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The Hardy Boys: Casefiles #8
See No Evil
Frank Hardy's girlfriend Callie mistakenly recovers a top-secret codebook and involves them in a network of fraud, corruption, and murder.
Library Binding
First published January 1, 1987
About the author
Franklin W. Dixon
871 books1,012 followersFranklin W. Dixon is the pen name used by a variety of different authors who were part of a team that wrote The Hardy Boys novels for the Stratemeyer Syndicate (now owned by Simon & Schuster). Dixon was also the writer attributed for the Ted Scott Flying Stories series, published by Grosset & Dunlap.
Canadian author Leslie McFarlane is believed to have written the first sixteen Hardy Boys books, but worked to a detailed plot and character outline for each story. The outlines are believed to have originated with Edward Stratemeyer, with later books outlined by his daughters Edna C. Squier and Harriet Stratemeyer Adams. Edward and Harriet also edited all books in the series through the mid-1960s. Other writers of the original books include MacFarlane's wife Amy, John Button, Andrew E. Svenson, and Adams herself; most of the outlines were done by Adams and Svenson. A number of other writers and editors were recruited to revise the outlines and update the texts in line with a more modern sensibility, starting in the late 1950s.
The principal author for the Ted Scott books was John W. Duffield.
Canadian author Leslie McFarlane is believed to have written the first sixteen Hardy Boys books, but worked to a detailed plot and character outline for each story. The outlines are believed to have originated with Edward Stratemeyer, with later books outlined by his daughters Edna C. Squier and Harriet Stratemeyer Adams. Edward and Harriet also edited all books in the series through the mid-1960s. Other writers of the original books include MacFarlane's wife Amy, John Button, Andrew E. Svenson, and Adams herself; most of the outlines were done by Adams and Svenson. A number of other writers and editors were recruited to revise the outlines and update the texts in line with a more modern sensibility, starting in the late 1950s.
The principal author for the Ted Scott books was John W. Duffield.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 27, 2026
This is a fun Hardy Boys adventure. The Hardys are joined by Frank’s girlfriend Callie and an out of town reporter in their latest case. A decent amount of action and an intriguing mystery keep the story moving along at a quick pace.
November 9, 2020
Frank and Joe want to keep their friend Callie safe, but when she comes across a book with top secret codes inside, they must help her solve the case before their lives are lost! Dixon will keep readers on the edge of their seats with this entry!
July 17, 2018
Callie wanted to aid the Hardy’s on a mystery, but they didn’t want her to because it is a dangerous business. She wasn’t happy about this at all and assumed it was because they don’t want to work with a girl. (And someone they cared about was killed in the first book of the series, which makes them a little overprotective - if Callie could look past the "because I'm a girl" thing, she would see the genuine concern behind their words.) But then, Callie accidentally picks up a clue to a real mystery, and the person who lost it is willing to go to drastic measures to get it back.
A breakdown of why I rated it four stars:
#1: Callie really got on my nerves at first. She wouldn’t let Frank help at all. Her pride got in the way and because of it, they lost the opportunity to follow up on a vital clue. I assume that Callie’s attitude was supposed to highlight “girl power” stuff. However, I thought that Callie made an idiot out of herself and so did Joe. Multiple times. Callie not letting the Hardy's help her with vital information was arrogant. There was a way that if she really wanted to compete, she could have given them a copy of the vital information, but because of the way she handled it, they all lost it. This could have been handled better because all it did was kind of prove the opposite point. (Also see #3.)
That being said, she began to grow on me after a few chapters. :)
#2: Lisa was one of the best supporting characters I’ve seen in a while. I really like how her character was done. 100% approve. We need more characters like this. Lisa is one of the main reasons this book got a four-star rating from me and not a three-star rating.
#3: There was someone on the loose who kept mugging people. Yet the girls thought it was perfectly acceptable to walk home alone. And got mugged almost every time. And then spoke about how small and safe Bayport is. Hellooooooo. At least walk in pairs and if you don’t want to depend on the men…
Also, I’m not trying to say that girls can’t do things boys can do or anything like that. I’m just saying, use common sense as to when to put this into practice. Walking home alone at night is a bad idea. The Hardy's even offered to walk them home. C'mon, Callie, if you accept then you get to spend extra time with your boyfriend. Instead, she chose to, as the saying goes, "Bite off her nose to spite her face" and her boyfriend.
#4: The teens (and Lisa whom was older than them by a bit) decided that they couldn’t go to the police unless they had sufficient evidence, so they decided that they could find and take down the criminal themselves. Yeah. Great plan. Though I understand it is a mystery, it probably would have been smart to bring in some help in case something went wrong.
#5: During the mystery, they stumbled upon a second crime. This was a neat addition.
#6: Unless I missed something, the title has nothing to do with the mystery. No books before nor after are titled “Hear no Evil” or “Speak No Evil” and I was kind of expecting that and perhaps a bit of a continuation. This isn't a huge deal, but just me being nitpicky.
Overall, I do like this series. They have more action and more developed characters than the more popular blue hardcovers do. It’s a shame that they are out of print, but whenever I see one, it’s like finding treasure, even if they aren’t in great shape. :)
A breakdown of why I rated it four stars:
#1: Callie really got on my nerves at first. She wouldn’t let Frank help at all. Her pride got in the way and because of it, they lost the opportunity to follow up on a vital clue. I assume that Callie’s attitude was supposed to highlight “girl power” stuff. However, I thought that Callie made an idiot out of herself and so did Joe. Multiple times. Callie not letting the Hardy's help her with vital information was arrogant. There was a way that if she really wanted to compete, she could have given them a copy of the vital information, but because of the way she handled it, they all lost it. This could have been handled better because all it did was kind of prove the opposite point. (Also see #3.)
That being said, she began to grow on me after a few chapters. :)
#2: Lisa was one of the best supporting characters I’ve seen in a while. I really like how her character was done. 100% approve. We need more characters like this. Lisa is one of the main reasons this book got a four-star rating from me and not a three-star rating.
#3: There was someone on the loose who kept mugging people. Yet the girls thought it was perfectly acceptable to walk home alone. And got mugged almost every time. And then spoke about how small and safe Bayport is. Hellooooooo. At least walk in pairs and if you don’t want to depend on the men…
Also, I’m not trying to say that girls can’t do things boys can do or anything like that. I’m just saying, use common sense as to when to put this into practice. Walking home alone at night is a bad idea. The Hardy's even offered to walk them home. C'mon, Callie, if you accept then you get to spend extra time with your boyfriend. Instead, she chose to, as the saying goes, "Bite off her nose to spite her face" and her boyfriend.
#4: The teens (and Lisa whom was older than them by a bit) decided that they couldn’t go to the police unless they had sufficient evidence, so they decided that they could find and take down the criminal themselves. Yeah. Great plan. Though I understand it is a mystery, it probably would have been smart to bring in some help in case something went wrong.
#5: During the mystery, they stumbled upon a second crime. This was a neat addition.
#6: Unless I missed something, the title has nothing to do with the mystery. No books before nor after are titled “Hear no Evil” or “Speak No Evil” and I was kind of expecting that and perhaps a bit of a continuation. This isn't a huge deal, but just me being nitpicky.
Overall, I do like this series. They have more action and more developed characters than the more popular blue hardcovers do. It’s a shame that they are out of print, but whenever I see one, it’s like finding treasure, even if they aren’t in great shape. :)
August 19, 2025
Most of See No Evil has Joe arguing with Callie (Frank's girlfriend) and acting like a sexist jerk towards her. Even when Callie is mugged and attacked multiple times - Joe doesn't let up.
The mystery in this is thin. The Bayport City Manager is murdered, though at first it's staged like a suicide. Callie was attacked because she accidentally picked up a black book belonging to the City Manager. The black book is a coded ledger of bribes paid to give city contracts to companies that practice questionable business practices.
There's a young reporter who shows up and Joe is taken with her. But partnering with the reporter proves dangerous since she's not who she says she is.
In the end, it's Callie who rescues the Hardy Boys - and the bad guys are caught.
Sigh. Between Joe's constant sexist cracks at Callie and the Reporter's sudden switcheroo this story is more annoying than fun to read.
The mystery in this is thin. The Bayport City Manager is murdered, though at first it's staged like a suicide. Callie was attacked because she accidentally picked up a black book belonging to the City Manager. The black book is a coded ledger of bribes paid to give city contracts to companies that practice questionable business practices.
There's a young reporter who shows up and Joe is taken with her. But partnering with the reporter proves dangerous since she's not who she says she is.
In the end, it's Callie who rescues the Hardy Boys - and the bad guys are caught.
Sigh. Between Joe's constant sexist cracks at Callie and the Reporter's sudden switcheroo this story is more annoying than fun to read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 15, 2026
I did not like this one. The plot was so convoluted and confusing. Callie annoyed me and I didn’t like that she annoyed me. Some highlights:
-Callie being so intent on fighting sexism that she refuses Frank’s offer to walk her home after she was MUGGED, TIED UP, AND LEFT IN A VACANT LOT
-Frank and Joe attacking bad guys with frozen mystery meat
-Frank and Joe holding two grown men hostage in their basement and feeding them cat food (they are never mentioned again so they’re probably still in the basement)
-Frank and Joe skipping school to get jobs at the local waste disposal plant and nobody notices because their parents are literally never home
-A twenty two year old woman flirting shamelessly with Joe (he is seventeen years old) but it turns out she is THIRTY YEARS OLD and a criminal
-Callie being so intent on fighting sexism that she refuses Frank’s offer to walk her home after she was MUGGED, TIED UP, AND LEFT IN A VACANT LOT
-Frank and Joe attacking bad guys with frozen mystery meat
-Frank and Joe holding two grown men hostage in their basement and feeding them cat food (they are never mentioned again so they’re probably still in the basement)
-Frank and Joe skipping school to get jobs at the local waste disposal plant and nobody notices because their parents are literally never home
-A twenty two year old woman flirting shamelessly with Joe (he is seventeen years old) but it turns out she is THIRTY YEARS OLD and a criminal
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 12, 2019
When I first read Hardy Boys, I think I was in class 5, I had such a crush on Frank Hardy. I liked the brainy one over the brawny one and that sums up my first impression of Hardy Boys.
In their late teens, Frank and Joe Hardy take after their detective father Fenton Hardy. Frank is the older of the two and has more breakthroughs in the cases because he is the brainy one. Joe is the younger brother who more often than not is useful when things get hot and they need to fight their way out.
Like Nancy Drew, the books in the The Hardy Boys series re written by ghostwriters under the collective pseudonym Franklin W. Dixon. And yes, the earlier books were better than the latter ones.
In their late teens, Frank and Joe Hardy take after their detective father Fenton Hardy. Frank is the older of the two and has more breakthroughs in the cases because he is the brainy one. Joe is the younger brother who more often than not is useful when things get hot and they need to fight their way out.
Like Nancy Drew, the books in the The Hardy Boys series re written by ghostwriters under the collective pseudonym Franklin W. Dixon. And yes, the earlier books were better than the latter ones.
May 16, 2017
I saw this among the books that my father buried in our home's treasure trove of books, and finally read it after all these years on a commute toward work. I bought this when I was eleven or twelve years old, back when Davao City was still somewhat a pastoral. It ostensibly deals with Callie wanting to join Frank and Joe on their adventures, but actually ties in to a murder due to political corruption. The twist was pretty unexpected, but at least this book shows what empowered women could do.
April 11, 2011
When I was still schooling, I tried to read all of the Hardy Boys books. I didn't come close to finishing the whole series, and by now I had already forgot most of the content of those that I had read. But I do recall how much I loved reading each and every one of them.
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September 20, 2007Dixon, Franklin W.
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June 18, 2011Loved it.
July 15, 2014
the summary is better than the actual thing.
July 18, 2014
Callie Shaw was a sure bitch! This book went smoothly with fraud and corruption. Coolio.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews