#1 The Secret of the Old Clock; revised with comparison

The is the very first Nancy Drew book I ever read, and I'm finally going to compare it to the original.

It starts out very different from the original, which opened up with Nancy and Mr. Drew talking about the greedy Tophams and the Crowley will dispute. In this, Nancy saves a little girl, Judy, who's run into traffic and then fallen off a bridge (she doesn't appear in the original). The Turner sisters from the 1930 text are back, but are Judy's aunts.

Nancy's introduction to the Hoover girls starts with Nancy nearly running over Allison Hoover as Nancy drives into the barn to take shelter from the storm. The Hoover girls' storyline remains much the same as in the original 'Clock' except that Allison wants to take singing lessons instead of growing a chicken farm.

Abigail Rowen gets a little more "screen time" here after she furnishes the most important clues of the case to Nancy. From that point the story basically follows the original, but is faster in pace. Jeff Tucker, the groundskeeper for the Topham cottage where Nancy finds herself locked up, is no longer a minstrel-show-type black man, but a generic elderly man. The story concludes as it did in the original, with some minor changes to the Crowley will.

#1: The Secret of the Old Clock: original text

Here it is, number one, numero uno, the beginning of the Nancy Drew legend. I thoroughly enjoyed both versions but I must say, the original introduction to our favorite sleuth is much more engrossing than the revised. So, onwards!
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The story starts with Nancy and her father discussing a possible missing will of Josiah Crowley. They believe something is afoot, because Josiah left all his money to the Tophams, a family who took care of him for three years until he died. The Tophams were nasty to him, and it was thought that they only tolerated him for his money. But Carson and Nancy (and more than a few others) can't believe he didn't provide for other friends and relatives.

Later, Carson puts Nancy in charge of delivering super-important legal documents to a judge in town. The judge invites Nancy to "luncheon" (used as a verb) with him and his wife. I luncheon, you luncheon, he she, it luncheons... :). Nancy takes a scenic route home, but misjudges the weather and ends up stuck in pouring rain. She sees a barn by the road and drives into it. There, she is invited into the house by a girl about her age. Inside, Nancy meets the girl's sister. Grace and Allie Hoover are really trying to make do with what they have: a flock of egg laying hens, a vegetable garden and the occasional dressmaking order for Grace. Then Nancy comments on a beautiful picture hanging on the wall and--guess what--Allie says that "'Uncle Josiah" gave it to them, and that she is confused why he didn't provide for them when he died. Josiah wasn't really their uncle, but apparently cared for them very much and promised that he would help them out. Oh, and Uncle Josiah is Josiah Crowley. Surprise, surprise.

Nancy goes shopping to clear her mind of the case, and she happens to see Isabel and Ada Thopham. When Nancy was in school, they were very disliked, especially when they tried to blame Nancy for misbehavior in school at one time. Nothing has changed; the girls are still very spiteful. Ada accidentally breaks a vase and blames it on the "salesgirl". The manager is about to exonerate Ada from blame when Nancy steps in and is Hero of the Day. Later, Nancy is strolling in the park when she overhears the girls confidently assuming that there is no other will.

Nancy finds other relatives and friends of Josiah Crowely, all of whom state that Josiah had promised them part of his estate. One of them is Abigail Rowen, an elderly lady, whom Nancy finds fallen on the floor of her house with a sprained ankle. Abigail, so Nancy buys "almost ten dollars worth of groceries". Ah, inflation, how I've missed you. After a few senile moments, Abigail tells Nancy that Josiah said a notebook was hidden in a clock, with information about the missing will in it.

Long story short, Nancy finds out that the clock belongs to the Tophams, and that it is at the Tophams' summer cottage. Nancy finds and enters the cottage, discovers that there are robbers at there, gets locked up, frees herself, scolds the Jeff Tucker, the drunken "negro" caretaker, and outsmarts the police in finding the robbers. Everyone gets Josiah's money--except for the Tophams, who have lost much of their own money in risky stockbuying.

• Nancy walks to a department store: "The walk was a long one, but [Nancy] took it at a brisk pace. Nancy naturally was athletic, and as she swung along more than one passerby turned to look after her in admiration." Just in case you forgot how perfect Nancy is.
• Nancy's roadster's tire gets a puncture, and Nancy replaces it herself. It may not seem as incredible today, but in the 1930's, when this book was written, it was probably almost shocking for a woman to do this "man's work". Let alone traipsing all over the counrty in the first place, without a male escort.
• Jeff Tucker is yet another dim-witted, unrefined "colored" man. He's also drunk silly when Nancy finds the Topham cottage being ransacked. To add to all this, he reveals that (to him) it wasn't his fault: "Dat white man...drives up in white see-dan. He drives up and sees how lonesome and useless I feels, so he says, 'Jeff, hop in, I know a place where.' Course I locked up dis heah house and de bahn and seen dat everything was safe". He later admits that he let the "white man" get him drunk. There is much more dialogue from Jeff Tucker, basically in the same vein. Head, meet desk.

~Image from Series-books.com ~

#2: The Hidden Staircase; revised ed. and compare

The revised edition of The Hidden Staircase is almost completely different from the original. Characters from The Secret of the Old Clock do not appear, and the elderly ladies from the original editions are now Helen Corning's aunt and the aunt's mother. These women are more well-composed in this edition, and plan activities to cheer Nancy up as she waits for news of her father. Nancy visits the mansion (now called Twin Elms), but somewhat more "campy" events (such as a scary owl appearing in a room at night) happen, and the "ghost" is not Mr. Gombet (now Nathan Gomber ), but a man named Willie Wharton, who is loosely connected with both the railroad property case and is the "ghost"--working in cahoots with Mr. Gomber. Mr. Gomber doesn't have a servant who helps him with his wily ways, but works with tow other men.

• Nancy and her father are are on a stroll, and are almost run over by a truck, which had been deliberately pushed down a hill so that it rolled at  high speed. They had to jump into the nearby river to get out of the way.

#2: The Hidden Staircase; original text

I think I'll make a comment about the cover first. The hat on Nancy's head looks like a bad attempt to make a trendy swimming cap. Oh well, I'm not from the 1930's so who am I to judge fashion? :)

Nancy is just sitting at home, bored, when a man comes to the door. Nancy doesn't hesitate to open it, and this Nathan Gombet guy starts ranting and telling her to get her father. Nancy tells him that her father is away, and he starts throwing a fit, claiming that Carson Drew has cheated him on a property sale. Instead of slamming the door or punching him in the face, Nancy lets him in the house. He wants papers that prove that Carson "cheated" him. Nancy loses her temper and isn't afraid to call the intruder "crazy"--which he is, but if someone forcefully came into my home, I wouldn't say "yo, dude, you're crazy!" He only backs off when she manages to pick up the telephone and starts dialing. He runs off, while threatening her father.

