The Clue in the Diary (1932)

Nancy Drew finds a Clue in a Diary - unfortunately the diary is written in Swedish and the person she knows who can translate it is so sick he's hospitalized but this doesn't deter Nancy.
A quick synopsis -Nancy and her friends George and Bess, meet a woman with a little girl at a carnival who are financially desperate. On the way home they spot a fire, while George and Bess drive to a neighbor's house, Nancy runs up to the house and tries to rescue anyone who might be trapped. Instead she sees a man running away, finds a diary, has her car rear-ended and meets her boyfriend Ned Nickerson. Ned finds a signet ring with a D on it and calls Nancy to ask if it's her - that set Nancy all a twitter. The man turns out to be the lost husband/father of the woman and her daughter. He's a good guy, but the checks he's been sending home have been getting stolen. Nancy solves that crime too. But now he's a accued of setting the fire and killing the homeowner. Nancy sets a trap and along with Bess and George figures out the mystery. Her father and Ned show up just in time to head off the real villian as Nancy is chasing him.

This book is quite obviously written by a third writer. I found some discrepencies from the previous books. The most glaring of these is that Ned is mentioned in book 5. Bess makes a comment that Ned is returning home and that he is Nancy's boyfriend. But in book 7, Nancy meets Ned for the first time.

In previous books, the emphasis has felt more like feminism. In fact in the first couple of books, Nancy doesn't need a man to help her and barely needs a female side-kick. She is a role model of the independent young woman. In book 7, every time Ned is mentioned she gets giddy. She runs home to get dressed up for their dates, after he calls, she dances around the room. It's a wonder Nancy can stay focused enough to solve the mystery.

Also gone this time are the lengthy descriptions of meals. Hannah Gruen is still a fabulous cook and can just whip up a cake from scratch so Nancy can serve Ned cake and ice cream. The book also doesn't spend so much time describing the clothes that are worn.

By now, I have some questions. How old is Nancy? She's out of high school and her friend Helen was a few years older than she was. I always thought she was probably 18 or 19. If Hannah Gruen practically raised Nancy and they are so affectionate, why do the Drews still treat her like a servant? Where is River Heights? I know it's suppose to be a fictional city, but what state is it located in? The books mention Mr. Drew going to Cleveland and taking the train to Chicago - so my guess is that it's someplace in Illinois, Indiana or possibly Wisconsin.

Next question, why doesn't Nancy or any of her friends have jobs? If they're suppose to be independet women, you'd think they would have jobs at least in a department store. And why doesn't Nancy attend college? Her father has the money and he himself is edcuated, but by book 7 she is just tooling around in her convertible solving mysteries and not being paid.

Well, it's off to book 8. ( )

I like this book because it tells how Nancy and Ned first meet. I did not know how they first met until I read this book. ( )

Nancy Drew and her friends, Bess and George, are returning from a country carnival, when they witness the explosion and burning of beautiful country mansion. Fearing the occupants might be trapped inside, they rush to the rescue---and unexpectedly find themselves confronted with a mystery that seems unsolvable.

The first apperance of Ned Nickerson in the series. Excellent work by Carolyn Keene on interweavening him into the the story line. The story line by itself is riveting. Highly recommend read. ( )

Nancy meets Ned!