Dressed to Steal

Nancy Drew: Girl Detective #22

by Carolyn Keene

I don't normally care about clothes, but when my friend Charlie Adams's sister Alicia opened a boutique right here in River Heights, of course I wanted to be at the opening.

Turns out it was a pretty popular event. Way more people than expected showed up, and then the store window was smashed, and people were injured! Later I found out that Alicia's most expensive dress was destroyed and her store had been vandalized.

Sounds like more than one-day-sale damage to me. I may not be a fashion expert, but this is one case I'm ready to size up.

Genres: Mystery, Childrens, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Audiobook, Mystery Thriller, Detective

149 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2007

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 In a few cases, outdated plots were completely rewritten.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

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

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: After reading countless Nancy Drew novels, I've run out of things to say about them. This was typical fare for the series, but you probably already knew that. Barring a surprise thrift store find, this will be the last book in the Girl Detective series I'll be able to review until December; that's when I'll be able to buy more from Apple Books.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I was a child I loved Nancy Drew. This version seems to stretch the truth a bit. Did the end always justify the means? Maybe my memory is failing me.

[Lene Hermans · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is supposed to be 2.5! I used to love the Nancy Drew books as a kid, feeling very nostalgic

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

You can't go home again. Modern Nancy Drew does not live up to my childhood version. She's lost her fashion sense, become a goofy person who frequently runs out of gas, and has no respect for the law -- I lost track of the number of B&E's she and her friends committed. And when did Bess lose so much weight? At least George is still sporty.

[Christine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Several books in this series, including this one, suffer from the use of first person pov. In my opinion, it was extremely frustrating to read this book, think I had figured out the mystery, only to have it revealed that the clues Nancy and the reader had were false. It's the same as having a plot twist without any foreshadowing: poor writing.

[Charity Rau · Rating 2 out of 5]

It seems like some of the ghostwriters for these newer Nancy Drew books never read any of the older books. Nancy came off a bit cocky, her car repeatedly ran out of gas (but it’s a hybrid), and there was some kind of weird drama between her and this new character Deidre - the OG Nancy was not anything like this, so didn’t really enjoy this one.

[Lavanya · Rating 4 out of 5]

its really amazing .........I also think charlie adams have a crush on nancy

[Cathou P · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, easy and short. Definitely for kids, but it was a happy, nostalgic listen.

[moxieBK · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nancy Drew: Dressed to Steal— Carolyn Keene/Narrator: Rebecca Rogers (26 chapters) December 28, 2021

I only had an audiobook for this, so this review will focus only on the story and narrator.

What can I say? — This is tried and true Nancy Drew, updated for the 22nd Century.

Nancy, Bess, George, and Ned are involved in solving a clothing store caper. It was a quick but delightful listen; the narrator was perfect for the voice.

I have been a long time Nancy Drew reader. As a young girl, I read all her stories that were not really updated for the time I read them: 1970’s. This is a new story with new, current settings, albeit the same characters.

I’m cool with it if it bring in new readers to this awesome series.

Three stars. Solid.

[mekluuu · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have never found Nancy Drew so wobbly in her ethicality. The book takes a brown nosey luke warm middle class approach to emphatically warning kids against the legal and moral dangers of extremism in activism (ie destruction property, stealing, trespassing) all the while Nancy does ALL THESE THINGS while chastising other characters! The characters felt so lackluster and underdeveloped. We didn't really see anything through in terms of character or relationship growth. The most interesting part of the book was perhaps the opening car ride wherein George hedges around the idea of getting new clothes.

[claud. · Rating 1 out of 5]

this is the fourth book from this series of nancy drew i've read and apart from one i've rated 3 stars, i've given them all a 1, so i think it's safe to say the girl detective series is the worst. the mystery and plot themselves were passable, but the writing and dialogue were so, so badly written. i also couldn't help but notice that the 'mechanic talents' attribute was given to bess instead of george. surely there must've been some mistake?

either way, i just don't think first person POV works for nancy drew. why mess with a tried and tested formula?

[Ashley Ware · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 ⭐️ - everyone but Nancy was written as very unintelligent & seemed to have an over the top worship of Nancy. Almost all of the situations and “clues” were very far fetched and didn’t actually connect. The ending made no sense whatsoever & saying that Campbell couldn’t be charged because there was no evidence is ridiculous- she was literally wearing the stolen earrings. I cannot believe someone wrote this but even more that I forced myself to finish it.

[J.T. Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's always fun to read a Nancy Drew story.
Even though they are simple mysteries, I'm always along for the ride and often kept guessing where the story will turn next and who the culprit is.

This one was no different. It was short, fun, nostalgic as always, and I was left guessing who did it until the end.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy these novella Nancy Drew stories. It really makes me wish they would start a series where Nancy is an adult p.i. This was an interesting pretty low stakes mystery which is what I needed today.

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I needed a quick entertaining book for a change of pace. it was entertaining.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute as always!

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun ND mystery. No murder just mystery. The relationship between Ned and Nancy is more like brother/sister, so really the author could leave that out, but an entertaining story.

[Nicky Renée · Rating 3 out of 5]

Typical new Nancy Drew; it's a bit silly and lacks the charm the original series had.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve always loved Nancy Drew. This book did not disappoint.

[Cindy]

Dressed to Steal

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable, simple mystery bringing back girlhood memories.

[Elsie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A just okay addition to my many Nancy Drew reads!

[Rebel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Nancy Drew!

[Kathleen Meacham · Rating 3 out of 5]

So refreshing to read a cozy mystery knowing that it will be clean.

[Susanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Can never go wrong with Nancy Drew! Takes me back to my childhood.

[Alex Hollingsworth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one goes fast. It was a little confusing. Didn't see the ending coming.

[Darinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 22nd book in the Nancy Drew: Girl Detective series. Fun and enjoyable.

[Nathalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The last time I read a Nancy Drew was when my youngest daughter was 9 and we were trying to read all of them IN ORDER. We got pretty far before life threw our family a curve ball and we just never had time to finish. So I definitely picked up this book on CD when I saw it, even when I noticed it was one of the newer stories. I liked the old classics but this surprised me. There is a modern touch with all the up-to-date technology but it's not too modern. Nancy is still Nancy and it's still wonderful!

[Linda Selbach · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really did not enjoy this book. I much prefer the classic Nancy Drew. in this story Nancy runs out of gas, lies, and breaks into places to get her clues. very dissapointed. I listened to it with my 12 year old daughter and found there were many times were we talked about what she was doing that was wrong.