The first time I read “Beyond the Law”, I thought it was ok, but too slow paced. Recently, I decided to read through “Casefiles Collector’s Edition #3”. That meant rereading this book. During my second readthrough, I discovered that the book was a whole lot then I remembered and is now one of my favorite in the Casefiles series.
Beyond the Law is considered by some fans to be book three in the “Bayport Corruption Storyline”. This unofficial trilogy consists of “See No Evil”, “Line of Fire”, and “Beyond the Law”. All three books have Frank and Joe facing off against corrupt Bayport City Officials.
“Beyond the Law” does reference the events of “See No Evil” quite a bit at the start of the book. At one-point Frank mentions “The See No Evil” case, and the villain mentions it as well. However, you don’t have to read “See No Evil” to understand what happens in “Beyond the Law”.
As I said at the start of my review, I originally thought the book was too slow paced. And admittedly, it’s a lot slower then the earlier books in the Casefiles series. However, the writer still managed to make the book an entertaining read. It’s also 100 times better then the last two Casefiles I’ve read, “Poisoned Paradise” and “No Way Out”.
The start of the story is quite relevant with all the talk of fake news going around today. News reporter Rod Vernon reports that Chief Collig was fired from an earlier police job for collecting bribes. Despite him not citing a source, the people of Bayport (besides the Hardys and their friends) immediately believe the report.
Mark DeCampo, the new commissioner, uses this as an excuse to get rid of Collig, and suspends him. Frank and Joe start an investigation, but Mark and Vernon end up being injured in a bomb blast, and soon Chief Collig is wanted for attempted murder.
The book heavily focuses on Chief Collig, (who in the Adventures books has been replaced with the rather boring Chief Olaf.) a character who rarely gets the spotlight. Normally in the Casefiles, he’s just there to be an obstacle to Frank and Joe’s investigation. Here, we get to learn a lot about his backstory as he, Frank, and Joe head Millerton in an attempt to clear Collig’s name. We also learn a bit about how police work has changed over the years, and how the police used to get away with a lot more then they do now.
The book has most of the Hardy’s friends make appearances during the first half of the book, which is good to see. The scenes in Mr. Pizza where the customers discuss Collig’s suspension were my favorite parts of the book. Unfortunately, we don't get to see their reactions to Collig being accused of attempted murder, and after the second scene at Mr. Pizza's, the book doesn't go back there.
Fenton Hardy also makes an appearance, but conveniently has to leave on a case a few chapters in. Well this is disappointing, he turns out to be a important part of the story, as Frank and Joe are trying to get to get some papers signed by the Chief so his license can be renewed. The acting chief, Parker Lawrence, attempts to blackmail Frank and Joe by threatening not to sign the papers if they continue investigating the case. This creates a lot of suspense, as not only is Collig's career at stake, but so is Fenton's.
The action picks up quite a bit in the second half of the book, and the villain is probably one of my favorite Casefile villains. While I won't spoil anything, the final showdown is really exciting. My only issue is that the villain had a question and answer session with Frank and Joe that took a little longer then necessary, but that's a minor issue.
To my knowledge, the events of this book are never referenced again, and Chief Collig continued to be an obstacle. The book even lampshades this at the end, which I found rather hilarious. I really like Chief Collig as a character.
Unfortunately, a lot of the Casefiles after this book take place outside Bayport, so Collig didn’t appear that much. In fact, after this book, it would be 8 books until Frank and Joe solved another mystery in Bayport.
I highly recommend this book.
Rating
8 out of 10
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