The Quest of the Missing Map, by Carolyn Keene. These are the book's first lines:
Chapter 1 - The Haunted House
Her golden red hair flying in the wind, Nancy Drew ran up the porch steps and opened the front door of her home.
She could hear Hannah Gruen, the Drews' housekeeper, saying to someone in the living room, "Why don't you tell your mysterious story to Nancy? She's a really clever young detective."
About the Book:
Nancy investigates a small ship cottage at the Chatham estate and discovers a connection between the mysterious occurrences at the cottage and an island where a lost treasure is said to be buried. With one half of a map, Nancy sets out to find a missing twin brother who holds the other half. The mystery becomes dangerous when an assailant hears about the treasure and is determined to push Nancy off the trail. Can she endure this and other grave dangers, and recover in time to solve the mystery? (-summary from Wikipedia)
Initial Thoughts:
I haven't actually decided if I'm going to read this one or not. It's the 19th book in the enormously successful Nancy Drew mystery series. It was first published in 1942 and then went through several reissues (and revisions) over the years. I haven't read Nancy Drew since I was a preteen, but I was looking for a book with a Q/K title/author combination for one of the challenges I'm doing over at Library Thing, and this one popped out at me.
I thought I had read all the early Nancy Drew books, but I don't remember this one. Although that opening could be from any of them: It's such perfect Nancy — her "golden red hair" was always flying in the wind, or shining in the sun, or glittering against her velvety evening cloak.
The cover above is from the original 1942 edition, but I think this is the one I remember, from the late 1950s:
I loved these stories when I was a kid, and this could be a really neat walk down memory lane. Or a huge disappointment. So, to read or not to read? Am I too old for the girl detective?
Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Friday. As she says, the idea is to post the first sentence (or so) of the book you're currently reading, along with any first impressions or thoughts you have about the book, the author, etc. It's a wonderful way of adding new books to your must-read list, and a chance to connect with other readers and bloggers.
I used to read these books when I was a teenager. In Sweden she was called Kitty. Loved them. Maybe one should really try to read them again to see if they are still captivating.
ReplyDeleteRead it-- I have read a couple of ND myself in recent years. And Bobbsey Twins.
ReplyDeleteI love the Nancy Drew books. I read all of them, and The Hardy Boys as a kid.
ReplyDeleteI LOVED the Nancy Drew books when I was young...and had a friend with a whole box of them to read. Bliss!
ReplyDeleteI wonder how I would feel now? Thanks for sharing, and here's mine: “THE SMELL OF OTHER PEOPLE’S HOUSES”
Like you, I read Nancy Drew when I was young. I think I read the originals which were already quite dated when I was a teen. This week I am spotlighting Triple Crown by Felix Francis. Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteI love that Nancy Drew cover and, I have started collecting Nancy Drews for my granddaughters to read in a few years. It's a series that brought me lots of pleasure as a child.
ReplyDelete