Yup. I know I'm days late again in posting this thing. And I even recall that I have to do a monthly wrap-up, as well. Then again, things got a little busy around here. I'm not going to go deeper on that since this entry is about the books I've read. Or should I say, the books that I've re-read this month aside from the ones I've already posted prior to this. Let's just say that I don't want to remove the book comments I've already posted here. I ended up doing a wrap-up with regards to the rest of the books I've paid attention to (or at least I tried) this month.
So here we go!
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Blurb (from Goodreads):
Nancy drew arrives in
Phoenix, Arizona, eagerly looking forward to a fun-filled vacation at
Shadow Ranch, but abruptly finds herself involved in a baffling mystery.
The ranch is being haunted by a phantom horse and maliciously damaged
by an unknown enemy. Local people believe that the ghostly animal is
carrying out the curse of Dirk Valentine, the romantic outlaw who was
killed many years ago at Shadow Ranch, where he had gone to fulfill a
promise to his sweetheart.
Suspecting that a treasure hidden by
Valentine may be at the root of the Shadow Ranch mystery, Nancy
undertakes a challenging search, aided by her friends Bess Marvin and
George Fayne. The first vital clue is found in an antique watch and
sparks a series of clever deductions and dangerous developments. While
seeking further clues, the girls' investigation in a ghost town ends in a
near disaster when Nancy is trapped inside a building that is toppled
by a rock slide - a rock slide which is deliberately caused. But the
pretty titian-haired detective remains undaunted in her determination to
solve the mystery.
I managed to get back on track in re-reading Nancy Drew stories.And I daresay that this is a late one for a book comment. I already posted my book comment on Book 6 and yet I haven't posted anything for this book. Sorry for that.
Anyway, they got quite an adventure here. And an awful lot of suspicious people in the ranch, too. Then again, it's always on the way to somewhere that adventure would usually start for Nancy. This time, it's in Shadow Ranch that had some history and nasty backstory about the previous owners. I already imagined a lot of cowboys and stuffs. Then again, that's just me. They also got a lot of scares there, varying from degrees of fright that it would impose to the residents of the ranch, as well.
By the way, I happened to recall the same glowing trick on one of the episodes of my favorite anime when I read the part that talked about that. The only difference was that in this book, they used a horse to do the trick. And a dog was involved in both. Anyway, they actually used the story of a treasure here, with a tragic love story to book. How is it that they love using that theme, anyway?
Nancy and her friends, George and Bess, are returning from a country carnival when they witness the explosion and burning of a beautiful country mansion. Fearing its occupants may be trapped in the blazing building, they rush to the rescue – and unexpectedly fund themselves confronted with a mystery that seems to be insoluble. The first clue, an anonymous diary, includes not only indecipherable handwriting, but puzzling technical drawings and chemical formulas as well. Who dropped the diary near the burning house? Was it the gaunt stranger Nancy glimpsed running away from the flaming structure? What was he doing there? And does he know the whereabouts of Felix Raybolt, an unscrupulous dealer in patents, who has not been seen since his home burned? Or did Raybolt die in the fire? When evidence mounts against Joe Swenson, who was swindled by “Foxy Felix”, our young detective makes the desperate effort to exonerate the inventor of the suspicion of arson because of his dear five-year-old daughter.
How is it that I kept on forgetting that usually, the characters that appear in the first chapter were usually the ones involved in the case? Or at least have some connection to the one who was involved. Yes, it's what I've noticed since starting to re-read Nancy Drew books again. The mother and daughter that Nancy and her friends met turned out to be connected to the person that the sleuth had initially suspected to have caused the fire at the Raybolt estate.
And yes, as always, it doesn't see easy, at first. Things didn't look too good for the suspected person, as well. And you know what happened next. One clue lead to another -- with various threats on the way, of course -- and everything led to the burned estate once again. This case, as well, had finally introduced us to (hopefully) Nancy's permanent date in the next books -- Ned Nickerson.
Okay. I guess I've put too much of a spoiler here. Or did it? Anyway, I'd only like to keep it short. But seriously, this book has only made me love journal writing/writing in diaries even more. Who knows what those handwritten materials could hold to someone's life, right? In this case, it became an incriminating evidence to solve the case and help someone rebuild his life after all the chaos.
By mistake Nancy Drew receives a letter from England intended for an heiress, also named Nancy Drew. When Nancy undertakes a search for the missing young woman, it becomes obvious that a ruthless, dangerous man is determined to prevent her from finding the heiress or himself. Clues that Nancy unearths lead her to believe that the villainous Edgar Nixon plans to marry the heiress and then steal her inheritance.
Mail frauds does exist a lot even before, huh? I hadn't had much experience when it comes to mailing letters or even delivering letters. But it seems that even before, things like this happen to cause a lot of trouble. Something similar happened in the last Nancy Drew book I read, as well.
