Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys Solve A Christmas Mystery

[tomswift2002]

Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys Solve A Christmas Mystery aka The Secret of
Mountaintop Inn
Originally appeared in: December 16, 1980 "Family Circle" Magazine
Republished: 1981 in "Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys Super Sleuths!"
Published by: Wanderer Books

Plot: Nancy Drew is asked by Karen Young to help find Sue Hardy, Karen's cousin.
But Sue is also the Hardy Boys cousin, and Frank and Joe have come to
Mountaintop Inn to help search for Sue. But the only clue that they have is
that Sue was last seen with Santa Claus.

Review: I'm giving this story the "oldest" Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys combo story in
printed form. This story originally appeared in the above mentioned December
16, 1980 issue of "Family Circle" Magazine, well over a year after "The Hardy
Boys Nancy Drew Mysteries" signed off the air and it would be another year
before "Super Sleuths" would appear in bookstore with six new short story
mysteries between the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew. And this would be the first of
the two Christmas short stories to appear in the "Super Sleuths" anthology
series ("Purge" in "Super Sleuths! Volume 2" would be the last Christmas short
story). And what a Christmas story it is.

Of course, I must say, in reading the story I've found it to have a similar plot
to the annual Christmas special "Yogi Bear's First Christmas". But this story
really gives a lot of background info on the Hardy family. Of course we have
never seen the extended Hardy family since this story, so this story sort of is
a rarity in the fact it gives us this glimpse into the Hardy's background. Plus
we know that besides having Gertrude as a sister, Fenton also has an unnamed
brother and a sister-in-law, Janet Hardy, and a niece, Sue Hardy. Plus, in
"Christmas Mystery" it is also revealed that the Hardy Boys are related to Karen
Young and that Karen is a niece to Janet Hardy.

Rating: A+

[Olivia]

I actually have both Super Sleuths! books. And for once, I should try cracking open the books that I buy.

Anyways, I had no idea the stories in there were like that.

[tomswift2002]

Super Sleuths! Volume 2 also has another Christmas mystery in it called Purge.

[Q]

I read that book. It's been a while though. I don't remember what happened.