Disappearances started the adventures of the Hardy Boys after which Franklin W. Dixon started adding murder mysteries too. Strange murder cases come to the Hardy boys because in Bayport only they possess the skill and talent to handle such things. Frank and Joe like the Secret of the Red Arrow and Mystery of the Phantom Heist were just on an ordinary tour when they confronted a dead body. They weren’t expecting to find someone dead lying that close to them without any evidence present near.
Mr. Lakin starts casually talking to Don Sterling as the man is lying in his bed. Lakin wants Don to wake up and get ready for the stage show that the two of them have to perform. Joe and Frank are also present on the scene at this point when after many warnings Don does not get up Joe goes towards him and checks the pulse. At first, all of the people present around Don think that he is faking the whole thing. Then when no pulse beat is found along with the breath Frank and Joe become sure that Don is dead.
But the death does not look like a normal death to the Hardy Boys. Someone has cleverly eradicated Don from the face of the earth without being noticed. Narrator Tim Gregory still follows the pattern in this one while according to many more sensation was needed. The dead body at the beginning needed some extra spice in the voice quality that looked lacking for sure. The plot was strong and possessed coherence in it all the way to the ending chapter.
