Reviews - THE SECRET OF THE OLD CLOCK. Nancy Drew Mystery Stories No. 1.

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THE SECRET OF THE OLD CLOCK. Nancy Drew Mystery Stories No. 1.

(2.5 stars) Somehow I’ve never read a Nancy Drew book before this?
I think I expected something closer to Agatha Christie. The mystery, if you can call it that, moved extremely slowly without many twists and turns. There were a lot of convenient coincidences, and whenever I thought there would be a complication it was easily resolved. Nancy is basically perfect in ever way, which is occasionally pretty great for a 1930 heroine (she fixes her own car! She uses physics to escape sticky situations!) but also gets old fast. There were so many things I thought were setting up sinister plots (flat tires! Dead chickens!) that ended up just being…events. Oh, and for a couple chapters it gets REAL RACIST to the point that it was borderline unreadable.
I’m going to give the next one a try, but I suspect these 1930s ones might only be fun if you grew up on them.

dameolga's review against another edition

4.0

I guess it's pretty...cliched of me to say that the only reason I read the first few books of the Nancy Drew series was because I wanted to know how Nancy met and officially got together with Ned. Yeah, there's probably a bunch of feminist criticism that could be lobbed my way because of that reason, but at least I'm honest.

My first Nancy Drew novel was actually number forty-something (maybe). For the life of me, I cannot remember which one, but I remember vividly this one scene where she's in a dark cave/bridge alone. With a flashlight. Then, Ned arrives. I also think this forty-something book might have been one in which the Hardy Boys show up at some point. Did that ever happen? Does anybody know what I'm talking about? Anyways, that's why I got interested in this first book. I don't remember much about it actually, but I think I enjoyed it enough to read the next two books.

kerrireadsallthethings's review against another edition

5.0

I remember as a kid enjoying these mysteries. We decided to introduce our almost 9 year old to a classic. Although the books are dated in so many ways, we didn’t want to read the new revamped ones. My son (10) and daughters (8) and (5) listened intently as the mystery unfolded. While they wouldn’t fly off todays shelves, they clearly have stood the test of time. I’m amazed that three generations (My mom loved them as a kid too!) have all been able to enjoy them. The only other series my kids have been this tuned into is Harry Potter.

mrsvaldeznh's review against another edition

5.0

I have read this a few times. Staring the series over from the beginning. Just enjoyable!

natalie001's review against another edition

3.0

funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious relaxing fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

anoriega's review against another edition

3.0

I read the Nancy Drew books when I was young and recently picked up the first box set on sale. This was a light enjoyable read and I can’t wait to start on the next one!