What do you think?
Rate this book
When Bess and George dared me to try out for the new reality TV show Mystery Solved!, I never thought I'd actually get picked. But the next thing I knew, I was off to Paris for the shoot.
I was all set for a fun-filled adventure in the City of Lights...until I started getting creepy e-mails from a strange address. It looks like the real mystery is going on behind the scenes.
The other contestants are so eager to win, I wonder how far they're willing to go. There's Chen, a video game designer and master hacker; Tyler, a businessman who will do anything to make a buck; Wendy, an aspiring actress who seems smarter than she's letting on; and that's only the beginning.
I just hope I can separate fact from fiction and avoid these obnoxious cameras long enough to figure out what's up.
I was all set for a fun-filled adventure in the City of Lights...until I started getting creepy e-mails from a strange address. It looks like the real mystery is going on behind the scenes.
The other contestants are so eager to win, I wonder how far they're willing to go. There's Chen, a video game designer and master hacker; Tyler, a businessman who will do anything to make a buck; Wendy, an aspiring actress who seems smarter than she's letting on; and that's only the beginning.
I just hope I can separate fact from fiction and avoid these obnoxious cameras long enough to figure out what's up.
224 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2007
8 people are currently reading
191 people want to read
About the author
Carolyn Keene
984 books3,861 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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
December 26, 2018
So this has been on my shelf forever and I finally decided to pick it up (reading challenge pressure is too real rn) and it was very entertaining. The most disappointing thing is that is says ages 8-12 on the back like no one over age 12 will find this enjoyable. 😒😒 No it was not a difficult read, but I liked it.
January 2, 2023
I have heard of Nancy Drew books from many of my friends' children. Though I never read these when I was a kid, I thought of giving it a try and see what did I miss in my childhood.
I am embarrassed that it is supposed to be for the age group of 8-12, I really enjoyed it. The whole mystery and detective work kept me reading a few more pages every time I picked it up. It was an easy read and I completed it in just one day.
I am embarrassed that it is supposed to be for the age group of 8-12, I really enjoyed it. The whole mystery and detective work kept me reading a few more pages every time I picked it up. It was an easy read and I completed it in just one day.
September 18, 2008
THIS BOOK IS AWESOME IF YOU LOVE MYSTERY YOULL LOVE THIS BOOK
July 8, 2022
Ah, I have reached the end of this project, where I read all of the Nancy Drew books that the PC games are based on. I tried to be more discriminatory about this towards the end (location =/= based on, folks) but I still cautiously gave this one a chance. Of course, it is nothing like The Shattered Medallion aside from the game show aspect, but who knows? Maybe the game developers were somehow influenced by it anyways.
In any case, I'm glad I read this one. For one thing, it's the only title I read from the Girl Detective series in this project (I remember reading another one during childhood) and it was interesting to see how much it differed from the others. It was written in first person, which gave the effect of Nancy looking back on her experiences rather than processing them in real time. For another thing, it turned out to be a legitimately entertaining story, despite starting out on VERY shaky footing.
The idea of Nancy Drew competing on a reality TV show is absolutely ridiculous, and with the level of talent most of the ghostwriters in this series have displayed, there are about a million and one ways it could have gone wrong. Surprisingly, I found myself engaged throughout the story, eager to learn the outcome of the mystery, and amused by the characters. This is probably one of the only Nancy Drew books I've read where I haven't been completely boggled by the large cast of characters, and I think it's because everyone was so memorable. The author went out of their way to give all other seven contestants a personality so I could keep them straight, which is no easy feat. Furthermore, the writing itself came across as intentionally dorky ("I'm getting water" Nancy said to no one in particular / "why was she talking to me about face cream at one in the morning?") in a way that didn't take itself too seriously. I found myself getting attached to the silliness of the whole show and the other contestants.
Again, the premise of the book is at its heart inherently terrible, so I couldn't exactly buy into the whole "game show" idea throughout, but it was fun and kept me on my toes. It almost makes me kind of sad to be done with this little mission of mine, but after over a year of Nancy Drew, I am thrilled to finally have it all under my belt.
In any case, I'm glad I read this one. For one thing, it's the only title I read from the Girl Detective series in this project (I remember reading another one during childhood) and it was interesting to see how much it differed from the others. It was written in first person, which gave the effect of Nancy looking back on her experiences rather than processing them in real time. For another thing, it turned out to be a legitimately entertaining story, despite starting out on VERY shaky footing.
The idea of Nancy Drew competing on a reality TV show is absolutely ridiculous, and with the level of talent most of the ghostwriters in this series have displayed, there are about a million and one ways it could have gone wrong. Surprisingly, I found myself engaged throughout the story, eager to learn the outcome of the mystery, and amused by the characters. This is probably one of the only Nancy Drew books I've read where I haven't been completely boggled by the large cast of characters, and I think it's because everyone was so memorable. The author went out of their way to give all other seven contestants a personality so I could keep them straight, which is no easy feat. Furthermore, the writing itself came across as intentionally dorky ("I'm getting water" Nancy said to no one in particular / "why was she talking to me about face cream at one in the morning?") in a way that didn't take itself too seriously. I found myself getting attached to the silliness of the whole show and the other contestants.
Again, the premise of the book is at its heart inherently terrible, so I couldn't exactly buy into the whole "game show" idea throughout, but it was fun and kept me on my toes. It almost makes me kind of sad to be done with this little mission of mine, but after over a year of Nancy Drew, I am thrilled to finally have it all under my belt.
June 20, 2018
Okay, that was actually really cute.
Even though a small part of me thinks it's wrong to read about Nancy Drew in the modern world (and on a reality TV show of all things!) I have to admit that she is just so likable in this series. She's not perfect, she makes mistakes, and - best of all - George and Bess have real personalities and interests!
These books are kind of hard to find, but my library randomly gets some in from time to time, so here's to hoping I can eventually read more of these.
Even though a small part of me thinks it's wrong to read about Nancy Drew in the modern world (and on a reality TV show of all things!) I have to admit that she is just so likable in this series. She's not perfect, she makes mistakes, and - best of all - George and Bess have real personalities and interests!
These books are kind of hard to find, but my library randomly gets some in from time to time, so here's to hoping I can eventually read more of these.
December 30, 2022
This review marks the end of my year long journey in reading all of the books the inspired Her Interactive in making and wow I'm glad I ended on this one and didn't go 100% chronologically (by game release).
This book was a fun simple read involving a reality show and some typical reality show characters Nancy had to interact with. It was fun from a nostalgia perspective reading how Nancy fumbled around using her PDA and whatnot. While the story is by no means deep, it made for a simple and fun Nancy Drew read. I really didn't have any issues with it. Just solid kids book mystery.
This book was a fun simple read involving a reality show and some typical reality show characters Nancy had to interact with. It was fun from a nostalgia perspective reading how Nancy fumbled around using her PDA and whatnot. While the story is by no means deep, it made for a simple and fun Nancy Drew read. I really didn't have any issues with it. Just solid kids book mystery.
August 5, 2017
The Nancy Drew books is a "wave of fresh air" since they (the books and mysteries) are so simple and they're also such a good read.
April 5, 2021
This is the best of the three "Super Mysteries" in my opinion.
April 30, 2021
i was not really expecting to like it but i did but the ending seemed really rushed and the strings were not tied properly and i am having second thoughts about reading other books in the series
June 5, 2021
The Nancy Drew books is a "wave of fresh air" since they (the books and mysteries) are so simple and they're also such a good read.
February 11, 2023
Better than your average Drew, but quite a few typos and sloppy editing. The character "Tyler" is given as "Tylor," or "Taylor" at times and there are a couple of grammatical errors.
March 18, 2015
Mystery Behind the Scenes?
I had just dropped off to sleep when something woke
me up.There were voices arguing in the hallway.
"Did you get what we needed?"It was a man's
low,urgent voice.He sounds familiar.
"While she was interviewing Tyler,I stole her
passkey and snuck into her room."It was a woman.
She sounds familiar too."I think I know where we
need to break next."
The voices grew softer. I sat up groggily and
strained to listen.I could make out only a few
words here and there:"Plan B" and "Diamonds."
Breaking in?Diamonds?
This conversation was definitely getting my attention.
this book was my very first Nancy Drew book i loved it when Nancy and Hamish
solved the fake mystery in Mystery Solved! but Nancy did not only solved the
fake mystery she too solved a real mystery well it sounds confusing but you
get the idea....I finished this book in maybe 2 or 3 hours or so....
if you are wondering who is DOOMSDAY246 is *insert drumroll*......Chen Li well his purpose is he know that Nancy is his number one competitor so he try to scare her by sending her e-mails he try sending Mary lee and Fish too that Nancy and Hamish was dangerous so they avoided them......I really hate Tyler because he thought he can easily get anything he wants by using money but in the end he accepted he lose in the first place.....I really really loved this book i started searching Nancy Drew when i came upon a show in HBO called Nancy Drew at first i ignored it but in the end i ended up watching it, I did not watch it in the first place because i do not know about the story but in the end i became a mystery lover i hope that i can solve a real mystery someday......
I had just dropped off to sleep when something woke
me up.There were voices arguing in the hallway.
"Did you get what we needed?"It was a man's
low,urgent voice.He sounds familiar.
"While she was interviewing Tyler,I stole her
passkey and snuck into her room."It was a woman.
She sounds familiar too."I think I know where we
need to break next."
The voices grew softer. I sat up groggily and
strained to listen.I could make out only a few
words here and there:"Plan B" and "Diamonds."
Breaking in?Diamonds?
This conversation was definitely getting my attention.
this book was my very first Nancy Drew book i loved it when Nancy and Hamish
solved the fake mystery in Mystery Solved! but Nancy did not only solved the
fake mystery she too solved a real mystery well it sounds confusing but you
get the idea....I finished this book in maybe 2 or 3 hours or so....
if you are wondering who is DOOMSDAY246 is *insert drumroll*......Chen Li well his purpose is he know that Nancy is his number one competitor so he try to scare her by sending her e-mails he try sending Mary lee and Fish too that Nancy and Hamish was dangerous so they avoided them......I really hate Tyler because he thought he can easily get anything he wants by using money but in the end he accepted he lose in the first place.....I really really loved this book i started searching Nancy Drew when i came upon a show in HBO called Nancy Drew at first i ignored it but in the end i ended up watching it, I did not watch it in the first place because i do not know about the story but in the end i became a mystery lover i hope that i can solve a real mystery someday......
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 6, 2013
Most of us have grown up reading Nancy Drew. Its one of the parts of my childhood. Me and my cousins used to devote hours reading these stories. Over the years I hv found Nancy's brand of detection as light read. Its good. You can spend some quality time with them. But they were never the sort of stories that kept me hours thinking about them. Imagine my surprise when I read this book. Its solid storytelling. Nancy is without her usual gang and it works in the story's favour. A number of new characters are introduced. Some are of the suspicious sort some are not but they are definitely interesting. The story is fast paced and best thing is its UNPREDICTABLE. There are some twists that I just didn't see coming at all.Most of the time I kept trying to figure who was the good guy and who was not. This is the best Nancy Drew novel I have ever read and a very good piece of detective fiction.
May 26, 2014
I knew not to expect anything for Real Fake. It's hard to make interactive games similar to the books they're based on. As far as the plot goes, though, Her Interactive was spot on it. I loved reading Real Fake. It definitely kept me on my toes, and I never put the book down. I read it for three and a half hours.
I couldn't help comparing Real Fake to the new game HI came out with (The Shattered Medallion) while reading it. There are some similarities. I figured out what character they used for Sonny Joon to replace. But I never figured that specific character would be - well, can't spoil that, now, can I?
I loved the fact that Nancy Drew was chosen for a reality show - a stolen artifact mystery of all cases. Eh, go figure. Her best friends barely were of any help. The villain was, though. Lol.
Definitely a must read for mystery buffs and reality show fans. :)
I couldn't help comparing Real Fake to the new game HI came out with (The Shattered Medallion) while reading it. There are some similarities. I figured out what character they used for Sonny Joon to replace. But I never figured that specific character would be - well, can't spoil that, now, can I?
I loved the fact that Nancy Drew was chosen for a reality show - a stolen artifact mystery of all cases. Eh, go figure. Her best friends barely were of any help. The villain was, though. Lol.
Definitely a must read for mystery buffs and reality show fans. :)
Read
March 1, 2008this is my fave book it is so cool
February 10, 2009
SO SO SO SO GOOD!
February 6, 2011
awsaome boook ever red
November 20, 2011
As an avid lover of Nancy Drew, the new series is just a dissapointment. Everything is so predictable, and they throw so many random facts and historical things that it becomes tedious to read.
August 5, 2014
awesomeeeeeee...
May 24, 2016
I love Nancy dearly. But I can tell you I do NOT like the version of Nancy that is portrayed in the Girl Detective series. :( Worst ND book I've yet to read.
December 12, 2015
My seven year old LOVES the girl detective series. They are thrilling and fun for her, she cannot get enough.
December 3, 2016
It is an awesome mystery and thriller. Never wanted to finish the book.
April 1, 2010
It is really good. After reading it, in my dreams the book seemed like a movie.
January 8, 2018
Throwback time! Even after all these years, Nancy Drew is as classy and surprisingly clever as ever. And, the plot for this one was nicely modernized and not cliche at all!!!
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews