The Clue of the Broken Locket (Book Cover Bingo - Locket)

The Clue of the Broken Locket by Carolyn Keene. Grosset & Dunlap, 1965 (first published 1934). 178p. (9780448095110) Series: Nancy Drew, #11

I read this as part of the Book Cover Bingo game and it was a trip down memory lane. Nancy Drew is such a great heroine. Plus it was really interesting to realize that music pirating has been around a long time. 

Goodreads Summary:

Nancy Drew and her friends are plunged into a network of strange events when they visit Misty Lake. The very night they arrive, they meet pretty, red-haired Cecily Curtis, who seeks Nancy's help in solving two mysteries: one concerning Cecily's fiancé, Niko Van Dyke, a popular singer who believes that his record company is cheating him of royalty payments; the other, involving a family treasure hidden before the start of the Civil War--Cecily's only clue being half of a gold locket.

Nancy's investigations lead her to Pudding Stone Lodge, where the sinister Driscoll family lives. Elusive humming noises, a flashing light in the attic of the lodge, the periodic apparition of an excursion launch which had sunk in Misty Lake years ago, and the fleeting appearances of a frightened girl who strongly resembles Cecily give Nancy plenty of opportunity to test her sleuthing skills.

Braving a series of dangerous situations and discouraging developments, the alert young detective perseveres in her attempts to solve both mysteries and reveal the astounding secrets of Pudding Stone Lodge.

My Review:

It’s been years since I read Nancy Drew and she’s still as delightful as ever. She’s smart, she’s resourceful, she’s brave, she knows when to call for backup, she’s kind, she’s trustworthy.

There were two things in the story that probably wouldn’t make their way into a modern children’s book but that I really appreciated. Nancy and the gang were headed back to Misty Lake from Baltimore on a Sunday and stopped somewhere along the way to go to church. That’s all the story says, but it’s still telling that it was included.

Ned, Dave and Burt are complete gentlemen and even stay in a separate house than the girls even though it can be assumed the girls’ accommodations had plenty of rooms. How different from today’s college students!

Growing up I didn’t know that these books were written before World War II. Though of course it’s easy to tell that they were written before cell phones and computers were around. The original books (#1-#34) were revised in the 1960s and 70s to remove stereotypes and prejudices as well as to shorten the stories and make them faster paced. The new books have 20 instead of 25 chapters. (Wikipedia has more information)

Interesting fact: it’s a mystery who the illustrator was for the original cover of this book. Russell H. Tandy illustrated and did the covers for books 1-10 and 12-26, but didn’t do the cover of #11 even though he did the internal illustrations. (Source: http://www.nancydrewsleuth.com/history.html)

A great series for girls and a great trip down memory lane.

Go read it! Find it at a library near you; Buy it from Amazon; Buy it from ChristianBooks.com; Buy it from Barnes & Noble

Disclosure: I borrowed the book from the library. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

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