Evil in Amsterdam is probably my favorite Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys Super Mystery. I have read it five or six times now and I never get tired of it. My favorite thing about the book is that you it is so intriguing to ponder who the culprit is. I also loved how the two mysteries tied into one. In some of the books a very poor job of tying the two mysteries together is done and in this one it was woven beautifully. I also thought that the role of Ot in the story was extremely pivotal in solving the mystery, especially at the end. I would recommend this book to not only someone who loves Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys but to anyone who loves a good mystery.

I read this book months ago. It was the first one I ever read but it is one of the best. In the beginning Nancy and George are on vacation in Amsterdam to visit one of Georges' friends. They meet up with Frank and Joe who are there to investigate a robbery from the 1940's. They are searching for a load of gold bullion stolen by the Nazis. It has lots of unexpected happenings but is VERY good! I reccommend this to anyone who likes mysteries.

This is definately one of Carolyn Keenes best mysterys yet!! Nancy Drew and George Fayne are in Amsterdam for George's friend Merissa's wedding. But when they get there they find that Merissa is missing! Meanwhile, Frank and Joe Hardy are in Amsterdam also. They are looking for a cache of missing gold that was stolen a long time ago... by Nazi soldiers! Could the cases be connected? And can the amazing detectives find the answers before it is too late? Go to the nearest book store and find out!!!!

Less is more--usually. So I admit with some shame that this is one of the rare occasions where I actually enjoyed a film more than the book that was its inspiration.

Ironically, the film's screenplay, although credited to the book's author, Pierre Boulle, was written by two uncredited blacklisted writers, Michael Wilson and Carl Foreman. This was not corrected until decades later, so when the screenplay won an Oscar, Boulle (who did not speak, let alone write, English) accepted the award.

The film took liberties with the plot. It was released in 1957, which meant that not only could writers still be tarred by a McCarthy-era brush, but it was also a time which demanded a big-name American star in a lead role as a box-office draw. So a British commando character became an American played by William Holden. The great actor Alex Guinness played the role of the gung-ho British colonel with his usual distinction. In the film the individuals, even the volatile and incompetent Japanese colonel, all come across as better than they might have been.

But the same people in Pierre Boulle's original account were not so quite so stylishly spirited. Even while Boulle praises a character on the one hand, he cuts him down to size with the other. Boulle's book reads "true," yes, and touches on interesting moral dilemmas. As a former prisoner of war in South-East Asia himself, Boulle has only the lowest of opinions for his brutal captors, no doubt justified, but there is no tempering of his characters. And even while he recognizes admirable British qualities, he has equal quantities of disdain for aspects of their ethos. It is too bad he has no French characters in the book to see if he would be as merciless with his own countrymen.

Despite his clear bias, Boulle's writing has a grand sense of socratic irony to it. At times, even through the filter of our contemporary mores, we may still marvel at his brilliant and scathing depiction of human nature.

Unfortunately, the story's structure is plodding and ponderous. Whether or not this is due to the English translation, it can be a somewhat convoluted "read." And while Boulle is clever, his characters lean to the archetypal and they are somewhat two-dimensional.

Yet, sadly, his story is probably more like life really is than the rather sugarcoated but splendid film that was made of it.

We live in an age when "art" has become horrifically bloated. Every major movie is three hours long, even the insipid Summer blockbusters. Authors from Don DeLillo to Tom Clancy crank out enormous doorstop-like novels of 700 to 1,000 pages. The artist Cristo doesn't just paint pictures, he wraps entire islands in pink cellophane. It is as if artists had lost confidence in their capacity to say anything meaningful and so they opt instead to try to bury us in pure volume. Heck, Bill Clinton's State of the Union message this year--a message which until modern times President's were content to simply write out and send up to the Hill--resembled a Fidel Castro harangue, lasting over an hour and a half. Apparently, if you're not sure about the quality, make up for it with quantity.

The results have been predictably uneven--on the one hand, the perfectly adequate 1934 comedy Death Takes a Holiday, which ran under 80 minutes, was recently turned into the interminable vanity project, Meet Joe Black. But on the other hand, Tom Wolfe's terrific A Man in Full (see Orrin's review) actually had one of the best set pieces he's ever written, Ambush at Fort Bragg (see Orrin's review), excised from the final novel. It seem that, just as we would expect, the sheer size of these projects bears no relation to the quality of the finished product. It is still the case that great writers and directors can produce outstanding longer works, but mediocre artists can not salvage their's, no matter how they inflate them.

