The Haunted Lagoon

Dana Girls Mystery #21

by Carolyn Keene

The Dana girls and their friends try to locate a missing sea captain last seen on Chincoteague Island off the Virginia Coast.

Genres: Mystery, Childrens, Fiction, Middle Grade

182 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1959

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 In a few cases, outdated plots were completely rewritten.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

[Jessaka · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the Dana sister mystery series when I was reading Nancy drew. But I found that I like the Dana sister's better. While I have always thought this, thinking today, they were not as good as Nancy drew. It was just that my favorite book in the entire series was, by the light of the study lamp. I have read a few more Dana sister books after that but many were boring, especially the portrait in the sand. I also did not like their nemesis, Lettie Briggs. She is not in this book Thank god. Maybe she had been written out of the series. I do know that Mildred wIrt did not like to write this series, so I don't know how many of these books she wrote. But after her first book, by the light of the study lamp, it feels is if you can tell that she was not enjoying her work. It probably did not help that she was given an outline of what she had to write.

The story takes place on the coast of Virginia. The girls learn of a missing ex captain and desire to find him. This takes them off the coast of Virginia to a few islands. Were they begin searching for him. Wbhile searching for the captain they are also searching or a treasure.

While I did not read this book when I was a teenager, it felt so familiar. This is because in the last few hardy boy books and maybe the Nancy Drew Or other teenage mysteries there have been similar scenes such as a man trapped in a pit, Boat chases, etc.. Perhaps this book Would have received more stars if there was not so much Deja Vu. The only new thing in the book is that the island had ponies on it, which is true of that island. And if you want to know anything about oysters, there is a little bit on that too.

Written in 1959.

[Stephen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall, only a fair example of girl sleuthing. Highlights, though, include little details about the oyster industry, the inclusion of the wild ponies of Assateague, and the lovely illustrations.

http://pixie-sleuth.blogspot.com/

[Whitney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have experienced a major event! Local vintage bookstore was the location. When I was doing my habitual browse through the Nancy Drew section, I noticed a book with a slightly different spine among the Nancys. Nancys are yellow.

These new books, also ghost-written by the non-existent "Carolyn Keene," have beige colored spines. And instead of a Nancy badge, these books have a badge showing two girls.

THE DANA GIRLS!

Believe me, ever since I located this specific book, I have searched all the used bookstores near my home, and I have never spotted another DANA GIRLS book in the wild.

I found a couple in my local library system.

And I have been looking on ebay, amazon, et cetera, TRYING to locate more of these books in the DANA GIRLS series.

They are comparable to the Nancy Drew series, but obviously they didn't gain the same level of popularity. But WHY?

The Dana Girls have more complexity, more humanity, more potential chaos in every chapter.

Being honest here, during the few decades of Nancy's greatest hits, her brand is cool and consistent. She behaves with poise and tact. (She acts like butter wouldn't melt in her mouth.)

I would like to spend more time trying to find out why Nancy is very easy to find in all these local used bookstores, yet these Dana Girls are scarce. WHY?

[Darcy S DeMaagd · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book at a little library and was intrigued because I ready Nancy Drew growing up. Never heard of this series before! Was cute and just like Nancy Drew/Hardy boys books. A nice easy read after reading some heavier/more dramatic books 😅

[Teanna Byerts · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weeeeelp, can't get my whole epic review on here, so there's a link!

http://www.swordwhale.com/the-haunted...

I've paddled and camped in the Haunted lagoon.

I'd heard of this book, and was curious, since it is a kids' book (my favorite genre) and set on a couple of islands which are my favorite places on land or sea. On page one I saw that I needed to say something about it.

I needed to say a lot about it.

The time period (1959) makes it an interesting, and maddening, contrast with modern kids books. The style also contrasts terribly with our modern "cinematic" sense of storytelling, powered by movies, TV and video games. The author knows something about boats, nothing about horses, and some about the islands. Researching a story for a specific setting is always tricky; no matter what you do, there will always be something you didn't get right. It's an interesting look at another age, another kind of storytelling, and an outsider's view of the islands.

And no, we still haven't actually found Captain Wilson's treasure.

[James Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Dana Girls and their friends are going to go hunting for pirate treasure from 1785. The other theme is that there had been an accident at sea some years before and a guy was assumed guilty for causing it, but it seems someone else may have knocked him out and caused the accident himself.

The Dana Girls take a plane to the area but the plane has engine trouble and they have a crash-landing.

The rest of the story deals with how they pursue both themes at the same time. They explore various lagoons, learn about how the small islands in the area are not always there, and they get shot at. There's even a motor boat chase in the story.

The bad guy is suitably bad and greedy, and it all gives the reader a really good story.

[EchoHouseLibrary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wrapped up very predictably but had some charming tidbits about the setting.

[Debra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved this series of books that I read back in junior high. They are from the same syndicate that wrote the Nancy Drew books and the Hardy Boys, but I much preferred the Dana Girls.

[Subi · Rating 3 out of 5]

hardback 1959

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Over the years I visited Chincoteague and Assateague many times. When I heard about this book I just had to track it down (with my daughter’s help). As a kid I would have loved this story. It’s a bit dated but still a fun read.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another enjoyable mystery! Love the characters!

[Renata Shura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow what a wild ride of improbabilities. But still fun and set in one of my favorite places on the planet! I couldn’t big read it, because of that!

[for-much-deliberation ... · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dana girls solve a mystery off the Virginian coast