The Murder House Trilogy Spoiler Board

[SDLagent]

Since the Murder House Trilogy is a pretty big event in the world of The Hardy Boys, and since the trilogy will be published over six months, and not every body will read the trilogy it at the same time, I thought it would be best to start this thread. I suggest that starting from the time you read book one ''Deprivation House'', until October 6th (one week after the planned release date of Murder House #3), we keep discussion of the ''bigger'' plot lines and ''finer points'' of the Murder House Trilogy, as well as speculation about the trilogy, in this one thread. 

WARNING: SPOILERS WILL FOLLOW. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!

[Sam Spade]

Good idea, SDL!

[Q]

I second that HBWiki

[SDLagent]

Book #1 ''Deprivation House''

PLOT SUMMARY: Frank and Joe are sent by ATAC to join the cast of a new reality show called Deprivation House - featuring a group of teens competing for one million dollars - and to determine who's behind the death threats received by other contestants.

Once at the ''house'' the contestants are told the rules of the show; each day at least one luxuries (computers, iPods, coffee, etc) will be taken away and who ever lasts the longest wins. In addition competitions will be held each day, with the winner getting to chose the next ''deprivation''.

Things go bad fast, when in the very first contest (with the goal, to wash more dishes then anyone else), Frank finds a body in the bottom of the pool. The body turns out to be one of the production assistants, Leo, so he is replaced by a man named Mitch.

After a few of the  contestants, including Joe,  are threatened again, and Bobby T wins the first contest (the pool one was called off), Ripley finds Bobby unconscious in the hall, luckily Bobby had already told every one that he has a deadly peanut allergy, and if he has an reaction to use the needle he always carries, Ripley does this and saves his life.  Frank and Joe wonder what could have caused Bobby's reaction, that is until they find a trace of peanut oil on his toothbrush.

Later Joe, James, and Bobby, are locked in the sauna, and if Frank had not got there in time they would have all died. This is followed by one of the contestants, Rosemary, dropping out of the show, and Joe being almost killed by a dog in the dog cleaning contest. It turns out that the dog was feed jimmsonweed, which made him aggressive.

Already worried, the Hardys are even more upset when everyone of the contestants receives an e-mail reading, Next competition, someone dies.

The next day after the e-mails, the first cut is made, and a girl named Kit Elroy is ''deprived of the chance to win one million dollars!'' It seems that Kit, more then any one else had a hard time adjusting to the deprivations, most of all coffee, which she was a heavy drinker of.

Fearing that the last death threat, Frank and Joe feel the need to do a safety check on the next competition. They can not do this however unless they know what it is (no one is every told until a few minutes before), so after getting Veronica (she is the host of the show) out of the house a few hours by convincing a contestant to drop out of the competition and using the ATAC anticamera device they manage to get into Veronica's quarters without being seen. The brothers find what they are looking for as well as a good amount of money hidden in one of the ceiling beams.

It turns out that the next contest is a lawn mower race, so the brothers head to the field were it is to take place. After a search, Joe finds a bomb wired to the ignition of one of the mowers, but before they can do anything about it, Veronica and Mitch find them and Veronica accuses them of cheating, completely ignoring Frank and Joe when the try to tell her what they have found. She orders Mitch to keep the brothers to his quarters, until morning. Frank and Joe tall Mitch about the bomb, who unlike his boss listens and he promises to tell Veronica.     

Mitch leaves the Hardy boys in his quarters with a soft drink each and the parting words, ''To living through it, right?'' quoting the words of the contestants on the first night on the show.'' After Mitch leaves Frank releases that they came up with that toast before Mitch worked on the show, and that he couldn't have seen footage of it, because they didn't have any outdoor footage that night. And it it dawn on both brothers that the only reason he would be there is if he knew Leo was going to die.

Frank and Joe try to leave the cottage but Mitch sees them and knocks them out. When they come to they find themselves tied up in Mitch's place, who claims he knocked them out because Veronica told him to keep them in his cabin and he didn't want to get in trouble. The Hardys manage to distract Mitch then they roll into a mirror knocking it over onto Mitch. With Mitch momentarily out of the way, Frank manages to cut himself free using the broken glass from the mirror. Once untied Joe knocks out and ties up Mitch and Frank races for the doomed garden tractor contest.

Joe discovers that Mitch robed a bank of 25,000, Joe remembers the money he found in Veronica's house and figures that Mitch must have hidden the stolen money in the house before the show was being run in it. Then when Mitch discovered it he must have killed Leo to get access but since Veronica doesn't even allow assistants into her office he most of tried to get the show shut down by killing contestants.

Meanwhile, Frank tried to get to the tractors before anyone else but didn't quite make it, and now is horrified to see one of the contestants, Brynn, getting on the very one with the bomb set to go off when the ignition key is turned. Frank yells at her to stop but she turns the key. In one last attempt, Frank hurls himself at her, knocking her off the mower ? seconds before it explodes.     
 
Veronica lets Frank and Joe stay on the show because of what they did. Later that night James finds a dead blackbird in the bathtub, with the words, It's not over yet.

REVEIW: I actually enjoyed ''Deprivation House'' and it exceeded my exceptions but only because they were not very high. I was happily surprised that the bad guy was not trying to kill people so he could win the show but so he could get the money he stole years earlier. In my opinion this is good in more ways then one. First of all revenge is not his motive and second, in my opinion killing someone to win a reality would be really lame, since that is what you are expecting. On the other hand, I still don't see why Mitch didn't just break into Veronica office, I know there's supposed to be cameras every ware, but still, I'm sure there would be an easier way for Mitch to get what he wanted.

Like I said already, book one isn't that bad at all, but even so this is going to be a very poor trilogy. I mean, the culprit is in jail! And the man in jail is in no way connected to a gang, from what I can tell anyway, and even if he is, I'm sure the gang has nothing to do with the final threat in the book or the one in the preview. From the looks of it this trilogy isn't one story in three parts but three stories taking place in the same location. 

I thought after reading ''Deprivation House'', I would have more of an idea of what will happen in ''House Arrest'', but nope, still basically know that Frank and Joe are looking for someone on a reality TV show who is trying to kill everyone else. And again how can you have a mystery trilogy without a GANG? Well by the looks of it you can, in the Undercover Brothers any way.

I just keep thinking of ''Operation Phoenix''...

[Q]

That was one of the best spoilers I have ever read. Please review The Deadliest Stunt when you read it!

[tomswift2002]

Does it still surprise you that in the world of the Undercover Brothers, there are no criminal gangs, just one or two criminals working together acting like a bunch of idiots.  How we all long for the good old days of the Hardy Boys when they actually went after large gangs running different rackets.

[SDLagent]

That was one of the best spoilers I have ever read. Please review The Deadliest Stunt when you read it!

Thanks, Q! I look forward to seeing your reviews.

Does it still surprise you that in the world of the Undercover Brothers, there are no criminal gangs, just one or two criminals working together acting like a bunch of idiots.  How we all long for the good old days of the Hardy Boys when they actually went after large gangs running different rackets.

I'm not surprised most of the time, but this is a three part story, so I didn't know how they could do it without some sort of gang! I should have known better, I guess. It's really strange that there is no gangs, you would think working for an spy organization, the boys would fight more gangs. And I think they could really go somewhere with WARD but they don't seem to be.

[tomswift2002]

Yeah, you would think that there would more gangs since S&S seems to be trying to make the Hardy Boys into younger versions of James Bond.

[nick123456789]

Deprivation House is a VERY good book. I definatly would recommend it.

[mystery chick 901]

Definatly. Other than their pictures, it's an awesome book!

[SDLagent]

The first chapter of book three ''House Arrest'' is now available for your reading pleasure at SimonSays.com.

JOE
1

Night Stalkers


"Did you hear that?" Frank hissed under his breath. I nodded. Then I realized he probably couldn't see me. The hallway was pitch black.

"Yeah," I whispered. "I think we should -- "

"Shhh! Let's go left."

He started creeping that way, staying low to the ground. I followed. It was so dark I could hardly see a thing. Just Frank's back. Not my favorite view. But what are you going to do?

We rounded the corner at the end of the hall. I clutched the big, heavy aluminum flashlight I was holding. It had been the only weapon around to grab when Frank had woken me up a few minutes earlier. I just hoped I'd have the guts to use it if and when the time came.

Up ahead I could see the pale gray outline of a doorway. It led into the mansion's cavernous kitchen.

At that moment the sound came again. Sort of a tiny, scraping noise, so quiet you could hardly catch it.

I tensed. This was it.

Frank heard it too. He crouched there for a moment. Then, in one fluid motion, he sprang up and flipped on the light switch.

The glare was blinding. I blinked furiously, clutching the heavy flashlight in both hands.

"Where is it?" I shouted.

"There!" Frank leaped forward, already swinging the Wiffle bat he was holding.

That's when I spotted it too. The mouse. It skittered away, avoiding Frank's blow. The bat landed on the tile floor with a hollow thunk.

"Gotcha!" I cried as the mouse raced toward me on its tiny legs. I lunged forward and swung as hard as I could.

CRACK!

That mouse was fast. I missed too. My hand stung from the recoil of the flashlight hitting the hard tile floor. I tossed my weapon to my other hand and spun around.

Too late. The mouse was running hard. All I could do was watch helplessly as its little tail disappeared under the refrigerator.

"What's going on out here?" A red-haired girl wrapped in a robe appeared in the doorway -- sly, cutthroat Olivia Gavener.

A big dude with a crewcut was right behind her. James Sittenfeld. He was rubbing his eyes and looking irritated.

"Yeah," he said. "What's your damage, dudes? If you want to fight out your differences, have some class. Do it when people aren't trying to sleep."

That was rich, coming from him. He was the last one who should be ragging on anyone else for being inconsiderate. You could sum up the dude in two words: Ob Noxious.

"Sorry." Frank tossed down his Wiffle bat. "I was on my way to the bathroom when I heard our little rodent buddy rustling around out here. Joe and I were trying to take him out before he eats any more of our food."

"Did you get him?" James asked. "If you did, Fatso will probably kiss you." He smirked. "In case you haven't noticed, he doesn't like to share his chow."

James thinks he's hilarious. The rest of us pretty much don't. Not that he would ever notice. He's not exactly Mr. Sensitive.

Luckily, Mikey Chan -- aka the "Fatso" in question -- wasn't among the crowd of seven sleepy teens now crowding the doorway, staring at Frank and me. I wasn't surprised. The kid is a pretty heavy sleeper. I should know. I've been listening to him snore like a buzz saw in the bunk below me for the past week and a half.

"Well, I'm glad you didn't kill it," Brynn Fulghum declared. "So what if it ate a few crumbs? The poor little thing doesn't deserve to die for that."

Ah, Brynn. How to describe her? You could mention her soft blond hair. Her cute upturned nose. Or the way her eyebrows kind of arch up in the middle. But even all that wouldn't begin to cover how awesome she is. Don't get me started, okay?

"Whatever." James yawned, already seeming bored by the whole conversation. "I'm going back to bed."

"Me too," Bobby T mumbled. He looked even sleepier than the others. His blue hair was sticking up on top of his head. Actually, it always does. But usually it's from mousse or something, not bedhead.

Bobby pays a lot of attention to his appearance. That's because he's famous. At least in his own mind. He's a blogger -- a pretty successful one, I guess, even though I'd never heard of him before I met him. He even had his blog optioned by Hollywood.

