Teen Detective Stories

I grew up on the edge of my grandparent’s farm in rural Indiana, roaming the sparse woods and wading in the shallow waters of the creek that wound its way through our back yard. At night I’d slip out to prowl the local boneyard and explore the isolated wonders that surrounded me. It was the 70s and in the Midwest it may as well have been twenty years earlier. It was a simpler place and time.

We didn’t have much in the way of television back then, catching four, sometimes five channels with our towering tv antenna. Channel 40 was one of them, and it played reruns of everything from the Lone Ranger to the Cisco Kid, Roy Rogers, the Beverly Hillbillies, and a host of other shows long past. My favorite was the Mickey Mouse Club, but only because of the Hardy Boys serials.

The Hardy Boys captured my imagination and opened up to me the world of books. The public library in nearby Converse had a few dozen of the original tales, and every Christmas and birthday my family would buy me the blue spined editions. Whether reading the revised texts or the unaltered texts didn’t matter. I was invested in the world of the Hardy Boys and after I’d plowed through every copy of the series I could get my hands on I tackled Nancy Drew and Alfred Hitchcock’s Three Investigators to fill the void.

And then, in 1977, ABC introduced the Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries and I was smitten all over again. What intrigued me the most was the addition of a supernatural element to the stories, especially in episodes like The House on Possessed Hill which guest starred a young Melanie Griffith. The Hardy Boys as occult detective was a perfect match and the current CW hit Supernatural is a natural extension of that formula.

Now that I’m growing long in the tooth, I find nostalgia rearing its ugly head and I’ve begun revisiting those things that helped to fill my childhood with magic. And that’s what the Hardy Boys were to me… magic. They helped to fire my youthful imagination and in a world before cable television, dvd players, and computers, they were my constant companions and offered me thrilling worlds that I could escape into and relate to.

It’s hard to imagine what my life would have been like without the Hardy Boys. I’m glad I’ll never know. Now, as my son gets older, I get to share them with him and I can only hope that some of the Hardy Boys magic wears off on him as it did me.

