[BOOK REVIEW] The Hardy Boys: Abracadeath Volume 11 by Scott Lobdell

Title:  The Hardy Boys:  Abracadeath Volume 11

Author:  Scott Lobdell

Artist:  Tim Smith 3

Genre:  Mystery / Adventure / Thriller / Crime


Year Published:  2007

Year Read: 11/12/2016

Series:  The Hardy Boys #11

Publisher:  Papercutz

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 7+ (Some Fighting Scenes)

Buy or Add on:  Amazon  //  Goodreads

Introduction:

I must admit that Scott Lobdell’s “The Hardy Boys” series is becoming an interesting series to read, although still not the perfect five star series I was expecting.  So, I had picked up another volume of this great series called “Abracadeath,” which is the eleventh volume in the series!

What is this story about?

In this volume, Frank and Joe Hardy help out their fellow Bayport High School classmate, Dia the Amazing, as she sets out to Castle Magique to become an apprentice of the famous magician the Great Marconi!  However, it turns out that there is something amiss in the castle as the Hardy Boys try to solve a case that involves a dog named Poppy going missing and they suspect that some of the competitors (Karnaq, Glom and Miss Tique) might have something to do with Poppy’s kidnapping.

Can Frank and Joe solve this case?

Read this book to find out!

What I loved about this story:

Scott Lobdell’s writing: Scott Lobdell’s writing continues to bring so much humor and mystery to the “Hardy Boys” series and I really enjoyed the fact that this volume focused more on magic since I was always interested in magic and fantasy as a whole and I think that bringing the magic elements in this volume really gave this series some variety in terms of what kind of genres they can explore in this series besides mystery.  I also like the fact that we actually get more focus on Frank and Joe’s classmates in this volume since in many of the “Hardy Boys” volumes that I had read, we rarely have stories that actually centered around Frank and Joe’s classmates and having this volume focus on Dia, a classmate of theirs who wants to become a magician, was a breath of fresh air for me in regards to this series.

Tim Smith 3’s artwork:  Tim Smith 3’s artwork was quite intriguing in this book, as it was similar to Paulo Henrique’s artwork, except that the characters’ angles are a bit sharper and the outlines are a bit softer than the usual bold outlines we get from Paulo Henrique’s artwork.

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

The reason why I gave this book a four star rating was because I felt that the story was a bit all over the place as I was not sure about what the actual plot of the story was.  I was not sure if the plot was about the Hardy Boys searching for the dog Poppy or allowing their classmate Dia to fulfill her dream of becoming a magician. I would have liked it better if the mystery plot regarding both Poppy and Dia actually tied up with each other so that it would not feel like we are reading two different storylines that are going on at the same time.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “The Hardy Boys: Abracadeath” is a great volume that is full of magic and mystery that fans of the “Hardy Boys” series will enjoy!