The Mystery at Lilac Inn

The Mystery at Lilac Inn by Carolyn Keene, 200 pages

In this fourth Nancy Drew book, the young sleuth is swept up in a complicated mystery that includes burglary, identity theft, "haunting," and skin diving. All of these elements to combine a tale that's more than a bit convoluted, and ends with a mad scramble to come up with a conclusion (I was seriously wondering where all these random characters came from when the "big reveal" happened). Consider me underwhelmed.

The Bungalow Mystery

The Bungalow Mystery by Carolyn Keene, 192 pages

In her third mystery, Nancy Drew must simultaneously help out a new friend with atrocious new foster parents while assisting her father as he investigates securities that are missing from a local bank. As we're beginning to expect from these mysteries, the stories are intertwined, and Nancy once again finds herself in peril as she sleuths. My son liked this one, though not as much as its predecessor, The Hidden Staircase. That, however, won't stop us from moving on to the fourth book.

The Hidden Staircase

The Hidden Staircase by Carolyn Keene, 182 pages

In the second Nancy Drew mystery, our young sleuth is tasked with catching a "ghost" at the manor house of her friend's aunt, while her father tracks down a shifty property owner involved in a railroad development deal. When Nancy's dad goes missing, the two plots become intertwined, and Nancy's on a race against the clock to find her dad and stop the "haunting" before her friend's aunt is forced to sell her house.

My 9-year-old son is hooked on these classic mysteries, and while I'm a bit flummoxed how estate law (from the first book) and shady real estate practices are so captivating for a modern kid, I'm happy to share a bit of my own childhood with him. On to The Bungalow Mystery!

The Secret of the Old Clock

The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene, 180 pages

In this, Nancy Drew's first adventure as a teenage sleuth, the young detective and her lawyer father agree that there's something fishy about old eccentric Josiah Crowley leaving his fortune to the uppity Topham family when he'd apparently told several needier friends and family members that he'd remember them in his will. Nancy's convinced that a later will exists and is hidden somewhere that the Tophams will never think to look, and her investigation takes her on an adventure filled with crude thieves, an afternoon adrift on a lake, and some light breaking and entering. I read this book to my eight-year-old son, and had no idea that estate law would be so captivating for him. Yet, he loved the book, and is clamoring for the next Nancy Drew mystery. The Hidden Staircase, here we come!