#107 Panic On Gull Island (30th Anniversary Review)

[tomswift2002]

Published: April 1991
Publisher: Minstrel Books (1991-2002)
Author: Unknown as of September 2021

Plot: #107 - Panic on Gull Island

Will the Hardys take a bite of crime ... or will crime take a bit out of them?

Peril in Paradise!

Frank, Joe, and Chet are off to Gull Island, Florida, and they don't have a moment to spare. Temperatures are rising, and troubles are brewing in the tropics. Chet's sister, Iola, while visiting a friend at the Royal Palms resort, has been kidnapped!

The Hardys discover that the abduction is only the tip of a tidal crime wave. The trail to Iola is a treacherous one, leading Frank and Joe down alligator alley, through shark-infested waters, and straight into the heart of a deadly conspiracy -- in which millions of dollars are at stake!

Review:  I'm just re-reading this again, after about 10-15 years.  I remember read it a few times in the late-90's and early-2000's, but it's mostly faded from memory. 

In an interesting twist for the post-1987 Hardy Boys, Sam Radley gets mentioned in Chapter 2 on page 13, as helping Fenton and Frank in Chicago.  Sam Radley last appeared in the series in #69 The Four-Headed Dragon (1981) and was last mentioned in #84 Revenge of the Desert Phantom (1985).  So it makes me wonder if the  author of Gull Island was a Stratemeyer-era writer or a fan of the series growing up and just dropped in Sam Radley.  The later Stratemeyer-era writer's would've still been around in 1990/91.

[MacGyver]

Yay for a Sam Radley shout out! 
This is probably one of the last books he gets mentioned in.

[tomswift2002]

Just noticed on the cover, but the dog at the very back seems to be missing part of a leg. 

[tomswift2002]

I've been meaning to get back to this for a while. 

So, it was a rather interesting book, even though Frank, Joe and Chet acted like they had never been to Florida before (even though they had in #64 Mystery of Smuggler's Cove, #79 Sky Sabotage & #85 The Skyfire Puzzle). 

So I think this book was written more by a fan of the series than a Stratemeyer-era author. 

This story seems to do a disservice to Joe and Iola's relationship.  Even though Chet tells Joe that Iola's missing, Joe needs to wait for Frank and Fenton to return to Bayport (via commercial flight --- what happened to Skyhappy Sal and Jack Wayne?) before heading to Florida with Chet.  This would've been a good story to have just had Joe and Chet start out on first, rather than spend 2 chapters in Bayport.  Iola's missing, and it took the family friend of the Morton's a few days to contact them to tell them that their 17-year-old daughter is missing and then the police think she's just gone off on a teenage thing somewhere.  I would think Joe would hop right in the van and start for Florida, or at least tell his mom that he and Chet were heading to the airport to fly to Florida (which begs another question, why did Fenton send them to Florida by van when even he knew timing was important---it took over a day for the Hardy's and Chet to drive from New York State to Florida when they could've flown down in Skyhappy Sal with or without Jack Wayne---both Hardy's have their pilot's licenses, or even another plane in less time than it took to drive!) 

But, Iola does prove to be a worthy girlfriend for Joe, as she finds ways to leave clues for Joe and Frank to discover to track her.

Unfortunately, while I will agree with one other review on the web about this book's criminal organization feeling like a mish-mash of James Bond villains, they come across as rather bland and forgettable, unlike Bond villains like Dr. No and Scarramanga or Blofield who are memorable.

Rating: 6.5/10

[MacGyver]

 Did Jack Wayne ever show up in any of the Digests?

[tomswift2002]

Jack Wayne's final appearance was in #82 The Blackwing Puzzle.

[MacGyver]

Okay- cool. Thanks. It's been so long since I've read the early Digests, I really couldn't remember. It would be nice to see characters like Jack Wayne make reappearances in newer Hardy Boys books- or on the Hulu TV show, for that matter.