All of which brings us to Bridge on the River Kwai. I'm sure that everyone is familiar with the story from David Lean's 1957 masterpiece, starring Alec Guiness, William Holden, Jack Hawkins and Sessue Hayakawa. Lean was the undisputed master of the movie epic--with films like River Kwai, Doctor Zhivago, Passage to India and Lawrence of Arabia to his credit--and his film version of Boulle's novel is a mammoth, 2 1/2 hour, panorama. It is unquestionably one of the greatest movies ever made.

Boulle's original, while every bit as great, is a spare, economical novel, which compacts vexing moral questions and ethical confrontations into a small but powerful package. It stands as sort of a demonstration that artists who actually have something to say need not resort to gigantism. The only major element that differs from the movie is that Lean needed an American actor for promotional purposes, so the whole scenario with William Holden escaping the camp and then returning with the demolition crew was added. All of the moral quandaries that make the story so memorable and timeless remain, despite the brevity of the book.

In fact, some of the themes emerge more forcefully. Pierre Boulle was himself captured, imprisoned, set to forced labor and then escaped from such a camp in Malaysia and one of the strongest undercurrents in the book is the author's obvious contempt for the Japanese. This is in many ways one of the most racist (I mean that in a non pejorative sense, if such a thing is possible any longer) stories ever told. The underlying assumption is that the two colonial powers find these places in a state of primitive savagery. The Japanese merely seek to exploit them for their own purposes and do so in an accordingly slipshod way. The British, meanwhile, attempt to bring the highest standards of civilization to bear and try to reengineer the wilderness so that it will stand as an eternal monument to British values. Boulle uses the construction of the bridge to demonstrate that the Japanese are brutal incompetents and that the British, while they are the world's master builders (both of engineering marvels and of civilizations), are so warped by their own rigid codes of duty and honor that they are blinded to ultimate issues of the propriety of their actions.

I must have read this book or seen the movie dozens of times since I was a kid. One of the really remarkable things about the story is how different facets stand out each time, or is it just that at different ages or in different social circumstances certain themes seem more important than at others. When you're a callow youth, the whole thing is just a bang up military adventure. In the late 60's and early 70's the point of the story seemed to many to be simply anti-war--"Madness! Madness!" as Clipton says. Today, I read it and see a Frenchman dissing the Japanese and the British. That Boulle achieves this kaleidoscopic effect with such brevity is a remarkable accomplishment and should serve as a reminder to all that increased size is no substitute for substantial ideas.

GRADE: A+

I think this is one of the best books you can ever read. It is decriptive and exciting. A sure prize if you can get one. The story being set in Thailand (formerly Siam) is wonderful because it sets the scene for many of the dramatic events. It is my absolute favorite book, and anyone who gets the chance should read it.

Filled with mysterious adventures, and page turning thrills you'll never want to put this book down. the Mystery of Smugglers Cove is about two Hardy Boy detectives who are sent on a case to the Everglades to try and find the person who stole a famous painting. The suspects are no other then the Hardy Boys themselves. They have to prove that they didn't steal the painting and capture the bad guys before something else goes wrong. When they go to the Everglades they have to disguise themselves as pirates and they work for the bad guy to find out what he's going to do with the painting. Read on and find out what happens. Do the bad guys get caught?, or are the Hardy Boys still suspets? Find out when you read the book. It's for boys and girls.

A Bayport art-collector, Raymond Wester, suspects Frank and Joe of stealing one of his paintings, but offers them the chance to prove their innocence, so Frank, Joe, Chet and Biff head to Smuggler's Cove in the Florida Keys to track down the painting and the real thieves. Lots of action, suspence and a good plot. I enjoyed the book very much. My only problem with the story was that if Wester truely believed that Frank and Joe were guilty, why would he let them leave Bayport?

Referring to the comments above, this book is very thrilling because their near death by the vine rope, the alligators, and last but not least the dangerous smugglers. Now it's strange because why would anyone try to put a picture behind a frame, or in a secret panel behind the frame? Certainly it would require much practice and work. This was a very tricky mysrery, and is no doubt one of the top ten Hardy Boys choices.

The Paris Connection was a fabulous story. It was definitely one of the best Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys Super Mysteries. It was probably one of the more difficult books in figuring out who the bad guy was. I liked how this time there was two separate mysteries instead of one intertwined one. Sometimes they try too hard to make the mysteries intertwined and it does not work out as well and in this case having two separate mysteries worked out perfectly. They both had to deal with the Rock Star's tour but they had two different culprits. I think that the bad guy was also pretty hard to figure out and I had no idea who it was until the very end. It is always nice to have a surprise at the end of a good book! I recommend this if you like Nancy Drew & The Hardy Boys!

I really like mysteries and I love Paris. However, this book didn't explain the character Jules well enough. If you like this series read this book!

Nancy and the Hardy Boys are at it again solving another mystery

Jessica Wakefield is the biggest snob in the whole world of sweet valley!! I can't believe the way she pretended to be best friends with poor Robin and then had the absolute nerve to blackball her and act satisfied!! If that's not enough she also blamed Liz about that article she wrote (as if every word wasn't true which it was) and then accuse her of bribing Bruce Patman (which she did but is beside the whole point) I'm not on Liz's side either. She didn't even fight back at Jessica. Oh, she said a few words back at her but not enough to get Jessica to see how much of a witch she really is. Sometimes Liz really lets Jessica get away with murder sometimes. Jessica walks all over Liz and anyone else to get what she wants but Jessica is always so indignant when Liz does the slightest thing to get back at her. Using terms like "my own sister" Jessica succeeds in getting Liz to feel all guilty when she shouldn't even! I really thought Jessica went overboard in getting Robin out of Pi Beta Alpha. She really acted like a real witch. A snobby conniving witch who thinks she can do anything she wants to do and just innocently say "Why would I do anything like that?" Sometimes I really don't think Jessica loves her sister as much as she claims to. But Liz does. She always goes out of her way to get Jessica out of trouble even when Jessica has been the nastiest piece of slime to her. Naturally, Elizabeth always forgives Jessica, usually when something life-threatining happens and Liz sees how important Jessica is to her. Please! I know I've been rambling but sometimes Jessica really gets on my nerves! (SORRY TO ALL THOSE JESSICA FANS OUT THERE!) Well, I think I've said enough.

I thought this book was great!If you are a SVH fan then be sure to read this one!

I thought it was pretty amusing that Robin managed to lose allthat weight in the space of about 2 or 3 chapters. Other than that,the book was well written in terms of conveying Jessica and the other Pi Beta's two-faced snobbishness. Although I do think that Robin was partly to blame, due to the fact that she wouldn't tell Jessica and the Pi Betas where to get off. I mean, they completely humiliate her, yet she still kept after them. I also didn't like the way Robin reacted to Liz, I mean, yeah, Jessica treated her like dirt but, I don't know how Robin had the nerve to accuse Liz as well. It was Liz who was trying to stop her from making a fool of herself. END

This book has one thing that so many other fantasy books are lacking - SOLID RULES. There are hard and fast laws that govern the actions of magic, and Lyndon Hardy has quantified them, and gotten them down to the point where they're considered more like a craft akin to blacksmithing than anything else. So for anyone who's ever wondered what's the guiding principles behind WHY somebody can just have a fireball appear out of nowhere... this is the book for you.

I found a copy I had read years and years ago, so I re-read it last night ... Probably one of the best pieces of Fantasy fiction I've ever read. The theories were well worked out, and the main character was developed enough so that you actually cared about what happened to him.

In this sequel to the Master of the Five Magics, you follow a blundering young man as he tries to understand why the five magics are failing. The antagonist in this book is dark and mysterious, and the whole time you are reading the book you want to more about him. If you have read the first book, then take the time to read this one. You will enjoy it as much.

