April 2012 Book Club Discussion: The Hardy Boys Casefiles #62 Final Gambit

[tomswift2002]

The book for April 2012 is The Hardy Boys Casefiles #62: Final Gambit, which just happens to have been published in April 1992 and is celebrating its 20^th anniversary this month.  All comments are welcome.


Plot: Frank has won the Northeastern Championship in a National Online-Computer Chess Competition---and he's asked Joe to accompany him to Las Vegas where the Nationals are being held.  But while on the plane Joe meets and tries to befriend a beautiful woman---who promply gets kidnapped as soon as the three of them step off the plane.  Who was the woman and why is father calling for the Hardy's arrest?

Review:  I just read this a few weeks ago, and for those of you who are wondering, in the Casefiles, this is Frank's second Chess Championship, but plot wise that is as far as it goes; in #14 Too Many Traitors the Network setup the championship to use Frank and Joe as pawns in their own international game. 

One thing I found interesting was how the author basically made this a stand-alone "Joe" story, since Joe's the one investigating the main plot: the kidnapping and the the Hardy's being arrested on charges of kidnapping by the girl's father, with Frank helping every so often.  Frank on the other hand, is in the middle of a gambling plot, since people have made legal wagers on the Chess Championship, and while at first Frank is the hands down favorite and has the best odds (5 to 1), after a day of play his odds drop to 2 to1, and a couple of guys who had bet a lot on Frank don't like that so they try to take him out of the competition.  Other than the chess tournament, these two cases are not even connected and yet the author makes Frank's B-plot flow very naturally and keeps it out of the way, but still at a level where you are intersted in it. 


Plus, everytime that I read the book, the Neon Graveyard scene always makes me nervouse since the boys are in a limo that is stuck in the middle of an electrified neon sign, and it really seems like a no-way-out situation.  Probably one of the best scenes in, not just the Casefiles, but the entire Hardy Boys line.
Rating: 9 out 10 (I noticed that there were quite a few spelling errors in the book, such as Las Vegas being called Los Vegas about 3 times, otherwise the book would get a 10 out 10.)

[P. Walker]

Sounds pretty cool! Ive never read that one before.

[MacGyver]

It's been a long while since I read this one but I like Final Gambit pretty well, probably for the chess competition connection.
But seriously- who bets on chess?
Frank also plays a lot of chess with his Russian friend Pyotr in Strategic Moves.

[Hardy Sleuth]

I like the chess championship a lot and the cover and that the brothers survive! Can we count chess as a sport? Please?

[MacGyver]

Chess is technically considered a sport by some...

[Hardy Sleuth]

Chess is technically considered a sport by some...

Yep, that's why I wondered what you guys think.

[tomswift2002]

Well Frank got mixed up with a couple of guys who were betting on chess in the book, and that was a very interesting B-plot, since you hardly see the boys on two seperate cases in one book.  And it was definitely something that you wouldn't see in an Undercover Brothers book.

[MacGyver]

Well, I'll call chess a sport anyway. I love playing chess. (amongst a lot of other sports and games.)

[Hardy Sleuth]

Well Frank got mixed up with a couple of guys who were betting on chess in the book, and that was a very interesting B-plot, since you hardly see the boys on two seperate cases in one book.  And it was definitely something that you wouldn't see in an Undercover Brothers book.

The secondary plot would have a direct effect on the main plot if things went wrong, making that a high level of importance as well. 

Well, I'll call chess a sport anyway. I love playing chess. (amongst a lot of other sports and games.)

I count it as a sport - chess is cool!

[P. Walker]

Since Im rereading the Casefiles series in order and buying the ones i dont have, it will be a long time before i get to read this one

[tomswift2002]

Well I was just thinking, if this story had been part of the UB's, S&S would've split the two plots into two different books and I don't think either story would've been as enjoyable separate as they are together.

[MacGyver]

Is "honking" Canadian slang for "thinking"? lol

[tomswift2002]

That's one thing I hate about the iPad, if it thinks you want one word when you want another, it'll automatically replace it.

[Hardy Sleuth]

That's one thing I hate about the iPad, if it thinks you want one word when you want another, it'll automatically replace it.

That would definitely be annoying! You know better than it does what word you want to use! I don't have an iPad, but I turn off auto-correct on my computer so it doesn't do that to me.