The Hidden Staircase: A Modern Retelling of the 1930's Classic by Carolyn Keene

by Carol Ellis

When sixteen-year-old Nancy Drew agrees to help two elderly sisters being terrorized in their crumbling stone mansion, she expects a tricky puzzle. She doesn't expect a secret tunnel, a locked room, or her own father to go missing.

The Turnbull sisters have lived in The Mansion their whole lives — until strange things start happening. Music drifts through locked rooms. Shadows move on the walls. Valuables disappear without a trace. The police think it's a prank. Nancy knows better.

As she digs deeper, one name keeps Nathan Gombet, the obsessive neighbor who wants the house at any price and has threatened to get it one way or another. But proving it means going somewhere Nancy probably shouldn't — alone, in the dark, through a passage that hasn't been used in over a hundred years.

And when her father vanishes on his way to help her, Nancy realizes the stakes are much higher than a haunted house.

Perfect for fans Rick Riordan, Hardy Boys, Carolyn Keene, Maureen Johnson's Truly Devious series, and classic Nancy Drew mysteries with a modern twist

Middle Grade Mystery Teen Detective Fiction Young Adult Sleuth Contemporary Mystery Thriller Girl Detective Whodunit Investigation & Suspense

Ideal for readers ages 8-12 who love smart heroines, puzzle-solving adventures, and page-turning mysteries with heart.


What readers are "Finally—a Nancy Drew for today's generation! My daughter couldn't put it down."

"All the mystery and excitement of the original, but updated for modern kids. Love it!"

"Smart, brave, and relatable. Nancy Drew for the smartphone era."

90 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 6, 2026

About the author

Carol Ellis is an American author of young adult and children’s fiction. Her first novel, My Secret Admirer, was published in 1989 by Scholastic as part of their popular Point Thriller line.

She went on to write over fifteen novels, including a few titles in the Zodiac Chillers series published by Random House in the mid-1990s, and two titles in The Blair Witch Files series for young adults, published by Bantam between 2000 and 2001.