The Mystery of the Flying Express

Book by Franklin W. Dixon

Mystery of the Flying Express
Original edition
Author	Franklin W. Dixon
Illustrator	Paul Luane
Country	United States
Language	English
Series	Hardy Boys
Genre	Detective, mystery
Publisher	Grosset & Dunlap
Publication date	January 1, 1941
Media type	Print (hardback & paperback)
Pages	192 pp
Preceded by	The Disappearing Floor
Followed by	The Clue of the Broken Blade

The Mystery of the Flying Express is Volume 20 in the original The Hardy Boys Mystery Stories published by Grosset & Dunlap.

This book was written for the Stratemeyer Syndicate by John Button in 1941.^[1] Between 1959 and 1973 the first 38 volumes of this series were systematically revised as part of a project directed by Harriet Adams, Edward Stratemeyer's daughter.^[2] The original version of this book was rewritten in 1970 by Vincent Buranelli^[1] and retitled to Mystery of the Flying Express.

Because of Dr. John Button's death in 1967, The Mystery Of The Flying Express (1941) entered the Canadian Public Domain on January 1, 2017.

Plot

Revised edition

After the new hydrofoil they are guarding, the Flying Express, is stolen, the Hardy Boys face frequent danger in solving a mystery involving criminals who operate by signs of the zodiac. Eventually they are kidnapped and taken to the Flying Express, but Chet manages to escape and uses their car's emergency light to alert the Coast Guard at which point the boys foul the hydrofoil's propellers and stop the ship.

Original edition

The Hardy boys help their father locate a foreign spy camp hidden somewhere in the western United States. In the original edition, the Flying Express is a daily passenger train used by the spies to send secret messages.

References

^ ^a ^b Keeline, James D. "Who Wrote the Hardy Boys? Secrets from the Syndicate Files Revealed" (PDF).
^ The Hardy Boys Online: Revisions

The Hardy Boys

Stratemeyer Syndicate
Franklin W. Dixon
Edward Stratemeyer

Characters

List of characters

Writers

See also

Books
Original	The Tower Treasure (1927) The House on the Cliff (1927) The Secret of the Old Mill (1927) The Missing Chums (1928) Hunting for Hidden Gold (1928) The Shore Road Mystery (1928) The Secret of the Caves (1929) The Mystery of Cabin Island (1929) The Great Airport Mystery (1930) What Happened at Midnight (1931) While the Clock Ticked (1932) Footprints Under the Window (1933) The Mark on the Door (1934) The Hidden Harbor Mystery (1935) The Sinister Signpost (1936) A Figure in Hiding (1937) The Secret Warning (1938) The Twisted Claw (1939) The Disappearing Floor (1940) The Mystery of the Flying Express (1941) The Clue of the Broken Blade (1942) The Flickering Torch Mystery (1943) The Melted Coins (1944) The Short-Wave Mystery (1945) The Secret Panel (1946) The Phantom Freighter (1947) The Secret of Skull Mountain (1948) The Sign of the Crooked Arrow (1949) The Secret of the Lost Tunnel (1950) The Wailing Siren Mystery (1951) The Secret of Wildcat Swamp (1952) The Crisscross Shadow (1953) The Yellow Feather Mystery (1954) The Hooded Hawk Mystery (1954) The Clue in the Embers (1956) The Secret of Pirates' Hill (1956) The Ghost at Skeleton Rock (1957) The Mystery at Devil's Paw (1959) The Mystery of the Chinese Junk (1960) Mystery of the Desert Giant (1961) The Clue of the Screeching Owl (1962) The Viking Symbol Mystery (1963) The Mystery of the Aztec Warrior (1964) The Haunted Fort (1965) The Mystery of the Spiral Bridge (1966) The Secret Agent on Flight 101 (1967) Mystery of the Whale Tattoo (1968) The Arctic Patrol Mystery (1969) The Bombay Boomerang (1970) Danger on Vampire Trail (1971) The Masked Monkey (1972) The Shattered Helmet (1973) The Clue of the Hissing Serpent (1974) The Mysterious Caravan (1975) The Witchmaster's Key (1976) The Jungle Pyramid (1977) The Firebird Rocket (1978) The Sting of the Scorpion (1979) Night of the Werewolf (1979) Mystery of the Samurai Sword (1979) The Pentagon Spy (1980) The Apeman's Secret (1980) The Mummy Case (1980) Mystery of Smugglers Cove (1980) The Stone Idol (1981) The Vanishing Thieves (1981) The Outlaw's Silver (1981) The Submarine Caper/Deadly Chase (1981, retitled in 1987) The Four-Headed Dragon (1981) The Infinity Clue (1981) Track of the Zombie (1982) The Voodoo Plot (1982) The Billion Dollar Ransom (1982) Tic-Tac-Terror (1982) Trapped at Sea (1982) Game Plan for Disaster (1982) The Crimson Flame (1983) The Skyfire Puzzle (1985) Cast of Criminals (1989) Fear on Wheels (1991) Day of the Dinosaur (1994) Crime in the Kennel (1995) Cross-Country Crime (1995) The Search for the Snow Leopard (1996) Eye on Crime (1998) The Caribbean Cruise Caper (1999) The Hunt for the Four Brothers (1999) A Will to Survive (1999) Daredevils (1999) A Game Called Chaos (2000) Training for Trouble (2000) The End of the Trail (2000) Skin & Bones (2000) Crime in the Cards (2001) Past and Present Danger (2001) Trouble Times Two (2001) The Castle Conundrum (2001) Passport to Danger (2003) Warehouse Rumble (2004) The Dangerous Transmission (2004)
Casefiles	Dead on Target (1987) Evil, Inc. (1987) Cult of Crime (1987) See No Evil (1987) Street Spies (1988) Countdown to Terror (1989) Running on Empty (1990) The Last Laugh (1990) River Rats (1997)
Other series and titles	The Hardy Boys Detective Handbook (1959) The Clues Brothers (1997-2000) Hardy Boys: Undercover Brothers (2005-12) The Hardy Boys Secret Files (2010-15) The Hardy Boys Adventures (2013-present) The Hardy Boys Clue Book (2016-present)
Crossovers	Be a Detective Mystery Stories (1984-85, with Nancy Drew) Nancy Drew & Hardy Boys Supermystery (1988-98, with Nancy Drew) Hardy Boys and Tom Swift Ultra Thriller (1992-93, with Tom Swift) Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys Super Mystery Series (2007-12, with Nancy Drew)

Other media
Actors	Shaun Cassidy (Joe) Tim Considine (Frank) Rick Gates (Frank) Colin Gray (Joe) Byron Kane (Frank's voice) Reed Kailling (Frank) Tommy Kirk (Joe) Tim Matthieson (Joe) Dal Mckennon (Joe's voice) Paul Popowich (Frank) Parker Stevenson (Frank) Jeff Taylor (Joe)
Television	The Hardy Boys (The Mickey Mouse Club) Hardy Boys (animated) The Hardy Boys & Nancy Drew Mysteries The Hardy Boys (1995) The Hardy Boys (2020)
Video games	Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon The Creature of Kapu Cave Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys: Super Mystery (cancelled) The Tower Treasure Treasure on the Tracks