Nancy Drew: Girl Detective Books
Hi, I'm Nancy Drew, and I've got a case to crack. Actually make that two cases. First a gorgeous Fabergé egg has been stolen. Who would have the heart to snatch such a precious family heirloom from someone new to town? Some housewarming that is! And if this isn't enough to keep me busy, someone's running through gardens and stomping on all the zucchinis. Needless to say, it's a big mess -- in more ways than one. Especially for Mr. Safer, who is suspected of squishing the squash. I'm pretty sure Mr. Safer's innocent. But who's the real vegetable vandal?
If I'm in the game, I play to win. So as captain of my team in the River Heights Biking for Bucks charity road race, my goals are to bring my team over the finish line first -- and to catch a thief along the way! See, all of the money we raised before the race has been stolen -- and I know I can find it. With two days, practically no clues, and a bike race to win, I've got my work cut out for me. But with Bess, George, and Ned on my team, what could stand between us and the gold?
I'm always up for a good mystery, but when the big question is what I should get Dad for his birthday, I don't have a clue! And then another mystery comes my way -- one that involves Heather Simmons, a leading candidate in the upcoming election for mayor of River Heights. My friends and I are pretty sure that her daughter Leslie, musician extraordinaire, has been kidnapped. But the thing is, nobody is saying a word about it! It's hard to crack a case like this when no one will even admit that one exists. But I won't let a little thing like that stop me when I smell trouble....
I'm a detective,not an actor, so who would think I'd be involved in a crime both offscreen and on? A producer has come to River Heights to film a reenactment of the heist that gave our town it's name, and he thinks I'm perfect for the part of Esther, the sister of the thieving Rackham boys. So I figure, why not give it a try? But once the cameras start rolling, the trouble begins. Food poisoning. Broken generators. And worse! If I don't sniff out some suspects soon, this might be my final act.
So I agreed to play the part of Esther Rackham in a film about the heist that gave River Heights its name, and there was all this trouble on the set, and I figured out who was behind it. Case closed, right? Wrong! Once the camera starts rolling, a huge fire breaks out on the set, setting back production again. We're running out of time and funds. At least the fire turns up a key clue about who started it, but I'll have to continue juggling acting and sleuthing. Because it might be up to me to save this film from going up in flames....
My friends and I knew before we got to Arches National Park that it's full of red cliffs arches, and rock formations -- plenty of places for hiking, biking, and getting lost. It's a good thing there are park rangers and guides to help tourist like us find our way. Or at east that's what we thought, until of the guilds left for a second to investigate some noise, and never came back. It seems unlikely that a respected tour guide who knows the area like the back of her hand could just get lose. Something's fishy. And you can bet I'm going to get to the bottom of this before I find my way home.
Bess, George, and I volunteered to go to Costa Rica for some R&R: rest and research. See, Corcovado Ecologica, a popular resort and preserve, isn't only a beautiful getaway; it's also a great place to study three species of monkeys. Or so we thought. When we arrived on the scene, we found the place in a shambles, and the monkeys were few and far between. And if the problem gets worse, the resort's going to be in trouble. Clearly my friends and I won't have much time for "monkeying around" on this trip -- we've got a case to crack! Catch my next case: Secret of the Spa
Just as I'm gearing up to help plan the Mahoney Library's seventy-fifth anniversary celebration, the beautiful old clock, the very centerpiece of the library, is stolen. There's nothing like a good theft to stop a party! Naturally, I throw down the streamers and get to work. Turns out lots of people wanted that clock -- and what's inside. If I don't hustle, this might become two crimes instead of one....
A Civil War reenactment should be fun, right? Not in our town! It feels like war fever's taken over. The tension started to build when we all chose sides. Confederate and Union sympathizers never did mix. And if that wasn't enough to heat things up, someone started to secretly dig large holes in the battlefield. Pretty odd -- and very suspicious. Is someone waging a little war of their own, and trying to cheat? And if so, the bigger question is why?
How about a seat at a mystery dinner on a riverboat? Yes, please! I jumped at the invitation to go along with Bess, George, and George's mom, who was hired to cater the dinner. It's all fun until there's an actual theft, and there's nothing like a good crime to stop a party. Since I've got the magnifying glass, it's up to me to catch "sticky fingers" before this dinner's sunk.
San Francisco has tons to offer tourists like Bess, George, and me. Fresh crabs, cable cars, hikes -- and stalkers! Well, maybe stalkers! is a little harsh, but this older couple, Ed and Harriet, keeps popping up everywhere. Coincidental or not, Ed and Harriet's appearances are smelling fishier than San Francisco Bay to me. So the investigation begins. But who knew it'd lead to more sleuthing -- in Hawaii?
A prince is in River Heights. A prince! Granted, he's from a relatively minor royal family, but still. This is big news. The headlines get even bigger once the prince is found toting a painting for his family's good friend, Mrs. Mahoney--because within hours of his arrival, the federal authorities arrest him. They suspect he stole the painting from his family. Dad and I aren't buying it. We have a hunch there's more to this--ahem--picture. But can we save the prince before he's wrongfully crowned "criminal"?
Dad, Bess, and I are all set for London when Ned's Shakespeare professor asks us to do a simple favor: to take a look at his townhouse while we're there, since he can't seem to locate the housekeeper and fears something's wrong. Sounds easy enough, so I take the key. Eager to cross the favor off our list, we stop by 53 Banbury Square shortly after we land. And let's just say things in the townhouse aren't quite tip-top. And the key? Well, it unlocks a Pandora's box of serious trouble.
If I told you I was worried about George's health because she's taken up fencing, you's laugh. Foils today are totally safe, and the gear is padded besides. Right? Well, if so, why did I see blood at George's first meet? Skewering isn't in the legal fencing repertoire -- but it soon becomes apparent to me that someone's too fired up to care...
There's been a snake-napping at the River Heights Zoo, and all clues about the thief seem to point in my good friend Charlie's direction. But why would Charlie want to steal a snake? I'm not convinced he's the perpetrator, but with all the circumstantial evidence that keeps popping up, the cops are on the other side of the fence. Speaking of snakes, George's younger brother, Scott, has been slithering around a lot lately, all sneaky-like. He's not acting like himself, but his lips are sealed about what's wrong. Do these mysteries have anything to do with each other? Stick around. I'm about to find out!
Bess, George, and I are heading down to Key Largo, Florida, to enjoy some fun in the sun with my old friend, marine biologist Delia Duke. But it seems that Delia's state park is clouded over with mystery: Someone has been poaching the park's rare butterfly orchids. Their future depends on us! George seems more interested in searching for treasure in the Catalina , an old sunken Spanish galleon, than in hunting for an orchid thief. My hope is that George, Bess, Delia, and I can save two priceless treasures in one fell swoop.
When George, Bess and I headed to Brody's Junction, Vermont, to help George's cousin with her café's website and enjoy a brief vacation, we were looking forward to some downtime -- not to landing in the middle of a media circus. Hundreds of tourists have invaded the town to watch purported UFO sightings. Odder still are reports of townspeople being abducted, and the strange clues that seem to point to little green men as the culprits. All this speculation has the town going wild, and I hope to have a close encounter with some hard facts before things spin entirely out of control....
I don't normally care about clothes, but when my friend Charlie Adams's sister Alicia opened a boutique right here in River Heights, of course I wanted to be at the opening. Turns out it was a pretty popular event. Way more people than expected showed up, and then the store window was smashed, and people were injured! Later I found out that Alicia's most expensive dress was destroyed and her store had been vandalized. Sounds like more than one-day-sale damage to me. I may not be a fashion expert, but this is one case I'm ready to size up.
When heavy rains washed out the low-lying towns around River Heights, my friends and I knew we had to help. That's when we hooked up with Helping Homes to build apartments. Then the two-time state champion basketball team, the Lowell University Bullets, showed up -- and the waters, so to speak, turned murky. While George couldn't be happier about working close to J. C. Valdez, the Bullets' star forward, not everyone around us is a fan. Take the person who is destroying our work and spray painting threats to J. C. on the walls, for starters. Is this the product of some basketball feud, or something much larger? I may be up to my elbows in sheet rock, but that won't slow my sleuthing. . . .
To my friend Bess, the major Hollywood production coming to River Heights is her chance for fame as an extra. To me it's a chance to get involved in a big mystery. Looks like the drama on this set really kicks up when the camera's not rolling. Since Chief McGinnis wanted to hire a "professional" (in other words, not me) to look into the problems that have been plaguing this production, I'll be working undercover as a stand-in. I have no idea who this detective will be, and fortunately, I'm not in this for the credit. But I am determined to crack this case faster than any professional can say "Cut!"
My friend George is competing in a grueling three-day mountain-bike race in Costa Rica, and her cousin Bess and I will be there as her support team. But when I find out someone's taking dangerous steps to make sure top U.S. cyclist Derek Woodhall doesn't win, I realize George may not be the only rider I need to help. Could last year's winner be the culprit? He was freaking out when Derek took an early lead. Or maybe Derek's publicist? She seems a little too psyched about the press her client's misfortune is generating. I've got a lot on my plate, and not much time to sort it all out. But I know how to keep my eye on the prize. Whoever the culprit is, they picked the wrong race to sabotage!
Something fishy is going on in River heights--and this time I really mean it! First a burglar breaks into the Nickersons' home and snatches Ned's digital camera, and then a few days later his laptop is stolen. Ned is super bummed--there's no replacing the hilarious photos he snapped of his dad falling out of the boat on their fishing trip. I have a hunch this is more than a run of bad luck and I'm determined to reel in the crook--hook, line, and sinker.
When George's mom asks Bess, George, and me to help her cater a benefit for the library, we're all on board. The event is a Jane Austen-themed party, and George even agrees to wear a dress for the occasion. It seems like the party isn't everyone's cup of tea. The bed-and-breakfast where the event is being held has been plagued by vandalism. Someone is breaking teapots, making a mess, booby-trapping the staircase, and generally terrorizing the old couple that runs the place. No one can figure out how the mysterious intruder is getting in and out of the house--and that's where I come in. I plan on solving this faster than I can get to the bottom of a cup of Darjeeling.
What could be more fun than a masked Mardi Gras ball at a so-called haunted mansion? George brings her digital camera, insisting that she's going to bust some ghosts. I'm just looking forward to a night of dressing up and dancing with Ned and my friends. Soon the fun turns freaking, though -- things go haywire and everyone starts to wonder if the ghost stories could actually be true. But when Deirdre Shannon's antique tiara is snatched, I'm certain the crook is a guest, not a ghoul.
I'm hunting for something other than clues for a change: dinosaur bones! Bess, George, and I travel out to the desert to join a paleontology dig. The other volunteers are a pretty quirky bunch, but we're all having a great time...until an important find goes missing. It turns out fossils can be worth millions. I'm making no bones about it - the thief is going down.
IDENTITY REVEALED My online sleuthing has led my friends and me down the Internet rabbit hole. After joining BetterLife, an online community, to try to stop a case of cyberbullying from the inside, the bullies turned on me. And now I'm close to revealing their true identities in real, off-line life. All the clues I've found have pointed me in one direction, but is it a false trail? Before I can expose the madmen behind the mayhem, I need to be absolutely sure that they're the ones wreaking havoc all over BetterLife. But how can I be sure when nothing on the Internet is as it seems? Catching this crook might be more difficult than even I anticipated!