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bargainsleuth's review against another edition
3.0
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I’ve been reading the Nancy Drew Mysteries again since lockdown started last March. Lately, I’ve been feeling a little “fatigued” by reading both the Original Text (OT) and Revised Text (RT), so to make my task more appealing, I’m only reading the OTs because I haven’t read them before. That seems to have helped with the fatigue, and I recently tackled #27, The Secret of the Wooden Lady. The book was first published in 1950 and revised in 1967.
I read The Secret of the Wooden Lady very quickly, which can’t be said about some of the books in the series. This time Nancy and her friends travel to Boston to help out yet another one of Carson Drew’s connections. The story flowed well, even though, as always, sometimes events proved unbelievable. I mean, really, how many times can someone sneak onto a ship and not be caught? A lot, it turns out.
The fact that the burglar at Bess Marvin’s home is somehow connected to the mystery of the ship the Bonnie Scot can only happen in a Nancy Drew novel. How small Nancy’s world really is! And George seems to exclaim her trademark “Hypers!” quite a bit. (If memory serves me, that word was introduced in the last book, I believe). Nancy does some thorough research on figureheads, but can’t seem to find the secret entrance on the ship that allows the thieves to come and go as they please.
Through Nancy’s research, she comes to the conclusion that the Bonny Scot was re-christened so the team needs to figure out the original name of the ship. The girls are seemingly spied upon at every move as the ship is repeatedly plundered by thieves. A fire breaks out, and the Captain is even kidnapped for a short while until Nancy finds out where he is being kept. Nancy follows all the clues until they lead to the correct solutions, and Carson and the police show up in the end to capture the baddies after Nancy flushes them out. Overall, a good, but not great addition to the series.
As for the artwork, I never cared for the RT’s cover, as Nancy looks quite matronly. And the original artwork is confusing because Bess is a brunette once again, as she has been for the past few books. And this time, it’s George who looks matronly. Neither cover is a favorite of mine.
I’ve been reading the Nancy Drew Mysteries again since lockdown started last March. Lately, I’ve been feeling a little “fatigued” by reading both the Original Text (OT) and Revised Text (RT), so to make my task more appealing, I’m only reading the OTs because I haven’t read them before. That seems to have helped with the fatigue, and I recently tackled #27, The Secret of the Wooden Lady. The book was first published in 1950 and revised in 1967.
I read The Secret of the Wooden Lady very quickly, which can’t be said about some of the books in the series. This time Nancy and her friends travel to Boston to help out yet another one of Carson Drew’s connections. The story flowed well, even though, as always, sometimes events proved unbelievable. I mean, really, how many times can someone sneak onto a ship and not be caught? A lot, it turns out.
The fact that the burglar at Bess Marvin’s home is somehow connected to the mystery of the ship the Bonnie Scot can only happen in a Nancy Drew novel. How small Nancy’s world really is! And George seems to exclaim her trademark “Hypers!” quite a bit. (If memory serves me, that word was introduced in the last book, I believe). Nancy does some thorough research on figureheads, but can’t seem to find the secret entrance on the ship that allows the thieves to come and go as they please.
Through Nancy’s research, she comes to the conclusion that the Bonny Scot was re-christened so the team needs to figure out the original name of the ship. The girls are seemingly spied upon at every move as the ship is repeatedly plundered by thieves. A fire breaks out, and the Captain is even kidnapped for a short while until Nancy finds out where he is being kept. Nancy follows all the clues until they lead to the correct solutions, and Carson and the police show up in the end to capture the baddies after Nancy flushes them out. Overall, a good, but not great addition to the series.
As for the artwork, I never cared for the RT’s cover, as Nancy looks quite matronly. And the original artwork is confusing because Bess is a brunette once again, as she has been for the past few books. And this time, it’s George who looks matronly. Neither cover is a favorite of mine.
blondierocket's review
Nancy is hired by a ship captain to find out the mysteries surrounding a strange visitor on his boat, as well as to find the history and help him succeed in buying the boat through legal channels. Just when Nancy thinks she may have reached the conclusion and solved the mystery of the boat and the Wooden Lady, more confusion enters the mystery and she pulls in all her friends to help.
laura_cs's review
4.0
A missing figurehead and ship title lead to a fantastic nautical mystery for Nancy!
kitdunsmore's review
3.0
When I was a kid, I loved Nancy Drew. But it's been so long since I read one that I decided to see what they are really like (rather than go on what I remember them being like). I don't think I ever read this particular mystery before, but I did recognize lots of the details because they are same from book to book.
My impression: things happen FAST. Minimal descriptions, lots of lucky guessing on Nancy's part, and lots of stray "clues" that are sometimes really unlikely. I think when I was younger, my favorite part was solving the puzzle, but as an adult, the puzzle and its solution seem pretty improbable to start with.
I also played at Nancy Drew with my friends when I was a kid. We made up the story as we went and we raced all over, always off to somewhere new because of a clue we'd found. I see now that we were entirely in sync with the style of the books. Nancy and friends are all over the place all the time, following up on their leads and getting new information to chase after.
Now I'm tempted to get my hands on one of the titles I know I've read before and see how that goes, but I don't think I'm likely to go on a serious ND binge - I want realism in my mysteries, and these things are pure fantasy.
My impression: things happen FAST. Minimal descriptions, lots of lucky guessing on Nancy's part, and lots of stray "clues" that are sometimes really unlikely. I think when I was younger, my favorite part was solving the puzzle, but as an adult, the puzzle and its solution seem pretty improbable to start with.
I also played at Nancy Drew with my friends when I was a kid. We made up the story as we went and we raced all over, always off to somewhere new because of a clue we'd found. I see now that we were entirely in sync with the style of the books. Nancy and friends are all over the place all the time, following up on their leads and getting new information to chase after.
Now I'm tempted to get my hands on one of the titles I know I've read before and see how that goes, but I don't think I'm likely to go on a serious ND binge - I want realism in my mysteries, and these things are pure fantasy.
ashliha's review
3.0
I really liked this one. It has a more interesting plot line than most of the Nancy Drew series books that I've read.
sybrasays's review
3.0
This was a pretty standard Nancy Drew Book. Sometimes I like when the seemingly unrelated stories connect, but sometimes they seem like a stretch, as they did in this one.
rmadden's review
lighthearted
mysterious
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? Yes
3.0
Oh Nancy, she will just confront anyone. I did love that her and Beth had swimsuits to change into for their swim back to town. These books are always fun and ridiculous. Perfect holiday reading.
hstapp's review
3.0
Arrrrr what be better than adventure aboard an old clipper ship. A fun adventure it be aye.