Did you ‘just love’ Nancy Drew?
Remember the vivid book covers? The hint of romance? The thrill of discovery? The GIRL protagonist?
All of these features and more riveted girl readers to almost literally ‘absorb’ all of the Nancy Drew Books. In a recent blog post, I mentioned that Carolyn Keene, ‘author’ of the Nancy Drew series, did not really exist. The thing is, no one cares!
Molly Young, book critic for the New York Times, looked back to the 40’s and found two mysteries that Nancy Drew fans might appreciate now that these readers are in their 70’s. If the math doesn’t add up, don’t worry. Just look for author Mabel Seeley and two of her several books:
The Chuckling Fingers— The setting is an esquisite estate on the shores of Lake Superior. A family gathering becomes a nightmare after someone is murdered. Ann Gay is the only house guest who attempts to solve the mystery by becoming the human bait for the culprit.
The Listening House– In this story, protaganist Gwyne Dacres finds herself living in a run-down spooky boarding house where she discovers a dead body in the basement. Be prepared for some scarey nights and wicked characters in this outstanding mystery.
Meet Mabel Seeley–Born in 1903 in Herman, Minnesota, Seeley was the first director of the Mystery Writers of America. She wrote seven books between the years 1938 and 1954. All of them were set in the Midwest and, of course, featured a female detective who defied steroetypes of the day and bravely solved cases. Young writes that only the first two of Seeley’s books contain the crisp dialogue and intriguing plots that make her notable.
*Molly Young is also the author of a newsletter entitled “Read Like the Wind.”