#121 The Mystery In The Old Mine (29th Anniversary Review)

[tomswift2002]

Published: August 1993
Publisher: Minstrel Books (1993-1997)
Author: Unknown as of August 2022


Plot:
A search for truth leads Frank and Joe into a tunnel of toxic terrors!

The Hardys head underground and find themselves under fire and under the gun!

Ridge City, Pennsylvania, a rough and rugged coal mining town, is in danger of dying. Underground fires rage out of control, and Liz Trimmer, the one woman working to protect the city, has suddenly disappeared. Now her brother, a friend of the Hardy boys, has received a sinister note saying that Liz has been kidnapped!

Frank and Joe discover that Liz's powerful stand has made some powerful enemies. From city hall to the local nuclear power plant, the boys dig into a world of dirty politics, dirty deals, and dirty tricks. But they're determined to unearth the dirty secret endangering Liz's life -- a secret that could end burying them!

Review:  I remember first reading this from the library around 1996-7 and while cover art looked interesting, the story was quite boring.

[MacGyver]

I don't remember much about this book but I agree that the cover art looks pretty cool. And I will say that I appreciate the use of the classic title construct with "The Mystery of .... ".
  

[tomswift2002]

I finished the book last night and it's a poor version of Breakdown In Axeblade.  Although the Hardy's don't have any van troubles in this one.

But it turns out that the operator of the local nuclear power plant has been hiding hazardous waste in the area, and he's managed to get the local sheriff on his payroll, so the sheriff looks the other way and allows the illegal dumping to occur (and even participates in the dumping). 

But most of the book was filled with long talking parts with either the Hardy's attending town council meetings, because the federal or state government is trying to buy the residents out to remove them from the mine fires.  But Garth's sister, who worked for the power plant's owner/operator (I never did figure out if the guy owned the plant or if the plant was owned by another corporation and he was the manager of the plant, although it sounded like he owned it but had mishandled the finances and couldn't afford to legally get rid of the hazardous waste) and she came across a notebook of his talking about dumping the waste.  So she started her own investigation to find out what was going on and disappeared on her own. So a lot of the times it felt like the Hardy's were going from one place to another just to fill up page space.

Rating: 3.5 out of 10

[Pookells]

Hi! I just joined this forum yesterday, thanks to the link that you provided on the Fandom Wiki page for #118 Danger in the Fourth Dimension.

I ordered #121 off eBay and I'm getting it today. I haven't read this one.

[MacGyver]

Cool! Welcome aboard, Pookells! Glad to have another Hardy Boys fan here.  

[Pookells]

Cool! Welcome aboard, Pookells! Glad to have another Hardy Boys fan here.  

Thanks! I didn't even know this forum existed until last night.

[tomswift2002]

Hi! I just joined this forum yesterday, thanks to the link that you provided on the Fandom Wiki page for #118 Danger in the Fourth Dimension.

I ordered #121 off eBay and I'm getting it today. I haven't read this one.

Yes I'm the only remaining original admin of the Hardy Boys Wiki. 

[Pookells]

Yes I'm the only remaining original admin of the Hardy Boys Wiki. 

Nice! I'll keep making contributions and help out on the Wiki.

[MacGyver]

Nice! I'll keep making contributions and help out on the Wiki.

Awesome! I've contributed some here and there when I've had time on The Hardy Boys Wiki. Glad to see some others are interested in keeping it running.  

[Pookells]

Awesome! I've contributed some here and there when I've had time on The Hardy Boys Wiki. Glad to see some others are interested in keeping it running.  

I'll definitely contribute when I can. I've helped with #78 Cave-In and #118 as I said before. I'll probably add to #77 The Crimson Flame next.

[MacGyver]

Good deal!