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The Hardy Boys Casefiles #11
Brother Against Brother
Phantom hit manA federal witness is being hunted by an unknown hit man. In an effort to warn the witness, detective Fenton Hardy sends Joe on a secret mission. With frightening swiftness the killer ambushes Joe before he can deliver his message. Joe manages to survive but loses his memory!Joe can't remember his name or his mission. Worst of all, he thinks Frank is the enemy. Meanwhile a deadly killer lies in wait - selling death on the family plan.
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1988
10 people are currently reading
327 people want to read
About the author
Franklin W. Dixon
751 books994 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 - 11 of 11 reviews
June 9, 2015
This book was pretty interesting. It started out with Joe Hardy flying to Colorado. He gets out of the plane and starts to wonder around. He is looking for someone to give him a ride. Someone stops and offers him a ride. But then the unexpected happens. The man hits joe in the back of the head and he fell into the trunk. Frank Hardy and his family don't hear from Joe and they get suspicious. Fenton Hardy {their father} sends frank on a quest to find joe. Back in Colorado something terrible happens. The car was pushed off a cliff! Joe thinks he is dead. But fortunately for him he is alive. He wonders onto a beach near water, where he is spotted by some people on the beach. He wonders into a cabin where he meets a girl named Rita. Joe fell into deep sleep on a bed in the cabin. Then he wakes up. But the weird thing is that he can't remember his own name! He had lost his memory. The only thing he could remember was his girlfriend, who was blown up in a car explosion. Back to Frank Hardy. He is looking for his brother. He follows a bunch of trails and he discovered something. After a very long time of searching, he was hot on the trail to finding Joe. Meanwhile, Joe and Rita ride away in a go cart away from the cabin. Frank sees Joe for the first time. He approaches Joe. But Joe started to throw punches. Joe thought that Frank was the one who was out to get him. Joe started to beat down on Frank, while Rita watched in horror. Joe couldn't remember that Frank was his brother! He didn't kill Frank, but he did injure him. Joe drove away on the go cart. Frank is left there. He finds a diner, where a police officer is. He stops in for a quick meal, but then he does the unthinkable!
He steals one of the cars out in the parking lot! He drives away, The officer right behind him! Will Frank be able to catch Joe? Will Joe get his memory back? Will everything return back to normal? Well read the book. I am not telling you. >:P
He steals one of the cars out in the parking lot! He drives away, The officer right behind him! Will Frank be able to catch Joe? Will Joe get his memory back? Will everything return back to normal? Well read the book. I am not telling you. >:P
August 16, 2025
Sigh. I wanted to like this one because it has an intriguing title. But it feels like bad fanfic because the plot makes no sense at all, even for the Casefiles series.
Fenton Hardy sends Joe, by himself to Denver, Colorado to give a coded message to a man in Witness Protection and to protect him from a hitman. Why did Fenton not go himself? Good question. And considering that Joe Hardy is a trouble magnet in every single Hardy Boys Universe - even the Blue Spine Stratemeyer books, it makes no sense that Fenton would send Joe alone to Denver. Fenton and Frank also aren't particularly busy.
On the way to Denver, Joe falls asleep on the plane and has a nightmare about Iola's death (from book 1). At this point it's really looking like Joe has PTSD from seeing Iola die in an explosion. His reaction to losing his girlfriend is mentioned in every book I've read so far.
Joe gets to Denver, picks up his rental car, (which, BTW - if he's 17 there's no way he could do. In the 1980s you had to be 21 to rent a car but I digress.) Joe drives off to find a cabin in the woods and his contact. He stops at a tourist shop along the way and sends a post card to Frank - and then as far as Frank and Fenton know, Joe disappears.
Meanwhile, Joe keeps driving. He ends up getting caught, knocked out, shoved in the trunk of his own car, then the car is pushed into a ravine.
He manages to escape AND find a girl, but he has no memory of who he is. He knows he has to find and protect a witness and he knows there's a hitman about.
Two days later, Frank and Fenton realize Joe is missing and Fenton reluctantly allows Frank to go searching for Joe. No one seems to consider that they should call the state police, or mountain rescue, or the US Forest Service, or the State Park police. They could and should have said Joe was expected to go to a cabin and he hasn't called or anything.
