The Mystery in Tornado Alley

Nancy Drew Mystery Stories #155

by Carolyn Keene

When Hannah Gruen inherits a farm from a distant relative in Oklahoma, Nancy, Mr. Drew, Hannah, Bess, and George pack up an RV and take a road trip. By the time they arrive, a small tornado has caused minor damage to the house and Nancy finds a duffel bag full of maps and sheets of paper with words pasted on them. Could they be ransom notes? More important, can the kidnapping be stopped?

Genres: Mystery, Young Adult, Childrens, Fiction, Classics, Thriller, Crime

Library Binding

First published July 1, 2000

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 In a few cases, outdated plots were completely rewritten.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

[Tori Samar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly this kind of sensational storytelling with writing ranging from abysmal to mediocre is a guilty pleasure at this point LOL. As far as Nancy Drew books go specifically, this one truly takes the wildness to new heights (literally).

[Aviola · Rating 2 out of 5]

Uit pure nostalgie nog 2 sterren.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read a lot of Nancy Drew books in my time and I usually enjoy them. I picked this one up for a quick read. Nancy is usually quick and somewhat perfect. In this book she's rather dumb and naive- too trusting. I saw this one coming a long way off. The story is almost disjointed. Nancy and her friends Bess & George travel to Oklahoma in an RV with Mr. Drew and the Drew housekeeper Hannah to inspect some property that Hannah inherited from her cousin. There are several bad tornadoes that keep occurring during their visit. After the first one Nancy finds a duffel bag in a tree and inside are some ransom notes to a kidnapping that hasn't occurred. I found this inexplicable along with several other things.

[Tari · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had read this book so long ago, I'd totally forgotten most of the plot. It was nice mixed-up plot too, and I had no idea who could be trusted and who couldn't. A lot of the people Nancy and her friends met in Oklahoma weren't what they seemed. And they experienced a tornado firsthand, something I'd never want to have to do, although when you're in an RV on the road, there's not a lot of choice but to hit the dirt. I'd sort of started suspecting someone around when Nancy did. The ending was really sweet as always. These mysteries are always a fun little escape!

[Trips Starlake · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't even know what to say about this book. It was fast paced, with many suspects. Nancy isn't sure who to trust, but then places it in a kid who clearly needs some mental help. Riding off the popularity of Twister, this book has a ton of tornadoes that put Nancy in a lot of danger. Honestly my main issue is that Nancy puts a lot of faith in characters who are clearly super sketchy which doesn't feel like someone with keen intuition and observational skills will do.
Still, it was a fast and sorta fun read.

[Paula Claire Cuasay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this long ago back when I was in middle school so I mostly forgot about the plot. But as far as I know, I could still remember to this day the scent of this old book, my imagination running wild, and that surreal fresh feeling of my first-time ever reading a mystery/thriller book when I was young.

+ Also, this book is a good start for the young ones who aspire to read since reading this back then allowed me to improve my vocabulary, imagination, and memory even more.

[LuAnn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh! The plots and characterization of Nancy is downhill with this book and the prior one in the series. Nancy's more like Judy Bolton in leaping to conclusions with little solid basis and really misjudges people in this one. The predicament she manages to overcome at the end of the book is more far-fetched than usual.

[peter f mathias · Rating 5 out of 5]

Acquired lots of tornado knowledge.


Best to maximize your chances of avoiding every tornado as completely as possible, Watch the warnings. If avoidance fails, KEEP YOUR HEAD PROTECTED!

[Serena · Rating 3 out of 5]

My Rating System:
* couldn't finish, ** wouldn't recommend, *** would recommend, **** would read again, ***** have read again.

[Monika]

Children’s/YA Mystery

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Lol. What?

[Melissa Breese Palmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this Nancy Drew story even if it was a little hard to believe at times. I loved seeing where they got the inspiration for the PC game.

[Lisa Shower · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good one!

Fast paced, action packed and an engaging plot. Not one of the original books but good nonetheless. I enjoyed it!

[James Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

What drew me to this book was the use of tornadoes. A good part of the book is actually based on actual tornado-hunting practices and also contains a good bit of information about tornadoes. Some of the events remind me of some tornado disaster fiction films I have seen since Nancy ends up being narrowly missed by one and is actually picked up (in a car) by another tornado.

It's also a somewhat unusual Nancy Drew book since the criminal actually ends up paying for his crimes right then.

The basic idea is that Hannah seems to have inherited a small farm and the group goes to check things out. They meet a guy with a really bad attitude, Jimmy Boyd. The mystery involves Nancy's finding of a duffel bag in a tree (after a tornado has gone by), and the bag contains ransom notes. So, the crime has not yet been committed, and Nancy wants to stop it from happening.

She ends up with several suspects. As usual, she gets hit on the head and knocked out by the criminal and also ends up being kidnapped and nearly killed. It's a good story.

[Sarra Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here it is. My favorite Nancy Drew book of all time. It's the only one I can look back on and read and say "yep, it's still my favorite."

[Swati Daftuar · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, I'm a bit late discovering this, but Nancy Drews are pretty great.

[Boedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite Nancy Drew book.

[Liana Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

nancy drew :) these book is really amazing it thrills me and excites me so much :)

[Victoria Budkey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't remember there ever being a character that dies during the course of the book. Wow.