What Happened at Midnight

What Happened at Midnight by Franklin W. Dixon (1931) Is this my favorite of all Hardy Boy books? It might be. The original version text is one of the funniest and craziest adventures of the series. If you read one Hardy Boy book, find the original text of this one. It includes a depiction of a new-in-town automat, and also, the Hardy’s first visit to New York City, by train—which is extended and hilarious—especially when they attempt to hitchhike back to Bayport, eat at a diner, and have to wash dishes to pay for their breakfast. There’s some good surveillance, tailing their suspect in the city. They visit a seedy, New York, diner and get accosted by a drunk (this is during Prohibition, remember). They even sleep in Central Park. This book has Aunt Gertrude at her most nutso—really funny. Also, this is one of the best books for Chet to really expand his personality. As usual, there is a fraught boat excursion, with fog, and caves, and an even more harrowing small plane excursion, with fog, and parachutes. The story also includes Joe being kidnapped (for an extended period!) and a pretty interesting criminal they’re up against, named Taffy Marr. One more odd thing to note—the old edition cover (which isn’t the original cover, but one that was incorporated in the Forties, I believe) is terrible—one of the worst ever—especially later printings—too dark. The cover of the rewrite, which came out in 1967, however, is one of my favorite covers of all books and editions. The boys are in a rainy park at night, with a masked man approaching them with a boat’s anchor as a weapon. In the background, a courthouse clock strikes midnight. I always thought it looked exactly like the downtown park in the city where I grew up.