The Mystery at Lilac Inn

The Mystery at Lilac Inn is the fourth Nancy Drew Mystery. Originally published in 1930, the book was revised and updated in 1961. The story is a little bit dated, (example - a department store credit card is called a "charge plate'' and snorkeling/free diving is called "skin diving.'') but not enough to hamper my enjoyment of this action-packed story! Although this story follows the usual Nancy Drew suspenseful formula, there is more danger and action in this story than the previous three mysteries. The bad guys really mean business this time!

The Basics: Nancy and her friend Helen travel to the Lilac Inn to visit with their friend Emily, who is soon to be married. Immediately strange things start to happen....their canoe capsizes, show more thefts occur at the inn, and someone is pretending to be Nancy! Of course, Nancy jumps right into the mystery to help her friend. The case is filled with danger this time and Nancy finds herself in multiple scrapes while sleuthing out the truth.

Great story! I'm enjoying reading my way through this series as an adult. I was about 10 years old or so when I read these books the first time. I'm enjoying them as much at 50 as I did at 10! I do have to smile a bit when Nancy miraculously has exactly what she needs to investigate, or when help shows up just in time to save her from a grisly demise.

I listened to the audio book version of this story. I'm really enjoying the audio books from Books on Tape via my local library. There are sound effects and music added at appropriate spots in the story to build suspense. Makes it fun! And I can listen to the story while working outside in my yard and garden. At just over 3 hours long, this audio book was a perfect easy listening length. I easily finished it in a day. Laura Linney narrates. Linney has a pleasant voice and reads at a nice pace. All in all, an enjoyable listening experience.

On to the next book in this series -- The Secret of Shadow Ranch! show less

Each of the first 34 Nancy Drew mysteries has two versions: an original, 25-chapter, pre-1959 version, and a revised, post-1959, 20-chapter version. Most of these revisions left the plot, characters, and most of the text largely intact (except for, you know, cutting out five chapters and 20 to 40 pages of material), but The Mystery at Lilac Inn is one of the eight stories that were almost completely re-written. This book is the original, 1930 text, and it shows.

Emily Crandall, an old friend of Nancy's, is a (relatively) poor orphan due to inherit the Crandall Jewels, valued at $40,000, at her next birthday. She plans to sell some of them and get married on the proceeds, since her fiancé won't earn the money to support a wife for a few show more years. Her plan falls through when her flighty guardian, Mrs Jane Willoughby, has her purse stolen while dining at the Lilac Inn—with the diamonds inside.

Aside from the jewel theft, much of the plot revolves around Nancy hiring a maid to replace Hannah Gruen, who will be away for months tending a sick family member. Nancy's attitude towards domestic help is one of the clearest signs that this book was written in 1930 and not three decades later. The class divide separating Nancy from the women she interviews is much greater than it would be in later years. In the revised books, Hannah is in some ways a stand-in for Nancy’s late mother; she’s been with the family since Nancy was three years old and has the kind of authority over Nancy that comes from having helped to raise her, though she’s still an employee. In the original versions, especially this one, the relationship is more professional and the authority is clearly all one way: Nancy is the one in charge. show less

On the same day I finish NaNoWriMo, I finish The Mystery at Lilac Inn. It's a sign... okay, it's probably not, but it's a nifty coincidence.

Anyway, this is the last of my mother's old Nancy Drew books that we found wasting away in one of my parents' storage buildings some years ago and Mom said I could keep. Actually, this is the second time I've read this one, but since I've been reading all the others lately, thought it would be a nice revisit.

And it was! What I love about Nancy Drew is that it holds the same draw as both the Hardy Boy mysteries and the great movie serials of the 30s and 40s. Nancy's stories are written just like the best pulp books, not lessening the danger in any way either because Nancy is a girl or because the show more books are aimed at a younger audience. It's nice to read something that doesn't talk down to its intended audience.

As Nancy's father says at the wrap up, "This certainly has been an involved and dangerous mystery." He certainly understates things well. What starts as a basic mystery at the inn her friend has just purchased turns into a multi-level threat involving a girl impersonating Nancy (going as far as stealing her charge card and buying expensive things in her name), something strange in the river (that sends Nancy and her friend Helen flying out of their canoe), as well as the potential "haunting" of the inn itself (not to mention a theft of some very valuable property). All these things, some seeming to have no connection to each other, make for one wild ride and Nancy and friends try to figure out "the mystery at Lilac Inn." show less

A hallmark of detective fiction, Nancy Drew is a enduring and well known literary figure. From the original books, to remakes, spinoffs and television and movie adaptations, Nancy Drew is synonymous with amateur sleuth.