Here’s what I’ve collected so far…

APPLEWOOD REPRODUCTION

01. The Tower Treasure

02. The House on the Cliff

03. The Secret of the Old Mill

12. Footprints under the Window

14. The Hidden Harbor Mystery

DUST-JACKET

01. The Tower Treasure

14. The Hidden Harbor Mystery

15. The Sinister Sign Post

16. A Figure in Hiding

17. The Secret Warning

18. The Twisted Claw

19. The Disappearing Floor

21. The Clue of the Broken Blade

25. The Secret Panel

33. The Yellow Feather Mystery

36. The Secret of Pirates’ Hill

40. Mystery of the Desert Giant

BLUE-SPINED

1. The Tower Treasure

2. The House on the Cliff

3. The Secret of the Old Mill

4. The Missing Chums

5. Hunting for Hidden Gold

6. The Shore Road Mystery

7. The Secret of the Caves

8. The Mystery of Cabin Island

9. The Great Airport Mystery

10. What Happened at Midnight

11. While the Clock Ticked

12. Footprints Under the Window

13. The Mark on the Door

14. The Hidden Harbor Mystery

15. The Sinister Sign Post

16. A Figure in Hiding

17. The Secret Warning

18. The Twisted Claw

19. The Disappearing Floor

20. The Mystery of the Flying Express

21. The Clue of the Broken Blade

22. The Flickering Torch Mystery

23. The Melted Coins

24. The Short-Wave Mystery

25. The Secret Panel

26. The Phantom Freighter

27. The Secret of Skull Mountain

28. The Sign of the Crooked Arrow

29. The Secret of the Lost Tunnel

30. The Wailing Siren Mystery

31. The Secret of Wildcat Swamp

32. The Crisscross Shadow

33. The Yellow Feather Mystery

34. The Hooded Hawk Mystery

35. The Clue in the Embers

36. The Secret of Pirates’ Hill

37. The Ghost at Skeleton Rock

38. The Mystery at Devil’s Paw

39. The Mystery of the Chinese Junk

40. Mystery of the Desert Giant

41. The Clue of the Screeching Owl

42. The Viking Symbol Mystery

43. The Mystery of the Aztec Warrior

44. The Haunted Fort

45. The Mystery of the Spiral Bridge

46. The Secret Agent on Flight 101

47. Mystery of the Whale Tattoo

48. The Arctic Patrol Mystery

49. The Bombay Boomerang

50. Danger on Vampire Trail

51. The Masked Monkey

52. The Shattered Helmet

53. The Clue of the Hissing Serpent

54. The Mysterious Caravan

55. The Witchmaster’s Key

56. The Jungle Pyramid

57. The Firebird Rocket

The Hardy Boys Detective Handbook

FLASHLIGHT EDITION

1. The Tower Treasure

2. The House on the Cliff

3. The Secret of the Old Mill

4. The Missing Chums

5. Hunting for Hidden Gold

6. The Shore Road Mystery

8. The Mystery of Cabin Island

9. The Great Airport Mystery

10. What Happened at Midnight

11. While the Clock Ticked

13. The Mark on the Door

15. The Sinister Sign Post

25. The Secret Panel

26. The Phantom Freighter

55. The Witchmaster’s Key

59. The Night of the Werewolf

WANDERER EDITION

59.  Night of the Werewolf

60.  Mystery of the Samurai Sword

62.  The Apeman’s Secret

63. The Mummy Case

64.  Mystery of Smugglers Cove

71.  Track of the Zombie

77.  The Crimson Flame

78.  Cave-In!

79.  Sky Sabotage

80.  The Roaring River Mystery

81.  The Demon’s Den

82.  The Blackwing Puzzle

RED BOUND LIBRARY EDITION

57. The Firebird Rocket

OTHER

The Hardy Boys (Volumes 1-3)

The Hardy Boys Casefiles #9:
The Genius Thieves — Library Edition

The Hardy Boys Casefiles Collector’s Edition
(Beyond the Law / Spiked! / Open Season)

The Hardy Boys Mystery Stories Collector’s Edition
(The Caribbean Cruise Caper / Daredevils / Skin & Bones)

The Hardy Boys: Ghost Stories

***

APPLEWOOD REPRODUCTION

1. The Secret of the Old Clock

CAMEO EDITION

34. The Hidden Window Mystery

TWIN THRILLER BOOK CLUB EDITION

The Bungalow Mystery / The Mystery at Lilac Inn

The Secret of Shadow Ranch / The Secret of Red Gate Farm

The Clue of the Broken Locket / The Message in the Hollow Oak

The Mystery of the Ivory Charm / The Whispering Statue

The Ghost of Blackwood Hall / The Clue of the Leaning Chimney

YELLOW-SPINED

2. The Hidden Staircase

5. The Secret of Shadow Ranch

31. The Ringmaster’s Secret

FLASHLIGHT EDITION

Nancy Drew Pocketbook Mysteries
(The Secret of the Old Clock / The Hidden Staircase)

MONOCHROME LIBRARY EDITION

25. The Ghost of Blackwood Hall

“TWISTED CANDLE” LIBRARY EDITION

1. The Secret of the Old Clock

2. The Hidden Staircase

4. The Mystery at Lilac Inn

5. The Secret of Shadow Ranch

6. The Secret of Red Gate Farm

8. Nancy’s Mysterious Letter

9. The Sign of the Twisted Candles

10. The Password to Larkspur Lane

13. The Mystery of the Ivory Charm

14. The Whispering Statue

15. The Haunted Bridge (25 chapters)

17. The Mystery of the Brass Bound Trunk (25 chapters)

18. Mystery of the Moss-Covered Mansion

19. The Quest of the Missing Map

23. The Mystery of the Tolling Bell (25 chapters)

25. The Ghost of Blackwood Hall

27. The Secret of the Wooden Lady

29. The Mystery at the Ski Jump

31. The Ringmaster’s Secret (25 chapters)

32. The Scarlet Slipper Mystery (25 chapters)

34. The Hidden Window Mystery (25 chapters)

35. The Haunted Showboat

36. The Secret of the Golden Pavilion

38. The Mystery of the Fire Dragon

40. The Moonstone Castle Mystery

42. The Phantom of Pine Hill

43. The Mystery of the 99 Steps

45. The Spider Sapphire Mystery

46. The Invisible Intruder

47. The Mysterious Mannequin

49. The Secret of Mirror Bay

51. Mystery of the Glowing Eye

WANDERER EDITION

64. Captive Witness

MINSTREL EDITION

112. Crime in the Queen’s Court

ALADDIN EDITION

134. The Secret of the Forgotten Cave

175.  Werewolf in a Winter Wonderland

THE NANCY DREW NOTEBOOKS

1. The Slumber Party Secret

OTHER

The Lost Files of Nancy Drew

The Wisdom of Nancy Drew:
The Nancy Drew Guide to Solving Life’s Little Mysteries
(Magnetic Wisdom)

Nancy Drew: Ghost Stories

PC GAMES

4. Treasure in the Royal Tower

8. The Haunted Carousel

***

SCHOLASTIC PAPERBACK EDITION

The Mystery of the Talking Skull

The Secret of Phantom Lake

The Mystery of Monster Mountain

The Mystery of the Whispering Mummy

ARMADA PAPERBACK EDITION

The Mystery of the Screaming Clock

LIBRARY EDITIONS

The Mystery of the Vanishing Treasure

The Mystery of the Fiery Eye

The Mystery of the Screaming Clock

The Mystery of the Moaning Cave

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