Return of Nancy Drew

Not A Girl Detective by Susan Kandel

Reviewed by Jeanne

CeCe Caruso has parlayed her youthful fondness for mysteries into a job writing biographies of her favorite authors. In Not A Girl Detective (F KAN Main), her project is Carolyn Keene, the pseudonym used by the Stratemeyer Syndicate for the Nancy Drew series. This project introduces CeCe to the world of Nancy Drew fandom, where people write papers on Nancy’s wardrobe, devise versions of Nancy’s wedding to Ned, collect various editions of the books and generally obsesses over everyone connected with Nancy. She’s introduced to an avid collector who specializes in the “Blue Nancys,” first editions of the books. Wealthy and flamboyant, Edgar Edwards has a bit of a bombshell to drop at the upcoming Nancy Drew convention. . . and “bombshell” is a very apt description.

Too bad he ends up dead first.

Earlier in our blog posts, Doris wrote of a gentleman who was revisiting the Hardy Boys series. I never read many of those but I did devour the Nancy Drew books as did many of my friends. Her post reminded me that there was an adult mystery that had something to do with the teen sleuth, so I set out to find it.

I enjoyed this light mystery which was peppered with tidbits of information about the various Stratemeyer series, especially about the people who created the books, from the ghostwriters to the cover artists. Kandel delivers these in easy to absorb pieces, without slowing down the plot. I was amazed at how many of the Nancy Drew titles I remembered: Message in the Hollow Oak, Password to Larkspur Lane, Mystery of the Brassbound Trunk and so many others! I was also intrigued by comments on how the character evolved as the years passed.

I have to admit I was a little unsettled to realize how many of the book covers I remembered. Who knew that they would have made such an impression? I vividly remember the two titles I received for Christmas when I was about ten, one of which introduced me to the Nazca Lines in Peru.

Nancy aside, the book features an interesting mystery with an equally interesting solution. It’s not a spoiler to tell you that the solution hinges on the motive, for motives abound. CeCe has her own versions of Nancy’s chums, Lael and Bridget, and a policeman boyfriend to round out the cast. A grown daughter and an ex-husband are mentioned in passing. CeCe also has an abiding passion for vintage clothing but again doesn’t bog the reader down with details.

Susan Kandel has carved out a niche for herself with this smart mystery series that revisits beloved writers of yore as CeCe does her biographies. This is the second in the series (after I Dreamed I Married Perry Mason, in which CeCe was researching the life of Erle Stanley Gardener) but you need not have read it to enjoy this one. Other entries involve Dashiell Hammett, Alfred Hitchcock and Agatha Christie.