 When Nancy tells Mr. Drew about what happened, he simply says, "Next time, don't let [Nathan Gombet] in." A typical response when your daughter tells you someone tried to steal your things and threatened your daughter, no? Nathan Gombet appears later, however, to rant at Mr. Drew personally and to threaten him.

Nancy goes to check on Abby Rowen (Nancy helped her and a few other people by finding a missing will in the first book, The Secret of the Old Clock, review\recap coming soon). Miss Rowen has a visitor, an elderly woman named Rosemary who lives with her twin sister, Floretta, at a Civil War era family mansion. Nancy stays at the mansion, because the women have had things stolen and seen mysterious shadows and heard unexplainable music. Oh, and by the by, Mr. Gombet offered to buy their house for much less than what it is worth. More mysterious things happen, and Nancy searches for hidden doors but is unsuccessful. She also gets a warning message to leave the Turnbull estate. Meanwhile, Mr. Drew, returning from business matters in Chicago, stops at a station where he is supposed to meet Nancy. Mr. Gombet meets him--and tricks him into believing that Nancy is ill and had to be taken to his (Gombet's) home. Carson ends up captive in Gombet's basement. Ironically, later that night, Nancy sneaks out to search the Gombet house and subsequently ends up captured herself. But in true Nancy Drew fashion, she finds a hidden door that Gombet didn't know about, and manages to get into a tunnel, and eventually ends up at the mansion. Mr. Drew is found, Gombet is arrested, and all's well that ends well.

Tidbits:

• Alison Hoover from The Secret of the Old Clock shows up and brags about her sister Grace's new "electric sewing machine".
•  When Nancy asks Floretta when she noticed her diamond barrette was missing, Floretta answers that it was after "the iceman" had delivered ice. I get ice delivered too--by an ice machine in the fridge. :-p
• Nancy says: "I think Dad was wise to suggest that I take his revolver. And I'll bring plenty of ammunition, too! Enough to annihilate an army!" Guess it's true that the Nancy of the revised editions is the Nancy I remember from childhood--perfect, collected, smart and meticulous in every way and hardly ever making mistakes!
• Alison Hoover also gives Nancy a whole chicken and some eggs as a gift. Nancy puts it in the "electrical refrigerator". Ok, question--wouldn't a NON electrical refrigerator simply be called an ice box? Anyone...?
• Nathan Gombet's accomplice is a fat, angry, cruel "negress" who makes sure Nancy stays captive. But later, when Nancy leads the police to the Gombet house so they can arrest her as well, she comes out and threatens the main policeman with a gun. Get a load of this quote!: "You git, white man! Or I'll fill yo system full of lead". Um, yea. The policeman eventually take her by surprise as they don't want to directly shoot her.

P.S.:
I need to vent some anger...I read Twilight and found that there were a few good points that I enjoyed. So I thought, there's nothing to lose--why not try the second book (New Moon)? I was wrong. There was something to lose--MY TEMPER! I. Hate. That. Book. Sorry...gotta let it go somehow!

#10: Password to Larkspur Lane: Revised ed. and comparison

The revised edition is "pretty much" the same core plot and characters from the original edition. Dr. Spires' mysterious disappearance (and reappearance) as well as his and Nancy's conclusion about the illegitimate nursing home, are introduced and finished earlier, with less description (par for the course in the revised books and on). Effie is introduced earlier, and her ditzy personality is somewhat toned down. Bess and George (instead of Helen) help her sneak around the mysterious house.

However, there is a subplot that ties into the mystery; there are strange doin's at Helen's grandparents' house, including rings of mysterious blue fire starting up outside--sometimes coming toward people! It turns out that the Corning's housekeeper, Morgan, is in Adam Thorne's (the debarred lawyer) debt. Due to his criminal past, Morgan needed forged job recommendations. But because Adam Thorne starts to go too far commiting crimes, Morgan tries to go back to "the good side" (I keep thinking of Severus Snape abandoning Voldemort :-p) and his life is in danger. But of course, everything does tie up in the end.

• There are no more frilly frocks, "colored starters" or bumbling Irish police chiefs.
• Nancy gets a new convertible--no more roadsters
• Nancy, Bess and George stop at a restaurant before "Mission save the old ladies" (my phrase :D ), but there is no old fogy ranting about the Tookers' noisy airplane and the fact that they dare to not go to church or subscribe to the town newspaper.
• In the revised edition, Nancy is at the flower show when a big dog suddenly attacks her--Adam Thorne's doings, Carson Drew surmises. Poor Nancy can't even go to a flower show without risking life and limb.
  

Though I usually like the revised editions because they're a quick, "take-a-break" read, the original was better. The Morgan subplot was really useless in the revised edition, and the yacht club ball was described more colorfully in the original.

Above: Nancy as she appeared in the originals: a stylish dresser with a golden bob.

#10: The Password to Larkspur Lane; and the first old vs new edition compare and contrast!

Mousecliffe had the amazing idea to read the first editions and revised editions and compare them! So I'll get my hands on as many as I can. Not all in the series are originals that have revised text. Later in the series, they were written for more modern settings, and stayed that way through all 56 yellow-spine volumes.
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I'll post about the originals first, then the revised compared with the originals. The revised editions won't get their own posts, and I'll put both posts under the same title on the list. Moving on...
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Our happy blonde (not titian in these originals) detective is swooning over her larkspur plants, which she is going to take to a flower show, when a plane almost crashes. Also, a pigeon comes down, and the pigeon has a weird note in the container under its wing: "Trouble here. Blue bells are now singing horses". Trouble! Oh, no, no trouble shall exist when Nancy is involved! Also, Nancy seems to be an expert on pigeons. Of course.

On the way home from putting her flowers among with all the other flowers in the competition, Nancy notices Dr. Spires, the family doctor, driving along. He suddenly stops behind a "touring car" on the side of the road. The touring car has curtains instead of windows and the curtains are rolled down. Dr. Spires gets out, and gets yanked into the car. Instead of going to the police, Nancy sees that the Dr's car is locked, the keys gone. Well, that means he'll come back, she reasons. I'd err on the side of caution, Nancy...but I am questioning your super sleuth powers! Elementary, my dear Drew.

Hannah falls down a flight of stairs, and they go to Dr. Spires, who wasn't kidnapped after all. Instead, he was blindfolded until he was taken into a house to treat some elderly ladies. Now he's checking Hannah. She'll be okay, she just needs rest. Meanwhile, Dr. Spires asks for Nancy's help regarding his bizarre not-kidnapping. Dr. Spires thinks that someone is running an illegal, unregistered nursing home/retirement home. At this alarming conclusion, Nancy and her father go to the police station. Mr. Drew goes in first, and Nancy gets accosted by a man demanding her name. Unfortunately, a friend of Nancy walks by and says, "Hi, Nancy". The man is all, "oh, you're nosy Mr. Drew's daughter!"