But nope, Frank flies to Denver and starts searching for Joe on his own.
Every time Frank gets near Joe - he attacks. Since the chapters alternate between Frank's POV and Joe's POV - we know that in his concussed state not only does Joe not remember his name but he's convinced that Frank is the hitman he's supposed to avoid.
Frank continuously breaks the law, and the conflict between the two gets more and more serious before finally being resolved at a county jail.
Fenton Hardy sends Joe, by himself to Denver, Colorado to give a coded message to a man in Witness Protection and to protect him from a hitman. Why did Fenton not go himself? Good question. And considering that Joe Hardy is a trouble magnet in every single Hardy Boys Universe - even the Blue Spine Stratemeyer books, it makes no sense that Fenton would send Joe alone to Denver. Fenton and Frank also aren't particularly busy.
On the way to Denver, Joe falls asleep on the plane and has a nightmare about Iola's death (from book 1). At this point it's really looking like Joe has PTSD from seeing Iola die in an explosion. His reaction to losing his girlfriend is mentioned in every book I've read so far.
Joe gets to Denver, picks up his rental car, (which, BTW - if he's 17 there's no way he could do. In the 1980s you had to be 21 to rent a car but I digress.) Joe drives off to find a cabin in the woods and his contact. He stops at a tourist shop along the way and sends a post card to Frank - and then as far as Frank and Fenton know, Joe disappears.
Meanwhile, Joe keeps driving. He ends up getting caught, knocked out, shoved in the trunk of his own car, then the car is pushed into a ravine.
He manages to escape AND find a girl, but he has no memory of who he is. He knows he has to find and protect a witness and he knows there's a hitman about.
Two days later, Frank and Fenton realize Joe is missing and Fenton reluctantly allows Frank to go searching for Joe. No one seems to consider that they should call the state police, or mountain rescue, or the US Forest Service, or the State Park police. They could and should have said Joe was expected to go to a cabin and he hasn't called or anything.
But nope, Frank flies to Denver and starts searching for Joe on his own.
Every time Frank gets near Joe - he attacks. Since the chapters alternate between Frank's POV and Joe's POV - we know that in his concussed state not only does Joe not remember his name but he's convinced that Frank is the hitman he's supposed to avoid.
Frank continuously breaks the law, and the conflict between the two gets more and more serious before finally being resolved at a county jail.
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.
July 26, 2025
This book was insane. So wild. When Joe Hardy thinks Frank is a hit man and nearly beats him to death on the side of the road, you know you’re in for a crazy story. When a potato can save you from being caught by the cops, you know you’ve struck gold. When Frank Hardy somehow does not end up in prison after stealing a truck in front of a police officer, stealing a tow truck, and blowing up a police car and half a police station with a homemade bomb…you know you’re in for a wild time.
Fenton Hardy continues to be Father of the Year. (All the sarcasm possible in that sentiment.)
Fenton Hardy continues to be Father of the Year. (All the sarcasm possible in that sentiment.)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 25, 2017
The premise sounds a little trope-y and cheesy, but it was actually a really enjoyable read!
September 12, 2025
You can’t spell brotherly love without “I got away with committing over 6 crimes for my younger brother ❤️”
June 8, 2024
Again the rage of Joe over Iola's death brightens up the pages. All he wants is to protect another innocent girl from an untimely death and he would do anything to achieve that goal, even eliminate his own brother, the man he had mistaken for the enemy. The reader is left wondering: will the two brothers unite in time to keep the state witness safe or will the real hitman take them apart?
August 26, 2014
One of the old Hardy boys series. Joe Hardy is sent to Denver by his father to deliver a message. He is waylaid and knocked out thereby suffering memory loss as to who he is. When his brother Frank comes searching for him he thinks that he is out to eliminate him and acts accordingly.
July 18, 2014
Frank Hardy met his most dangerous opponent -- Joe Hardy!
September 14, 2014
Loving Hardy Boys and it would be impossible for me to choose one bro over the other!!
June 12, 2016
Rocky Mountains. An assassin on the loose. And Frank and Joe Hardy on opposite sides. One of the must reads for fans of the series.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews