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Nancy Drew Mystery Stories #122
The Message in the Haunted Mansion
When Nancy, Bess, George, and Nancy's housekeeper, Hannah Gruen, travel to San Francisco to help Hannah's friend renovate a charming old Victorian mansion, they encounter possible ghosts, a legend of hidden gold--and greed.
160 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1994
22 people are currently reading
1021 people want to read
About the author
Carolyn Keene
1,015 books3,871 followersCarolyn 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 In a few cases, outdated plots were completely rewritten.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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
July 6, 2021
slaps....I love the historical romance
June 27, 2025
Another where the path from book to game is quite clear. Still snickering about hatpins as weapons in the final chapter.
December 6, 2017
An average ND book. Since I played the game based on this book though, I pretty much knew what was going to happen and who the culprit is, which reduced my enjoyment. However, the book has more details and characters than the game and I enjoyed that. But the plot is a bit slow at times. There were also a lot of luck and coincidences that helped Nancy solve the mystery(Like I was a bit annoyed when the girls kept accidentally discovering secret hiding places or secret rooms and people dropping clues right in Nancy's lap), which resulted in Nancy not figuring out most of the mystery on her own and having the answers come to her. Nancy also doesn't suspect the culprit at all till the end of the book, when they show plenty of signs of being guilty. Come on Nancy! Overall, this book was average, if I had to pick, I would pick the game over the book. The game is much more fun and more interesting to me. I give this book 3 stars.
July 4, 2022
I'm positive this was my first Nancy Drew. I can see why my sister loves these. Although not one of the classic 56, this was quite good!
July 30, 2023
Neiti Etsivä San Franciscossa ei löydy tietokannasta, joten merkitään luetuksi tämä englanninkielinen laitos. Vaikka suomalaispainoksen kansi olisi sopinut paremmin kirjaan "Neiti Etsivä huumeluolassa", tarina ei harmillisesti käsitellyt huumeita.
July 5, 2021
Overall a solid mystery, and I'd like to give it a higher rating since it was quite similar to the PC game I love so much, but most of this book frustrated and saddened me. You take this old woman whose lifelong dream is to open a bed and breakfast, and have this awful man sabotage her every move by causing accident after accident. My heart ached for her! Louis also pretends to be in love with Rose in the book, making things extra gross. I seriously hated him, and got so much satisfaction from George stabbing him in the cheek with a hatpin.
One thing that irritated me was that Nancy did not give Rose any updates on the case. She finds tons of evidence to support her theory that the accidents are not really accidents, but for some reason does not share any of them with the owner of the house. It would be one thing for Rose to not believe her (which the author very well could've pulled off, since Rose is blinded by her love for Louis), but Nancy doesn't even try to tell her. I also found it odd how little Nancy suspected Louis throughout the book. I know this is meant to shock the reader, but I thought it was all too obvious that he was suspicious.
I was surprised to find out that Charlie was also a co-conspirator in the book - but then, he's conflated in the game with another character named Tim Coletti. In the book, Tim is the young man living in the saloon because he has no money, and Charlie is the handyman, albeit an old man with a limp. I really liked Tim, but this was yet another example of Nancy keeping Rose in the dark. If I found out that a stranger was living in a family friend's basement without their knowledge or consent, I would turn the information over to that family friend so that they could decide what to do about it. Instead, Nancy just offers to bring him food in exchange for keeping an eye on the house. I feel like this was not her place to do at all??? If I were Rose I would've been pissed at Nancy by the end.
Still, this book was by no means bad. I ate Chinese food for dinner on the night I finished it. It really set the mood.
One thing that irritated me was that Nancy did not give Rose any updates on the case. She finds tons of evidence to support her theory that the accidents are not really accidents, but for some reason does not share any of them with the owner of the house. It would be one thing for Rose to not believe her (which the author very well could've pulled off, since Rose is blinded by her love for Louis), but Nancy doesn't even try to tell her. I also found it odd how little Nancy suspected Louis throughout the book. I know this is meant to shock the reader, but I thought it was all too obvious that he was suspicious.
I was surprised to find out that Charlie was also a co-conspirator in the book - but then, he's conflated in the game with another character named Tim Coletti. In the book, Tim is the young man living in the saloon because he has no money, and Charlie is the handyman, albeit an old man with a limp. I really liked Tim, but this was yet another example of Nancy keeping Rose in the dark. If I found out that a stranger was living in a family friend's basement without their knowledge or consent, I would turn the information over to that family friend so that they could decide what to do about it. Instead, Nancy just offers to bring him food in exchange for keeping an eye on the house. I feel like this was not her place to do at all??? If I were Rose I would've been pissed at Nancy by the end.
Still, this book was by no means bad. I ate Chinese food for dinner on the night I finished it. It really set the mood.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 29, 2021
This book is an ok mystery, I appreciate the book really utilizing San Francisco history to tell its tale. There are too many little characters in this book to really sell the plot, would have liked to get more into the history/scheming of the villain.
Too many various plot threads for me to get really into it!
Too many various plot threads for me to get really into it!
May 5, 2017
My Rating System:
* couldn't finish, ** wouldn't recommend, *** would recommend, **** would read again, ***** have read again.
* couldn't finish, ** wouldn't recommend, *** would recommend, **** would read again, ***** have read again.
September 1, 2019
Reliving childhood memories
June 28, 2021
Love this one! One of my favorite Nancy YA adaptations and also one of my favorite games.
July 31, 2025
Nancy tried to lift the lid on the small desk. “It’s locked,” she announced.
She said the thing!!
I doubt I’m going to stick to rereading the whole series, but I have decided to read all the books that were adapted into computer games. I was an original series purist as a child—there were only 56 Nancy Drew books to me at the time—so most of these, like this one, will be new to me.
Even though this one is technically part of the original run and takes place in an ambiguous time with the lack of technology, it still feels way more modern than the earlier stories I’ve been reading. It feels pretty obvious it was published half a century after the earliest books. The history of San Francisco plays a major part in the mystery, and the racism against Chinese immigrants is explicitly mentioned. I was actually impressed with that, even though it’s a bare minimum thing.
That said, while I was enthusiastic at first, the book started to drag a lot. There are way more characters than in the computer game, and I think in this case, cutting it down was a smart decision. The book just keeps adding red herrings even though the culprits are painfully obvious, and Nancy only fails to solve the mystery in a timely matter by being uncharacteristically oblivious. One of the culprits made a self-incriminating statement to her face and she did not notice because she was “distracted.” Girl, what??? You’re Nancy fucking Drew, get it together!!
I am delighted to report that although Bess and George are here, nobody fat shamed Bess. Again, bare minimum achieved. And yet there’s another character who is described as “sensitive about her weight,” and when someone appears to break in and steal a piece of cake in the middle of the night, Bess posits that no one broke in at all. The weight-conscious character must have fled the house through the wide open front door with the cake in order to avoid getting caught by the others with her midnight snack. Bess says this ridiculous scenario is the most likely explanation because that’s something she would do. Bess. Babe. Stand up! You don’t have to live like this! There is life on the other side of disordered eating!
Love the dramatic climax of the computer game, but I did also enjoy the very different climax of this book, in which This can’t be the only time that happened, right?
She said the thing!!
I doubt I’m going to stick to rereading the whole series, but I have decided to read all the books that were adapted into computer games. I was an original series purist as a child—there were only 56 Nancy Drew books to me at the time—so most of these, like this one, will be new to me.
Even though this one is technically part of the original run and takes place in an ambiguous time with the lack of technology, it still feels way more modern than the earlier stories I’ve been reading. It feels pretty obvious it was published half a century after the earliest books. The history of San Francisco plays a major part in the mystery, and the racism against Chinese immigrants is explicitly mentioned. I was actually impressed with that, even though it’s a bare minimum thing.
That said, while I was enthusiastic at first, the book started to drag a lot. There are way more characters than in the computer game, and I think in this case, cutting it down was a smart decision. The book just keeps adding red herrings even though the culprits are painfully obvious, and Nancy only fails to solve the mystery in a timely matter by being uncharacteristically oblivious. One of the culprits made a self-incriminating statement to her face and she did not notice because she was “distracted.” Girl, what??? You’re Nancy fucking Drew, get it together!!
I am delighted to report that although Bess and George are here, nobody fat shamed Bess. Again, bare minimum achieved. And yet there’s another character who is described as “sensitive about her weight,” and when someone appears to break in and steal a piece of cake in the middle of the night, Bess posits that no one broke in at all. The weight-conscious character must have fled the house through the wide open front door with the cake in order to avoid getting caught by the others with her midnight snack. Bess says this ridiculous scenario is the most likely explanation because that’s something she would do. Bess. Babe. Stand up! You don’t have to live like this! There is life on the other side of disordered eating!
Love the dramatic climax of the computer game, but I did also enjoy the very different climax of this book, in which This can’t be the only time that happened, right?
July 16, 2024
These are so good, I’m really enjoying them! Again, most characters are very similar to the ones in the game except that Charlie in the game is a hybrid of Charlie and Tim in the book. So fun! I can’t wait to read the next one!
April 15, 2025
I have played the game and never read the book so this must be remedied. As someone working on an old house I feel Rose's pain having a window fall off a wall. Is this a common occurrence in the remodel community? Whose to say? Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to try to find treasure in my home
January 4, 2024
Great read! Childhood memories rekindled❤️
September 8, 2024
Fast paced.....
Yet predictable. A good story for one of the newer books in the series. I did enjoy it though, quite a bit actually.
Yet predictable. A good story for one of the newer books in the series. I did enjoy it though, quite a bit actually.
September 15, 2022
Comparison to the Nancy Drew: Message in a Haunted Mansion computer game. This one is pretty spot-on from book to game. The book has more characters, more locations outside of the house, and a better look into Lizzie Applegate's mystery. The game has superior puzzles, obviously, and more for Nancy to do in order to solve the mystery. Clearly, the best game has one of the best stories, so there wasn't a need to change much. 9.5/10
Read
January 30, 2016Nancy Drew was part of my childhood, yet I had never read this one. I had played the Her Interactive game of it though, and I got curious to see how it differed from the original storyline. As usual, there are several characters that are removed from the plot line while other characters become much different from their book descriptions. In this case, they were justified changes to fit the tone of the first person game.
The book still contains that sweet innocence Nancy Drew always meant to me, along with details of the city she is visiting that make me instantly want to visit and see the history of San Francisco!
The book still contains that sweet innocence Nancy Drew always meant to me, along with details of the city she is visiting that make me instantly want to visit and see the history of San Francisco!
April 1, 2016
Nancy, her friends and Hannah take a trip to San Francisco to help a friend of Hannah's fix up an old mansion. It's an old Victorian-style place that needs a fair amount of work. Things would go much better, though, if accidents weren't happening frequently, including glass falling, a chandelier falling and a fire.
Then there's a mysterious young boy, missing food, and the legend of a woman who ran away with a bandit. Related to that is the legend of hidden gold. A lot of it.
There's also a neat saloon in the basement of the house and a player piano. So, this story has a lot of things in it. Pretty good story.
Then there's a mysterious young boy, missing food, and the legend of a woman who ran away with a bandit. Related to that is the legend of hidden gold. A lot of it.
There's also a neat saloon in the basement of the house and a player piano. So, this story has a lot of things in it. Pretty good story.
August 12, 2012
This later Nancy Drew book was actually quite good and was an enjoyable quick read. It was reminiscent of the old Nancy Drew mysteries. Nancy and her friends accompany housekeeper Hannah to San Francisco where a friend of Hannah's is renovating an old Victorian mansion into a bed and breakfast. Someone doesn't want them there and someone wants the project to fail. Accidents keep occurring and they get more and more dangerous. There's a lot of San Francisco atmosphere in this book and the mystery is good, although I suspected the "bad guy" early on.
May 5, 2014
Nancy, Bess, George and Hannah are visiting a friend of Hannah's, Rose, who along with her niece Abby are renovating an old Victorian Mansion, to turn it into a bed and breakfast, but their plans are continually delayed by accidents. Falling windows, broken Chandeliers, fires, floods, disaster after disaster seems to be plaguing their every move. Is this the work of an unhappy spirit, or is there a flesh and blood culprit with a hidden motive to stop the mansion from becoming an inn? It's up to Nancy to search out the truth before the whole mansion goes up in smoke!
December 24, 2012
Reread this after completing the computer game of the same name. Book translated well to the game. Another solid later Nancy Drew Mystery with a fun San Francisco Victorian house setting and some history thrown in.
September 7, 2021
When Nancy, Bess, George, and Nancy's housekeeper, Hannah Gruen, travel to San Francisco to help Hannah's friend renovate a charming old Victorian mansion, they encounter possible ghosts, a legend of hidden gold--and greed.
August 15, 2009
this was susch an amazing book
Want to read
March 5, 2010I used to have the computer game for this (not sure if I still do) and I never knew this had a book! Is it worth reading?
July 29, 2011
I read every single one of these growing up--I thought she was the bees knees
May 23, 2013
Read to compare it to the Her Interactive game. I assume they combined Tim and Charlie--resulting in a young Charlie. Someone knows their demographic...
August 31, 2024
I gotta say, the game is more fun and a richer story than this base novel. Bess and George really don't add anything here, which is a bummer.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews