NANCY DREW BOOKS
Many readers love Nancy Drew books, just like me. 🙂 I’m thankful Nancy Drew mysteries are available for us to read and enjoy. Nancy and her adventures first began being published in 1930 when Edward Stratemeyer created the series. The pseudonym Carolyn Keene has been requested at libraries and bookstores and on gift lists. In a number of lands and languages, readers have anxiously turned page after page to see how Nancy would get out of numerous dangerous situations while putting an end to crooked activity of individuals and gangs. Nancy, her family, boyfriend, and friends are waiting for you to go on an adventure with them, whether in River Heights or one of the many places they’ve visited! 🙂
As I noted on The Hardy Boys book page, by having the various titles listed on here doesn’t mean I think they are all good, nor that I recommend for anyone to read every one of them. It also isn’t saying that each book has the characters written or portrayed correctly – because that would be incorrect. There have been quite a few ghostwriters and sometimes there’s a discrepancy and there are times when an author didn’t write the characters true to their characters. Not every book or series with Nancy Drew’s name on them are real deal Nancy Drew; they just borrow the characters’ names, but fail to write them. The books and series, as well as all media formats, have to be up to the high standard quality of ethics and morality to count as Nancy Drew. There are plenty of good volumes that do get the characters right which I totally recommend and I expect that list to grow. 🙂 I personally haven’t read every Nancy Drew book in every series, but I read a lot and fast, so I’ve read quite a few! And I have opinions on them! 😉 There are definitely some excellent mysteries that I love and I’m looking forward to the well-written ones I have yet to read. 🙂
You’ll find new info added on here at various times. It might be any number of details on an individual book, such as another cover, date, synopsis, people or places in the books, and interesting facts. The Nancy Drew books I’ve already reviewed will have a link with the title below so you can read it if you like and I’ll add new links as I post the reviews.
Peruse the list of books below and please share which one you’re reading right now on the Bayport/River Heights Library page. 🙂 I love talking with others about how much we enjoy Nancy Drew books – and Hardy Boys books! 😎
NANCY DREW SERIES (1930-2003) ~
The main Nancy Drew series, also known as Nancy Drew Mysteries or Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, continue to be very popular and loved, which is true also of The Hardy Boys (1-190). I know of some fans who will only read the hardcovers. I think there are good ones throughout the series, depends on the book. There were 175 new mysteries written/published from 1930-2003. Plus, the Nancy Drew Sleuth Book, The Nancy Drew Cookbook, and also books featuring the Hardy brothers: Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys Super Sleuths Volumes I and 2 and Campfire Stories, and Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys Be A Detective Mystery Stories.
Except where otherwise noted, reviews and info on Hardy and Drew Mysteries and The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Books refers to the revised editions of the Nancy Drew series (Nancy Drew Mysteries/Nancy Drew Mystery Stories), not the unrevised editions first published.
Tap or click on a cover to see it larger! 🙂
#1 The Secret of the Old Clock 
In The Secret of the Old Clock, Nancy discovers a mystery surrounding the will of Josiah Crowley: While some of Crowley’s impoverished relatives—the Turners—claim that he had included them in his will, several of his arrogant relatives—the Tophams—claim that they possess the only copy, which leaves them in total possession of the deceased man’s fortune. However, it is said that Crowley’s antique clock, which is missing, contains a clue to the location of his real will…
Intrigued by the situation, Nancy begins searching for the clock, but it seems that someone doesn’t want her to find it. Will Nancy be able to overcome the challenges of her investigation and outwit those who are trying to stop her? And will the clock’s contents turn out to be what she’s expecting?
192 pages Grosset & Dunlap Publishers/Penguin USA
#2 The Hidden Staircase
Teenage detective Nancy Drew uses her courage and powers of deduction to solve the mysterious happenings in an old stone mansion.
182 pages Grosset & Dunlap Publishers/Penguin USA
#3 The Bungalow Mystery 
While driving a motorboat around the Twin Lakes, Nancy and her friend Helen get caught in a dangerous storm. Luckily, they are rescued by another teenage girl in a rowboat. They soon learn that their rescuer is Laura Pendleton….Laura has come to meet up with her new guardians, but something isn’t quite right about them. Nancy investigates the situation, and soon she stumbles upon a shocking surprise in the cellar of a bungalow!
FROM THE COLLECTOR’S EDITION ~
A special treat for Nancy Drew fans, and any reader who’s new to the series! We’re releasing a stunning new edition of an old favorite: The Bungalow Mystery, the third book in the incredibly popular, long-running series. It’s the same exciting mystery that readers have fallen in love with for more than 80 years—Nancy Drew has to help Laura Pendelton retrieve her family jewels, but they have to act quickly! Now with a brand-new look, this is an edition that collectors won’t want to miss!
192 pages Grosset & Dunlap Publishers/Penguin USA
#4 The Mystery at Lilac Inn 
Nancy and her friend Helen visit their friend Emily Willoughby at the Lilac Inn, which Emily now owns, to help her plan her wedding. Emily plans on selling inherited diamonds in order to help fix up the Lilac Inn. However, Nancy soon learns that someone has been impersonating her and making expensive purchases under her name. Soon after, Emily’s diamonds are stolen! Can Nancy find the thieves and recover the missing diamonds?
192 pages Grosset & Dunlap Publishers/Penguin USA
#5 The Secret of Shadow Ranch 
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 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. Aided by her friends Bess Marvin and George Fayne, Nancy comes face-to-face with disaster when she is trapped inside a building that is toppled by a rockslide — a rockslide which is deliberately caused. But the pretty titian-haired detective remains undaunted in her determination to solve the mystery.
192 pages Grosset & Dunlap Publishers/Penguin USA
#6 The Secret of Red Gate Farm
Nancy and her friends, Bess and George, meet Joanne Byrd on a train ride home. Joanne lives at Red Gate Farm with her grandmother, but if they do not raise enough money to pay the mortgage, they will soon lose the farm! Nancy, Bess, and George decide to stay at Red Gate for a week as paying customers. Soon, they learn about the strange group of people who rent a cave on the property. They describe themselves as a nature cult called the Black Snake Colony. Nancy investigates their group and helps to uncover a ring of counterfeiters in town!
Published Originally Sept. 1, 1931 192 pages Grosset & Dunlap Publishers/Penguin USA
#7 The Clue in the Diary
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.
Published Originally 1/1/1932 192 pages Grosset & Dunlap Publishers/Penguin USA
#8 Nancy’s Mysterious Letter
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.
192 pages Grosset & Dunlap Publishers/Penguin USA
#9 The Sign of the Twisted Candles
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.
192 pages Grosset & Dunlap Publishers/Penguin USA
#10 The 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.
192 pages Grosset & Dunlap Publishers/Penguin USA
#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.
192 pages Grosset & Dunlap Publishers/Penguin USA
#12 The Message in the Hollow Oak – I don’t recommend. Terribly disrespectful.
#13 The Mystery of the Ivory Charm
#14 The Whispering Statue
Once again, Nancy faces two puzzling mysteries at once! The first concerns a valuable collection of rare books that Mrs. Horace Merriam commissioned an art dealer to sell–has he swindled her instead? The second mystery revolves around the baffling theft of a beautiful marble statue. To solve both mysteries, the famous young detective disguises herself and assumes a false identity. Despite these precautions, danger stalks Nancy’s every move. An attempted kidnapping, a nearly disastrous sailboat collision, and an encounter with a dishonest sculptor are just a few of the exciting challenges that Nancy is faced with as she gathers evidence against a clever ring of art thieves.
192 pages Grosset & Dunlap Publishers/Penguin USA
#15 The Haunted Bridge
Mr. Drew is on the trail of an international ring of jewel thieves and asks Nancy to assist him. The trail leads to a summer resort area. Before Nancy has a chance to start work on her father’s case, a golf caddy tells her a frightening tale–in the dense woods nearby is an old wooden footbridge guarded by a ghost! Intrigued by the caddy’s story, Nancy decides to investigate. Several riddles confront the young detective as she attempts to solve the mystery of the haunted bridge and track down a woman suspected of being a key member of the gang of jewel thieves.
192 pages Grosset & Dunlap Publishers/Penguin USA
#16 The Clue of the Tapping Heels
Challenging questions confront Nancy Drew when she attempts to solve the mystery of the strange tapping sounds in the house of a retired actress. Who is the tapper? How does he gain access to Miss Carter’s house, despite securely locked doors and windows? Why do the tapping sounds come in Morse code? Is there a sinister motive behind the prowler’s actions? While trying to learn the answers to these and other puzzling questions, Nancy finds her investigations complicated by the dishonest administrator of a will and by a thief who steals the actress’s prize Persian cats.
Published Originally 1/1/1939 192 pages Grosset & Dunlap Publishers
#17 The Mystery of the Brass-Bound Trunk
From the moment Nancy Drew boards an ocean liner leaving for New York, she becomes involved in a new and dangerous mystery. A man on the pier gestures to someone on board in sign language. BEWARE OF NANCY DREW AND NE, he signals. Who is NE? Can it be Nelda Detweiler, a young woman who shares a cabin with Nancy, Bess, and George? Mystery and intrigue follow the girls across the ocean; but with her usual ingenuity Nancy solves the mystery and defeats her enemies before the ship reaches New York.
#18 Mystery of the Moss-Covered Mansion
#19 The Quest of the Missing Map
#20 The Clue in the Jewel Box
#21 The Secret in the Old Attic
#22 The Clue in the Crumbling Wall
#23 The Mystery of the Tolling Bell
#24 The Clue in the Old Album
#25 The Ghost of Blackwood Hall
#26 The Clue of the Leaning Chimney
#27 The Secret of the Wooden Lady
#28 The Clue of the Black Keys
#29 The Mystery at the Ski Jump
#30 The Clue of the Velvet Mask
#31The Ringmaster’s Secret
#32 The Scarlet Slipper Mystery
#33 The Witch Tree Symbol
#34 The Hidden Window Mystery
#35 The Haunted Showboat
#36 The Secret of the Golden Pavilion
#37 The Clue in the Old Stagecoach
#38 The Mystery of the Fire Dragon
#39 The Clue of the Dancing Puppet
#40 The Moonstone Castle Mystery
#41 The Clue of the Whistling Bagpipes
#42 The Phantom of Pine Hill
#43 The Mystery of the 99 Steps
#44 The Clue in the Crossword Cipher
#45 The Spider Sapphire Mystery
#46 The Invisible Intruder
#47 The Mysterious Mannequin
#48 The Crooked Banister
#49 The Secret of Mirror Bay
#50 The Double Jinx Mystery
#51 Mystery of the Glowing Eye
#52 The Secret of the Forgotten City – another one I don’t recommend – also disrespectful
#53 The Sky Phantom
#54 The Strange Message in the Parchment
#55 Mystery of Crododile Island
#56 The Thirteenth Pearl
#57 The Triple Hoax
#58 The Flying Saucer Mystery
#59 The Secret in the Old Lace
#60 The Greek Symbol Mystery
#61 The Swami’s Ring
#62 The Kachina Doll Mystery
#63 The Twin Dilemma
#64 Captive Witness
#65 Mystery of the Winged Lion
#66 Race Against Time
#67 The Sinister Omen
#68 The Elusive Heiress
#69 Clue in the Ancient Disguise
#70 The Broken Anchor
#71 The Silver Cobweb
#72 The Haunted Carousel
#73 Enemy Match
#74 The Mysterious Image
#75 The Emerald-Eyed Cat Mystery
#76 The Eskimo’s Secret
#77 The Bluebeard Room – NO!
