When two of their friends vanish during a boat trip down the coast, Frank and Joe Hardy set out to find them and uncover a gang's island hideout
Two friends vanish at sea
Chet Morton and Biff Hooper set off on a motorboat trip down the coast, and they never arrive. At the same time, a bank in Bayport has been robbed, and a menacing stranger seems very interested in the Hardy family. Frank and Joe Hardy are convinced the events are connected. Their search leads them to a rocky island with a hidden cave, where they must outwit a dangerous gang to rescue their friends.
Who will enjoy it
Young readers who enjoy action-packed mysteries, fans of the earlier Hardy Boys books, and adults who grew up with the series.
What you will get
A fast Hardy Boys adventure in which the brothers search the coast for two missing friends and find a gang's hideout in a cave on a rocky island.
The Missing Chums Facts: Pages, Genre and Setting
Genre
Children’s Books · Hardy Boys · Island hideout · Rescue mission
Length
175 pages · ≈ 5 h
More about this book
This is one of the more adventurous early Hardy Boys books, with boat chases, a storm at sea, hidden caves and a dramatic rescue. The personal stakes are higher than usual, since it is the boys' own friends who are in danger, and the urgency keeps the pages turning.
Chet, usually the comic sidekick, gets a larger role here, and readers who have followed the series will enjoy seeing him and Biff in the thick of the action. Fenton Hardy's investigation of the bank robbery runs alongside his sons' search, and the two threads come together in a satisfying climax.
The plot relies on coincidence and the villains are not complicated, but young readers are unlikely to mind. The revised text in print today is tighter than the original and avoids some dated attitudes. It is a good choice for children who want excitement more than subtlety, and the island setting gives it a real sense of adventure. Children who like maps, boats and secret hideouts will find plenty to imagine here, and the final rescue is staged with genuine excitement and a satisfying sense of justice. About 175 pages in the Grosset & Dunlap hardcover; retail listings say 192.
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