Plot: Frank and Joe decide to help Gertrude, who seems to be in trouble when an old friend, a discredited investigative reporter, comes to Bayport.
“Borrowing” from the past: Fenton mentioned in The Phantom Freighter (#26) that Gertrude was once engaged, and the story is told here by Clayton Silvers, Gertrude’s old friend. She was engaged to a small business owner, who died in a plane crash two months before the wedding. In the same book, Fenton also said Gertrude was at one time popular, but from what Clayton and Gertrude say in this book, she was really just a loud, opinionated activist. Perhaps that qualifies as popular in Bayport. Just like in A Figure in Hiding (#16), Joe falls out of a Bayport hotel window, although this time he catches himself before he falls four stories to the street; in Figure, Joe falls through a glass roof from the second story.
When the brakes go out on Gertrude’s car, Frank thinks he and Joe had been in that situation “more times than he cared to remember.” Probably true, but I can find only one specific occurrence: the Hardy Boys had faulty brakes on a winding, wet road in The Shore Road Mystery (#6). Personally, I believe when you find yourself careening down a cliffside road with bad brakes more than once, it’s time to re-examine the life you have chosen to lead.
And of course, Frank “Kung Fu” Hardy uses karate, which he’s done several times in the past. The first time was in The Clue of the Hissing Serpent (#53).
Once you’ve gone Silvers: Not much is made of it, but Gertrude’s friend Clayton Silvers is black. There’s nothing shocking about it, but it is weird to think of Gertrude having black friends at any time in her life. She strikes me as the kind of person who would say, “Well, I never!” at the merest hint of mixing with someone who had more melanin-enhanced skin.
Only in Bayport’s business district: Dip ‘n’ Sip Donuts. There are worse names, but there are many, many names that are a lot better.
Don’t hate the playa, hate the high-tech spies: Joe shamelessly flirts with a cashier at the aforementioned Dip ‘n’ Sip in order to get information on the crooks. At the end of flirtation, Joe seems to compare the girl and Iola: “[Iola’s] smile was better.” Frank kids / chides him on the performance.
This may seem shallow of Joe, but Iola does punch him a couple of times in the book; “playfully,” sure, but her explosive temper is remarked upon as well. Frank thinks Iola would put Joe in the hospital if she knew about the flirting. You can’t blame Joe if he briefly entertained the thought of leaving an abusive relationship. Of course, it may be the thought of having Chet as a brother-in-law that prevents him from as ideal a boyfriend as Frank; there’s always the possibility Chet could end up as a deadbeat on his couch, and Joe would go into debt trying to feed him. (No amount of rewards from grateful governments or wealthy old men could cover that sort of expense.)
On the other hand, maybe Joe drove her to it. I hate to blame the victim, but the book does end with Gertrude chasing Joe into the garden, mayhem in her heart.
Oh, how the mighty have fallen: Frank and Joe, five-sport athletes in their early days, have been reduced to playing soccer in the park against their girlfriends. Joe also mentions playing softball, which is barely a sport for adolescent males. Some people would suggest men playing softball when they aren’t old enough to drink beer is pointless.
Which one was that?: Speaking with Clayton, Joe describes the wrap up of a case thusly: “And that was how we broke that smuggling case. Dad got the big boss, and we caught the underlings.” That describes close to 99 percent of the preceding books; appropriately, Clayton says, “I think I remember reading about that.”
Opinions: I like this one quite a bit. Gertrude feels like part of the family, although as often happens when the story focuses on Gertrude, Laura is sent packing to some relatives. But Gertrude obviously has a past in the early books, even if we never get to hear it, and it’s good to finally hear it. Appropriately, Gertrude was just as big a meddler and pain in the fundament in her younger days as she was when she moved in with her brother. Frank and Joe are allowed to engage in displays of affection with their girlfriends, even if the relationship is a bit too wholesome. (Although during their double date on bicycles, it is mentioned “the morning was filled with laughter and discovery.” That’s a euphemism for something, surely.)
Grade: A
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