Hardy Boys, Footprints Under the Window: and similar items

Franklin W. Dixon was the pseudonym devised by Edward Stratemeyer for the author of a series of mystery books he was developing which became the Hardy Boys series. The first book, The Tower Treasure, originally published in 1927, was ghostwritten by Leslie MacFarlane who went on to write 19 more, including #2 through #16. In all, there are 58 titles in the original Hardy Boys Mysteries series published between 1927 and 1979 written by 17 different men and women. Many of the books were later revised, adding another four Hardy Boys Mystery Stories to the total. Frank and Joe help their father with an espionage case involving a top-secret spy camera. Meanwhile they blunder into a stowaway on a vessel belonging to a brusque local ship merchant who retains them to investigate the man. At the same time there is a tie in to a small island nation off South America run by a ruthless dictator. This interesting, adventurous mystery has aged well even in the more than 50 years since this rewrite of the original even older tale, and it's conceivable even today. Any fan of the series will enjoy the fast pace, intriguing and plausible storyline, and the fascinating conclusion. This was one of my favorite Hardy reads as a boy, and still is today decades later