Tom Swift Inventors' Academy, Book 3 - Restricted Access

It's funny - growing up, I never really enjoyed any of the so-called "boys' series" - Hardy Boys, Tom Swift, Ken Holt, Rick Brant - for me, these stories were more about adventure and less about mystery, and for me, it was all about the mystery that attracted me to series books.  As an adult, I'm still not much of a fan of the older boys' series (although I find the Ken Holt series rather humorous for reasons I won't go into here...); however, I do find that some of the newer series, such as the Hardy Boys Adventures, are rather well-written and enjoyable.  This latest incarnation of Tom Swift is one I'm finding rather enjoyable also, and the third volume is a perfect example of why.

Restricted Access is the story of what happens when you take a group of seventh graders and do a "lock-in" in a top-notch, highly-sophisticated tech lab such as Swift Enterprises. I give the author credit on this one - a good hi-tech mystery of who causes the lockdown at Swift Enterprises, why did they do it, and how will they get away with it?  Throw in some Poseidon Adventure antics, as well as some Die Hard moments, and it definitely gets the reader's attention and keeps them turning page after page!

An interesting side-story in this mystery is the reporter who is trying so hard to follow Tom around as a part of a piece he is doing on his father's school - only, Tom does not want to be interviewed, so he does everything he can to avoid the man (who happens to be an old college friend of Swift, Sr.).  This ultimately leads to an unexpected turn of events - The reporter's son, Rowan, becomes Tom's shadow, with a small camera and microphone in his shirt to record everything, and joins Tom and the rest of the seventh grade on their lock-in at Swift Enteprises!

Now, this may sound somewhat contrived, but little Rowan is rambunctious and keeps disappearing on Tom.  Plus, it adds to the list of suspects, when Tom begins to wonder if Rowan was a plant by his father, who is using him to get the inside scoop of Swift Enterprises?  Add to the fact that Rowan's smaller stature allows him to get into places (such as air ducts) much easier than the older children, and suddenly there's the potential for a fifth member to the Formidable Foursome (yes, Tom's friends Noah, Amy, and Sam are all back for this adventure).

Not gonna lie here - for more experienced readers, the culprit in this book is obvious from the beginning and very easy to spot.  You may not know how or why he is doing what he does, but there's no doubt who it is.  That being said, once the lockdown happens, it is fun following Tom and Rowan through the air ducts, then with Sam, climbing up the elevator shaft, then with Noah, working their way through the maintenance halls hidden behind the regular halls, and finally, with Amy, as they all race to stop the intruder from stealing Swift Enterprise secrets!

With only 135 pages of story and a bit larger font, the story races pretty quickly without a lot of character build up, and that is the only real thing lacking in this series.  I wish Simon & Schuster would realize that allowing the writers to flesh out the stories and the characters would make for even better tales and would likely increase their readership (and sales!).  Yes, through the action in each story, we learn a bit about each character, but the supporting characters get virtually no characterization other than just their name and purpose for being in the book.  I'd love to learn more about Tom Swift, Sr. ... about Tom's mother who passed away ... would have loved to have gotten some more background and information on Mr. Kavner (the reporter).

But, for what it is, the plot and story were good, and I did rather enjoy it, moreso than the last one, and perhaps as the series continues, the characterization will improve and the stories will start to increase in page count and details.

RATING:  8 tiny gray Chihuahuas out of 10 for finding new ways to use technology to create a good little mystery.