Officer Mulligan, a stout, brash, mumbling Irishman, greets Nancy. "Sure, and we know all about ye, Miss Drew. I'd be honored if ye'd...join the force, so I would. 'Tis a strange story...but with your brains and my muscle, we'll get at the bottom of it" Nancy is not amused. She gives Mr. Bumbling Irishman two clues; the license plate of the suspicious car and a necklace Dr. Spires slipped from an old lady, in hopes that it'd be a clue related to their case. On the way home, Nancy and Carson are followed by Adam Thorne, a disbarred lawyer, who is also the man who accosted Nancy. Nancy manages to shake off the lawyer.

Not much happens until Nancy takes the bracelet to be inspected by a jeweler; perhaps he can trace the family crest. The jeweler makes a copy of the bracelet, and Nancy plans to bring it home for safekeeping (wouldn't it be safer secured at the jeweler's shop?). Not two steps out of the door, and the woman snatches the bracelet and Nancy's purse. Nancy chases her through a department store and almost catches her in the "silverware department", which I guess would now be part of the home products department. She checks the dressing rooms. No regard for privacy, Nancy whips open every curtain, only to find an overweight woman trying to squeeze into some clothing, which highly amuses Nancy. She jogs to the elevator, who asks the "colored starter" (way back when, elevators were attended) if the woman went into the elevator. She didn't. Eventually, the purse is recovered by an employee, but the woman and the bracelet get away.

Nancy is invited by Helen to go to Sylivan Lake to take a short vacation. Ned is working there, and Nancy somehow surmises that the illegal retirement home might be in that area, so she accepts. She also concludes that "singing horses" is a code for "larkspurs". Because larks sing, silly, and spurs are used on horses! Okay then.

The pigeon escapes through the fault of Effie, Hannah's feather-brained niece, who was brought in to help Hannah. The girls follow the pigeon, Effie blabbing about boyfriends and movie stars, driving Nancy crazy. The pigeon goes home to a large mansion. A nasty-looking man comes down the driveway, a whip in hand, demanding to know why Nancy is there. She pretends to want to buy some pigeons, but he tries to force her to go see the coops. He's getting pretty nasty when Effie, who's hiding in the car, starts laughing like a lunatic. This weirds Evil Man out and Nancy jumps into the car and speeds off. Effie explains that she saw "a [moving] picture" where a fictional actress does the same thing when faced by an evil guy. Nancy drives to a small town nearby and they have dinner at an inn. Nancy quizzes the waiter about the mansion. The family that lives there is the Tooker family. Apparently they are not well liked, not only because they aren't the social type, but also don't go to church or subscribe to the town newspaper. THOSE BASTARDS! However, the waiter tells Nancy that those things COULD be looked over, if not for the Tookers' plane "a'roarin' and a'hoppin' every day".

Another visit with Dr. Spires, and Nancy Holmes determines approximately where the place with larkspurs could be. Dr. Spires remembers that he was driven far, went over a dirt road and then a gravelled place. Sounds vague to me, but I'm not Nancy.

As they leave Dr. Spires' place, his phone rings, and its a frantic phone call from Effie. Someone tried to force his way into the house! Effie is so worked up that, when after the villian leaves, she does not recognize Mr. Drew when he comes. She barricades the front door with the couch. Eventually, all is settled. Effie describes the man. He's not Adam T.

Nancy wants to go to Sylivan Lake, but Carson is worried. Eventually he grudgingly agrees, on the condition that they trick the stalker. He buys he a new car, but has the car shop owner drive it to the back of the house in the dead of night so it doesn't arouse suspicion. Nancy drags herself over the back wall, is handed her luggage, and she heads off to Sylivan Lake, where she apologizes to Mr. and Mrs. Corning, her hosts, for coming in so late.

The next day promises to be awesome. Nancy competes in an informal diving competition, and, of course, she wins, defeating a former professional girl diver, who is about her age. Applause and prays! Nancy basks in the sun, but when she gets up, a little girl stumbles off of a dock and into the water, into the path of an oncoming motorboat! Nancy immediately saves the day, and also finds out that the girl and her mother have the last name Eldridge--which happens to be the family name traced via the bracelet's family crest. Nancy shows Mrs. Eldridge the bracelet, and the woman surmises that it belongs to her husband's Aunt Mary.

Nancy and Helen spy on the Tooker place again, but don't have much time to do anything. A dance hosted by Sylivan Lake's yacht club is taking place that night. The girls dress in their "frocks", "admiring each others' dainty lingerie". Nancy is the star of the show, and poor Ned barely gets a dance in.

Well, I think I'll complete my tome in a short paragraph; Nancy and Helen dress as a nurse (Helen) and an old lady (Nancy), and get passed through the gate of the Tooker estate, Helen claiming to be bringing the new patient they overheard. Nancy is found out, though (Helen goes for help). Nancy is thrown into an old, dank cistern, but she uses shards from a broken ladder to clamber up. Maybe I should make a tag called "MacGyver style getaway". She ends up in the pigeon coop. She slips away, and disables the Tookers' cars and plane. She is almost captured again when Carson, Ned and the police save the day. Turns out that the Tookers swindled old ladies (via tricky contracts and drugging them so they don't think twice about it) into giving large sums of their fortunes in exchange for nursing care. Old Mrs. Eldridge and all the other old ladies are reunited with their families, and Nancy has saved the day.

• The Cornings' cook, who is, thankfully, described as black, not "colored" (the latter term is sort of insulting--aren't we all "colored"?), serves Nancy and Helen breakfast in the morning after the ball. She says "Miss Helen, de missus done tole me to let you gals sleep. She an' de master, dey done gone fo' de day. Dey say dey be back before supper, but on no 'count to break you' slumbers, c'ase you' wore out yo' shoes last night". Now I know that back in the 30's, when this book was written, there were many black Americans who were uneducated, and probably spoke in a similar way, but this just seems overdone.
  
• Effie hides in the "rumble seat" when Nancy first found the Tooker estate.

I hope it wasn't too long, there was so much to review!

#11: The Clue of the Broken Locket

Image courtesy NancyDrewSleuth

I thought I had read this, but I found the plot completely different. The one I read in youth involved baby twins illegally adopted by jerks. I must have had an original copy. Damn..I sold it when I was a teen... Anyway, this is a fairly short summary. It was kinda boring, (but still LOL-full).
..
Nancy helps her father on a case. This girl named Cecily Curtis is renting a cottage near "Misty Lake". She was supposed to get the key from groundskeeper Henry Winch, who was supposed to watch the cottage. But Henry Winch is scared. He wants someone else to do it. Guess who! Nancy! Nancy, Bess and George are soon at Misty Lake, but not before for lunch at a quaint restaurant. While waiting for the food, they walk over a bridge so that they can spend some time in a pretty garden until the food comes. They overhear a red-haired girl arguing with her BF, but it's not significant--yet. After lunch, Bess realizes she lost an earring. They go back to the bridge to find it; Nancy nearly kills herself trying to reach down to the bank, with George holding her feet. All for one earring. As she fishes for this all-important earring, the red-haired girl carelessly walks on to the bridge and Nancy, the girl and George, fall off the bridge! Nancy saves the girl from falling into the water. After thanking her, the mysterious girl runs away.

