Mystery of the Chinese Junk (Hardy Boys Mystery Stories)

Rating:
Summary: The last of Bayport
Review: ...Chinese Junk does neither, so it sits at a 3 rating. Its worth reading, but ranks among the average of the set. It is an adventerous book, full of that. Little suspense and little mystery however. The publishers in 1959 & 1960 published back to back Nancy Drew & the Hardy Boys stories about Alaska/Hawaii & then added an Oriental book. Drew's The Mystery of the Fire Dragon, published the same year as Chinese Junk, correlates with Chinese Junk. Devil's Paw was about Alaska, and Drew's volume #36 about Hawaii. All this robs from all four volumes. I liked the characters in Chinese Junk. They seemed to have personality. Again average, but worth reading.

Rating:
Summary: It's Alright, But Nothing Wonderful
Review: Frank, Joe and a group of their friends buy a chinese junk to make money during the summer by taking passengers out to picnic on one of the islands in Barmet Bay. However, shortly after they buy the junk, two rival chinese groups begin pressuring the boys to sell the boat. Also, Frank and Joe discover that a dangerous criminal who calls himself "The Chameleon" may be in Bayport. Frank, Joe and their friends must find out why the two groups of chinese are interested in their boat and discover the true identity of the Chameleon. The book has a moderate amount of action, but the mystery isn't that interesting. In the end, it isn't even Frank or Joe who discovered the secret of the junk or were responsible for capturing the criminals, it was their friends. While it was nice to see their friends do this for a change, this is the "Hardy Boys" series for a reason. One thing that I really did like about this book; though, was that it did remember that Frank and Joe have friends other than Chet and they were used quite often, unlike in many of the later books. The book is worth reading, but it is not one of the best of the series.

Rating:
Summary: Blatent attempt
Review: This was a forced attempt to bring Asian culture into the series. Keep in mind, The Mystery of The Fire Dragon of Nancy Drew fame was published the same year and it dealt with Asian culture. I view that as a negative. The brothers run a ferry service while operating a Chinese Junk in Bayport. The book was actually not too bad with a fair amount of interaction with the criminals. I rank it as average never really liking or disliking this particular volume. RATED C+