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10 Nancy Drew Mystery Stories We Love
When I was growing up, I loved the Nancy Drew mysteries, by Carolyn Keene. But I never thought kids today would be into this character, who played such an important part in my childhood. So imagine my surprise when I saw young girls at a middle school with stacks of Nancy Drew books. It turns out, liking Nancy Drew is timeless. The Nancy Drew mystery series started in the 1930s and lasted all the way until 2004. During that time, an older Nancy was put to page in the 1980s for a new series, The Nancy Drew Files. From 2004 to 2013, we were gifted the Nancy Drew: Girl Detective series. And now, currently, we have the Nancy Drew Diaries series, with a new book set to publish in January. (And if you’re wondering how Carolyn Keene can be this prolific, it’s because Carolyn Keene is a pen name for multiple writers.)
So to celebrate a heroine who’s been shaping generations of women’s lives, here are some of our favorite Nancy Drew mysteries from her many iterations.
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The Hidden Staircase (Nancy Drew #2)
As a sucker for a haunted house story, I have to include this one. Nancy travels to an old family friend’s mansion after strange things start happening. A bump in the night, and eerie shadow on the wall, soft sound of music—you know, the usual. Plus, there’s another mystery involving her dad and the railroad business that Nancy must solve simultaneously.
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The Secret of Shadow Ranch (Nancy Drew #5)
What’s supposed to be a fun-filled vacation for Nancy quickly turns into trouble—as is often the case for Nancy. There’s a ghost animal haunting the ranch, which many people believe is part of an old curse from an outlaw that once killed people at Shadow Ranch. Aided by Bess and George, Nancy must figure out what’s really happening before it’s too late.
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The Crooked Bannister (Nancy Drew #48)
This is one of those Nancy Drews that you either love or hate. And I obviously love it. It’s an odd story, featuring a robot (yes, a robot) and a strange house, that follows Nancy as she investigates Rawley Banister, a man accused of swindling people out of money.
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The Secret of the Old Clock (Nancy Drew #1)
The original Nancy Drew mystery—the one that started it all. Nancy kicks off her mystery series by searching for a lost will to help some of her friends (starting Nancy’s long legacy of getting involved in mysteries courtesy of her friends). It’s a fairly straightforward mystery, without some of the twists and turns that later entries offer, but this is a fresh, inexperienced Nancy, and it’s fun to read about her start.
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Mystery at Lilac Inn (Nancy Drew #4)
This was my first introduction to Nancy Drew, so I obviously have a soft spot for it. After Nancy’s friend Emily acquires the Lilac Inn, strange things happen, leading Emily to think something is trying to prevent her from opening the inn. So naturally, Nancy moves into the cabin on the inn’s property. During the story there’s a car chase, a bomb, a kidnapping, and identity theft. So basically, it has everything.
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Mardi Gras Masquerade (Nancy Drew: Girl Detective #28)
The Girl Detective books all feature a crime that Nancy Drew and her crew are able to solve in the course of a day, and they’re all updated for the times, with characters having access to cell phones and GPS. So they are perfect for today’s younger readers. Mardi Gras Masquerade takes place at a haunted mansion during a big masked Mardi Gras ball. Big spooky house? Check. Gorgeous ball gowns? Check. Fun mystery? Check.
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Secret Identity (Nancy Drew: Girl Detective #33)
In this entry in the Girl Detective series, Nancy creates a profile in a popular virtual reality game to investigate a case of cyberbullying. As people hide behind their online identities, Nancy wonders how she can possibly crack this case. This is the first book in the Identity Mystery Trilogy, a short trilogy that’s part of the Girl Detective series, and the online environment is a great change of pace for our favorite girl detective.
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The Sign in the Smoke (Nancy Drew Diaries #12)
The Nancy Drew Diaries features the same smart, brave, kind Nancy as the original series, but the books are slightly less suspenseful—meaning they’re perfect for any middle grade reader in your life. This one features Nancy and her friends Bess and George as camp counselors. A recent drowning at the camp is dismissed by Nancy as an old ghost story at first, but when something grabs her during a swim lesson, she starts to wonder if there’s something more to the tale.
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Once Upon a Thriller (Nancy Drew Diaries #4)
Stories about books always excite me—and this is a great one. There’s a crime spree around town, which is bad enough. But the weird part is that the crimes seem to match those of the plots from Lacey O’Brien’s popular mystery series. Could it be a superfan? A weird coincidence? Or maybe even the author? Read and find out.
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The Ghost of Grey Fox Inn (Nancy Drew Diaries #13)
If you can’t tell, I love haunted anything. Haunted hotels, haunted houses—doesn’t matter. So I obviously love this story of Nancy Drew and her crew spending a weekend in one of Charleston’s most haunted hotels. In town for George’s cousin’s wedding, Nancy is put to work when the wedding rings disappear during the night.