When I was young, I read all the Nancy Drew mysteries (at least the ones that were available at that time)! My brothers and I would go to the library every week and I would come out with a pile of books, mostly Nancy Drew mysteries. They said to me many times, “Rob, you’re in a reading rut!” Yes, that’s what good mysteries do to you, and I still love getting caught in a mystery reading rut!
The Whispering Statue, by Carolyn Keene, is book #14 in the original series. All the Nancy Drew books were actually ghostwritten, and my favorite of the ghostwriters was Mildred A. Wirt Benson. She wrote the first twenty-three books in the series, and those are my favorites.
Another interesting tidbit about the early Nancy Drew books, which were originally published in the 1930s, is that they were rewritten and republished in the 1970s. The copy I read of The Whispering Statue was definitely a rewritten one from the 70s because the plot was significantly different and shorter than the earlier version, AND the word “groovy” was used two or three times in the story. That was a dead giveaway to someone very familiar with the late 60s and early 70s!!
I enjoyed rereading this mystery. It was pleasant to spend an afternoon on the porch with a fun book. My goal is to slowly reread as many of the Nancy Drew books as possible!
Penguin Random House: the publisher’s summary of plot:
Once again, Nancy faces two puzzling mysteries at once! The first concerns a valuable collection of rare books that Mrs. Horace Merriam commissioned anart dealer to sell–has he swindled her instead? The second mystery revolves around the baffling theft of a beautiful marble statue. To solve both mysteries, the famous young detective disguises herself and assumes a false identity. Despite these precautions, danger stalks Nancy’s every move. An attempted kidnapping, a nearly disastrous sailboat collision, and an encounter with a dishonest sculptor are just a few of the exciting challenges that Nancy is faced with as she gathers evidence against a clever ring of art thieves.
I read this book for the RIP XIII challenge, Peril the First. 
A Fondness For Reading 
I never got on the Nancy Drew bandwagon. I may have read one or two of the books (back in the late 60s), but I was more interested in Trixie Belden and the Happy Hollisters. 🙂 I’m not sure that I like that they’ve been updated!
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Les, I loved Trixi Belden, as well, but I’ve never heard of the Happy Hollisters! It’s never too late to read them, though! I’ll have to search for those! Also, I didn’t care for the “updated” version of Nancy Drew. I think it was a tacky marketing idea.
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I bet my library in the 80s still had the old, original Nancy Drews because I don’t remember them seeming “new”. They felt like fascinating relics from another time. 😉
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Kristen, I’m sure your library had the older versions. The whole idea of them changing the plots and inserting words like “groovy” is a bit over the top. The old ones were so much fun. They didn’t need to be “updated,” or in my estimation, dumbed down!
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