A review by emileereadsbooks
The Clue in the Jewel Box by Mildred Benson, Carolyn Keene

adventurous 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? No

The discussion questions I wrote for this book and my answers to them:

1. What did you think about the bad guy being pretty obvious from the start?

I thought the way the plot was laid out in this one was a bit different than normal Nancy books. I felt like instead of Nancy revealing things to us as much, we the reader were given more clues before Nancy found them out. I like this in other mysteries but was not a huge fan of this Nancy book taking on this plot device.

2. How do you feel about Nancy and friends abandoning "Michael"?

Nancy and the gang abandoning "Michael" is the worst thing Nancy has done so far in these books. We all know people who are rude and have bad manners and maybe are a bit socially inept, but you do not abandon them on an island. You deal with them for the day and then maybe figure out how to better handle them in different scenarios in the future. Michael was not threatening their safety, just their snobbishness. We all know Nancy is a bit uppity, but this puts that on full display.

3. Nancy noticeably does not drive herself in this book. Why do you think that is?

My theory is that although this book was revised in 1972, it was originally written in 1943 when there were war rations. That attitude of conserving gas carries over to the revised version.

4. Thoughts on Madame Marie and the nods to the story of Anastasia?

I thought this was very interesting to have a twist on the Anastasia story in a Nancy Drew book. Of course the long lost royal here is a boy, but it is quite interesting that this true crime story made its way into a Nancy book in a way.


5. This is a great book to ask who was your favorite character (other than Nancy)?

Anna is for sure the best non Nancy character in this book. She is doing her best to help Madame and be respectful. Plus she is pretty stealthy at times and I love her for it.


6. How many eyerolls do you give this book?

I give this one 2.5 eyerolls. 1 for Nancy not figuring out the dual pickpockets earlier. 1 for Nancy trusting then abandoning Michael because of his bad manners. 0.5 for the whole dog situation.