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Hardy Boys Adventures #18
The Disappearance
It’s a case of hidden identities for brother detectives Frank and Joe in the in the eighteenth book in the thrilling Hardy Boys Adventures series.
The Hardy brothers and Frank’s new girlfriend, Jones, are attending a local comic book convention on the shore. They meet up with Jones’s friend Harper, a fellow comics super fan, on the boardwalk outside the convention. The four of them spend hours running from booth to booth and end the perfect day with pizza at Harper’s short-term rental apartment.
Things don’t stay so perfect, though. On the way home, Jones realizes she switched phones with Harper by accident and she is getting some really scary texts. When they show up at the apartment the next day, they find it totally destroyed and Harper is missing.
Frank and Joe start digging into their new friend’s life, hoping to find out where she might have gone, but the more they find out about her, the more mysterious she becomes. Can Frank and Joe find this secretive character? Or has she disappeared forever?
The Hardy brothers and Frank’s new girlfriend, Jones, are attending a local comic book convention on the shore. They meet up with Jones’s friend Harper, a fellow comics super fan, on the boardwalk outside the convention. The four of them spend hours running from booth to booth and end the perfect day with pizza at Harper’s short-term rental apartment.
Things don’t stay so perfect, though. On the way home, Jones realizes she switched phones with Harper by accident and she is getting some really scary texts. When they show up at the apartment the next day, they find it totally destroyed and Harper is missing.
Frank and Joe start digging into their new friend’s life, hoping to find out where she might have gone, but the more they find out about her, the more mysterious she becomes. Can Frank and Joe find this secretive character? Or has she disappeared forever?
161 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 19, 2019
46 people are currently reading
108 people want to read
About the author
Franklin W. Dixon
790 books1,005 followersFranklin W. Dixon is the pen name used by a variety of different authors who were part of a team that wrote The Hardy Boys novels for the Stratemeyer Syndicate (now owned by Simon & Schuster). Dixon was also the writer attributed for the Ted Scott Flying Stories series, published by Grosset & Dunlap.
Canadian author Leslie McFarlane is believed to have written the first sixteen Hardy Boys books, but worked to a detailed plot and character outline for each story. The outlines are believed to have originated with Edward Stratemeyer, with later books outlined by his daughters Edna C. Squier and Harriet Stratemeyer Adams. Edward and Harriet also edited all books in the series through the mid-1960s. Other writers of the original books include MacFarlane's wife Amy, John Button, Andrew E. Svenson, and Adams herself; most of the outlines were done by Adams and Svenson. A number of other writers and editors were recruited to revise the outlines and update the texts in line with a more modern sensibility, starting in the late 1950s.
The principal author for the Ted Scott books was John W. Duffield.
Canadian author Leslie McFarlane is believed to have written the first sixteen Hardy Boys books, but worked to a detailed plot and character outline for each story. The outlines are believed to have originated with Edward Stratemeyer, with later books outlined by his daughters Edna C. Squier and Harriet Stratemeyer Adams. Edward and Harriet also edited all books in the series through the mid-1960s. Other writers of the original books include MacFarlane's wife Amy, John Button, Andrew E. Svenson, and Adams herself; most of the outlines were done by Adams and Svenson. A number of other writers and editors were recruited to revise the outlines and update the texts in line with a more modern sensibility, starting in the late 1950s.
The principal author for the Ted Scott books was John W. Duffield.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
June 19, 2025
It's been a while since I've last picked up a Hardy Boys Adventures.
With its intriguing, catching cover, ever since its release, I've been wanting to pick up The Disappearance for a long time.
In this installment of the Hardy Boys Adventures series, the Hardys' friend, Harper, goes missing. The mystery was fishy. Before she disappeared, Harper was acting strange at the comic book convention. Looking around her like she was afraid of someone. We notice that about her right away as soon as we meet her. As someone who loves geeking out, I enjoyed the description of the comic book convention. Then the next day, when the Hardys returned to her apartment to return her phone, she was missing and her apartment was ransacked!
Harper was a mysterious character. After she disappeared, the Hardys find out fishy things about her. Who was she?
Full review @ My Blog
With its intriguing, catching cover, ever since its release, I've been wanting to pick up The Disappearance for a long time.
In this installment of the Hardy Boys Adventures series, the Hardys' friend, Harper, goes missing. The mystery was fishy. Before she disappeared, Harper was acting strange at the comic book convention. Looking around her like she was afraid of someone. We notice that about her right away as soon as we meet her. As someone who loves geeking out, I enjoyed the description of the comic book convention. Then the next day, when the Hardys returned to her apartment to return her phone, she was missing and her apartment was ransacked!