The trio goes back, get cleaned up and eat. Nighttime arrives, and they finally arrive at the cottage and unlock the cottage. They also see the mysterious girl again; she runs away when Nancy asks her if she is Cecily. As she leaves, the girl yells, "you can't stop me from getting the babies!". Nancy is mystified because the girl ran off. Uh, Nancy, I'd be a little startled too, if some stranger shone (shined?) a light in my face and demanded who I was without introducing herself!

The girls spend the night in the cottage, as Cecily doesn't arrive until late. Cecily's cat escapes from its carrier as Cecily arrives, but don't worry, 'Satin' is found. While looking for him, the girls hear a weird humming noise coming from a stone house. NOT A HUMMING NOISE! OMG! So suspicious! It couldn't just be some ordinary machine, right? Also, Cecily says she wasn't the girl in the garden. She says she must have a double, and isn't at all worried or curious about that.

One night, the girls see a mysterious, 'haunted' boat. It had scared Mr. Winch. Then it suddenly disappears! (b/c the lights were turned off, perchance?) Nancy also sees a mysterious signal from a round upstairs window in the stone house. At least, Nancy assumes it is a signal.

The rest of the mystery is all mushed together. Nancy tries to find out who [might] be trapped in the house. The owners, the Driscolls, pretend to be nice and let her explore the house, but Nancy can't get into the room with the round window. Cecily tells the Driscolls about the clue to her mystery (found on a paper in a broken locket, which claims a fortune will be found near 'an iron bird'). Nothing bad could come of revealing that to strangers, right Cecily? Cecily is also trying to figure out why her fiancee/BF (the dude with her at the garden) , Niko Van Dyke, a famous bandleader, is not getting royalty payments. They are about to sue the record company when Nancy finds out that some of the records are pirated!

After a lot of threats, attempts to hurt Nancy and the others, and random wandering around, the girls and Ned, Burt and Dave, who came to see Niko's concert, prove that the Driscoll's run a pirated records business and are also keeping twins who are really the children of the other red-haired girl--Susan! And Susan was being held prisoner in the round-window room. Because the one real clue, the flashing light, convinced Nancy that this had to be the case. Nancy is never wrong! This girl owns the other half of the locket, which Nancy found. Susan and Cecily are cousins. The bad guys are caught, and Niko and Cecily can get married now, since Niko is getting the money he deserved, and of course, the fortune is found. Happily ever after! Nancy gets most of the credit. Bess and George and the boys must have been totally no help! *end sarcasm*

• Nancy convinces a reluctant police chief to help her search in the round-window room for a prisoner. When this prisoner is not found, the chief is pretty p*ssed off. He also says that Nancy "may have overstepped her rights" because she was poking around the Driscolls' property without permission. Now Nancy is offended and p*ssed off! The rules don't apply to her, because she is trying to DO GOOD!
  

#26: The Clue of the Leaning Chimney

For fun, I have included the Danish cover for Leaning Chimney, courtesy Series books for Girls.

It was a dark and stormy night...

Nancy is driving with Bess on a shortcut on a lonely road when she almost runs over a man; Nancy goes to help. To her amazement, threatens her. Nancy stays and tries to give him a package the man dropped. She is threatened again but doesn't move until Bess practically drags her back into the car. Nancy did see what was in the package, which fell open: a vase with a dragon pattern. Bess says it sounds A LOT like a vase in her cousin Dick Milton's pottery shop! Bess calls Dick the next day to tell him to check it out. The vase is gone! And dang, the vase was lent to Dick by his friend Mr. Soong, an older Chinese man.

Dick wants to find a legendary pit of super-special clay used to make china. He overheard this in a random conversation; this valuable clay could be found near a "leaning chimney".

Nancy goes into Masonville, where Dick heard about the leaning chimney--and finds a crooked chimney. The homeowner lets Nancy explore the attic, and Nancy sees a man exiting the attic through a secret panel. The man gets away, but the police investigate the attic. Behind the panel are priceless vases!

Nancy and George look for clues by the lonely road again, but run into suspicious men. This time, Nancy gets away but a George is tied up and the two men disappear.
The men dropped a porcelain bowl. Wow, another extraordinarily convenient clue! 

 Oh...and Mr. Soong wants Nancy to find his missing friend, Eng Moy, and Eng Moy's daughter, Lei. They came to the USA so Eng Moy could study new pottery methods...and haven't been seen for five years.

A fake-pottery market suddenly springs up, and just in time Nancy finds the real leaning chimney on an old mine and smelter. On some days, the chimney has a weird iron symbol on it. There is a high, impossible-to-enter fence around the building, and a woman who claims she's from an exclusive cult, threatens Nancy and George as they try to get in. The usual antics happen--Nancy is nearly trapped, she is is rescued by George, then Mr. Soong goes with them to explore the weird grounds.

They discover that the place is the site of a forgery operation-- Chinese people forced to work, making genuine-looking, fake antique pottery! And among them? Eng Moy and Lei!

Nancy and Mr. Soong hide until they can safely go to Eng Moy and Lei. Lei is despairing about her horrible life. All her and her father's attempts to escape failed. She actually says that their only way to escape is to "end it all!". This rather grim allusion is unusual in the original Nancy Drew books.

Mr. Soong and Nancy come out, and try to disguise themselves as workers so they can plan an escape. No dice--but our old friend Deus Ex Machina comes along. Nancy manages to escape (climbing over the fence of the complex with a ladder they brought, used, and left on the fence), runs out to the road, and stops a State Trooper vehicle which just happens to be stopping by.

In the end, the workers (who were lured to the illegal pottery operation with promises of a better life) are free. The man who had escaped through the panel in the old house, and was also the same one who ran across the road with the vase in the beginning AND rented the attic is captured. This Mr. Carr was responsible for most of the operation, and had a clever (for a mass-market juvenile book series) plan for stealing antique ceramics to copy, and resell the copies as antiques. A brother was in "cahoots" with him.

I've read almost half the Nancy Drew's, and this is one of the most ridiculous!

#54: The Strange Message in the Parchment (LONG)

~Cover image courtesy Nancy Drew Sleuth~

Nancy and a former classmate (conveniently drifting by, never to be seen again) whom she hasn't seen since high school, are standing in front of a mirror. Both are admiring a sheepskin jacket, that "Junie Flockhart" is wearing. Junie talks about the her father's slaughterhouse\ sheepskin\ parchment business, more or less hinting at a mystery. Her father recently bought a parchment with intriguing pictures painted with some intriguing. Soon after, a stranger called him, telling him that a message was on the parchment. If it was decoded, someone could "right a great wrong."