The Mystery at Lilac Inn was published on October 1, 1930, comprises of twenty five chapters and was written by Mildred Wirt Benson under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. The following review is for the 1930's edition of the text.

Nancy is excited to learn her friend, Emily Crandall, has been named in her grandmother's will to inherit the famed Crandall jewels. But she is horrified when she hears that the jewels have been stolen before they ever came into Emily's possession. When Emily's kindly guardian, Mrs Willoughby, show more comes under suspicion, Nancy is on the case.

It's hard not to like Nancy. She's spunky, kind and enthusiastic. She might be scared, frightened or surprised - but she'd never let that stop her from solving a case - or saving a friend. And I adore her relationship with her dad, Carson Drew. They're both so proud of each other and I really like that he's such a prominent figure in these books. Plus I love that he's so supportive and willing to let Nancy take the lead and step back when he can and most importantly - listens to her thoughts and opinions and values them.

Undoubtedly a product of its time, The Mystery at Lilac Inn, doesn't quite make the standards of modern sensibilities. There's a lot of racism and class discrimination in this one and it sucked. I do understand why a lot of these original texts were revised - I just think they can be revised to meet modern sensibilities without gutting the entirety of the text and what makes Nancy Drew, Nancy Drew.

There was a lot more plot regarding the domestic aspects of Nancy's life in this one. Hannah Gruen is departing to take care of her ill sister, so Nancy is in need of another housekeeper. I found these parts a bit boring. It might have been realistic but it wasn't riveting.

It got better once Nancy hired someone and started to investigate who stole the jewels. To be fair, she waffled quite a bit, lamenting the lack of clues she had available - but it was engaging enough to keep me going. I was more invested when she went back to Mary's house and found out what was going on, got captured, etc. When she was first put on the boat, I was excited at the idea of a boat chase instead of the usual car chase but it never eventuated - which seemed like a missed opportunity.

I loved Nancy preventing Mary's escape by running after her and tripping her. That was wicked. Though it was also funny when she sat on her to keep her from moving. Always thinking.
I was disappointed by the hiding place of the jewels. I mean after a clock in the first one, I would've preferred something else for this one. Still, hardly a dealbreaker. It worked well enough just not quite what I wanted.

A slightly slower start before it picks up and chugs full steam ahead towards a neatly tied conclusion, let down only by some realism and a lack of modern equality for all. 3 stars. show less

After reading the 4th ND mystery, I have a new hashtag: #macgyvermaven. Since this book involves many intense scenes in water, of course Nancy just completed her certificate in skin-diving. She always has the right props and tools to get out of her scrapes, which are many and much scarier in this version. She's also now 18 and titian-haired, which might explain her dad's hand-offish attitude in this novel. Overall, another fun and riveting read.

The fourth Nancy Drew book in the series and so far my favorite. Our heroine is stumbling into one mystery after another while trying to just enjoy a little vacation with her friends. Premise: Nancy and Helen visit their friend Emily who is getting married soon. Em and her fiance, Dick, have bought an old inn and are renovating it, but a series of unfortunate accidents could cause the opening to be delayed. Diamonds are stolen, the cabin Nancy is staying in is blown up, Helen is knocked unconscious...it is one tragic event after another - not to mention that there is someone impersonating Nancy back in River Heights. Nancy trails a maid, gets kidnapped and is nearly killed - although nothing happens to her more seriously than a bad show more scare. Bad guys were nicer back in the 30s and 40s I suppose. In the end Nancy solves the mystery that has little to do with the Inn and more to do with her and her father and an angry ex-con.
The story is a bit far-fetched, but it was written in a different time for a much different audience than today's young adults. No wonder I wanted to be Nancy when I was growing up - solve mysteries, out smart the bad guys, drive around in a cute little convertible all while looking good and telling eligible young men that I am just too busy solving mysteries to be bothered going out.
I've already purchased book #5 and will start it shortly. Long live the Nancy Drew books. show less

While contending with identity theft, jewel thieves, and a glow-in-the-dark ghost Nancy falls out of a canoe, drives into a ditch, and gets harpooned! Luckily her best pink dress escapes unscathed.