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A review by kitdunsmore
The Secret of the Wooden Lady by Carolyn Keene
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.