Junie and Nancy arrive at Triple Lake Farm. Bess and George as well--as Ned, Burt and Dave (of course)--tag along. Junies's BF, Dan, will also join the happy flock (pun intended) soon. Nancy's first stop is to see the parchment. It shows four pictures: a sad woman, a man with his back turned, a baby boy, and a sailboat colliding with a steamer. Okay...I had that part of the story figured out in two minutes. Anyway, Nancy and Junie visit the farm and operations, incl. the parchment factory and slaughterhouse (cheerful). They go to visit a shepherd that Junie is friends with, but find him knocked out on hill where he tends sheep. When "Eezy" is revived, he clams up about the incident, fearing the girls might get hurt. Eventually he says merely that two guys tried to get him to agree to something he felt was wrong. Eezy is a one of the rarely unique characters in the late books. He applies Bible quotes to various events and makes some fairly funny jokes.

Nancy continues to study the parchment. She even takes it out of the frame, and on the back are a few initials. Furious thinking begins! Nancy and Junie go to question the parchment's former owner, Mr. Rocco, Mr. Flockhart's best customer and neighbor. Nancy already met him once; he was very rude (read: automatic criminal)! The girls go to the gate of his house, which crests his vegetable farm. They know he's home, but there is no answer over the intercom. Nancy spazzes over how totally rude that is, then she and Junie climbs over the fence! Her reason being: because he is so rude and they need to see him for such an important reason, trespassing is ok. Double standards, Nan? Wrong is wrong. Crud for them, they are apprehended by two tough-looking men who "scold" them for trespassing. Nancy and Junie act offended. They had a right to trespass!

Nancy and Junie eventually get an appointment with Mr. Rocco to get some 'information'. Mr. Rocco is rude and (rightfully) mad about the trespassing. Nancy is "fakely" sorry so that she can get what she wants. They don't find out much, but do make Mr. Rocco suspicious. Good going, Nan.

Nan and Junie sneak around Rocco's farm to interview his workers, but the workers only speak Italian. They think a young boy, who draws beautiful pictures, might speak English, but he doesn't.

When this boy, 'Tony' (his name is conveniently on his sweater) sees Mr. Rocco in the distance, he gets back to hoeing frantically. Later, Nancy thinks 'Tony' might be the baby depicted on the parchment. Her reasoning? A is written on the back of the baby's picture and Tony is usually short for Anthony. It couldn't be Albery of Adam or whatever, now could it, or the mystery wouldn't go anywhere. :-p

Junie's boyfriend, Dan can talks to Tony, as he takes Italian in college. Tony says that Mr. Rocco is his is his uncle, but makes him work all the time.

Yawn. So various crazy things which I consider fillers happen. Nothing really important until the parchment is stolen! Nancy tries to keep the parchment from being stolen, but the parchment is dropped, the frame glass breaks, and the thief snatches the whole mess and runs. Nancy and Junie go out the next day to visit various shops to find out if someone bought glass that fits the frame. Yes, someone did! Then they inquire at a drug store see if a man bought bandages (because the thief probably cut his hands on the glass). Hole-in-one again! How lucky is Nancy, who just happens to stroll in the exact store where the bandages were purchased from!

The thief is caught! She speaks kindly to him in his cell, preaching on the wrongs of stealing. He says he's a hit man for other hit men for Mr. Rocco, but now realizes he was wrong, and thinks being in jail might be good for him. Nancy is really pleased with herself, and Junie praises her.

Fearing Tony might be in danger from Mr. Rocco, Nancy hides him with the shepherd, Eezy. To stave off claims of a crime, aka kidnapping, Tony writes a letter to Mr. Rocco, assuring him that he's fine (and he is happy), but he'll go to the police if his uncle doesn't shape up.

Then they find out that "Diana Bolardo" is coming from Italy, claiming she's Tony's mother. An Italian artist who saw the initials on the parchment, DB, said that he knew of three people with the initials DB in Rome and that that could be a lead (never mind the parchment was marked 'Milano, not Rome). This is so far-fetched I have to gag! }8-o Surprise! Diana B. looks like Tony!

Mrs. B tells of an estate left by her husband, killed in a sailing accident (sur-f*cking-prise!). Her husband's executor, his brother--Mr. Rocco!--wanted her to marry him, but she wouldn't. So Mr. Rocco stole his nephew and went to America in revenge.

Nancy and takes Mrs. B to see her son. They find Tony and Eezy bound & gagged on the hill, and then they are tied up. After the hit men leave, Nan wiggles over and frees Eezy with the ends of her fingers, and they free the others.

So, the whole gang ends up at the Rocco house. The police have caught Rocco, who is eventually found guilty of the accusations. Then! A mob of workers marches on the Rocco house to make their accusations--he gave them a fake worker's union that does nothing but lose them money--and Mr. Rocco has to go to jail. The workers get their money back, Tony and his "new" mom go to Italy; everything is happy in Nancyworld! Nancy absorbs more praise. The end. Time to go south and solve The Mystery of Crocodile Island.

Crazy Quotes:

• "Mr Drew said to Junie with boyish pride, 'I have a few sheepskins of my own...I'll show them to you.'" In Mr. Drew's study are some diplomas from high school, college and law school. Junie praises him for graduating with honors from all three. Now tell me he wasn't just showing the diplomas because of the parchments. xD

That's all! Sorry it isn't more concise, I'm terrible at making short, snarky blogs.

#43: Mystery of the 99 Steps

This used to be my favorite Nancy Drew mystery. It's a fun mystery, but the plot and events are hilariously corny. I think I can summarize it quickly...

Carson Drew's case, involving "Monsieur LeBlanc"'s mysterious financial habits, is almost completely given to Nancy. Nancy is also doing an exchange program with Monique and Marie, two girls from France. Their aunt just happens also to live in River Heights, and she has a mystery for Nancy, too.

Aunt Josette has a weird recurring dream of falling down 99 steps in Paris, where she lived when she was a kid. Aunt Jossette hopes Nan will help her get closure by finding the stairs, and stop the dream.

Nancy and Bess and George go to France--after several attempted break-ins, threats from a mysterious "Monsieur Neuf" (Neuf=#9), who also puts a sign in Nancy's car--"Beware the Green Lion!". According to the story, in the Middle Ages "green lion" was a code for an acid that destroys gold. Also in the Middle Ages, people were trying to turn lead into gold. :P

After randomly looking around for 99 steps, Nancy finds it at a random ruined chateau. It turns out that Aunt Josette's childhood au pair was married to Louis Aubert, who tricked Monsieur LeBlanc into thinking coal could be turned into gold. Louis managed to LeBlanc to sell all of his (LeBlanc's) fortunes in order to purchase diamonds--so that when everything "became gold", the price of gold would collapse and they could sell diamonds for millions at a profit. Not only is LeBlanc very, very stupid, so is Aubert. Even though he might trick LeBlanc into giving him tons of money for the "experiment", LeBlanc is pushing Aubert to introduce his "experiment" to the public. LeBlanc's trick is covering gold with charcoal and then firing it off. You'd think it would be a short-lived trick, right? Wouldn't LeBlanc see past it? Nope. This is a very very clumsy mystery.

