This Side of Evil

Nancy Drew Files #14

by Carolyn Keene

Nancy Drew travels to Montreal to stop a master criminal from blackmailing a television host, a top surgeon, a young jetsetter and other potential victims who travel in the same social circle.

Genres: Mystery, Young Adult, Fiction, Childrens, Crime, Canada, Ebooks

156 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Carolyn Keene is a writer pen name that was used by many different people- both men and women- over the years. The company that was the creator of the Nancy Drew series, the Stratemeyer Syndicate, hired a variety of writers. For Nancy Drew, the writers used the pseudonym Carolyn Keene to assure anonymity of the creator.

Edna and Harriet Stratemeyer inherited the company from their father Edward Stratemeyer. Edna contributed 10 plot outlines before passing the reins to her sister Harriet. It was Mildred Benson (aka: Mildred A. Wirt), who breathed such a feisty spirit into Nancy's character. Mildred wrote 23 of the original 30 Nancy Drew Mystery Stories®, including the first three. It was her characterization that helped make Nancy an instant hit. The Stratemeyer Syndicate's devotion to the series over the years under the reins of Harriet Stratemeyer Adams helped to keep the series alive and on store shelves for each succeeding generation of girls and boys. In 1959, Harriet, along with several writers, began a 25-year project to revise the earlier Carolyn Keene novels. The Nancy Drew books were condensed, racial stereotypes were removed, and the language was updated. In a few cases, outdated plots were completely rewritten.

Other writers of Nancy Drew volumes include Harriet herself, she wrote most of the series after Mildred quit writing for the Syndicate and in 1959 began a revision of the first 34 texts. The role of the writer of "Carolyn Keene" passed temporarily to Walter Karig who wrote three novels during the Great Depression. Also contributing to Nancy Drew's prolific existence were Leslie McFarlane, James Duncan Lawrence, Nancy Axelrod, Priscilla Doll, Charles Strong, Alma Sasse, Wilhelmina Rankin, George Waller Jr., and Margaret Scherf.

Reviews

[Chloe]

Perhaps the most obvious culprit in a Nancy Drew book? Which makes Nancy look like a complete moron when she doesn't realise who it is despite all the conspicuous clues and the tendency of the culprit to spout significantly ominous statements every other sentence. The ending was good though, very dramatic

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Quickie Review

Yet another great installment; not much to say other than that.

Score: 4/5

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

AUTHOR KEENE, Carolyn
TITLE This Side of Evil/Nancy Drew Files
DATE READ 01/30/21
RATING 4/B
FIRST SENTENCE
GENRE/ PUB DATE/FORMAT/LENGTH YA Mystery/1987/kindle/160 pgs
SERIES/STAND-ALONE #14 Nancy Drew Files
CHALLENGE Good Reads 2020 Reading Goal 16/120
GROUP READ ND
TIME/PLACE 1980's/Montreal, Canada
CHARACTERS Nancy Drew/girl detective; George Fayne/friend; Ned Nickerson/boyfriend; Amber Atherton/secretary at Cherbourg Industries
COMMENTS Always quick and fun escape, nostalgic reads. Nancy is hired by Amber Atherton at Cherbourg Industries in Montreal Canada to look into some minor blackmailing at her company.
Right from the start I knew who … but I didn't know why. I did not find the motivation satisfying but still enjoyed the book.

[Ciska van Bokhorst · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jeugdsentiment! Mijn eerste Nancy Drew ever! Wat ik nog goed weet van dit boek is dat ik direct door had wie het gedaan had. Toen al..... dus.......

[Melanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't think I read this particular case back in the day, so everything was brand new.

What struck me right away (but shouldn't have surprised me) was how not set in the present this was. This book was published in 1987, and the clothing descriptions really hammer that in. This isn't neon legwarmers, Halloween party 80s, it's "khaki-colored corduroy blazer" 80s. Let's be honest: that's realistic.

The second thing was how squeaky clean the central characters came across (unless they were throwing out casually racist statements like: "What's a guy named Pierre doing working in a Greek restaurant?"). Even though they're dealing with solving a pretty big crime, nobody says any bad words, they don't have conflict with each other, and they crack lame and inappropriate jokes to "ease the tension" ("We're not worried, Nancy," Ned said playfully. "If anything happens, you'll protect us." "Thanks a lot." Nancy rolled her eyes.). Plus, I read Ned's dialogue in Rio "I hate deception and I despise liars" Pacheco's voice which added to the 70s/80s sitcom vibe.

Full review on my blog (with bad words!)

[Laura Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having recently found a stack of children's books in my laundry room, I decided to give these a whirl. Oddly enough, Nancy Drew solves a mystery in Montreal, my old stomping grounds! Naturally, I had to see what she thought of the "Paris of North America." Apparently she has some big obsession with the Big O's track - or at least her friend does.

This mystery was much easier to solve than I remember Nancy's mysteries being, at least back when I was a kid. But then again, maybe they were always that easy to see through, and I was just not as advanced a reader?

Anyway, 3 stars for trying to capture a bit of Montreal's je ne sais quoi, but if you're looking for a crazy caper and you're just a tad older than 13, you may want to check into an adult cozy mystery instead. Good for nostalgia's sake, though not for the hard-nosed armchair detective.

[Jamie (TheRebelliousReader) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars. Very action packed. I feel like these later books are so much better than the earlier ones in the series. I didn't even mind that Ned was in this book and helped Nancy solve the mystery. That's saying a lot because Lord knows that I cannot stand Ned. Anyway, this was fun. All of the chapters end on a dramatic note and it's just so cheesy and enjoyable.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another good Nancy Drew mystery. I actually remember this one because of the cover I have always loved the outfit Nancy is wearing. I was able to pick out the blackmailer early on and I wonder if it was just as obvious when I was a preteen. Even though it wasn't much of a mystery I still enjoyed hanging out with Nancy, Ned, and George.

[PenNPaper52 · Rating 3 out of 5]

The whole story looked whacky... Especially the whole archenemy scenario. And it was easy to guess who the culprit was and irritating that Nancy didn't see the big obnoxious villain right in front of her face. It was Nancy drew, so I read the book, but wouldn't recommend it.

[Lize-Marie Leuschner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy one to figure out, but still a nice, light read

[Roderick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Initially this was enjoyably mysterious, but then somewhat obvious with a villain, who then confesses with ease at the end (& motivation not really sound)

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am completely hooked on this series. I don’t know if I can ever go back to reading the old books now!

[Rosina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I get this is for children but having such an obvious culprit that Nancy didn't figure out until the very end was frustrating to say the least.

[˜”*°•.˜”*°• Sheri •°*”˜.•°*”˜ · Rating 4 out of 5]

All I can say is that Ned is quite a guy :)

[Elliot (El) · Rating 2 out of 5]

A quick read. Not bad, but I knew who the culprit was by the second chapter.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating is totally based on the Nancy/Ned interaction. Spoilers in my podcast review: https://anchor.fm/nancy-drew-nickerso...

[Gwendolyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I figured out the villain about 2 seconds in which was lame.

[Lara Stanley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nostalgic childhood reading but I thought the culprit was v obvious in this one, not my fav but fun to be back with Nancy!

[Aaliyah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book and a good story line kept me thinking.

[V. Arrow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boy-crazy George Fayne was... a choice.

[Mali Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely book really engaging

[Shantina Henderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really great read I deeply enjoyed and it's my kind of Young Adult fiction 🥰🤎😍!

[joella · Rating 2 out of 5]

Figured out who the culprit was by page 7 so it ruined the suspense for me :/

[Bookish Indulgenges with b00k r3vi3ws · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys throughout my school and college days.

Nancy Drew is an amateur detective who solves crimes with occasional help from her best friends, Bess and George and, her boyfriend Ned. She also has occasional help from her father Carson Drew who runs a private law practice. From finding stolen goods to missing persons and solving mysterious happenings, Nancy is a force of nature.

Until I discovered that Carolyn Keene is a pen name for a whole bunch of ghostwriters, I used to feel confused about the slight differences in each character from books to book over the many series of Nancy Drew mysteries. I like the character of Nancy best in the original books written by Mildred Wirt Benson where Nancy is truly a character to root for – an independent and street smart girl with a penchant for trouble.

[Kirsten · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugg, this case wasn't up to Nancy's usual standards. She was almost naive and careless. I saw the "evil-doer" miles away and every chapter made it more and more obvious, but Nancy was blind to it. This book had me yelling aloud at Nancy and got me frustrated easily. Sad for a Nancy Drew fan.

[Eliza · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is just going to represent all the Nancy Drew books I read as a kid. There were dozens on our bookshelf at home. They were awesome. I read most of them, some more than once. I miss them.

[Stormy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall it was a pretty good book but I figured out who did it about halfway through and couldn't believe that Nancy wasn't picking up on these obvious clues. Plus the ending was kinda lame.

[Angela · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit predictable and not that fast moving. This time it was obvious who the bad guy was from the beginning.

[Ulya A.K]

I havent read Nancy Drews series for quite some time already, but these & Hardy Boys are still the best :)

[Jordan · Rating 3 out of 5]

These are such easy reads for when you're stuck between books, a lot of the time i guess the murderer ect. before I'm halfway through the book. But I do enjoy them for little reading :)