Reviews

Aaaaand I’m back at it again with rereading this series! Slowly but surely going through all the physical copies that I own (which is quite a bit).

This one started off with a bang, and it was exciting throughout. Onto the next!

rainynook's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Content Warnings

dgrachel's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

So! Many! Exclamation! Points! Seriously, if you couldn’t tell from the prose that there was danger, the author made sure to use plenty of urgent punctuation. Aside from that, this is a fun, if predictable, mystery. That meddlesome girl, Nancy Drew, solves the mystery and saves the day yet again.

wh101's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

alesehunter's review against another edition

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fast-paced

2.75

planet_taffy's review

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This third book in the series is a lot more thrilling than the previous two, almost to the point where the drama can seem over the top. Nancy, for example, seems like a lightning rod, able to attract storms that develop in an instant out of nowhere; it stops just short of breaking the suspension of disbelief.

Like the second book in the series, "The Hidden Staircase", "The Bungalow Mystery" includes a secondary plot following Carson Drew's work as it intertwines with Nancy Drew's mystery. I found the Carson Drew mystery a little too convoluted, especially during the falling action; in general the falling action felt rushed, with a bunch of events mushed together with little breathing room in between.

A man writes a whole story for magazine publication overnight!

Frankly, I'd rather Carson Drew's cases take up less real estate in the book as it's not the Carson Drew Mystery Stories.

Personal gripes aside, it was a solid read with some real heartfelt moments at the end. Keene's writing continues to improve in leaps and bounds as the series progresses. Very little luncheon. No Bess & George yet.

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