Moving on! It is revealed that when Josette was little, her au pair (who is found alive and well in France) was in love with Aubert and dated him.. One day, she had to take young Josette to the lab so she could be with Louis, but didn't want Josette to know about the lab. The au pair blindfolded Josette and pretended they were playing blindman's bluff. She started to lead Josette to the steps, but Josette stumbled and fell down the stairs. Josette was unhurt, but was (understandably) really traumatized.

The bad guys are arrested--the au pair is sorry and is innocent--and all is well.

• Nancy attracts the attentions of Henri, an attractive young man, at a ball. Henri later helps her try to catch a disguised Louis Aubert. Aww, too bad Ned doesn't know. :P
• During a tour of another historic site, an overweight woman almost causes an accident, making the girls stumble down the stairs. This woman is very rude and annoying. Because overweight people are always crude, selfish people, you know.
  
• Nancy saves a little boy who climbs on a statue of Joan of Arc to see a parade. Everyone cheers for her.
  
• As mentioned, there's no Ned. No Burt or Dave either.
• The girls talk about Joan of Arc. "Joan was seventeen when she requested [supplies] to help fight the English invaders," said Nancy. "I bet he laughed at her," George remarked. Then we get a history lesson--complete with dates. Really. These "history lessons" are worked into the girls' conversations, common in the Nancy Drew international mysteries.
  

**
Next: Taking a break from Nancy's exploits with a recap of one of my favorite childhood horse stories: Thoroughbred #1: A Horse Called Wonder

#47: The Mysterious Mannequin

Yay! My first blogged international mystery!

__
We open with Mr. Drew receiving a package. A mysterious package. There is no name or return address on the package, but it was posted from Turkey. It contains a prayer rug. Mr. Drew assumes its probably from Farouk Tahmasp, a former client and tailor shop owner. Mr. Tahmasp was falsely accused of smuggling rugs (not smuggling rugs!! OHNO!). His name was cleared, but he fled to Turkey before he was told of the sentence. Nancy thinks a message could be hidden in the rug because she "heard that years ago in Turkey, messages were hidden in rugs." Of course she did.

While Nancy unravels (no pun intended) the message in the rug, a Turkish man stalks her. One night, he tries to steal the rug, but Nancy comes down and pulls it away from him. Then he hides a scimitar in the rug (while the Drews and Hannah are away). Nancy rolls out the rug, and gosh darn, she must have unrolled it really violently. The scimitar almost stabs her. This little incident doesn't phase Nancy, though, and the scimitar-free rug is deciphered.

The message says to bring a certain mannequin to Istanbul. The mannequin, one sitting in Farouk's old tailor shop, is gone, though. Nancy remembers it from childhood; she laughs that she once thought it winked at her. Nancy gets clues from a crazy old man who loiters in the tailor shop (under new ownership). "Haw-Haw" shows her the slippers that were once on the mannequin. But..the soles are worn! Nancy surmises that the mannequin must have been dragged across the floor to storage, but a woman in a nearby apartment talks about the mannequin, saying it is strange that it wasn't in the window all the time. Hmm.

Nancy, Bess, and George go about searching for clues from this place to that person, until their adventures take them to the Turkish/Greek district, where they eat at a Greek restaurant and have grape leaves stuffed with meat (YUM). Nancy asks the owner questions about various people connected with the mystery. A man whom is dining nearby gets angry and drives the owner away. The girls get free yogurt and Greek bread as a sort of apology from the owner.

One day, they see the same man who tried to steal the rug showing a letter to a dark-haired, possibly Turkish woman. She cries and runs off. When the girls chase the man, he drops his wallet to distract them, but they keep going. All for naught--the man gets away. There is no ID in the wallet, but there's the letter, saying Farouk's dead. Nancy thinks that the message is fake and deceiving and that it was given to the dark-haired woman for a reason. (ya think?)

Nancy tracks down the young woman. Her name is Aisha Hatun, and Nancy learns that she and the mysterious man, now known as Arik, don't get along. Arik wants to date her; but she doesn't want to date him. She loves Farouk!

Arik was under suspicion at first, but is found to be innocent of the rug stealing/scrimitar crime. He has a doppelganger--his cousin.

Nancy finds discount fares to Turkey and believes that she can find out more in Turkey, and possible find Farouk! He can tell her where the mannequin is and so he can have it shipped to Turkey. What's this? Bess and George get permission to go, along with Ned, Burt and Dave! Guess Emerson has generous semesters. Aisha goes too, hoping to find Farouk.

Adventure abounds. Bess wanders from the gang to buy perfume. Then a boy tricks her, saying her friends are looking for her, but he locks her up. Gullible Bess, after some 47 books, haven't you learned!? The boy is Arik's cousin's brother. Aslanapa, Arik's cousin, delivers an ultimatum: tell about the mannequin, or Bess goes bye-bye! But all by themselves, the crew finds Bess and has Aslanapa arrested!

Nancy, George, Bess, Ned, Dave, and Burt (oy!) goe to the place indicated in the rug, a big ancient cistern. Aslanapa's brother, angry about his brother's arrest, is back. He pushes Nancy into the cistern. The boys save Nancy and have Aslanpa taken away. Nancy insists that she's okay and continues to tour the cistern with the crew. Then a handsome young Turkish man walks in. IT'S...Farouk! There's a big dinner, praise for Nancy, obligatory praise for the others. It's told that Aisha used to be the "mannequin" for some reason. Surprise. Not.

• Helen Corning/Archer appears. The girls meet her for tennis, and Helen thinks she knows where the mannequin is, but it flunks out, of course.
• At a restaurant located by a scenic water wheel, a boy falls in the water, Nancy jumps in and saves him. George helps her; however, Nancy gets ALL the praise.
• I love this part: Nancy is reading aloud from the rug part of the message: "I love..." Ned walks in, saying "Me? That's great!" :D The message continues to read "...her" "Carson, please bring mannequin. I love her."

#35: The Haunted Showboat

*spoilers*

Once again, Nancy Drew gets a vacation tied to a mystery, this time in New Orleans. George and Bess' cousin Donna Mae Haver wants them and to come to New Orleans for her engagement ball. Her parents, "Colonel" and Aunt Stella, want Nancy to solve a mystery connected to the abandoned showboat River Princess, which got stuck in a bayou during a hurricane.

