History Recap / HardyBoysCaseFiles06TheCrowningTerror

** Later, the fake Russians catch Frank hiding in the apartment eavesdropping on them, and almost shoot him on the spot. Hugh objects, and while he claims that it's because he just doesn't want them to kill Frank ''right there'' (since he has to play along with Starkey and his men due to his poisoning), once they take Frank elsewhere to kill him by throwing him off a bridge, Hugh follows them in disguise, provides the means for Joe to save him, and reassures Frank later that he would have stepped in personally to save him if he'd had to.

* WildCard: Charity. She's also after the crown, but unlike the Espionage Resources spies in the book, she wants the ''real'' one, since she's simply a ClassyCatBurglar who only wants the money and doesn't want to get involved in murder or espionage. She kidnaps one or both boys on multiple occasions during the book, but is also working against both Starkey and Hunt, and in the end, is able to get her hands on Hunt's poison antidote and willingly hands it over to Joe without needing too much convincing. Summed up best by this line of dialogue:

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Charity's not actually ''evil'', and is definitely ALighterShadeOfBlack than the BigBad, but she is still a thief who captures one or both of the boys multiple times. However, when she manages to get the antidote to Hunt's poison and is initially only willing to hand it over in exchange for the real crown, she finally gives it to Joe practically for free (just in exchange for a boat so she can make a getaway) once he makes it very clear that Hunt is going to die otherwise, because she doesn’t want to be involved in murder or espionage.

** Later, the fake Russians catch Frank hiding in the apartment eavesdropping on them, and almost shoot him on the spot. Hugh objects, and while he claims that it's because he just doesn't want them to kill Frank ''right there'' (since he has to play along with Starkey and his men due to his poisoning), once they take Frank elsewhere to kill him by throwing him off a bridge, Hugh follows them in disguise, provides the means for Joe to save him, and reassures Frank later that he would have stepped in to save him if he'd had to.

* TheGoodTheBadAndTheEvil: The Hardy Boys and their Uncle Hugh are, of course, the Good, seeking to bring all the bad guys to justice. Charity, a ClassyCatBurglar who wants to steal a crown for profit and doesn't want to be involved in espionage or murder, is the Bad, and helps the Hardys at the end against the Evil: Starkey, an EspionageResources DoubleAgent, and his underlings, who want to commit espionage by selling US secrets to foreign countries, poisons Uncle Hugh, and tries to kill everybody else multiple times during the story.

* TheBadGuyWins: Not Starkey, the main BigBad, who is arrested and brought to justice at the end. However, when the Hardy Boys and Hunt go to retrieve the ''real'' crown from the safe at the end, they find that Charity has already stolen it and gotten away scot-free. This is also {{Downplayed|Trope}}, since Charity is more of a WildCard than actually bad.
* BatmanGambit: Starkey lies to Hunt about how long the latter has to live after taking poison--claiming it will kill him in three days--because he knows Hunt will try to steal the technology early and then spend the rest of the time trying to bring Starkey down. It actually only takes a bit more than two days, and by the time Starkey reveals this, Hunt only has an hour or so left.

* DoubleAgent: Starkey, the BigBad, turns out to be this. What's more, Hugh Hunt is revealed to be the person Espionage Resources sent to investigate him (much to Starkey's horror when he learns this, since he realizes that his attempted FrameUp won't work and he'll be the immediate prime suspect in Hunt's death).

* DoubleAgent: Starkey, the BigBad, turns out to be this. What's more, Hunt turns out to be the person Espionage Resources sent to investigate him (much to Starkey's horror when he learns this, since he realizes that his attempted FrameUp won't work and he'll be the immediate prime suspect in Hunt's death).

-->'''Charity''': ''(to Joe)'' Aren't we both after the same thing?

* WeWillMeetAgain: The book ends with the boys having a feeling that they'll cross paths with Charity again someday. This does indeed happen in "Thick as Thieves" (Book #29).

!Tropes found here are

** EvenEvilHasStandards: Charity finally gives the boys the poison antidote because she doesn’t want to be involved in murder or espionage.
* FakeRussian: Feodor and Oleg are clearly American agents pretending to be Russians. Normally an experienced spymaster like Hunt should be able to spot this. But, as Frank states, “He has to play along because he’s been poisoned by them”.

* TheHeist: Frank and Joe have to steal a crown from the Embracadero museum in San Francisco to trade it for the antidote to Hunt[s poison.
* StolenMacGuffinReveal: Inverted. The boys and Charity assume they’ve stolen a golden crown, but Charity notices it is not cold to the touch. Turns out, the [[spoiler: crown was duplicated so proprietary fiber optic technology can be smuggled out of the US]].
* TamperingWithFoodAndDrink: Hugh Hunt’s Russian tea is poisoned.

* CatBurglar: Charity just wants to steal a crown.

* TheHeist: Frank and Joe have to steal a crown from the Embracadero museum in San Francisco to trade it for the antidote to Hunt[s poison.

!Tropes found here are