#26: Mystery at the Ski Jump - Carolyn Keene

2/29/12

So yea guess I was feeling a need to retreat to my childhood with all these Nancy Drew books. But it's ok since a quick retreat once in a while is necessary for the mental health of a person.

Nancy's loyal housekeeper Hannah has been taken. A woman claiming to represent a fur company sold her a questionable fur and some equally questionable stock. Nancy determined to help Hannah sets out to investigate. Along the way Nancy finds that someone is going around impersonating her. It's a chase to find the scammers and to figure out who is using Nancy's name.

Another well written story though there isn't as much mystery in this as their typically is. We pretty much know who did it from the get go it's more of a chase to catch them. While not as strong a mystery as others it's still very good and enjoyable.

#24: Mystery of the Tolling Bell - Carolyn Keene

2/23/12

Okay so once again I travel back in time to visit Nancy Drew and her friends and follow them as they get involved in another mystery. Nancy and her friends as well as her father head to a client's inn to help her figure out how to get out of the scam she got reeled into as well as catch a little beach time. But trouble starts almost immediately and Nancy's father has gone missing. Worried Nancy desperately works to figure out what has happened to him and how it's connected to the case they are working on.

I've said it before and I'll say it again I like the way theses stories are written. The mystery is suitable for everyone. Despite being considered a kids books and not being very long I am roped in every time and usually kept guessing about the conclusion until the end of the book. Because these books are part of my childhood when I read one of them part of me goes back there and while I'm reading I"m not the 24 year-old woman sitting in her apartment reading while dinner cooks but the 12 year-old girl who is reading on the grass in the park.

#23: The Hidden Window Mystery- Carolyn Keene

2/22/12

So when doing a little bit of research about Carolyn Keene and the Nancy Drew series I learned something I never knew before. Carolyn Keene doesn't exist! Well that is to say that one person with the name Carolyn Keene that wrote the Nancy Drew series isn't real. In fact the series is a collaboration of work by a variety of women authors who all wrote under the same pen name thus keeping the series and it's integrity intact. This has been your interesting factoid of the day.

Nancy's mailman has found something he thinks she might be interested it. A wealthy Englishman is looking for a stained glass window that belonged to his family and sometime ago was brought over to the states. Eager for a chance to find this heirloom (and of course for a mystery) Nancy jumps at the chance. Along with her friends Bess and George, Nancy searches for the window. There may be more to this mystery than she thought.

The thing I love about the Nancy Drew books (aside from the well written mystery) is that for me they are set in another time and another place, neither of which I'm familiar with. I like to read them and be taken back to a place and time that is much different than my own and experience the adventures of Nancy and her friends. They are wonderful mysteries suitable for all ages. Interesting enough to keep older readers engaged and clean enough for young readers to enjoy. 

#22: The Clue of the Black Keys: Carolyn Keene

2/20/12

It's amazing what you find in used book stores and antique stores. One weekend when my mom came to stay the weekend with me we ventured to a new favorite place of mine, the Chicken Barn. Despite what it's name implies there are no chickens present however the building is in fact a barn. A very large barn. The entire first floor of the Chicken barn is full of antiques, antiques of all shapes, sizes, and prices. The second floor of this wonderful establishment is comprise of used books and magazines. Being the avid reader I am I merely stood in amazement and awe on my first visit. Some of the books they have there are old, first editions, or just really cool looking. My mom, my aunt, and I all like Nancy Drew books but we especially like the hardcover ones that don't have the glossy covers that are in stores today but the older ones with original artwork.

Nancy Drew the young detective from River Heights has another mystery on her hands. A young professor comes to Nancy with a bit of a dilemma. He has a missing fellow professor and what they believe the location to a treasure. The young professor asks Nancy to hand on to one half of the three keys they found so as to keep it out of the hands of the people behind the older professor's disappearance. Nancy learns that this mystery must be solved quickly or she could be in trouble herself.

I read a lot of Nancy Drew books when I was younger and haven't picked one up in years until recently. I liked this one particularly because it tied into the archaeology I studied when I was in college. I love it when I connect the things I learned in school with the stories I read. It was a good mystery with lots of adventure and suspense. A perfect read for anyone of any age who enjoys a good mystery!