The Hooded Hawk Mystery (Hardy Boys, Book 34)

Frank and Joe Hardy receive a peregrine falcon from Mr. Rahmud Ghapur, along with a variety of falconry equipment. However, the boys are not sure why Mr. Ghapur sent the falcon to them. Soon Mr. Ghapur and Mr. Bhagnav, both from India, visit the Hardys and explain that they were representing Satish Nayyar. Mr. Nayyar's son, Tava, was traveling to the United States to complete his education. However, Tava disappeared. Shortly after his disappearance a ransom demand for rubies was received. Frank and Joe advise their visitors that the peregrine falcon had already brought down a pigeon carrying rubies. Their astounded visitors consider that the rubies might be part of the ransom payment. Several attempts are made to slow the Hardys in their investigation. Someone attempts to steal the falcon. The boathouse where their boat, the Sleuth, is kept is burned. Their house is bombed. Clearly the kidnappers are ruthless. Frank and Joe slowly work their way through the clues, coming close and closer to the base of the kidnappers and hopefully the location of Tava Nayyar. As the mystery nears the end, upstanding citizens turn out to be criminals, and the discovery of Tava yields even more surprises. I was somewhat disappointed in the previous book in this series, "The Yellow Feather Mystery," and hoped that this book would be an improvement. Fortunately, this book was much more interesting than the previous book. I enjoyed the chapters involving the falcon, which appeared to me to be generally factual. I also enjoyed the use of the falcon to bring down pigeons smuggling rubies. While the mystery was plotted in a straightforward way from the beginning to the end, I found the mystery sufficiently intriguing that I zipped through this book quickly. This story is above average and I would recommend it to a first-time reader of the Hardy Boys series. The Hardy Boys series is recommended for ages 8 to 12 because the series is relatively tame for the previous target audience of ages 10 to 14. This particular book is a good fit for both age ranges. Earlier books in the series have more noticeable social differences, but the 1971 re-write appears to be reasonably modern.

I recommend this book because it has a lot of suspense and mystery.it is also has a lot of weird happenings.This book is wriiten by Franklin W. Dixon.Another good thing about is its got stuff to do with wildlife.

"The Hooded Hawk Mystery" is a normal Hardy Boys book. In the beginning the Hardys recieve a hawk to hunt pigeons. Then they get a new case to catch kidnappers and some smugglers smuggling aliens into the U.S.. Do the hawk,kidnappers,and smugglers tie together somehow?

This book was interesting because it was exciting about the pigeons, the way the criminals were catched, the bombing of the Hardy home, and the falcon. I'd like to have one of those. This book may be four stars, but it can still be considered one of the top ten, and is definitely one that all fans can not miss.

This is a wonderful mystery for kids! It goes at a quick pace and is exciting from the very first page. It also teaches the reader a little bit about falconry.