The Secret of Red Gate Farm

The fun part of reading the Nancy Drew books a second time and this time in order is the fact that I can discern between authors - even though they are all writing under the nom de plume of Carolyn Keene.

This is the 6th book of the series; Helen Corning, Nancy's BFF and side kick isn't even mentioned and neither is Ned Nickerson, her mentioned but not seen boyfriend in the 5th book. The story takes place near Nancy's home of River Heights, but it's on a farm a few hours away. Nancy befriends a tired, sad-looking girl on the train and then decides that she and her two best friends George and Bess should mettle in her affaris. It's a good thing too because there is a mystery to be solved and a farm to be saved. Oh where is Lassie?

Nancy show more and friends ride to rescue insisting on helping around the farm as well as paying for the experience. Two boarders show up and one of them has a handsome son. Good thing Ned isn't around. The boarders are two cantankerous elderly people, who think the girls shouldn't investigate the shenanigans going on at the Black Snake Colony, a nature cult who has rented some of the farmland.

Of course nosy Nancy investigates and just happens to stumble upon a counterfeiting ring! Which over the course of the 110 pages she of course breaks up, with no real help from Bess and George.

The one glaring difference I noticed in this book is that Nancy is rescued by a man. Usually, she scorns any help from a man or after she has solved the mystery, the man shows up to cart the bad guys off to jail. This story also has a bit of domesticate violence, and everyone is appalled by it.

Carson Drew makes an appearance at the end of the book, when he pops in to see what his wonderfully smart, talented daughter has been up too. The farm has been saved from the creditors and is making a profit; The bad guys are in jail and Nancy is a bit sad because she just doesn't know when her next mystery will show up.

Ok, I'm pretty sarcastic towards Nancy in this book. I just don't like her. I'm wondering if anyone, male or female would traipse around in the dark in the woods with strangers lurking - and not tell anyone. Also, if she and her friends were caught by counterfeiters, they would be dead - not tied up and threatened with starvation. Oh well, I guess it was a kinder, gentler criminal back then. I'm hoping the next book will be a bit more intense. I never felt any trepidation in this one. show less

Sometimes I think that the plots in the original Nancy Drew books are a little simple, not enough twists or whatever. But no matter what the plot, I always love the proper and elegant language in these early books. Such subtle differences at times, but things like "it certainly would be a shame" and "looking perplexed" add something to the reading.

It's also interesting how different Nancy's relationship with the police is in those early books. In the later books most cops don't want her to interfere and even try to stop her, but here they are very open and friendly and actually value her insight.

As far as the actual plot... The connection between the fake money, the Blue Jade perfume, and the Blake Snake Society was very obvious fairly show more early on, and with everything that happened it's amazing that Nancy didn't make the connection much sooner. show less

My first ND since I was a child. Even though we had a tiny library, I was not quite desperate to read these after the first one I tried bored me silly. But now I can see the appeal, at least for girls reading them in the 30s and 40s.

Yes, this was first published in 1931. Three 18 year old girls driving around solving exciting mysteries. From now on, whenever someone tries to explain away sexist writing in books of this era (or since) as "that's the way it was in the old days; they didn't know any better," I'll point to this and say "Ha! No, they were sexist and had no excuse."

Otoh, it's pure pulp, and I'm not interested in reading any more in the series.

The Secret of Red Gate Farm was a fun, quick read! As a children's mystery novel, it delivered exactly what I wanted—an engaging plot that kept me curious without being overly complex. Nancy Drew's adventures at Red Gate Farm were entertaining and moved at a nice pace. It's a simple, charming mystery that's perfect for a light read. If you're looking for something nostalgic and easy to breeze through, this one hits the spot.

Books of the Nancy Drew series certainly weren't meant for adult males, but personal circumstances have led me to read several. In general, they are pretty bad from any standpoints by which fiction is usually judged (e.g. plot, prose, believability, character development, etc.). Their social merit mainly lies in the their value as inspiration to young girls to emulate the 18-year-old Nancy herself. After all, she shows courage, determination, intelligence, and empathy, and persists in the face of danger to solve the crimes with which she's faced.
In this work, she seeks to help a woman and her daughter keep their beloved "Red Gate Farms" in the face of mortgage payments that the woman cannot afford, and despite pressure from an show more unscrupulous man who tries to take advantage of her plight. (Anyone who has had a mortgage payment may find it amusing how the small amount of money generated from borders suffices to keep the farm from being repossessed). The mystery relates to the nature and activities of the "Black Snake Colony" which rents some of the property. The members dress in white robes and cavort about the hillside at dusk, waving their arms and making strange sounds. As it turns out, they are a local band of counterfeiters who have a secret cave in which they mint and distribute fake money. They are masking their identity and activities by pretending to be a weird cult -- as if having ceremonies in which they dance around in masks and bedsheets is a good way to not attract attention from the locals. Of course, Nancy and her friends spy on them and are discovered and captured, and are tied up by the bad people who plan to leave them in the house "without any food" (!). However, after a flight through a cave, they are rescued by a local branch of the Secret Service. Thus Nancy and her friends live to detect in future books, with gratitude from the authorities and admiration from her father. Little wonder that books of this kind led my younger sister to want to be a Lady Detective someday.

PS. This book does nothing to get its readers over an unreasonable fear of snakes. One of the girls is bitten by a snake, and fearing that it might have been poisonous, Nancy affixes a tourniquet on the leg and opens the wound to let out the poison... show less

An entertaining mystery that is dampened by unfortunate racial epithets towards Asian-Americans which we do not use anymore. I'll add that the resolution is more Deus ex machina than Nancy's logic saves the day, and I greatly prefer the latter.

This time around Nancy stiffs a waitress, soaks herself in perfume, and joins a cult. But at least she saves the farm!