Being Nancy: In a world lost in mystery

Mackinac Island #5

by Michele Olson

1983 should have been a dream come true for Nancy Benson.
Enlisting her island crafting friends as convention workers, Nancy thinks she can finally realize her dream of arranging a Nancy Drew fan convention at the elegant Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island.

Hiding her financial secrets, Nancy rationalizes the need for a few white lies on her angel investor application to acquire the needed financing. Securing the loan through what she thinks are anonymous investors, she puts all her efforts into the convention—much to her husband’s dismay.

Ruffled by the unexpected arrival of the mysterious Mr. and Mrs. Mason and their overbearing entourage at the convention reception - she is especially perplexed when they reveal they are the angel investors who supplied her loan. Hoping to delight the convention attendees, the Masons bring a rare, first-edition of The Mystery at Lilac Inn in pristine condition for display. Chaos breaks out when the Mason’s prized possession goes missing.

Can Nancy and her convention helpers use the lessons they’ve learned from the famous girl sleuth to counter the mounting insinuations pointing to their group as the thieves, or is Nancy holding back the truth about her real life and beliefs from everyone?

230 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 12, 2024

About the author

Michèle Olson has an over-forty-year career in advertising and marketing as a writer in all mediums, with an emphasis in health writing. She has also enjoyed a professional voice career including time as a DJ (yes, even when they still played records!) and has voiced local to national commercials and voice projects.
It has always been her dream to segue into fiction and Being Ethel (In a world that loves Lucy) is the first in a series based on Mackinac Island—a tiny island in the Straits of Mackinac that connect the Upper and Lower Peninsula of Michigan. Being Dorothy (In a world longing for home), where Piper Penn encounters a couple hiding on the island, but no one knows it! Think James Bond! A visitor to the island along with her husband for over thirty years, she loves to tell people about this unique place with no cars and plenty of fudge!
Next it's Being Alice (In a world lost in the looking glass) where a young woman with a disfigured face meets the musician of her dreams...and the pain in her heart can't compare to the pain of her past. Music lovers will love this book!
Book four is Being Wendy (In a world afraid to grow up) where 50 year old Wendy T. Bell can't figure out which one of her friends at her 50th birthday party is trying to ruin her career as a famous author. She escapes to Mackinac Island and more trouble, and the possibility of love follow. The ending will make your jaw drop!
Book 5 -Being Nancy (In a world lost in mystery) for all of you who grew up loving Nancy Drew! Nancy Benson is a middle aged woman bringing a Nancy Drew convention to the Grand Hotel in 1983. Mystery, mayhem, miracles, and mirth follow. Book 6- Being Goldie (In a "just-right" world) takes place in 1984. Follow twins Goldie and Gilda Locks to their stay at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island. Their devious Granny keeps them under her thumb with threats to remove their monthly stipends....but mysterious strangers threaten to disrupt everything they know about themselves. It's a wild ride with these ladies! Don't miss it! Every Mackinac Island story is filled with mystery, mayhem, mirth, mischief, and miracles...and a splash of romance.
A mom, a mother-in-love, and a “Gee Gee” (G as in good), Michèle resides with her husband in the shadow of Lambeau Field, where life around football abounds. She cherishes her faith and family above all and is delighted to take you on this trip to Mackinac Island, a place that has brought her so much respite and joy.
She loves connecting with readers!

Reviews

[Sienna S'Zell · Rating 5 out of 5]

For Nancy Drew lovers, a fun read. Simultaneously, a pretty iffy mystery. And some relationship issues, mostly about lying. Over the whole book, lots of Jesus stuff.

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the Mackinac Island setting and the characters were interesting. I was surprised at how quickly the story’s mystery was solved. The last several chapters focused on faith issues and while this is great, I got tired of the “preachy girls”.

[Patty Kenter · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up this book because I thought the concept was fun. I loved Nancy Drew growing up and I've been to Mackinac Island many times. What I didn't realize is that Piper Penn is the recurring character in this series and her entire existence is to subject her religion on others. In this book, Nancy (who is married to Ned, naturally) decides to put on a Nancy Drew convention at the Grand Hotel. She asks some of the women in the town, Piper included, to help her pull this off because she doesn't really know what she's doing. The problem is that Nancy is really unlikeable and her marriage is in trouble. The first half of the book is the planning of the convention (although it's never actually clear what she's doing) and fighting with Ned and the overbearing woman who is town chairwoman. Then all of a sudden it's time for the convention and a valuable book is stolen, setting the gang into Nancy Drew mode. None of this is remotely believable and it's obvious what's going on. Of course, the whole thing gets resolved fairly quickly and the last few chapters of the book is just more talk about reading the bible and the reason Nancy is so miserable is because she's not religious. I do like to see progress in character's emotional development but I don't like the message that you can only be a good person if you accept Jesus into your life. I will admit that it's my fault for not realizing that this is Christian fiction but at least it would have been nice to have a decent mystery.

[Susan Sloan · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you enjoyed shows such as I Love Lucy, this is the book for you. The main character, Nancy, is definitely a Lucy-type who manages to find trouble wherever she goes. At the same time, she's a sympathetic character because most of us can relate to her in many ways. Her desire to be loved, to be seen, to count for something--which we all want--leads her to make wrong choices. The mystery resolves as Nancy learns who she really is in Christ.

[Vicki Carson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bible Reading!

I'm so glad to read a book that suggests scripture to read and not just quotes! Real live testimony is always interesting to me!
My father was a.Nazarene minister and I love to read peoples story of how they became a Christian!
Enjoyed book five as much as book one! Keep it up and I'll read them too!

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have loved all the books in this series -- what a wonderful way to weave a story around the Gospel so that we may make Heaven more crowded with imperfect people. Never doubt for a moment that having Jesus as your best friend is the best life to have! Thank you -- can't wait for a next novel!

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

All great reads! Michele has hit it out of the park with this series.

[Samantha Cornwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have loved each story of the Mackinac Island stories and this one didn't disappoint!! I love Nancy Drew and found this story intriguing. Great read!! :)

[Medenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book.

Such an encouragement to me. Nancy and Ned taught me a lot. I used to love Nancy Drew books too. What a great group of friends.

[Jeanette Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

#4 in the series! Hopefully there will be a #5. This series is so good and gospel centered.

[Jan Gustafson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another interesting book in this series by Michele Olson

[Karrie Massotti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute read. I love the continuity of some of their characters through the series but fun new characters for each book.