The Clue of the Broken Blade (The Hardy Boys, No. 21)

The Hardy Boys were my first introduction to mystery stories when I started reading them back in the first grade. The versions I'm familiar with are the revised editions and I've never had a chance to read the originals. For nostalgia's sake, I occasionally will pull one out and reread it. Frank and Joe were my heroes when I was growing up and these stories partly influenced my desire to become a writer. The Clue of the Broken Blade is one of the few Hardy Boy mysteries that I don't remember reading as a child. I recently purchased a copy to add to my personal collection and read the story for the first time. Frank and Joe are enlisted by their fencing instructor to find the missing half of a sword which supposedly bears his ancestor's will and testament. The brothers' famous detective father purchases a voiceprint identification system and Frank and Joe take a class to learn how to use it before getting to work on the missing sword. Trouble soon follows as it appears that there's a gang of criminals interested in the new technology. Despite this, Frank and Joe head to California, accompanied by their friend Chet Morton, to work on their instructor's mystery. Soon they face danger coming from multiple directions as they attempt to find the broken blade. Keeping in mind the intended age group, I have to say that I really enjoyed this entry in the series. The mysteries were interesting and the book was well-paced. Parts of the plot are a little far-fetched, but that's nicely offset by the attention to detail about fencing and the California locale. One thing I especially enjoyed was the role Chet Morton was given in this book. While still providing some of his typical comic relief moments, he's much more than just the Hardys' food-obsessed goofy sidekick in this one. It's too bad that he's not as strong a character in each of the stories. While dated, the Hardy Boys mystery stories are an excellent series for children (and nostalgic adult fans!). I highly recommend any of these titles, even some of the cheesier ones. The Hardy Boys might by wish-fulfillment fantasy, but they're loads of fun and generally well-written.

By coincidence I happened to be in one of California's wine regions when I read this book. Since a good portion of this book takes place in California's grape growing regions, I was able to imagine many of the scenes in this book quite well. Because of this coincidence, I found this book to be very enjoyable. The Hardy boys have taken up fencing. One day their fencing master, Ettore Russo, tells the boys that he must close the fencing school because he needs to find a piece of a sword that may hold the key to his inheritance. Intrigued, the boys follow clues that lead to California, where they believe the broken piece to be. Of course, at least one other person is also looking for the sword, and that person is stopping at nothing to be sure that person locates the sword first, even if it means someone else gets hurt. This story is relatively less complicated than many other Hardy Boys stories. To spice the story up a little the author added a subplot about a voice identification system. These systems are quite sophisticated today, but at the time this story was written the systems must have been very new. While several other reviewers have indicated that this story is mediocre, the author paced it nicely and the story is plotted well. I found myself intrigued by the mystery of the sword, which makes this story more of a true mystery with less of a criminal subplot. Further, other than a few incidents, there is relatively less violence in this book than in many other Hardy Boys books. While the story has less action, the quality of the mystery and the accurate setting in California keep this mystery in the four star range. 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.

This review concerns the original 1942 edition. Mr. Hardy's case of thieves stealing merchandise as it is being unloaded from ships leads Frank and Joe into another case concerning a broken sword blade. This book is well written, fast paced, has plenty of action and has a good beginning that quickly grabs the reader. My big problem with the book was that, while Mr. Hardy played a prominent role in this book, he was the only one of the other main characters of the series to do so, since most of the book was set outside of Bayport. Still, it was a really good book that most Hardy Boys fans should enjoy.