Hardy Boys Clue Book 14 – The Bad Luck Skate

Franklin W Dixon's The Bad Luck Skate is an ice-rink mystery for 7 year olds about a hockey team whose luck seems to be running out on the day of the big final.

What happens

Frank Hardy's friend Pete is captain of the Bayport Checkers, and today they're playing for the championship. Frank's nine and his brother Joe is eight, and they've both come along to cheer.

Pete insists he isn't superstitious. It's a routine, he says. He tapes his stick with black tape so the goalie can't see the puck. And before every game the whole team touches their lucky skate (the one time they forgot, they lost four-nil).

Then someone pours black paint all over it.

The Checkers go to pieces. Their nervous stand-in goalie Freddy is sure they're doomed. A sign turns up on the wall saying they should give up the game. Pete's stick snaps in the warm-up, and every roll of black tape in the rink shop gets squashed into one sticky lump.

Frank and Joe have less than two hours to work out who's behind it. Out comes the clue book, and the Five Ws their dad taught them.

There are suspects to check off one by one. The school bully Adam Ackerman is hanging around. So is Wally the grumpy caretaker, who has black paint on his hands. Each one gets questioned and each alibi gets tested, which is lovely for a young reader to follow step by step.

Does your reader have a lucky sock, or a special way of doing things before a match? They'll understand Pete completely. There's something quite sweet about how much a big, confident captain needs his little rituals.

The brothers are good fun together, too. Joe spends most of the case thinking about snacks (he really wants a Super Chunk bar) and Frank keeps steering him back to the job.

Just before the answer, the book stops and asks your reader to have a go. Who's on their suspect list? What was the motive? Which clue mattered most? Then they turn the page to find out.

What to read next

If they want another Bayport case with Adam Ackerman causing trouble, try A Skateboard Cat-astrophe. Frank and Joe are at the park before the Bayport Skateboard Challenge, where the local skateboard champ nearly runs them over.