On This Page
Description
Nancy tracks down the thief responsible for stealing the million-dollar Raja diamond during a gala ballet performance.Tags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
Because the "hanging" imagery on Book Eight's cover was a disturbing turn-off for me, I skipped ahead to this ninth Nancy Drew Files book.
Hence, I missed Nancy and her boyfriend Ned's famous breakup, though I'd already seen it coming. She's admitted to habitually taking him for granted, she's kissed or made out with other guys in previous books while telling herself she loves Ned, and she's also got another boyfriend now. So I didn't drum up much sympathy for Nancy being in her feelings here over Ned's new relationship. At the same time, he's kind of a jerk for having the nerve to show up and ask Nancy to do detective work on behalf of his new girlfriend after he often complained about Nancy's detective work while he was with her.
Dude. show more At least have the courtesy to find a different investigator for this case.
Yeah, yeah. I know there's little point in arguing with characters in a YA mystery novel from an '80s series that's sure to have some contrived situations and angsty romance in it. I still had to get that out, though.
Anyhow! As it's also happened in earlier books, Nancy makes some silly mistakes in this case that an experienced and renowned detective wouldn't make, like the way she keeps leaving her purse sitting around the investigation site, even forgetting where she put it. And this book has some repetitive details and dialogue.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed "watching" all of the ballet dancing in this novel, seeing the characters use stuff like cassette tapes and VCRs satisfied my nostalgic side, and the fight scene at the climax is great. Plus, it's refreshing when, every once in a while, Nancy has a case that isn't a murder mystery. Heists like this make interesting cases too.
I'll be continuing this series soon. show less
Hence, I missed Nancy and her boyfriend Ned's famous breakup, though I'd already seen it coming. She's admitted to habitually taking him for granted, she's kissed or made out with other guys in previous books while telling herself she loves Ned, and she's also got another boyfriend now. So I didn't drum up much sympathy for Nancy being in her feelings here over Ned's new relationship. At the same time, he's kind of a jerk for having the nerve to show up and ask Nancy to do detective work on behalf of his new girlfriend after he often complained about Nancy's detective work while he was with her.
Dude. show more At least have the courtesy to find a different investigator for this case.
Yeah, yeah. I know there's little point in arguing with characters in a YA mystery novel from an '80s series that's sure to have some contrived situations and angsty romance in it. I still had to get that out, though.
Anyhow! As it's also happened in earlier books, Nancy makes some silly mistakes in this case that an experienced and renowned detective wouldn't make, like the way she keeps leaving her purse sitting around the investigation site, even forgetting where she put it. And this book has some repetitive details and dialogue.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed "watching" all of the ballet dancing in this novel, seeing the characters use stuff like cassette tapes and VCRs satisfied my nostalgic side, and the fight scene at the climax is great. Plus, it's refreshing when, every once in a while, Nancy has a case that isn't a murder mystery. Heists like this make interesting cases too.
I'll be continuing this series soon. show less
Ratings
Members
- Recently Added By
Author Information
924+ Works 200,906 Members
Carolyn Keene was the pseudonym that Mildred Wirt Benson and Walter Karig used to write Nancy Drew books. The idea of Nancy Drew came from Edward Stratemeyer in 1929. He also had other series, that included the Hardy Boys, but he died in 1930 before the Nancy Drew series became famous. His daughters, Harriet and Edna, inherited his company and show more maintained Nancy Drew having Mildred Wirt Benson, the original Carolyn Keene, as the principal ghostwriter. During the Depression, they asked Benson to take a pay cut and she refused, which is when Karig wrote the books. Karig's Nancy Drew books were Nancy's Mysterious Letter, The Sign of the Twisted Candles, and Password to Larkspur Lane. He was fired from writing more books because of his refusal to honor the request that he keep his work as Carolyn Keene a secret. He allowed the Library of Congress to learn of his authorship and his name appeared on their catalog cards. Afterwards, they rehired Benson and she wrote until her last Nancy Drew book (#30) was written in 1953, Clue of the Velvet Mask. Harriet and Edna Stratemeyer also contributed to the Nancy Drew series. Edna wrote plot outlines for several of the early books and Harriet, who claimed to be the sole author, had actually outlined and edited nearly all the volumes written by Benson. The Stratemeyer Syndicate had begun to make its writers sign contracts that prohibited them from claiming any credit for their works, but Benson never denied her writing books for the series. After Harriet's death in 1982, Simon and Schuster became the owners of the Stratemeyer Syndicate properties and in 1994, publicly recognized Benson for her work at a Nancy Drew conference at her alma mater, the University of Iowa. Now, Nancy Drew has several ghostwriters and artists that have contributed to her more recent incarnations. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
Work Relationships
Is contained in
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- False Moves
- Original publication date
- 1987
Classifications
- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, Tween, Teen, Young Adult
- DDC/MDS
- 813.52 — Literature & rhetoric American literature in English American fiction in English 1900-1999 1900-1945
- LCC
- PZ7 .K23 .F — Language and Literature Fiction and juvenile belles lettres Fiction and juvenile belles lettres Juvenile belles lettres
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 220
- Popularity
- 147,523
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.50)
- Languages
- English, French, Swedish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 10
- ASINs
- 1
