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Boardwalk Bust: The Hardy Boys, Undercover Brothers    by Franklin W. Dixon Amazon.com order for
Boardwalk Bust
by Franklin W. Dixon
Order:  USA  Can
Aladdin, 2005 (2005)
Paperback
* *   Reviewed by Hilary Williamson

As usual, this 3rd adventure in the series opens with the brothers' lives at risk, this time from burial in a grain bin. After wriggling their way out of that one (Joe with a shiner from an encounter with a cow) they receive a new ATAC mission ('Boardwalk Bust') via Girl Scout cookies.

The Hardys are sent to investigate jewelry store robberies in Ocean Grove, on the New Jersey shore. They fly down, with a couple of crises en route. By the sea, they meet an assorted cast of colorful characters including a town mayor who takes his re-election very seriously, a nasty lifeguard, an elegant jewelry store owner, a gambling tattoo artist, a Russian opportunist, and a very rich man who spends his time building incredibly ornate sand sculptures. The situation gets downright weird when missing jewelry items start being dug up on the beach and falling like rain. And the story almost ends abruptly when the Hardys are buried once again.

The brothers' Suspect Profiles are included for each potential villain, so that readers can try to solve the mystery themselves. Of course, it's never easy, as Frank and Joe ricochet from one close call to another. What saves them this time? Plenty of luck and Aunt Trudy's sheet folding instruction. Who would have guessed that doing it well could be a matter of life and death?

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