Mystery of the Laughing Mask

    Gail works as a secretary for an old friend of the family, Mr. Allen. While at a trading post in the Florida Everglades Gail finds a pin in the shape of a theater laughing mask. Unable to find the owner, she keeps it for herself. Later she meets Sara Breckenridge, the daughter of Doctor Breckenridge, a colleague of Mr. Allen. Sara is worried that her father has been kidnapped while delivering a valuable piece of jade jewelry. Before he left he had received an anonymous note warning him against delivering the Jade pendant and strangely enough it was signed with a laughing mask. Throw into the mix an abandoned mill, a damaged yacht, and two wealthy women both trying to acquire the pin and Gail's got quite a mystery.

- I loved that Gail is staying at a boarding house. I thought it was a great way of giving a 16-year-old girl all the freedom she needed to solve a mystery.

- I also loved that the main cast had Mr. Allen instead of a parent, brother, or boy friend. A girl solving a mystery with her employer, especially one she is not dating/romantically interested in, is very unique.

- The locations are wonderful. A trading post in the Florida Everglades with a long, rough road leading to it, the Surf Club on the beach where Mr. Allen lives, the abandoned warehouse with the sky light chain that Gail slides down. The gave a great atmosphere. 

- So much of the dialogue is written so strangely that it's hard to believe a talented writer like Mildred Wirt wrote it. "I am" and "do not" are constantly used instead of "I'm" and "don't" giving me flashbacks to True Grit. Also Sara and Mr. Allen are constantly saying Gail's name at the end of dialogue:

Glancing up, he asked: "What do you have in mind, Gail? I know you've concocted some scheme."

"Not a very good one. However, I hesitate to meet Mrs. Deva tomorrow because she'll recognize me at first glance. Now I thought if you would be willing to take my place—" 

"What good would that do, Gail?" 

"You're very clever at judging character," she said flatteringly. "After talking with her you could tell what sort of person she really is." 

"You over-estimate my powers, Gail."

Another example:

"Then you believe Doctor Breckenridge's disappearance is truly serious?" 

"I do, Gail." Henry Allan arose, and walking to the window, gazed down on the rooftops of the Commodore Hotel. "Aside from the fact that the doctor possessed a valuable jewel, he had many bitter enemies." 

"Persons who might wish to harm him?"

"I am afraid so, Gail. The nature of Doctor Breckenridge's work in China was such that he stirred up antagonism. On the other hand, I know of no man more highly respected and loved by the people he served."

"He never would have cheated Madam Alexandre as she claims?" 

"Such an accusation seems ridiculous, Gail. Utterly so."

- Sara is worried about her father yet she's hesitant to go to the police. If she was truly worried she would have gone immediately.

- This is yet another book by Mildred Wirt that has villains with stereotyped ethnic features. One of the villains is described as having a large hooked nose.

- Gail litters a lot. She throws a linen handkerchief into water while in the everglades and 4 rolls of exposed film from her car window.

- One thing I didn't understand is why did the Laughing Mask organization sent Doctor Breckenridge an anonymous letter telling him not to deliver the jade pendant. Didn't they want him to deliver the pendant so they could capture him and steal it? I'm not sure if there is an explanation to this or if the letter was simply included to tie Gail's pin in with the mystery.

- The end of the book contains the first chapter to The Runaway Caravan, the first book in the Trailer Girls Series. This was a good marketing move at the time but now it's a terrible tease as the Trailer Girls Series is hard to acquire. Will I ever find out what happened to Uncle Nathan and the automobile accident?

    Overall I enjoyed this books. I think it has unique elements not often seen and the story moves along well so you don't lose interest. However I can't stop thinking about the strange overuse of Gail's name. That writing decision is the true mystery of this book.

The Mystery of the Tolling Bell (Original)

    "Nancy becomes involved in another mystery when she accepts an invitation from Mrs. Chantry, a client of Mr. Drew, to vacation at her cottage in a picturesque seaside town. Carson Drew has promised to join his daughter, but fails to arrive. The alarming disappearance of Mr. Drew and the odd circumstances surrounding his rescue are only the start of a series of highly dangerous adventures for Nancy and her friends Bess and George. Mrs. Chantrey's story about a nearby cliff side cave reputedly inhabited by a ghost intrigues Nancy and she decides to investigate. Several frightened townspeople claim to have seen an apparition and heard the weird sounds of a tolling bell just before water rushes from the cave. Will Nancy discover the true cause of these mysterious occurrences?"

