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Nancy Drew Files #84
Choosing Sides
Nancy lends a hand in a local election -- where issue "#1" is murder.
River Heights is about to elect a new mayor and every candidate will have to take a stand on crime. But Nancy's choice, District Attorney Caroline Hill, apparently doesn't have a leg to stand on. Small-time hoodlum Bobby Rouse has implicated the DA in a bribery scandal, threatening her integrity and her chances for victory.
Nancy's convinced that Caroline is the victim of a frame-up, but before finding the proof, she has another victim on her hands -- Bobby Rouse, victim of murder. Politics can be a dirty business, and it's up to Nancy to root out the corruption. Fearing that the election will be decided not by ballots but by bullets, Nancy knows this is one race she can't afford to lose.
160 pages, Library Binding
First published January 1, 1993
3 people are currently reading
280 people want to read
About the author
Carolyn Keene
1,103 books3,904 followersCarolyn 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 In a few cases, outdated plots were completely rewritten.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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 2, 2020
What an intense read! This was a fun one!
August 6, 2014
The villain was obvious but it was still a good book, better than most of the files books. It takes place in River Heights and good old Brenda is in it.
November 27, 2019
Nancy and Ned are on opposite sides when Nancy investigates the sabotage of a mayoral campaign. Interesting note, in book 10 (Buried Secrets) Sam Abbott is mayor, but in this book the mayor has been incumbent for about 13 years
May 5, 2018
There are so many things wrong with this book, where to even begin?
1. Nancy Drew is volunteering with Caroline Hill's election campaign. Caroline, who's running for mayor of River Heights, has been the city's district attorney. You'd think that her being a colleague of Carson Drew, Nancy's famous attorney father, would mean Carson would be a prominent character in this book, and you'd be wrong. He appears briefly in the first and last chapters and that's it. Nancy never consults him about the case. We never learn what he thinks about the allegations against his former colleague. Instead, we get Kyle Donovan, his paralegal and Bess's love interest of the week, who's basically there to fill in for George (who's off competing in some tennis tournament).
2. Kyle is referred to as a "teen" at one point. Being a college graduate, he must be at least 21.
3. Nancy seems convinced that, because Ned knows about the election, he *must* have gotten her message about the fundraiser. Unless the mayoral race began that day, this makes no sense. A mayoral election would be major news and last for months. Of course Ned would already know about it, especially since Caroline's opponent has ties to Emerson College, where Ned is matriculated.
4. Nancy seems shocked that Ned is supporting Patrick Gleason, not Caroline Hill, for mayor. But...why? Nancy herself says Patrick seems like a great guy with ties to the community and that he'd be a fine mayor. She's only supporting Caroline because she knows her. Same thing with Ned and Patrick. There doesn't seem to be an ideological or party affiliation dispute here, so the whole tension between Ned and Nancy over this, while not overbearing, still feels contrived.
5. Each "Files" book begins with a list of the mystery's three or four suspects. Sometimes the culprit isn't one of these suspects but is still a major character and you can still easily figure out "whodunnit." In this book, the culprit is a very minor character who only appears briefly twice, and in neither appearance does he even interact with Nancy. Until the mayor's confession at the end, there's no way to solve the mystery, and that's not really fair. The fact that Nancy takes forever to figure out who the culprit is after the mayor's confession is embarrassing. How is she a great detective again?
6. The way Brenda Carlton learned about Nancy's meeting with the mayor makes zero sense.
7. The culprit is sentenced to 20 years. The culprit bribed a government official, committed blackmail, conspired to defame a public official by framing her for fencing, committed first degree murder, and attempted two other murders. But sure, sentence him to 20 years instead of life.
1. Nancy Drew is volunteering with Caroline Hill's election campaign. Caroline, who's running for mayor of River Heights, has been the city's district attorney. You'd think that her being a colleague of Carson Drew, Nancy's famous attorney father, would mean Carson would be a prominent character in this book, and you'd be wrong. He appears briefly in the first and last chapters and that's it. Nancy never consults him about the case. We never learn what he thinks about the allegations against his former colleague. Instead, we get Kyle Donovan, his paralegal and Bess's love interest of the week, who's basically there to fill in for George (who's off competing in some tennis tournament).
2. Kyle is referred to as a "teen" at one point. Being a college graduate, he must be at least 21.
3. Nancy seems convinced that, because Ned knows about the election, he *must* have gotten her message about the fundraiser. Unless the mayoral race began that day, this makes no sense. A mayoral election would be major news and last for months. Of course Ned would already know about it, especially since Caroline's opponent has ties to Emerson College, where Ned is matriculated.
4. Nancy seems shocked that Ned is supporting Patrick Gleason, not Caroline Hill, for mayor. But...why? Nancy herself says Patrick seems like a great guy with ties to the community and that he'd be a fine mayor. She's only supporting Caroline because she knows her. Same thing with Ned and Patrick. There doesn't seem to be an ideological or party affiliation dispute here, so the whole tension between Ned and Nancy over this, while not overbearing, still feels contrived.
5. Each "Files" book begins with a list of the mystery's three or four suspects. Sometimes the culprit isn't one of these suspects but is still a major character and you can still easily figure out "whodunnit." In this book, the culprit is a very minor character who only appears briefly twice, and in neither appearance does he even interact with Nancy. Until the mayor's confession at the end, there's no way to solve the mystery, and that's not really fair. The fact that Nancy takes forever to figure out who the culprit is after the mayor's confession is embarrassing. How is she a great detective again?
6. The way Brenda Carlton learned about Nancy's meeting with the mayor makes zero sense.
7. The culprit is sentenced to 20 years. The culprit bribed a government official, committed blackmail, conspired to defame a public official by framing her for fencing, committed first degree murder, and attempted two other murders. But sure, sentence him to 20 years instead of life.
December 19, 2023
Fun as always!
January 15, 2026
Not my favorite Files book, but I still love Nancy and the gang
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews