. It's just a shame (once again I find myself saying this) that Simon & Schuster seems to now allow the writers of both this series and the Nancy Drew Diaries series to flesh out the characters a bit more.  The supporting cast come across very stiff and stereotypical, filling a particular need for a moment, then off the scene.  I mean, let's face it - in the original Hardy Boys books, Chet Morton was a major supporting character throughout the years.  In this book, we see him for barely a few pages, and he is no more important than any of the other friends of the Hardy Boys who appear in the book and then disappear just as quickly when they are no longer needed.  Imagine how intriguing this book could have been if it were longer than just 117 pages (which is not much longer than many early reader books these days!).

That being said, the story is pretty satisfying - although I wish there had been a few more clues, regardless of how subtle, as to the identity of the culprit prior to the big climax at the end. However, that didn't take away from the enjoyment of the mystery, so I'll have to give this book a thumbs up.

RATING:  8 grind boxes out of 10 for keeping the mysteries fresh and unique, and not depending on sabotage to sell another mystery.