- Yet again Bess who is often described as simple minded and cowardly saves the day. She rescues herself and George from drowning.

- Too much goes on when Nancy goes to see her father at the hotel; being told to come, being told to not come, the note in the lobby, finding him, losing him, Ned losing Nancy, Ned getting false information. It was just too much misdirection going on while also trying to move the story forward.

- It seems that everyone in Candleton was very eager to give their life savings to a stranger traveling through town selling stock. Surprised these people haven't been duped before.

- Nancy and Ned drive to Yorktown in Ned's car yet Nancy grabs a map "that she always kept in the car". Clearly the writer forgot whose car they were in.

- If I were Nancy I would have been absolutely livid at the fisherman who tries to "rescue" her from the back of the cave by tossing a fishing net over her and hauling her up the cliff. If Nancy hadn't something to grab onto at the last minute she would have died because of this idiot.

- A dwarf man is compared to an elf many times and the villain of the book is physically deformed which is all a bit ableist. Also the other culprits are described as darker skinned, larger features, and all those racial villain stereotypes.

- I really like the names Sweet Chimes and Mon Coeur and the heart-shaped compact. Not hard to see why people would buy it, good packaging is so important with make-up.

- Nancy and George staying in the cliff house after Ned leaves for the police department is so dumb. They should have waited for him to return.

- George going down the tunnel after Nancy instead of going for help was also extremely dumb. She should know better by now.

- I think the culprits happening to be the one to rear end Ned was not necessary. Why did every unfortunate incident have to be them? That's too much coincidence.

- At the end when Ned and Nancy find the bell in the cave it says Nancy opened the door and walked back into the cliff house yet when they went down the tunnel it says they made sure to prop the door open so they wouldn't get locked in.

- I've never heard of the tired swimmers carry that Bess uses for George. I looked it up and could only find an old video from 1933. Not sure if it's an outdated technique or not.

Source: Dissolve

    This book is very coincidence heavy and most of it involves Nancy happening to be at the right place at the right time. I do enjoy the seaside setting and Ned's presence as well as the lack of Nancy getting a concussion or being caught and bound by the bad guys. I think it's a bit unethical of her to keep the bell at the end however.

    Overall it's one of the better Nancy Drew books and significantly better than the re-written version. The cover is also stunning.

Madge Sterling: The Missing Formula

    "Orphan Anne Fairaday faces a life of poverty upon the death of her father. The only thing that can prevent it is finding his latest experiment. She enlisted her new found friend, Madge Sterling, an outdoors girl who has a knack for finding missing things. But they must race against time as there are also several people who will stop at nothing to get it first" [x]

    The first time I read this book I was quickly thrown for a bit of a loop. Everything within the first few pages was so familiar and not in a vague way. I already knew the characters, the setting, and the whole story. I quickly realized that this book was the uncredited basis for a computer game I had played; Miss Clue Formula For Danger.

    The Miss Clue games are pretty much rip-offs of the Nancy Drew computer games so it's not surprising they're based off of other books by Mildred Wirt. The two other books in the Madge Sterling series also have games based off them. I'll add more info about the games at the bottom of this post because I actually really like them.

- The way Madge's parents are mentioned it seems as though there could have been plans for her to find her missing father if the series had continued à la the Maxie series.

- Would Anne be legally allowed to remain on Steward Island alone? She is a minor after all.

- When Anne mentions trying to get a loan from the bank Madge remarks that her uncle said banks were reluctant to give loans at the time. That's because it was the great depression. I've remarked before how I love when real life events are worked into these old books.

- It really is great luck Madge just happened to be interested in the Kippling book instead of one of the many books in the Fairaday library.

- After Anne's house gets robbed in the night of her silverware, she thinks someone could be trying to scare her away. She ignores the fact that Clyde had showed up saying she owed him money and then her semi valuable silverware is gone. Also her fathers laboratory is ransacked the same night Clyde says he has Anne's fathers formula. C'mon girls, use your logic.

- Madge just happens to take a wrong trail on Stewart island and happens to trip on the log containing the missing silverware.

- The girls debate on leaving the book with the secret formula at Stewart island or at the Lodge before deciding on the lodge. I don't understand why they would leave it anywhere, they should have been keeping that book within their arms 24/7.

- It's very foolish of the girls to hide the book in the cabin in the woods. Especially when Madge thinks someone was watching them.

- The first time I read this book I was annoyed at how Clyde is allowed to go free and receives no legal action against him. This time I'm ok with it. I guess it seemed less serious because Clyde had worked with Anne father, knew Anne, and had been in her home a lot during his work. It seems more like he was an old family friend, even if not on friendly terms anymore.

    I'm not really sure how I feel about this book. It's not my favorite, that's for sure, but it's not terrible. I think the game might have affected the way I see it..

    By the way, when I started this book I was in a bit of a reading slump so I decided to give an audio book a try. I listened to this on LibirVox, which is a wonderful site full of free audio books all read by volunteers. This one was read by Mary Escano who even did all the characters dialogue in voices. Lack of distinction between characters speaking is a big reason I don't normally listen to audio books so I really appreciated that. If you like audio books then I recommend it.

    Now let us talk about the Miss Clue games. These games started coming out years ago on virtualfamilykingdom.com. They were free to play and released in serialized chapters. There was 5 games made; three Madge sterling ones; Formula for Danger, Cruise Most Deadly, The Haunted Garden, and then Peril at Pemberly and Trials of Salem which are not related to Madge Sterling. The last seemed to be an attempt to pre rip-off the Nancy Drew game Midnight in Salem. Although there was plans for more games there hasn't been any updates in over a year. At this point I don't have much hope there will be more but I certainly would love it if there was.

Anyways I believe the games are still free on VK, I couldn't remember my account login info so I couldn't verify but it's still being advertised on the website. 

    Because I listened to an audiobook I didn't have a physical copy to scan so the image I used comes from an eBay listing of this book which is long gone.

Nancy Drew: The Hidden Staircase (original)

    This was the first original text Nancy Drew book I read. I had found it a mix of exciting, gloomy, and boring. I remember I absolutely loved that Nancy had a gun with her but I found a lot of the scenes at the mansion boring and became frustrated with how long it took Nancy to discover the secret passages. This was also my introduction to racist dialogue in old books.

    To be honest I'm hoping I don't enjoy this books because I would like to get rid of it to clear up some space to my bookshelf. Also every time I see it I think of how I foolishly spent a whopping $75 on it.

- I'm surprised Nancy left her house after Nathan Gomber's visit. I know she locked the doors and windows but if he's as unscrupulous as she thinks then he could break in.

- I thought it was interesting she went for a walk by the river. I don't know why but I always thought it interesting.

- The first time I read this book I was impressed and happy that the characters from the last book made brief appearances. I wish that had happened in more of the books.

- When asked for help by Rosemary and Floretta, Nancy insists she's not a detective. She doesn't even call herself an amateur detective.

- I think it's smart of Carson to arm Nancy with a gun. She's going to an unfamiliar place where sinister things are happening and the only other people who will be around to help her is two elderly ladies. I very much wish other books featured Nancy with a gun. It annoys me a bit how in the revised books Nancy has such close calls yet Carson and Hannah simply make her promise to be careful even though her promise never has helped in the past.

- I find it very annoying that when Nancy is looking for secret passageways and trap doors she doesn't think twice about the strange built in sofas. She spends days searching the walls of all the rooms. I have to assume the thought of checking the sofa would cross her mind.

- Although I love that Nancy has a gun I feel like sleeping with it under her pillow is not very safe. Also wouldn't it be easier to grab if it was on her nightstand? Or is she trying to hide it from any intruders since things have been disappearing from around the mansion. Not to mention a gun and a flashlight under the pillow would seem very bulky and uncomfortable. Maybe that's why she has trouble sleeping while there.

- Hold up, Floretta and Rosemary were just described as "nearly 30 years older than Nancy"...that means they're only 46 at most? I thought they were elderly! That changes things completely!

- Floretta and Rosemary remind me of Bess and George. Floretta is very timid and easily frightened whereas Rosemary is a little more brash and level headed. When the girls hear a scream in the middle of the night, Nancy wants to investigate it. Floretta doesn't want to but when Rosemary bluntly tells her to stay there then Floretta says she's rather go than be left alone. That's always happening with Bess and George.

- I'm surprised the girls don't think of hiring an actual, professional detective. They'd rather just leave their home.

- This book has a very depressing atmosphere to it. Nancy is alone in the empty, old mansion with just the two women and all three are sullen and worried. There is no electricity, no telephone, and they don't seem to leave the house for a week straight. It makes me feel depressed. In the revised Helen is present and that alone would have helped.

- I'm always fascinated by Mildred Wirt's racism in these books. Although I see people speaking about Nancy's racist past I do not see anyone actually calling out Mildred Wirt for this, people just seem to blame Nancy Drew as though she was a real person and responsible. Anyways, I actually had never considered Nathan Gombet as an antisemitic stereotype until I had read another review. Maybe this is because I was unaware that Gombet is a Jewish name, I had never heard it before. Also when I had read this before I hadn't yet read other original text Nancy Drew books and was unaware of Wirts' pattern of scheming, money hungry characters with "hooked noses" and Jewish names.

    It's unfortunate that racism is behind the character of Nathan Gombet as he's an excellent villain. He's extremely heartless and cruel as well as obsessed with seeking revenge for imagined wrongs against him. Where as other villains are just committing crimes because they're greedy or something, Gombet actually seems out of his mind and mentally unstable.

- I feel conflicted when it comes to Mr. Drew walking into Gombet's trap. On the one hand it makes sense that Carson would believe the story of Nancy becoming seriously injured in an automobile accident. Gombet did provide details such as the cars steering gear broke and she ran into a ditch. It also stands to reason that Carson would be unbelievably terrified of losing his daughter after already having lost his wife.

    On the other hand Mr. Drew should have been much more suspicious of Gombet especially after having been threatened by him. He doesn't even think for a second that Nancy may have been injured by Gombet nor does the strange telegram reply he got on the train cross his mind.

- Gombet is called a miser throughout the book which I don't think is the correct word. A miser hordes money and penny pinches but no reference is made to him doing this. He instead tries to scam and cheat other people out of money.

- Gombet says he will release Mr. Drew is he gives him a check and signs a paper promising not to prosecute. Carson should have just done this as contracts signed under force are not legal and will not hold up in court. As a lawyer he should know this. I mean, I guess Gombet could wait for the check to clear and then not release Carson but I doubt it as people would notice if he was gone long/indefinitely.

- I enjoyed two chapters being dedicated to Carson and his abduction. They're removed from the rewritten version and Carson just appears in the end.

- I'm not sure why Gombet thinks forcing the Turnbulls to sell their house equates to them selling it to him. Other people have been interested in the house so why would they sell to the person offering the lowest price?

- Talk about luck that the only room in Gombet house that Nancy goes into is the one with the secret passage. I feel like the closet it a strange place for a secret passage, even Nancy says the room would be an unlikely place. Also you would think an underground tunnel would have it's entrance in the basement or at least the first floor.

- Something I found a little strange was Nancy's full name being used a lot through the text.

    Unfortunately, I enjoyed this book quite a lot. As I mentioned I was hoping to get rid of it but I just don't have a reason to.

Nancy Drew: The Secret of Red Gate Farm (original)

    "Out on a leisurely shopping trip, Nancy, Bess and George encounter an odd French-Chinese perfume saleswoman, who is reluctant to sell a particular fragrance to Bess. On a return train trip to River Heights, they ponder her odd behavior and encounter the malnourished Millie (Joanne in the later versions of the book) Byrd, who is on her way to "the city" to seek employment. Millie becomes acquainted with the girls, and when Nancy accompanies her to a job interview, she uncovers a mysterious code in the office. Millie's grandmother, owner of Red Gate Farm, welcomes the trio and Millie to her farm where they plan to vacation as paid boarders, and assist with waiting on other boarders. Once on the farm, Nancy uncovers a strange group called The Black Snake Colony—a "nature cult"—who are tenants on an outlying portion of Mrs. Byrd's farm. Accused of passing counterfeit money, Nancy shares details of the odd colony and the codes obtained in the office building with Federal agents. Nancy, Bess, George, and Millie go undercover disguised in the white robes and hoods worn by the cult members, and join them in their cave hideaway"

    I've read the original red gate farm only once but remember it being almost identical to the rewritten except for the opening scene.

- As the book opens I feel bad for Nancy who seems overwhelmingly stressed about missing their train while Bess and George don't seem to care much.

- I've always loved that the girls went out of town to go shopping. That rarely happens as it seems River Heights has everything anyone could ever need.

- I always giggle at $3 for perfume being considered exorbitantly high. The $3 is equal to $50 in today's money but even that isn't too shocking for perfume. Especially if it's a rare imported perfume like the girls assume.

- When Nancy shows her father the coded message he "adjusts his glasses". I never thought of Carson wearing glasses.

- The word "sallies" is used to refer to Bess and George's jokes. I love finding new old fashion slang in old books.

- "That means another pound added to my weight," Bess sighed as she gave her order, "but I'd as soon be dead as to give up sundaes!" Same, Bess, same.

- One thing I don't like about Mildred Wirt's writing is her overuse of sudden storms (Secret of the Old Clock, Bungalow Mystery, Lilac Inn, Shadow Ranch, Whispering Statue, and The Missing Formula are just the ones I can name off the top of my head in an instant). They're in many of her books and this one is no exception. In fact this book has two storms, one immediately after the other.

- It's mentioned that Bess had previously taken an interior decorating class. I love getting a little bit of backstory information on characters, especially Bess as she's my favorite character in every Nancy Drew series.

- I was under the impression that Nancy and the girls had been at Red Gate Farm for several weeks before they visited the roadside restaurant again. Yet the employees who accuse Nancy of passing the counterfeit bill act as though it had just happened the other day.

- It's unfortunate that I don't remember the details of the revised version because the farther I get in the original text the more I feel there is a lot of subtle differences but I'm just not sure. I know the opening scene is not in the rewritten version but I can not remember if the elderly boarders are kept in it or not, I also don't recall if it kept the second trip to the roadside restaurant or Nancy giving a ride to Black Snake Colony woman. I might have to re-read the revised text soon out of curiosity.

- At first the woman from the Black Snake Colony is described as old. Then later the woman refers to herself as old when she thanks Nancy for her help. But later it says the woman is not old, she only appears that way because she has stress lines or whatever. So that's confusing.

- I never understood why white robes with hoods were chosen as the outfits for the Colony. I'm not sure if the was Mildred Wirt's own decision or if it was part of the outline written by Edna Stratemeyer but it's just quite strange to me for obvious reasons. Also I always thought black robes with a snake image would be far more fitting for a group called the Black Snake Colony.

- Nancy overheard the woman in the grocery store say she heard there was to be a BSC ceremony that night. At first I wondered how on earth the woman could have learned that but then I thought maybe the leaders of the syndicate spread word so people notice their late night ceremony and believe they truly are a nature cult.

- It's too much of a coincidence for me that three Colony members happen to not show up the night Nancy, Bess, and George infiltrate the syndicate. Talk about luck Millie stayed behind.

- The fact that the girls get caught having snuck into the syndicates meeting, had bought the secret signal perfume, and had applied for a job at 305 really does look suspicious as heck. It's understandable the gang thinks they're spies.

- I don't understand why Karl was leading the raid on the cave when he had no association with the police or FBI and he had only met up with them at the farm a little bit ago.

- I have a hard time believing that within a few weeks the cave and boarders could have generated enough money for the farms mortgage to be paid off, an extension added to the house, and a new car. I think Mrs. Byrd is getting ahead of herself for even if the popularity of the cave and farm hold out the summer was almost over and that would leave less people around.

    I'm not surprised that I enjoyed this book upon this reading, it's the early books like this one that helped make Nancy Drew such a successful series. I'd actually love to read the revised text now but alas I don't have the time to spend reading a book I already know I'm keeping as the whole point of re-reading these books is to find ones to clear out of my collection.

    Also thought I'd mention that I only have 6 more Nancy Drew books to re-read! That's pretty exciting since I started out having over 70 to read! Three of the books I've actually never read before so I'm saving them for last. I'm excited to be finished with this series and talk about what books I decided to keep and which to get rid of.