#78 The Phantom of Venice
#79 The Double Horror of Fenley Place
#80 The Case of the Disappearing Diamonds
#81 The Mardi Gras Mystery
#82 The Clue in the Camera
#83 The Case of the Vanishing Veil
#84 The Joker’s Revenge
#85 The Secret of Shady Glen
#86 The Mystery of Misty Canyon
#87 The Case of the Rising Stars
#88 The Search for Cindy Austin
#89 The Case of the Disappearing Deejay
#90 The Puzzle at Pineview School
#91 The Girl Who Couldn’t Remember
#92 The Ghost of Craven Cove
#93 The Case of the Safecracker’s Secret
#94 The Picture-Perfect Mystery
#95 The Silent Suspect
#96 The Case of the Photo Finish
#97 The Mystery at Magnolia Mansion
#98 The Haunting of Horse Island
#99 The Secret at Seven Rocks
#100 A Secret in Time
#101 The Mystery of the Missing Millionairess
#102 The Secret in the Dark
#103 The Stranger in the Shadows
#104 The Mystery of the Jade Tiger
#105 The Clue in the Antique Trunk
#106 The Case of the Artful Crime
#107 The Legend of Miner’s Creek
#108 The Secret of the Tibetan Treasure
#109 The Mystery of the Masked Rider
#110 The Nutcracker Ballet Mystery
#111 The Secret at Solaire
#112 Crime in the Queen’s Court
#113 The Secret Lost at Sea
#114 The Search for the Silver Persian
#115 The Suspect in the Smoke
#116 The Case of the Twin Teddy Bears
#117 Mystery of the Menu
#118 Trouble at Lake Tahoe
#119 The Mystery of the Missing Mascot
#120 The Case of the Floating Crime
#121 The Fortune Teller’s Secret
#122 The Message in the Haunted Mansion
#123 The Clue on the Silver Screen
#124 The Secret of the Scarlet Hand
#125 The Teen Model Mystery
#126 The Riddle in the Rare Book
#127 The Case of the Dangerous Solution
#128 The Treasure in the Royal Tower
#129 The Baby-Sitter Burglaries
#130 The Sign of the Falcon
#131 The Hidden Inheritance
#132 The Fox Hunt Mystery
#133 The Mystery at the Crystal Palace
#134 The Secret of the Forgotten Cave
#135 The Riddle of the Ruby Gazelle
#136 The Wedding Day Mystery
#137 In Search of the Black Rose
#138 The Legend of the Lost Gold
#139 The Secret of Candlelight Inn
#140 The Door-to-Door Deception
#141 The Wild Cat Crime
#142 The Case of Capital Intrigue
#143 Mystery on Maui
#144 The E-mail Mystery
#145 The Missing Horse Mystery
#146 The Ghost of the Lantern Lady
#147 The Case of the Captured Queen
#148 On the Trail of Trouble
#149 The Clue of the Gold Doubloons
#150 Mystery at Moorsea Manor
#151 The Chocolate-Covered Contest
#152 The Key in the Satin Pocket
#153 Whispers in the Fog
#154 The Legend of the Emerald Lady
#155 The Mystery in Tornado Alley
#156 The Secret in the Stars
#157 The Music Festival Mystery
#158 The Curse of the Black Cat
#159 The Secret of the Fiery Chamber
#160 The Clue on the Crystal Dove
#161 Lost in the Everglades
#162 The Case of the Lost Song
#163 The Clues Challenge
#164 The Mystery of the Mother Wolf
#165 The Crime Lab Case
#166 The Case of the Creative Crime
#167 Mystery by Moonlight
#168 The Bike Tour Mystery
#169 The Mistletoe Mystery
#170 No Strings Attached
#171 Intrigue at the Grand Opera
#172 The Riding Club Crime
#173 Danger on the Great Lakes
#174 A Taste of Danger
#175 Werewolf in a Winter Wonderland
Nancy Drew Sleuth Book
Nancy Drew Cook Book
Hardy and Drew Mysteries 