House Arrest

[Lola]

I found this on the HDA site, some found this on Wickpedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:HardyBoysUBHouseArrest.jpg

I like this cover much better....although Joe looks a little dorky.

[Centrion]

Me too, but I think this is the first time I've seen Frank in sunglasses. Oh, and it might just be me, but the link didn't work. I had to type in Hardy Boys House Arrest in search.

[tomswift2002]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Murder_House_Trilogy

Here's a better link to Wikipedia where they have both covers for the first UB trilogy.

[tomswift2002]

Also, that page that my link goes to, I just had to edit it heavily.  Whoever put it up first kept saying that it was going to be issued by "Alden Paperbacks", plus I deleted a whole paragraph on whether it is going to be a part of the Undercover Brothers series, since, when you look at the cover to book 2, inside the "B" in "Boys" you can see that it says "Undercover Brothers".

[Centrion]

Looks like this may be the make or break factor of the Undercover Brothers. If this trilogy is even half as good as the Phoniex Equation, I'll be pretty happy.

[SDLagent]

The plot summary of Murder House #2 House Arrest has been revealed on Chapters.ca, and I have posted it on The Hardy Boys Wiki. Doesn?t tell us anything we don?t already know, other then that Frank and Joe are still at Deprivation House in the second book. I was hoping the TV show would take up as little of the trilogy as possible but now it looks like it will be a main part of at least half of the series. 

[tomswift2002]

I agree.  All the reality show novels that have been done recently have plots that just barely manage to last one whole book.  And if it turns out that this is whole trilogy is being written about a crime that is being committed by just one person, well, better be prepared for a loooooong summer.  Also, it doesn't sound like Haunted's plot has anything to do with the Murder House trilogy.  Haunted sounds like it might fit in nicely with possible a relaunch of The Hardy Boys Ghost Stories. 

[SDLagent]

The official plot summary is now online, at SimonSays.com. Doesn't really tell us anything we don't already know, but here it is:

ATAC Briefing for Agents Frank and Joe Hardy

MISSION: To stay undercover on the Deprivation House reality show and discover who's behind the continued "accidents" before someone else turns up dead.

LOCATION: A huge villa in Beverly Hills, CA.

POTENTIAL VICTIMS: All the remaining contestants and crew of the show.

SUSPECTS: The list has been narrowed now that the culprit behind the initial crimes was caught, but someone living in that house still has murder on the mind.

[tomswift2002]

Oh boy, what's up with all these murder stories recently?

[Olivia]

I'm only halfway through because I only read a chapter every few days (really different from when I would read all of it at once, but hey, things to do). Anyways (some spoilers ahead):

Interesting premise with Joe being mad at Frank about Brynn. Sort of understandable, but uh, yeah. Nice conversation

Not I expect Joe to be completely mature or anything, but it definitely would have been better handled in the Casefiles. Like he would be mad with reason. But in this case, it's like he's mad and jealous with immaturity. I guess they're trying to depict teens (or the HBs) differently nowindays.

[SDLagent]

I guess you haven't got to the end of the Frank/Joe/Brynn plotline, yet, since I found it well done.

[Olivia]

Yeah, I'm mostly referring to the conversation on p.59-60. Now that I look at it again, Frank also had a part in the argument too. But I think I'm just overanalyzing and focusing on it too much, probably because it really did stand out to me.

[Olivia]

I finally finished it and now I see how the Brynn situation was solved. Yeah, not bad.

Still have the third book to go.

[Olivia]

I don't know what thread it was in, and it was probably tomswift2002 who said something like this, but the book didn't move the story forward much. It was the same stuff happening again and again - incident after incident. Obviously some stories are like that and have to be, but it's like:

*a girl screams and/or someone gets hurt*
*they run in and find almost no evidence*
*they discuss the case in the supply closet*
*a girl screams and/or someone gets hurt*

And the cycle repeats.

They take off a couple characters and put in a couple more. There's some progress with the Brynn situation but that's it.

Here's the main conversation:

"Could it be this person?"
"No..."
"Could it be this person?"
"No..."
"Could it be this person?"
"I don't know..."

AND

Joe: "Stay away from Brynn! I saw her first!"
Frank: "Ah, um, okay." *secretly goes and hangs out with Brynn*


I was actually getting used to the plot/premise, but the lack of moving forward kind of ruins it. They don't even have one defining clue or even foreshadowing (unless I completely missed it).

When I write this down, it sound so much more negative then in my brain. As I was reading it, it wasn't that bad per say. Oh well.

[SDLagent]

Well said. That's pretty much how it seemed to me.