#60 Mystery Of The Samurai Sword (40th Anniversary Review)

[tomswift2002]

Published 1979-1987 Wanderer Books, 1987to late-1990's by Minstrel Books, 2005-2013 by Grosset & Dunlap
Written by: Jim Lawrence

Plot: Shortly after his arrival in the United States, a Japanese business tycoon mysteriously disappears. Then a valuable samurai sword, said to have belonged to the missing tycoon's family for generations, is stolen from an auction gallery in New York. Danger confronts them constantly as the Hardy Boys search for the solution to the puzzle.

Review:  This book is very dated to the late-70's, early-80's.  This is because the explanation for part of the Mystery relies on the dates for WWII, especially the Pacific Theatre action, as the Japanese business man is described as being a young man during the war, but in the book he's in his late-50's, early-60's.  In 2019, he would be over 100 years old. 

Also it's interesting, but the way Jim Lawrence wrote the book, at times I felt he was writing Frank & Joe as if he as writing for Parker Stevenson & Shaun Cassidy.  There were times where it felt like I was hearing say the words.

[MacGyver]

It has been many years since I read this book but I certainly enjoyed it. I mainly recall the Japanese connection with the samurai sword in the book. That is an interesting observation about the writing feeling like it was written for The Hardy Boys of the '70s show. It's not unreasonable; the show was on at the time the book likely would have been written. TV show depictions do sometimes influence books they're based on as there is often a desire to tie both together and help promote each other.

[Bigfootman]

I know I read this book at some point, but I barely remember anything about it, although I did like it.