Hardy Boys Adventures #15- A Con Artist in Paris

[Bigfootman]

Most of this info is already known, but I figured we should have a topic for this book.

http://www.simonandschuster.com/books/A-Con-Artist-in-Paris/Franklin-W-Dixon/Hardy-Boys-Adventures/9781481490061
"Brother detectives Frank and Joe follow a crooked trail of artistic deception in the fifteenth book in the thrilling Hardy Boys Adventures series.

The Hardy Boys are visiting Paris! Joe is excited to check out all the street art he's heard about. And Frank can't wait to go to all the museums he's researched.

On their very first day in the city, the brothers are woken up early in the morning by fireworks. But these are no ordinary fireworks. They are a part of elaborate cover for the heist of a priceless artifact. What's worse, the theft seems to have been orchestrated by Joe's favorite street artist, an unidentified outlaw and activist that goes only by the name Le Stylo. Everyone seems sure that it's him, but the Hardys are suspicious. From everything they know about Le Stylo, the crime is out of character. Sure, he makes a habit of provoking the authorities, but he's an activist; not a thief. Could the artist known for his mystique have been framed? Frank and Joe are determined to find out.

A race to find the real thief has Frank and Joe following clues that lead them all over Paris, where they hobnob with rich art patrons, travel in a car that can only be described as a small Batmobile, and explore the extensive Catacombs under the city. Deep in the world of artistic deception, the boys have to wonder, are they in over their heads?"

According to the site, the book will be 160 pages long, 48 pages longer then "Attack of the Bayport Beast". At this point, it looks like the ghostwriter decides the book length. Another odd thing is that Kevin Keele, the cover artist is credited as one of the authors for some reason.

Also,  Le Stylo sounds like a french version of Banksy.

[MacGyver]

That's goofy how the site lists Kevin Keele as one of the authors. He's the cover artist and I'm sure that's why his name is listed alongside Franklin W. Dixon- but it shouldn't be listed as author- Simon & Schuster should do a better job on that with their Web site.

[Hardy Sleuth]

I'm hoping this one'll be good like the few I've liked in the series so far.

[tomswift2002]

I just received my paperback copy in the mail this morning.  It's 18 chapters spread across 122 pages.

[Bigfootman]

I just received my paperback copy in the mail this morning.  It's 18 chapters spread across 122 pages.

That's disappointing. Looks like listing  Kevin Keele as the book's author wasn't the only mistake on the S and S website.

[tomswift2002]

Kevin Keele is the cover artist.

[tomswift2002]

Well the first chapter is chock full of references to things that have occurred in the 2015-2017 timeframe, such as the Boaty McBoatface incident (Joe calls Frank "Snooty McArtface").

[tomswift2002]

Ok, a few other things:

Apparently Fenton is no longer retired, and has got his private investigators license back as it's mentioned that Fenton was wrapping up a case in the states and missed the flight Frank and Joe were on, and due to bad weather is stuck in the States.

Chief Olaf is either on vacation or is attending the conference and is also apparently in charge of Frank and Joe until Fenton gets there (in Chapter 8 he calls them both minors.  So either they are 16 and 17 in this series, or the author got mixed up, since I'm pretty sure that when you are 18, like Frank's suppose to be, you're an adult anywhere in the world, so it would be Frank who would be the responsible one for Joe, not Olaf).

[tomswift2002]

Okay here's a twist: the Joe get to fly a flying car with Frank as his passenger and people think they are a UFO.

[tomswift2002]

I just finished A Con Artist In Paris and it was better than Attack of The Bayport Beast/I], but it still didn't come up to even the Original Series level.

As you've seen in my previous posts, the continuity in this story is all over the place.  But otherwise I'm giving it a 4.5 out of 10.

[tomswift2002]

Just got the hardcover version in the mail today.