Wednesday, February 15, 2017


You're not having Déjà vu. I have posted this before.
I have my reasons.
First . . .You can never have too much Nancy Drew.
Second . . . I going to be posting Nancy Drew reviews more often, as I re-read my way through the series.
So, I'm starting from the first one!

NANCY DREW
#1
THE SECRET OF THE OLD CLOCK
by Carolyn Keene


The Secret of the Old Clock is the mystery that began it all for America's favorite teenage sleuth. 

The accidental rescue of a little girl who lives with her two great-aunts leads to an adventurous search for a missing will.

Nancy Drew's keen mind is tested when she searches for a missing will.


They say you can’t go home again. I don’t know who “they” are, but they’re wrong. When I held this book in my hands, it felt like home. When I opened the book, I felt like a child again. When I read the first line, “Nancy Drew, an attractive girl of eighteen, was driving home along a country road in her new, dark blue convertible,” I was home, and I was a little girl again. The memories flooded into me so fast, I smiled and teared up at the same time. I was back with my idol, Nancy Drew. And you know what? I still want to grow up to be just like Nancy.


I drank in THE SECRET OF THE OLD CLOCK like I had been dying of thirst. I suppose I was really. A thirst for those old feelings of adventure. The ones that I thought so many cozy mysteries had quenched. Don’t get me wrong, cozy mysteries are my oasis in life. They bring me shelter and nourishment. They are the cooling rain in the middle of a vast desert. But Nancy Drew? Well, reading Nancy Drew again was the tall glass of ice water I have been craving.

Wonderful from page one until the end, I truly enjoyed riding along with Nancy as she found herself involved in her first case. I was so excited and anxious, it was like I was right the with her the entire time.

Reading the interactions between Nancy with her father, Hannah her house keeper, and the wide cast of characters she meets and befriends in the story, was great fun. As a girl, Nancy’s kindness was the first thing that drew me to her. And she holds that same appeal to this day.


While Nancy was working so hard to help the families that stood to benefit from her finding the clock, she found herself in many dangerous situations. I really like that she didn’t always get herself out of them. She had no problem with yelling for help. Had no problem taking help that was offered. This made Nancy not only heroic, but human.

Sure, the times have changed. They have even changed for Nancy. The edition I read has been updated and changed from the original, first edition story from 1930. Yet that makes no difference. I still find Nancy Drew to be timeless.


If I had a daughter, I would encourage her to read this entire series. I do however have a niece, and when she is old enough to read at this age level, I will be proud to buy her, her very first Nancy Drew book, THE SECRET OF THE OLD CLOCK. As a matter of fact, it would be fun to buy her not only “my” Nancy Drew, but to buy her the more recent series that have followed. She and I can read those at the same time and both learn how the story of the world’s favorite female detective has grown and still lives on!


I strongly encourage anyone with a young girl in their lives to introduce them to the world of Nancy Drew books. After all, once you have her hooked on those, you’ll have someone to pass all your cozies on to!

Retro Cover

Who says you can't go back again?

I've been working on rebuilding my Nancy Drew collection for a while now. I'm looking forward to reading them again and sharing my reviews with you.

I hope you're looking forward to it as much as I am!

80th Anniversary Limited Edition

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7 comments:

  1. Grew up with Nancy Drew. Loved the series. I introduced the series to my daughter. She loved them as well. Many of the later ones done were not nearly as good. The first two or three writers who took over for Keene followed her style and you could not tell the transition. But many of the later ones were not quite 'with it'. Della at deepotter (at) peoplepc ((dot) com Thanks for this memory walk.

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  2. What a great post. Thanks for sharing with us.

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  3. How fun. Thanks for sharing. I've been inspired by Nancy in my own writing.

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  4. Wonderful, Lisa! Happy Wednesday.

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  5. A few years ago I found the first three Nancy Drew books in my grandchildrens' bookcase. So I "borrowed" them. I have reread the first one. Then this past summer we bought a new to us lake home. All of the furnishings went with it. On a shelf was a vintage Nancy Drew book. I said the book needed to stay with the lake home or the deal was off. The previous owner thought I was joking. But I was serious. There were two Hardy Boys books that stayed with the home also. Score!

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  6. I just loved Nancy Drew! I think I will read them again. Thankyou for the great post. Jill Broussard; minishoes@msn.com

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  7. I remember this being my favorite Nancy Drew book.

    Wonderful post, Lisa. I need to reread these mysteries. :)

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