#98 Spark of Suspicion

[tomswift2002]

Published: October 1989
Author: Unknown as of January 2021, possible Chris Lampton
Publisher: Minstrel Books (1989-199?)
Part 2 of the WBPT-TV story arc

Plot: The Heat Is On As The Hardy Boys Face Their Most Explosive Case Yet!

BOMBS AWAY IN BAYPORT!

The annual Founder's Day fireworks display is the biggest blast in town.  But local officials have received an anonymous note threatening to sabotage the show---and it's only days away.  The sparks are flying in Bayport, so Frank and Joe fly into action.

The chase is on: The Hardys are hot on the trail of a suspect, with no time to spare.  The boys will have to bag the Bayport bomber before the fireworks' begin.  If they're a minute too late, the saboteur will blow the holiday sky-high!

Review: As I was typing up the back cover description, I realized that there was an error.  The back cover says that "local officials have received an anonymous note"---which didn't happen in the story at all.  Instead it was Frank and Joe who received the anonymous note warning of sabotage.  The local officials don't know about the plot until later in the story.

Anyway, this is book 2 of what I'm calling the WBPT-TV story arc, as Frank and Joe are continuing their Crimestoppers Inc. segment from #95 Danger On The Air, as well as doing a special report on the Founder's Day celebration and what the local firework's company, Old Glory Fireworks, is doing. 

Again, I was wondering if this had been written as a Casefiles book at first, since the bad guy was planning to commit mass murder in this book, which I found odd for a Mystery Stories book. 

Rating: 6.5 out of 10

[MacGyver]

Even if it's small, it's nice to see a bit of continuity with WBPT appearing again.

[tomswift2002]

Actually the WBPT plot plays a big role in the Spark, since the Hardy's use it a lot in order to get people to talk to them.

But when I was reading this book, I was finding that Con Riley and Collig, I found, did not act as they normally do in the Mystery Stories.  Riley was on the border of being hostile to the Hardy's, while Collig was more like the Casefiles Collig in his demeanour.  That's why I wonder if the book was originally written as a Casefile?  Plus the fact that the bad guy was trying to commit suicide at the end and murder Frank at the same time, by ramming his boat into the Barbary Blood[/i].