The Hardy Boys Casefiles are aimed at early-to-mid teen readers and have more mature themes, including espionage, murder, and slight romance. The new direction the series would take was set in the first volume,
Dead On Target, as a bomb planted in the Hardy Boys' car blows up Joe's longtime girlfriend,
Iola Morton, in the first chapter. Book packager Mega-Books and Simon & Schuster released the first two
Casefiles under the Archway imprint in April 1987 and continued to release a new title monthly until November 1997. In January 1998 the last
Casefile, #127
Dead in the Water, was released. This series was published in mass-market, or rack-sized, paperbacks to widen the distribution of the books to supermarkets and other outlets. In September 1987 the
Hardy Boys Digest series was revived and continued with #86
The Mystery of the Silver Star. Events from the
Casefiles are not referenced in the
Digest series, and Iola Morton is alive and connected with Joe Hardy as in the previous 85 titles. The
Casefiles universe also merges with the Nancy Drew Files and Tom Swift worlds in titles published as
A Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys SuperMystery and
A Hardy Boys and Tom Swift UltraThriller. Several spin-off series were cancelled by Simon & Schuster at the end of 1997, including
The Hardy Boys Casefiles. In addition, there were three unpublished titles, only two of them known: Book #128, titled
Explosive Force, was written by Jerry Novick, and a complete manuscript exists; Book #130, titled
The Crisscross Crime, was rewritten for the original series, and released as #150.
Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys Super Mystery Series (1988–1998) The Hardy Boys and
Nancy Drew teamed up in this 36-volume series of
paperbacks. This series follows the formula of the main characters and their friends typically involved in separate mysteries that end up being connected. The sleuths join forces to solve the overall mystery. This series is based in the
Nancy Drew Files and
Hardy Boys Casefiles continuity, so murder, romance, and flirtation between the series regulars are common. Nancy Drew and Frank Hardy share an attraction in this series, though after a brief kiss in
The Last Resort this attraction is not acted on. Subsequent books focus on the respect and friendship that developed between the two and their continued feelings for Ned Nickerson and Callie Shaw. Several spin-off series were cancelled by Simon & Schuster at the end of 1997, including the
Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys SuperMystery series. Starting in 2007, in order to differentiate between the new Super Mystery series, many fans started referring to this series as ''SuperMystery'88''.
Hardy Boys and Tom Swift Ultra Thriller Series (1992–1993) The two-volume
Ultra-Thriller series is a short-lived Hardy Boys spin-off that joined boy inventor Tom Swift with the
crime-solving Hardy Boys, Frank and Joe. Although the
Franklin W. Dixon pseudonym was used, the series was more akin to the then-current
Tom Swift IV series and listed in the
Tom Swift books as part of that series. Published as mass-market paperback books under the Archway imprint of Simon & Schuster. Both books were written by Bill McKay. •
Time Bomb •
The Alien Factor Collector's editions and foreign publications From 1998 to 1999, Simon & Schuster published three ''
Hardy Boys Casefiles Collector's Editions that contained three previously published Casefiles'' stories (Vol. 1 #'s 38, 39 and 40; Vol. 2 #'s 48, 51 and 52; Vol. 3 #'s 55, 58 and 59). In 2005, Simon & Schuster reprinted Vol. 3 in hardcover with a different cover that used the current
Hardy Boys Mystery Stories (Digest) cover of a file folder with modified art from
Hardy Boys #152, exclusively for Borders Bookstores. The Canadian rights to the
Casefiles and its spin-offs have been held by Paperjacks (April 1987-December 1989) and Distican, Inc./Simon & Schuster Canada (January 1990 – present; Simon & Schuster US bought out Distican in 2002 and just changed the company name). Aside from inserting an ad for their 'Books By Mail' program, their address on the copyright page, and a small Maple Leaf with "Printed In Canada" being put on the front covers, and distributing the books, Paperjacks was allowed no other editorial/layout changes to the books. Once Distican took over the rights in January 1990, the books were all published in the US and just distributed by Distican in Canada with no publishing occurring in Canada. Simon & Schuster UK have published many 2-in-1 and 3-in-1 books of the
Casefiles since the early 1990s in the UK and other British Commonwealth Nations (except Canada). In 2005/06 Simon & Schuster UK reissued four
Casefiles under the
Undercover Brothers label, with two other books being planned but cancelled before publication. Armada/Collins held the UK/British Commonwealth (except Canada) rights to the
Casefiles from about 1988 till 1991, with reprint rights continuing throughout the 1990s, allowing Armada to publish different 2-in-1 and 3-in-1 books of the first 10
Casefiles. ==
The Clues Brothers (1997–2000)==