I’m a huge fan of thriller and mystery books, and I grew up watching Murder, She Wrote on TV. For whatever reason, I’ve always enjoyed twisty tales that make me wonder, “Who commited the crime?” I didn’t get into reading until I started consuming professional wrestling autobiographies in high school, followed by James Patterson thrillers. Once I dove into these books, I realized that reading could be fun! They made me want to explore more books, and now I read about 50 books a year. At this point in my life, I’ve decided to revisit books that I owned and either only read a little bit or didn’t read at all. First up, The Hardy Boys!

The first entry in this long-running series, The Hardy Boys, is The Tower Treasure. While I previously had the small hardback book, I chose to read this on my Kindle. I enjoy physical books, but I also love their digital counterparts in the form of ebooks and audiobooks. I was delighted by how enjoyable The Tower Treasure is. This book, which originally was published in 1927, still holds up exceptionally well. The only dated language contained within is referring to friends as “fellow” or “chum.” Other than that, it doesn’t feel dated whatsoever. In fact, there were numerous advanced words throughout the book that I looked up as I read it, using the Kindle’s built-in dictionary feature. I was impressed that Franklin W. Dixon was brave enough to use such intellectual language in a children’s book.

Unlike today’s thriller and mystery books, where I sometimes feel like I need to take notes just to keep up with the numerous plotlines, The Tower Treasure is straightforward. There’s no confusion about where the story is going. I enjoyed the simplicity and brevity of this book, and I plan on reading additional entries in this fabled franchise. If future books in The Hardy Boys series are anything like this one, then I’m sure they’re equally enjoyable for children and adults.