Harper was a mysterious character. After she disappeared, the Hardys find out fishy things about her. Who was she?
Full review @ My Blog
February 17, 2020
Absolutely terrible. Completely over the top, unbelievable, and slapstick stupid in parts. A wholly unsympathetic 'victim' that Frank, Joe, and Frank's (utterly annoying and idiotic) girlfriend fawn over. Whenever Frank is around his new girlfriend he suddenly becomes the stupidest person in the room, a far cry from the Frank Hardy everybody knows.
July 19, 2021
My favorite character in this book is the poor teenage candy booth cashier who had to deal with an orange-haired old lady in a bedazzled pineapple shirt coming crashing into her booth, followed by a teenager soaked with rotten lemon juice, screaming at the aforementioned old lady about the SATs and the deliciousness of taffy.
On a more serious note, I thought this book handled the subject of unhealthy relationships really well. It's common for media directed at kids to paint abusers or controllers as unequivocally horrible people with no redeeming characteristics whatsoever (the dating safety PSAs I watched in school certainly did). And I get why--trying to control another person's actions is an unequivocally horrible thing to do, and I know a lot of people worry that portraying a controller as sympathetic will read as condoning or excusing their actions. The danger of that vilification, though, is it makes it difficult to imagine actual people as abusers. I thought this book did a good job of showing why Matt became such a controlling piece of crap (he loved a girl who was flighty and couldn't settle down and was afraid one day she would leave him) while also explaining why this was absolutely, positively not okay. Matt's "redemption," where he realizes he needs to get professional help to change, is especially good because it doesn't automatically make him forgiven, and doesn't result in Harper taking him back. Both he and Harper recognize he needs to work on his own issues without being in a relationship, and it's not her job to fix her.
On a more serious note, I thought this book handled the subject of unhealthy relationships really well. It's common for media directed at kids to paint abusers or controllers as unequivocally horrible people with no redeeming characteristics whatsoever (the dating safety PSAs I watched in school certainly did). And I get why--trying to control another person's actions is an unequivocally horrible thing to do, and I know a lot of people worry that portraying a controller as sympathetic will read as condoning or excusing their actions. The danger of that vilification, though, is it makes it difficult to imagine actual people as abusers. I thought this book did a good job of showing why Matt became such a controlling piece of crap (he loved a girl who was flighty and couldn't settle down and was afraid one day she would leave him) while also explaining why this was absolutely, positively not okay. Matt's "redemption," where he realizes he needs to get professional help to change, is especially good because it doesn't automatically make him forgiven, and doesn't result in Harper taking him back. Both he and Harper recognize he needs to work on his own issues without being in a relationship, and it's not her job to fix her.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 18, 2019
This was an interesting addition to the Hardy boys series, and it had several really good points. But there was just something off about it, and it wasn't that the scene portrayed on the cover does not take place in the book. Maybe it was because Joe seemed jealous that Frank's girlfriend got in on the mystery-solving, when he's never had a problem with Nancy Drew (that, or he just likes Nancy better, lol)? That might have been part of it, but I think there was something else. Might have to reread it just to pinpoint it. That might have been just it. But, all in all, definitely something new and interesting.
March 1, 2025
This was very fun, although the "crazy violent boyfriend" angle deserved a lot more gravity than the book gave it. While I like that they had Joe and Frank, not just Jones, calling out his behavior, it deserved a straight-up "this is abuse and he is harming her, even if he doesn't specifically hit her" line. The closest they gave it was that it was "messed up," and like... not strong enough.
September 6, 2025
Hardy Boys Adventures, Book 18: The Disappearance is only the 2nd book I've rated 3 stars in 2025 so far. Interestingly enough, the 1st was also a Hardy Boys Adventures book. (Hardy Boys Adventures, Book 11: Showdown at Widow Creek.) This book wasn't fabulous. But it also wasn't too awful. It was just fine. And I liked it well enough.
October 21, 2024
As far as Hardy Boys books go, this one falls flat. There is too much focus on romantic drama instead of typical Hardy Boys adventure. There are also several instances of teenagers meeting up with people they met online, not exactly what I want my young son to be learning
March 20, 2019
Good story
They story line was good, but there were several grammatical errors that needed to be corrected Dixon should' be used them grammatical check on his computer.
They story line was good, but there were several grammatical errors that needed to be corrected Dixon should' be used them grammatical check on his computer.
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January 3, 2024The Disappearance
July 6, 2025
Spectacular book! If the publishers or whoever is in charge of this series can make a series for adults I would absolutely love it!
August 10, 2025
has fandom gone too far?
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews