Nancy Drew Mystery Stories #3 The Bungalow Mystery by Carolyn Keene

 

The Nancy Drew mysteries sometimes have the air of a Perils of Pauline episode.  

The Bungalow Mystery starts off with Nancy and her friend Helen enjoying a motorboat ride on a small lake when a huge storm blows up suddenly.  

Trying for the shore that's unfortunately two miles away, Nancy and her friend soon can't see a thing in the heavy rain.  They continue to plow forward, but hit a log suddenly they couldn't see or avoid in time.  A hole is gashed in the boat, and it sinks.  

Luckily Nancy is a good swimmer, so she helps Helen stay afloat while they fruitlessly call for help.  Swimming along, Nancy is getting weak when suddenly a rowboat comes along next to them.  A girl actually heard them calling for help and comes to her rescue.

The girl herself presents a mystery.  Her mother has just died and she will have distant relations as her new guardians.  She knows nothing about them.

In just a few days, Laura is on Nancy's doorstep with a tale of being treated horribly by her new guardians, who also seem to want to steal her deceased mother's jewelry from her.

Nancy has begun helping her father Carson Drew with an embezzlement case.  Is it possible Laura's mystery and the embezzlement case are connected?

Soon there are more near accidents, and Nancy's investigation of an old cabin near Laura's new home may lead to murder.

For a book with a rather innocuous title, this was a real page turner.  

Review: Trixie Belden and The Red Trailer Mystery by Julie Campbell

 

Picking up almost exactly where Secret of the Mansion left off, Trixie, Honey and the governess Miss Trask leave in a trailer called the Silver Swan to find Jim before he leaves the area forever.

They know Jim will be trying to get work at a summer camp relatively nearby.  He's had a head start, but they think they can catch up, stopping at campgrounds along the way.

At their first campground, they're parked next to a luxurious, large red trailer for the night.  It's called the Robin.  Trixie and Honey are certain a wealthy family must own it. They long to get a peek inside.

When they see the owners, however, they see a family in worn clothing looking completely dispirited. A couple with several children emerge briefly, long enough for the girls to see the trailer is definitely luxurious, but it doesn't fit this family at all.

As Trixie, Honey and Miss Trask travel looking for Jim, they hear radio alerts saying thieves are stealing and hijacking trailers, and everyone should be wary of leaving their keys in their cars, and their trailers unattended.

They wonder if the red trailer has been stolen, but they can't see the sad family as part of a gang.

It's a book that makes you want to hit the road in your trailer (Scamp), solving mysteries, eating cake and pie baked by a kind farmer's wife, and fresh fruit and vegetables from road side stands. 

There's something about this series that's like a big hug for the reader.

 

 

Review: Death On The Nile by Agatha Christie

Am I imagining things, or do the plots of the Hercule Poirot novels become more twisty as time goes on? Who could possibly guess whodunnit with all of the characters and motivations, and means?

 

In Death On The Nile, a large cast of characters are on holiday taking a cruise up the Nile.  

The stars of the trip are a newly married couple named Linnet and Simon Doyle.  She's got everything, beauty, wealth, business acumen, charm.  He's a puppy dog of a man who doesn't seem to have much more than his looks and boyish ways to recommend him.

Unfortunately for the couple, they're being stalked by Simon's old girlfriend, who was also Linnet's best friend.  Her disappointment in losing Simon has left her a bit unhinged with jealousy.

Poirot and his old friend Colonel Race observe the passengers, and try to make out who on the ship is actually a threat to Linnet, who confides to Poirot that there are many who hate her.  Colonel Race is also onboard to find a killer who has been ruthless in his underworld dealings.

The pleasure cruise takes a dark turn as there are murders, thefts and other dark crimes uncovered.

Once again Poirot, the romantic, cannot help but be moved by young love. Will this keep him from exposing the killer?

Soon to be a major motion picture!