By now you're probably wondering what Frank and I were doing in a mansion with all these people. The answer is, we're undercover agents with ATAC -- American Teens Against Crime. That's a group our dad, Fenton Hardy, started after he retired from the NYPD. The idea behind ATAC is that there are lots of places where adults stick out like a sore thumb. Hip-hop concerts. Skateboarding rallies. That kind of thing. The solution: agents who are teenagers themselves. As soon as we heard about it, Frank and I were on board. Our life has been a total rush ever since.

The two of us have ended up in a lot of weird places thanks to ATAC. But our current mission might be the weirdest yet. We were working undercover as contestants on a new reality show called Deprivation House.

Well, back up a minute. When we first got the assignment, we didn't know the name of the show. All we knew was that it was an all-teen reality show. When we arrived at this amazing Beverly Hills mansion, we were stoked. I mean, the place is straight out of the movies. Spacious grounds. Private bowling lanes. Plush screening room. Oh, and did I mention the pool? I especially loved the pool.

But we'd barely gotten to enjoy it when the show's host, Veronica Wilmont, announced that most of it was going to be taken away. Not just the real luxuries, either. Over the course of the show, we were going to lose all kinds of stuff, from junk food to cell phones to cable TV.

That sounds bad enough, right? But don't forget, Frank and I were there on a mission. One of the other contestants was Ripley Lansing. In case you've been living under a rock for the past few years, like Frank --


FRANK
Frank here. And give it a rest already, Joe. Should you really be so proud of yourself for knowing all the celebs from Gossip Tonight, anyway?


JOE

Butt out, Frank. Point is, Ripley's mother owns a big makeup company, and her dad is the drummer for Tubskull. Ripley herself is mostly famous for wearing expensive clothes and throwing things at photographers. She signed up for the show to do some image repair. But she got a death threat even before the show started, and her family called in ATAC to investigate.

So that's where Frank and I came in. We went undercover as Ripley's fellow contestants. Only trouble is, once we got here we found out that all the contestants -- including us -- got death threats. Not just Ripley.

I glanced at the others in the kitchen doorway, realizing that Ripley wasn't among them. Neither was Mikey, like I said. Along with James, Bobby T, Brynn, and Olivia Gavener, I saw nerdy Hal Sheen, quiet homeschooler Mary Moore, and new-to-the-show Gail Digby.

That meant one other person was missing besides Ripley and Mikey. I couldn't think who it was at first. My brain was still half asleep.

I was still thinking when there was a loud shriek from elsewhere in the house.

Frank and I exchanged a look. "That sounded like it came from one of the girls' bedrooms," he said.

I nodded. "Let's go."

We raced back down the hall. I was in the lead as we burst into the room.

Ripley was standing there in front of the dresser. She was staring into the mirror, a look of horror on her face.

I could see why. Scribbled on her forehead in bloodred letters was the word MURDER.


Copyright ? 2008 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

[Jokerette]

OK, so ,slow start(i mean, the Hardys chasing rats ). the end picked up though. i think this will be a great book. or am i wrong?

[Sam Spade]

What Is this a joke I mean, don't the ghostwriters for the UB's have anything better to write about then the Hardy boys chasing after mice

[tomswift2002]

And I thought the Hardy's would be getting debriefed on the events of the first two books by this point.

[SDLagent]

Sorry I made mistake in my post last night, this is from book two not book three.

I agree with you guys, what the heck is S&S thinking? I mean the Hardys go after mice in the dead of night with baseball bats? Give me a break, not only is this the Hardy boys, but in this series they work for the government for crying out load! If this was my introduction The Hardy Boys, I'm telling you I would not have picked up another Hardy book again!

On the bright side, the writings not bad, it's not the authors fault he/she doesn't have much to work with.  When I started reading the chapter I was thinking ''this is pretty good''...until the mouse and then I was thinking ''I guess the boys made a mistake''...then they want after it and I was like, ''oh dear!''