Nancy says that she, Bess and George can drive in her blue convertible to NO. She packs a trunk, taking her mother's shawl and fan to wear to the ball. But a thief steals her locked car, and the suitcase in the trunk! No worries, Carson Drew gives her a yellow convertible. Conveniently, it was going to be a future birthday gift, with the blue car as a trade-in. Lucky Nancy, being in a suspended timeline with no job, no worries, adoring friends, total self-confidence. :)

Nancy, Bess and George "roadtrip" from their home in the midwest to NO. Sounds totally awesome, if you like driving. Life before GPS and Google maps must have been kinda tough, though ;).

After they've been driving a while, they hear a ticking in the yellow car...a bomb! As soon as it is deactivated, Nancy and friends continue on their journey. Then--the rear end of the car starts falling off! A car dealer who knows the River Heights car dealer lends Nancy a car.The girls finally do what they do best--eat, then find a motel. Bess is delighted. Once on road, they almost fall off a cliff.

At New Orleans, they pass "quaint cabins, formerly used by slaves." Yes, I'm sure the slaves found them as quaint. They pass gorgeous houses and azalea bushes. I live in Texas' azalea country, and dang, they are gorgeous.

When they arrive at the Havers', they meet the Colonel and Aunt Stella, and the giggly but charming Donna Mae, who was going to be married to Charles Bartolome, but then met Oxford grad, Alex Upgrove. She broke off the engagement to date Alex, and shortly became engaged to Alex-the-jerk. Anyway, Nancy, George and Bess go sightseeing with Donna and Alex. The girls also pick up costumes for Donna's engagement ball, which will be on the riverboat, if it can be taken out of the bayou. The girls love New Orleans and the food (I love the food, too). A man who looks like the car thief talks to Alex. Let's see, car theft, car bomb, car falls apart, girls nearly go over cliff, Alex is a suspect? And we aren't even at Ch. 7. The ghostwriters outdid themselves.

Oh, anyway, the mystery is, the Havers have had repairs done on the Princess, but all work done is always vandalized, and there are mysterious, haunting-like happenings. A rusty calliope plays, a ghost appears, there are mysterious voodoo chants; I bet we can predict how these are produced.

At home, Nancy, George, and Bess have a dance rehearsal with Donna. George falls off the makeshift stage and hurts herself. Donna whines that everything will go wrong if George is out. Nancy, George, and Bess are all disgusted, so they leave and go to the "colored" (the book's words, not mine) maid and butler and ask about a river guide so they can get to the riverboat. Cue Uncle Rufus, a kind, elderly black man. The girls and Uncle head down the river\bayou.

In the swamp, Uncle's boat runs into a barricade of sharp rocks. Uh-oh. Uncle Rufus wades off to get a boat, but Alex comes just in time, in a motorboat. Nancy makes plans with Uncle to go to the riverboat later that afternoon.

Nancy, George, Bess and Uncle finally get to the riverboat. All three go onboard, and they find an ornate hairpin and Charles Bartolome, who invites the girls to his and his mother's home for dinner. When Donna finds out, she goes into hysterics, but then puts on an act of indifference. Nancy suspects she feels guilty about her engagement. Well, duh. Another Donna-and-Alex sightseeing trip turns into a sleuthing trip for Nancy, but Alex tries to follow her. Nancy finds her blue convertible, now painted black, in a junkyard. It is in a poor neighborhood, so of course, the people are slovenly. When Nancy goes back to Bess, George, and Donna, Donna announces that she's invited Ned, Burt, and Dave for Mardi Gras. She also says they can't refuse. It's implied that Nancy thinks Donna doesn't want Alex or Charles to "make moves" on Nancy, George or Bess.

Alex tries to delay Nancy, Bess and George fromf their dinner engagement, but they manage to get away. Someone throws a rock at Nancy near the Bartolome home, but it misses. They have a nice visit and go to the showboat.; they are then startled to see an elderly man and woman going to the Princess. The woman seems to be pretending to visit an old-time play, talking to invisible friends and taking imaginary tickets. Charles and Nancy follow the man and woman when they canoe off; the woman goes to her own house.

Charles and Nancy stop the man; he's Henry de la Verne and the woman is Henry's sister Louvina, owner of the hairpin. Louvina misses the old-time fun on the Princess.Their grandfather owned it (I guess it's out of family ownership now). Louvina loves to pretend that the old shows are still playing and the people still visiting the boat, so Henry lets her keep up her charade. He doesn't want the boat moved because he thinks it would upset Louvina.

Drama, drama! Louvina isn't crazy after all, and she wants the Princess restored, thanks to Nancy's communication skills. Nancy's suitcase, shawl and fan are recovered. Alex is a fraud, using Donna to get closer to the gold that is found on the boat! Donna realizes her mistake, matures, and Charles and Donna get re-engaged. After Alex tries to run away during the Mardi Gras parade, Ned does his famous football tackle and is Nancy's hero. The end! Everyone's impressed and praises Nancy. The riverboat is restored and in an amazingly short time, because everyone works together! Gag. Nancy's next carefree adventure is in The Secret of the Golden Pavilion.

#24: The Clue in the Old Album

Nancy and Mr. Drew are listening a famous violinist at the River Heights Art Museum when an elderly woman's purse is snatched. She's crying so much over the music that she doesn't notice at first. Nancy gets into hero mode, stands up and runs after the man. She chases him through the museum and is about to catch him when the man pulls the contents from the purse and throws the empty purse down. Nancy returns the empty purse to 'Mrs. Sutherland', and Nancy also meets her "wild" tween daughter, Rose.

Rose's father is a famous violinist, but somehow he can't be tracked down. He's also a gypsy, which seems to be a mark of shame here. Mrs. S asks for help, and Nancy accepts with the eagerness of a dog being offered a steak. She needs to help the innocent old lady and Rose, who is so "wild" that she speaks boldly and has a high temper! OMG! In a bizarre plot involving dolls, Nancy can find something that will assure money for Rose's future--she just has to find a certain doll. If the doll is found, it could also lead her to Rose's "baby Daddy" :P Nancy also has to deal with a red-haired gypsy named Nitaka, who also wants the doll that furnishes the clue. The titian detective gets in trouble trying to discover gypsy secrets...

• During a visit a gypsy camp, Ned states doesn't want his fortune read. Ned: "Not me...I'll go into business, prosper, and marry a certain ambitious young lady named--" Nancy interrupts hastily, making the excuse that a violinist is about to play. It is always clear that while Nancy likes Ned as a very close friend, she's not really tolerant of Ned's different feelings!
• Nancy is very free about speaking disparagingly about the gypsy culture, despite not knowing the much about it. That changes when some girls tease Rose for being part gypsy. Ta-da! Gratuitous "some gypsies are very nice and are great musicians!" comment.
  
• Nancy is chasing suspects when a policeman stops her. "Do you know how fast you were going? We've got laws!" Moments later, after Nancy explains (she's all, "I am breaking the laws, but that's okay, because I'm chasing bad people!1!1), the cop asks who she is. Nancy quickly answers, "'Nancy Drew...Carson Drew's daugh--' The policeman waited no more. Like a released rocket he shot down the road." Lolz...not using names, are we, Nan?

#3: The Bungalow Mystery

Ah, The Bungalow Mystery. This one was a yawn, but I'm determined to recap all 56 books...I'm sure I'll finds something to laugh about.

Nancy and Helen are boating on Twin Lakes. A storm comes up, but they are far from shore! OH NO! As they race for shore, the boat runs into a log and capsizes. Thrown into the water, they are stunned, especially Helen. Nancy won't leave Helen, despite the latter's insistence, but they're also running out of time. She shouts for help, and lo and behold, a girl in a rowboat appears. Later, she tells Nancy and Helen that she walks the shore in a storm, ever since her parents were killed in a boating accident. Nancy and Helen are saved saved saved! The girl's name is Laura Pendleton. As soon as Nancy is out of the risk of hypothermia, Laura asks Nancy to solve a mystery. Because Nancy is totally famous, ya know.

Laura's parents are dead and her guardians are nothing like she expected! It seems that they are only trying to get her valuable jewelry. Nancy is intrigued, of course. While engaging in activities at the lakeside hotel with Helen and Laura, swimming, and otherwise enjoying her leisurely between-mysteries life, Nancy ponders the mystery and runs around helping Hannah Gruen with her broken ankle. It isn't really until the end that anything really happens.

• Nancy dines at the hotel restaurant one night before she sneaks to Laura's house, where she will look for clues while the guardians are away. Other diners "observe her with interest" because the exciting prospect sleuthing brings an "excited flush to her face", making her even prettier. Even complete strangers notice Nancy's awesomeness! *snorts*
  
• Carson Drew is working on an embezzlement case and sends Nancy to visit a few people named in the case to see if they could be involved. I'm sure his superiors wouldn't mind at all that he sent his eighteen-year-old daughter to help on the case. But, as so often happens, this ties into the main plot.
  

Signing off! I really want to play tennis with Helen and sunbathe at Melrose Lake, but I have to make my bed. :)

#6: The Secret of Red Gate Farm

Image courtesy: Series Books for Girls

We find our gang, Nancy Drew, Bess Marvin, and George "the girl" Fayne, hurrying to catch a train back to River Heights after a day of shopping. George is chiding Bess for buying a one ounce bottle of "Jade perfume" for an outrageous price. The girls are also wondering why the cantankerous salesgirl almost refused to sell it to them. Of course, only Nancy thinks that there could be more to that odd behavior. Because Bess and George don't have intuition, you know.

Bess uncorks the perfume while riding the train (smart move, Bess!) Consequently, the train jogs and perfume spills on Nancy. Then! A shifty-eyed man passes by, happens to smell it and asks Nancy, "Any word from the Chief?". Then he looks at her and slinks away. Uh-oh.

The scent of the perfume fills the train. A girl, about same age as our three friends, faints; Nancy, George, and Bess rush to revive her. When she recovers, we find out that she is Joanne Byrd. Ms. Byrd has to get off at River Heights, too. Unfortunately, Joanne sick from fainting. Good going, Bess. Anyway, Nancy takes Jo (her preferred nickname) to the Drews' house.

Jo tells her life story. She is helping her grandma keep her (the grandma's) farm; thus, she is applying for a job as an "office girl" to earn money for the upkeep. Oh, feminists! Note the label, "office girl"! Grandma's farm is in danger of being taken away by the bank. Poor grandma :(.

In a convenient plot device, Jo is realizes that she should've gotten off at Riverside Heights, where she hopes to get the job. The two towns conveniently have very similar names. Oh, convenient plot device, I love you. :)

Nancy drives Jo to the office in Riverside Heights, where the interview will take place. Nancy goes into the office with Jo to give moral support. Al, the interviewer, is very loud and rude--thus being automatically detected on Nancy's "something's up!" radar. Only "shady people" are loud and rude, you know. But even more oddly, Al is strangely reluctant to interview Jo. But just as Al finally sends Jo into another room for the interview, the phone rings. Al picks it up, writes something on a note and hangs up. His conversation was a bit strange, so while Al interviews Jo in another room, Nancy furtively copies some of the note, which turns out to be some sort of a code. Way to butt into a stranger's business.

Back at home, Nancy quickly decodes the code...because she is amazing! Her father, Carson Drew, the intelligent, revered lawyer, is all "OMG, Nancy, how did you do it? You're a modern day Sherlock Holmes!!11!!!"

Jo tells Nancy, Bess and George that Grandma Byrd is ready to sell her farm because of unsettling, bizarre events on the farm. However, Nancy, with her seemingly limitless pocketbook, boards at the farm, along with Bess and George.

Mrs. Byrd tells Nancy that a mysterious cult (which seems like a watered down version of the KKK) pays rent on part of the land. She is afraid that this will eventually scare other boarders away or cause trouble.

Things do continue to happen. The girl who sold Bess the perfume is seen applying for a job at Al's office. Her name is Yvonne Wong (fyi). Nancy by chance meets a middle-aged woman near the farm. The woman says she is sneaking away from the cult to deliver a letter. Nancy drives her to town and, of course, asks about her troubles. Though the woman seems nervous at first, she confesses to Nancy that she wants to leave the cult, but is afraid to.

Later on, Nancy and friends watch the odd rituals the cult performs in plain view on moonlight nights . Soon after, a very belligerent man tries to force Mrs. Byrd to give up the farm.

Long story short, Nancy and crew end up in a sticky set of scrapes...and get out of it through a series of deductions and coincidences. The cult (two of the members being Al and Yvonne Wong) is just a cover-up for a counterfeiting ring,. The cult does its counterfeiting in a cave near where the rituals are performed.

It turns out that the perfume was a signal among the cult; only the members were supposed to wear it. Looks like Yvonne screwed up. And why would the secret perfume be in sight at the store if its, well, secret?...?

And would you believe, Nancy solves a case that confounded the FBI!

• While eating at a cafe with Bess and George, a waitress accuses Nancy of using counterfeit money. Nancy protests, but the police aren't convinced. Well, guess what? At the precise moment, a young man named Karl, a is the son of one of the boarders, walks in at the precise moment. He not only vouches for her, but also makes sure they know she's Carson Drew's daughter! Being Carson Drew's daughter is very convenient, although Nancy herself never mentions her dad's name intentionally. It just happens to slip out from time to time ;)
  
• Nancy and friends end up trapped in a cave by the weird cult. This is the end, my friend, my only friend, the end! Not. Karl and several policemen arrive at the critical juncture--again! Mrs. Byrd just happened to figure out what the girls were up to and sent Karl out at the right moment! Deus ex machina, anyone?