Lowkey haven't read it and probably won't, but I like owning an old Nancy Drew. I read a lot of them when I was younger. ( )

A solid yarn, and loved seeing the return of Effie Schneider, Hannah Gruen's ditzy niece, who I last saw in Password to Larkspur Lane ( )

I absolutely loved Nancy Drew growing up. This was a series I latched on to for dear life and never let go. Anytime my mom and I would go to antique stores, we'd peruse the Nancy Drews and add them to the collection (oftentimes my mom had to make deals with me on how many I could buy). So, while I don't remember the exact details of each and every one, the entire series was amazing and really fed my love for reading (especially novels full of suspense and mystery). Thank you, Carolyn Keene, for giving us an intelligent female character to fall in love with in Nancy Drew! ( )

Retired soldier Philip March has fallen on hard times and risks losing the care of his orphaned granddaughter, Susan. His son Fipp was a gifted composer whose music could be sold to support his daughter, if they could find it, so Mr. March approaches Nancy for help. At the same time, a client of Carson Drew believes a rival company has stolen his secret chemical process for working with spider silk. While helping with both of those investigations, Nancy has little time to worry about the fact that Ned Nickerson seems to have invited another girl to the Emerson College dance.

This is definitely not one of my favourites. The mystery is not especially interesting, and both Mr. March and the housekeeper, Effie, are constantly doing stupid things that jeopardize the investigation. Effie is a recurring character who has always been silly and superstitious, so even though she annoys me, her behaviour is believable and perfectly in character. There’s no excuse for Mr. March, who is supposed to have been a competent soldier—if he had behaved in WWI the way he behaved in this book, he wouldn’t have lasted a week, much less been decorated for his skill and bravery. ( )

#21 Nancy Drew races against time to unravel the clues in a dead man’s letters. If she succeeds, Philip March and his little granddaughter can be saved from financial ruin. Following obscure clues, Nancy undertakes a search for some unpublished musical manuscripts which she believes are hidden in the dark, cluttered attic of the rundown March mansion. But someone else wants them enough to put many frightening obstacles in Nancy’s way. Will she outwit a trio of ruthless thieves and solves the Marches’ problems? ( )