LeAnne Hardy creates a powerful picture of the devastation of civil war in Mozambique Africa. The story follows a kidnapped missionary family and is written from the point of view of 13 year old Keri. Rather than focus on the larger political machinations of the warring factions, Hardy emphasizes the trauma and devastation for the individuals caught in the war. She shows how war splits the personalities of people, making a little boy an angry warrior and a loving father into a soldier. The Wooden Ox is realistic, tightly plotted and does not back down from the hard questions of the Christian faith. Although intended for a young adult audience, older readers would enjoy as well.

This story is easy to get into, easy to follow, and hard to put down. Although it's a work of fiction, the questions of faith are real, and the characters believable. Hardy's style is great for young and early-teen readers. Definitely recommended!

This is a fictional account of an American family who went to distribute relief food and clothes to people in war-torn Mozambique. The story is told by Keri, the older of the two children. It details the danger, fear, and faith the Andersons experienced as they were capture and then brought to safety.

This is a story which will linger in one's memory and give insight into the experiences reported in the daily news as well as reminding readers of what faces many missionaries in Africa during these unsettled times.

if you like mysteries this is an okay book. not keene"s greatest.

I think the plot was absolutely awsome! The thing about following Jake Comstock's trail was pretty nifty. And I never would've guessed who was behind it all. It was the first one I ever bought, and it's a great edition for anyone's library.

This was the first Nancy Drew & Hardy Boys Book I have read. The story really kept you guessing, and brought out some major intelligence on the parts of both the brothers and Nancy. I highly suggest this book for all those who like either Nancy Drew, or Frank and Joe, or both.

Becka Landon serves as team trainer for the Lowell Weavers minor league baseball team. Though there are a bunch of young hunks, Becka has sworn off males after the fiasco of her last boyfriend.

Former baseball superstar Mace Duvall provides hitting instruction as the league's roaming batting instructor. He career was cut short by an accident, which leaves Mace with nothing, as baseball was his life. When Mace sees Becka, he knows he has one week to get her in his bed as his personal trainer. However, Becka wants nothing to do with him, believing he is just a womanizer. Becka and Mace bet with him winning the payoff being an evening of sex. After paying off, she sneaks away, but he refuses to leave. They play a game of wagers, but love has become part of the ante if he can overcome his belief that his life is over and she can learn to trust.

This is an engaging sports romance that is at its most amusing best when the protagonists play a game of king/queen of the hill. Neither of these strong individuals will back down, but both struggle to embrace love. The story line gains some unnecessary tension when Becka, who has become Mace's biggest believer as a coach, fails to support him during a controversy, but Kristine Hardy still hits a homer with this take me out to the ball game romance.

Harriet Klausner

Baseball was Mace Duval's life until a big rig crossed the centerline and permanently ended his career. When his closest friend hustles him in a game of pool, Mace finds himself accepting a position as a roving instructor, going from shortstop for the Braves to batting instructor for the Lowell Weavers minor league baseball team. He brings with him a reputation for stunning hitting on and off the field. According to the media, when Mace was not hitting homeruns on the field, he was escorting actresses and models to star studded benefits and premieres, not to mention his bed.

Becka Landon has been around locker rooms most of her life, and does not take the sight of testosterone-laden, naked men seriously. The players call her Attila behind her back, and Florence Nightingale to her face as she happily replaces the team's sports trainer while he is out with carpal tunnel. Keeping her spot with the team is a long shot, and she refuses to waste her time with a sexy hitter who will only be around for a week. But despite her intentions, Becka's body desires Mace, and he knows it. Her sassy belligerence challenges him to give both the coaching and the woman a try. Perhaps another bet, one that will land her in his bed, will have them both scoring a homer.

Author Kristin Hardy's gift for creating an engaging tale, by turns romantic and gritty, absolutely sparkles in SCORING. Perhaps better named scorching, SCORING overlays a strong character driven plot with enticingly steamy sensual encounters and red-hot lust. Women see Mace has a hot player; little recognizing that much of his reputation is the result of the media madness that surrounds athletes on the arms of stars. Becka is a sassy, tomboyish, woman with an extraordinary ability to handle every player except Mace with great finesse. Despite her verbal protestations, Becka's profound attraction to Mace is visibly apparent to them both. Unfortunately, she falls into the trap of judging Mace by his reputation, adding a bittersweet dynamicism to their exchanges throughout the novel. Secondary characters likewise sizzle, including the Mallory Carson. Add SCORING to your keeper shelf, as Hardy scores a homerun with this enticingly sensual romance! SCORING comes very highly recommended.

FROM: WORDWEAVING
It's a home run! -- Very highly recommended

Baseball was Mac Duval's life until a big rig crossed the centerline and permanently ended his career. When his closest friend hustles him in a game of pool, Mac finds himself accepting a position as a roving instructor, going from shortstop for the Braves to batting instructor for the Lowell Weavers minor league baseball team. He brings with him a reputation for stunning hitting on and off the field. According to the media, when Mac was not hitting homeruns on the field, he was escorting actresses and models to star studded benefits and premieres, not to mention his bed.

Becka Landon has been around locker rooms most of her life, and does not take the sight of testosterone-laden, naked men seriously. The players call her Attila behind her back, and Florence Nightingale to her face as she happily replaces the team's sports trainer while he is out with carpal tunnel. Keeping her spot with the team is a long shot, and she refuses to waste her time with a sexy hitter who will only be around for a week. But despite her intentions, Becka's body desires Mac, and he knows it. Her sassy belligerence challenges him to give both the coaching and the woman a try. Perhaps another bet, one that will land her in his bed, will have them both scoring a homer.

Author Kristin Hardy's gift for creating an engaging tale, by turns romantic and gritty, absolutely sparkles in SCORING. Perhaps better named scorching, SCORING overlays a strong character driven plot with enticingly steamy sensual encounters and red-hot lust. Women see Mac has a hot player; little recognizing that much of his reputation is the result of the media madness that surrounds athletes on the arms of stars. Becka is a sassy, tomboyish, woman with an extraordinary ability to handle every player except Mac with great finesse. Despite her verbal protestations, Becka's profound attraction to Mac is visibly apparent to them both. Unfortunately, she falls into the trap of judging Mac by his reputation, adding a bittersweet dynamicism to their exchanges throughout the novel. Secondary characters likewise sizzle, including the Mallory Carson.

Add SCORING to your keeper shelf, as Hardy scores a homerun with this enticingly sensual romance! SCORING comes very highly recommended.

Cindy Penn

i really liked this nancy drew and hardy boys super mystery. it was intriuging and suspenseful. i especially liked the ending of it because it was hard to guess who the culprit of the crime was. joe and frank's mystery was not as good as nancy's in the story though. which is okay because a lot of times their mystery is a lot more suspenseful. as for the romance aspect a different guy other then frank liked nancy and i really want nancy and frank to hook up so i was disappointed but overall it was a smashing book.

When Nancy Drew goes undercover at the FBI Academy to protect a trainee, she has no idea that Frank and Joe Hardy are there as well. Nancy has been asked to be a 'guardian angel' for Judy Noll, the senator's daughter. An unknown assasin has already tried to kill Judy once, and the FBI needs some help. Soon after she arrives, Nancy meets Frank and Joe, who are also posing as trainees. They are working 'to expose a corrupt FBI agent in an industrial espionage scheme.' All is normal at first. Then Judy's roomate, Erin, is found murdered on a jogging trail. The hypothesis is that the killer mistaked her for Judy. Nancy decides that the only way she can save Judy is to pretend to be Judy. Set herself up as the target. Both girls look alike. Then Nancy stumbles upon a dark secret which changes the whole situation. The question isn't "Who wants Judy murdered?" but it's "Who wants Erin killed?"

Meanwhile, Frank and Joe are on their own assignment. Though I personally think Nancy's part is the more exciting one, F and J have big parts in the book as well. A good mystery for anyone, with a special twist at the end. I loved Spies and Lies! It's one of my favorite Nancy Drew & Hardy Boys books!

This is an excellent book which happens to be the first one of the series which I read.It led to my reading each and every book of that series.Nancy Drew & Frank and Joe are undercover there.Nancy- hired by special agent Burr,to act as a bodyguard to Judy Noll but ends up solving the case as you guess.Frank & Joe-undercover too hired by the Network to solve the case of the watchdog which they do. The book's great.It's super thrilling all right.There's murder,there's suspence and everything a good book needs.Though it needs some romance