In any case, letters and similar names are the main themes of this case for Nancy and her friends when she was just supposed to enjoy her date with Ned at his college. Yes, her date appeared to help her solve this case that started with stolen letters of the mail carrier she was fond of and eventually learning something about a woman with the same name as she does. This book also made me recall some people who still think that there's something good left in someone even though his actions and reputation spoke otherwise. But it seemed that even with that, once you're determined to take a path that you deemed right even though it was wrong, then even faith would prove itself to be pointless.
This is another re-read, by the way, and it only took me two days to finish re-reading this thing.
Another exciting mystery begins for the young detective when her friends Bess and George ask her to investigate a rumor that their wealthy great-granduncle, Asa Sidney, is virtually a prisoner in his own mansion. But solving the mystery and befriending Carol Wipple, the sixteen-year-old foster daughter of the caretakers of the old mansion, nearly costs Nancy the friendship of Bess and George. It takes all of Nancy’s sleuthing ability as well as diplomacy to save it.Nancy braves one danger after another to bring to justice the swindlers who are stealing Asa Sidney’s fortune. With only the sign of the twisted candles to guide her, Nancy uncovers hidden treasure and an amazing letter that ends a family feud and brings unexpected happiness to Carol.
It seems that I'm doing a Nancy Drew Mystery Stories reading marathon here since this is the 4th one for this month. And this 4th one happened to be one of my favorites out of what I've re-read, so far. Come to think of it, I did state this in one of the journal prompts I've answered as one of my favorite books. But I guess one reason why I stated it as such was because it was something that hit close to home to Nancy. Similar to The Hidden Staircase. This time, it involved a family feud where her friends Bess and George belonged to. It ended up creating a rift in term of their friendship, but it was sorted out on the half (or was it really on the half?) of the story. And yes, I have to admit that Nancy was put in a tight spot because of this. Then again, thanks to this case, the truth kept hidden and was brought to the grave finally revealed itself and put an end to so many issues running about.
You know the funny thing is? I kept on re-reading the last chapter of this book, and perhaps it's what made me recall this plot a lot out of all the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories that I've read by far.
About Nancy Drew Mystery Stories # 10: Password To Larkspur Lane
Blue bells will be singing horses! This strange message, attached to the leg of a wounded homing pigeon, involves Nancy Drew in a dangerous mission. Somewhere an elderly woman is being held prisoner in a mansion, and Nancy is determined to find and free her. Meanwhile, the young detective’s close friend, Helen, begs her to solve a second mystery. Helen’s grandparents, the Cornings, are frightened by a sinister wheel of blue fire that appears after dark in the woods outside their home at lonely Sylvan Lake. When Nancy discovers the significance of the eerie signal, she also learns that her two mysteries are connected.
Exploiting elderly, pigeons carrying messages, and larkspurs... I guess I don't recall much about the plot of this story when I re-read it except for the flower larkspurs. I know. Lame excuse at some point. But at least I got to read up to here. And yes, you could say that I like the title of this book, for some reason. Possibly one of the few titles of this series that I can recall.
About Nancy Drew Mystery Stories # 11: The Clue Of The Broken Locket
When Nancy Drew and her friends arrive at Misty Lake, they meet pretty, red-haired Cecily Curtis, who seeks Nancy’s help in solving two mysteries. One concerns Cecily’s fiancé, Niko Van Dyke, a popular singer who believes that his record company is cheating him of royalty payments. The other invovles a family treasure hidden before the start of the Civil War; Cecily’s only clue is half of a gold locket. Nancy’s investigations lead her to Pudding Stone Lodge, where the sinister Driscoll family lives. Strange coincidences give Nancy plenty of opportunity to test her sleuthing skills. Braving a series of dangerous situations and discouraging developments, the alert young detective perseveres in her attempts to solve both mysteries and reveal the astounding secrets of Pudding Stone Lodge.
The last book I read (or re-read) this month and I got to write my thoughts/notes about this book on my journal since I don't want to misplace those papers where I would usually write them again. Anyway, here are my thoughts about it:- Weird enough, I ended up dreaming scenes about this book. At least, the canoe, the lockets cut in half and the swamp where the phantom launch would appear. These details were the visible ones I could recall from it.
- At first, I though Cecily and Susan were twins since it was mentioned that they looked alike. Didn't think of a doppelgänger. Until the issue was made clear at the end of the story. Blame the Goodreads review I ended up passing by for making me think that way.
- More action for the boys and actually got to participate a lot on the solving of the case instead of that in the middle and then they disappear because of college or other issues.
- Another case that involved treasure hunting that originated from a family fortune kept to safety during the Civil War. At least, it's a recurring theme that I noticed.
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One whole month of re-reading Nancy Drew. Not that I hated it. And to think I read this much in one month. It's still a progress to me. I mean, I got to complete my Goodreads Reading Challenge (though they're not that much) because of deciding to read Nancy Drew Mystery Stories again. Let's see if I'd be able to read more books next month -- if we're not busy with the wedding preparations.
See you next time!
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