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Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys: Super Mystery #15
Courting Disaster
While Nancy races to protect her video jockey friend, Terry, from a masked intruder, Frank and Joe Hardy try to keep tennis superstar Pat Flynn from falling prey to an unknown assailant.
224 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
345 people want to read
About the author
Carolyn Keene
1,012 books3,867 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 In a few cases, outdated plots were completely rewritten.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 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 21, 2019
This is a pretty decent one, though the mysteries are a little dumb and there's no real Frank/Nancy to speak of. Also, for the record, I would see Beauty and the Beat.
July 31, 2024
joe hardy is ready and willing to throw hands at the drop of a hat and I love him so much for that 🤣
September 25, 2023
Haha silly, this mystery is silly. 😂
October 11, 2022
When Terry, a popular celebrity on PTV, is being threatened during her acting career, Nancy Drew and her friend, Bess, must solve a mystery at a festival in the south. Who is threatening her? Who wants her to quit her gig as the lead actress for "Beauty and the Beat"? Nancy and Bess have their work cut out for them, but with help from the Hardy Boys, they just might crack the case. The Hardy Boys have a case of their own when Terry's boyfriend, Pat, is being threatened in his professional tennis matches on an island not far from Terry. The list of suspects might be long, but both teams complement each other nicely.
Personally, I think the book is very exciting and detailed for being a short read. The ending is wonderful but slightly expected. I did not like that Bess and Nancy were not getting paid to solve the mystery, but the Hardy Boys were getting paid. Ultimately, I did not like how women are portrayed in the book, but without a deep analysis of the characters, this is an interesting read that kept my attention.
Disclaimers
- Violence
Personally, I think the book is very exciting and detailed for being a short read. The ending is wonderful but slightly expected. I did not like that Bess and Nancy were not getting paid to solve the mystery, but the Hardy Boys were getting paid. Ultimately, I did not like how women are portrayed in the book, but without a deep analysis of the characters, this is an interesting read that kept my attention.
Disclaimers
- Violence
July 21, 2023
Best one of the three I read this summer! Lots of action, surprising ending, and plenty of Nancy and Hardy Boys shenanigans. Don't know if I love who ended up being the villain, but it worked for the plot.
March 3, 2024
Fun as always.
January 14, 2016
Figure I'll add notes as I go along. My first concerns arise when we first meet the Hardy Boys. We are told they were hired to protect the tennis star, Pat, yet he is nowhere in sight. Then, when he arrives, they are nowhere near him or move to him and it is Nancy who sees the gun. Though I thought the Hardy Boys were detectives not body guards. Later they take Pat to his room and who should enter first, not Joe or Frank, but Pat.
It isn't like Nancy is doing much better. She does little in finding out who is terrorizing her client. She doesn't eliminate any suspects or do much unless she happens to be there or something around her happens. You have no clue who might be the person until someone, at the end of the book, tells them who it is. You might be able to limit it to 1 of 2 people based upon the time limit of the final scare.
The Hardys also do little to find anything out, though slightly more than Nancy. Joe finds a possible clue near the end and a brief conversation with someone finally gives you some hint. But still feels like they stumble into the end result, like Nancy, when culprits decide to act out of fear of being caught, when in reality neither the Hardys or Nancy were even close to determine who these people really are.
It isn't like Nancy is doing much better. She does little in finding out who is terrorizing her client. She doesn't eliminate any suspects or do much unless she happens to be there or something around her happens. You have no clue who might be the person until someone, at the end of the book, tells them who it is. You might be able to limit it to 1 of 2 people based upon the time limit of the final scare.
The Hardys also do little to find anything out, though slightly more than Nancy. Joe finds a possible clue near the end and a brief conversation with someone finally gives you some hint. But still feels like they stumble into the end result, like Nancy, when culprits decide to act out of fear of being caught, when in reality neither the Hardys or Nancy were even close to determine who these people really are.
October 4, 2016
Love the pun in the title ;)
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews