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Nancy Drew Mystery Stories #44
The Clue in the Crossword Cipher
Lovely young Carla Ponce, who lives in Peru, invites Nancy and her friends Bess and George to visit her and solve her “monkey mystery,” which promises to lead to a fabulous treasure. A clue is carved on an intriguing wooden plaque that is so old, most of the crossword cipher is obliterated. When a notorious gang headed by El Gato (the Cat) steals the priceless relic, Nancy’s hopes of solving the mystery are almost shattered. But the daring young detective’s ability to think fast and act quickly results in the recovery of the plaque.Nancy’s determined efforts to decode the crossword decipher take her to the magnificent, awe-inspiring Incan ruins at Cuzco and Machu Pichu. Through clever deductions, perseverance, and dangerous adventures, Nancy and her friends help to capture a ring of vicious smugglers and go on to make an astounding archaeological discovery.
202 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1967
108 people are currently reading
2376 people want to read
About the author
Carolyn Keene
1,018 books3,873 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 In a few cases, outdated plots were completely rewritten.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 158 reviews
December 11, 2012
I love how they are always ragging on Bess for her weight. This book more than any they really got into her about it. OMG she is over 100 lbs! She is going to break the alpaca's back!
November 22, 2022
Another fun and exciting whodunit in this series.
July 2, 2021
Nancy Drew's #44 Mystery lands her in Peru! Machu Picchu, Nazca Lines, Indigenous citizens throwing their best Quechua at her, and she answers back with Quechuan greetings and farewells (she does have a bit of show-off in her, you must admit!). She is flying over forest of ancient woods, and trying to solve the mystery of an ancient plaque that has a place in a native family's historical roots. She gets it all done in her allotted 177 pages. I liked this one and would rate in in the top tier. . .there was respect for other cultures and races and that was good to see.
I'm missing #45 (Spider Sapphire Mystery) which I will continue to grill family members about - I'm sure one of them have run off with it - it does have a rather alluring cover if you love gems, and we have a lot of rockhounds around here. So, I will launch into #46. I'm going to get Nancy done before the year is out!
I'm missing #45 (Spider Sapphire Mystery) which I will continue to grill family members about - I'm sure one of them have run off with it - it does have a rather alluring cover if you love gems, and we have a lot of rockhounds around here. So, I will launch into #46. I'm going to get Nancy done before the year is out!
November 11, 2019
It's just like all the rest. Horrible, awful characters and description and plot and suspense and logic and JUST EVERYTHING.
The only thing I like is the settings.
The only thing I like is the settings.
August 25, 2020
Let’s address the alpaca in the room. Everyone is furious about Bess getting fat-shamed.
When I first read this in 1967, I was so excited that Nancy Drew is going to Peru! I am part Peruvian, and looking at it I wondered “is the mystery going to be stupid? Is it going to be racist?” But no. From the start there was so much action and the mystery was actually interesting, not just an excuse for Nancy to go to Peru. The scenery, the places, the mystery that keeps you hooked until the last page, I loved it. There is also a lot to learn about the ancient Inca culture, and, my favorite part, Nancy gets to speak real Quechua! So imagine my surprise that the internet is blown up about how awful this book is and how Bess gets “fat-shamed”. I did not remember that at all! So I picked up my old copy and read it, afraid that the pleasant memory of reading this book over and over would be ruined. But it was exactly how I remembered it. And Bess does not get fat-shamed! (More on that later.)
I think that people today just want to complain about something, and vintage books are a perfect scapegoat. They like to say things like “America’s favorite girl sleuth is a racist homophobe” and things like that that are not actually true. Honestly, how many articles have you read where this is the title? I do admit that the earlier Nancy Drew books are racist, noticeably more than even The Hardy Boys, my other favorite book series. The criminals are, without failure, “dark complexioned with a long hooked nose and piercing eyes”. As someone dark-skinned, it directly hurt my feelings. I got mad because they were obviously trying to tell children that everyone who is not porcelain-white is evil and steals money and scams old women. It was also hard to believe that every crook Nancy deals with (and there are quite a lot of them!) is dark-skinned. I mean, there would have to be at least a few white thieves, don’t you think?
But we can not expect these books to be perfect. They are a valuable way to see what life was really like, and if we do not know our wrongs, then we can not right them. Instead of cutting new generations off from these books, we must let them read them. Every stereotype, every slur, every “dark complexioned” villain, and tell them that this is not OK. That this is what people thought but it is not true. Times have changed, and because we have these books, and we know what is wrong, we can fight for what is right.
And now, those of you worried about Bess, here is what happens. I have copied it directly from the book, and if you do not believe me, get yourself a copy of it and turn to pages 120-121
After taking a couple of pictures, Bess handed the camera to Nancy.
“Please snap a picture of me seated on the alpaca,” she said. And don’t let anybody slap him so he’ll run away!”
Nancy took the camera and Bess walked forward. She swung herself up onto the back of the animal. “Ready!” she called out.
Instantly the alpaca bent its knees and sat down in the roadway.
“Oh, you mean old thing!” Bess scolded. She slapped the animal gently. “Stand up!”
When the alpaca did not obey, Nancy laughingly snapped the picture, anyway.
Maponhni walked forward and with a chuckle said, “Miss Marvin, you must weigh over a hundred pounds. That is the limit of a burden an alpaca will carry. He cannot be coaxed. You may as well get off.”
She grinned, but did not reveal her weight. She got off the animal and instantly changed the subject.
(Maponhni is their native guide, who helps them a lot in the mystery. I wanted to clear that up because someone claimed that “Bess gets fat-shamed by the guy selling alpaca rides”.)
OK, so first of all, Bess should not have just gotten on an alpaca without asking someone. As a rule, you should ask an authority before climbing up onto an animal you have no experience with. Second, Bess is over 100 pounds. We know that. But so are Nancy and George! Bess might weigh something like 110 or 115 pounds, which is still over 100 and too much for the alpaca. If Nancy or George tried to get on the alpaca, they would get the same response (I know that she probably weighs more, but still). Just because Bess is over 100 pounds and saying so does not necessarily mean that she is overweight and is not fat shaming. Fat shaming is what George does pretty much every book. “You shouldn’t eat too much or Dave will not want to dance with you” or “My dear cousin, you ought to skip dinner and breakfast tomorrow or no one will recognize you when you get home!” I never liked how George is always bothering Bess about her weight. Enough already! It really bothered me and still does, and in this book and some of the later one, George gets worse. But I always thought of it as a sort of satire. In Bess’s second appearance, the original “Secret Of Red Gate Farm”, she is fat-shamed quite a lot by George (but you have to keep in mind that this is only the second book with her in it, so they wanted to hammer it in that Bess is slightly plump and George is going to tease her about it, so get used to it for every book after this one. It is not an excuse, but that is probably why).
But Mrs. Burd (owner of Red Gate Farm) says, at the same meal where Bess is fat-shamed:
“I don’t know what has come over the young people lately. All the girls are bent upon staying as thin as a rail. Take Millie now— I can’t make her eat enough! Perhaps she will do better with you girls as good examples.”
And in “The Witch Tree Symbol”, when the girls are ashamed of their appetites, they are told:
“We Amish like a little flesh on our maidens.”
It was these little hints that made me think that Bess being fat shamed was not exactly meant to be taken seriously. I know that most of the fat shaming was called for in the Stratemeyer outlines, but do you really think that such an ahead-of-her-time feminist like Mildred Augustine Wirt would write all of that without winking at us? (I know that she did not write “The Witch Tree Symbol”, but there are plenty of other hints in her writing. I also know that this is all just my own interpretation that I am presenting, not imposing, so please don't rip me apart in the comments).
Also, remember that Nancy Drew was truly radical. She was ahead of her times and she inspired girls and women throughout many decades. And in the late 60’s, feminism was making a big comeback. You would have to be a complete idiot to think that Nancy Drew did not have at least a small part in all of this. And she has also inspired so many feminists!
And of course even some of the more recent books are not politically correct. But like I said earlier, we need to learn from this! Tell your daughter reading these books that George always fat-shaming Bess is NOT OK. But are you really going to ruin an amazing book because one out of the 177 pages has an incident that bothers you? Are you going to ruin this book for yourself and everyone reading your review because of your interpretation of page 121? Bess would say to just get over it and enjoy the books. She just changed the subject, and if she can, so can you. And I’m SOOO sorry if a book written in 1967 is not up to your 2020 politically correct standards.
Book review sites kind of bother me because I come from a time before reviews for every single book were easily accessible to everyone, and people would just read books and form their own opinions. I only joined Goodreads because I feel like many of my favorite books are getting a bad reputation.
But it bothers me because if you do not like old books that are not exactly politically correct, why do you even read them and post a negative review on them? Why ruin them for someone else before they have even read it? So I joined to stand up for my favorites, because I know that a lot of people visit this site and maybe I can help people form positive opinions of books instead of negative ones. We can't create the future unless we learn from the past.
You miss 100% of the shots you don't take, and if you read a book and don't like it, that's that and you move on. But if you are warned away from a book by someone you don't even know, then you will never know what might have happened. You might have loved the book, it could have even changed your life, but because of a random person on the internet, you will never know what could have been.
And for those who are all "in this edition of Nancy Drew and her friends drop everything and travel the world" and "would an eighteen year old really be doing all of this?", you are right. It is all very unrealistic. But for me and pretty much everyone who read these books, they were an escape. If you were down and sad, you could whisk yourself off to the world of Nancy Drew where everyone is always grinning and the people who do wrong are always caught by a very smart girl and her friends. Books and movies nowadays like to focus on "good doesn't always win" and "try hard even though you won't always get recognized" where some sweet kids are bullied and they don't tell an adult until one finally just finds out. This, however, is not how children interpret it! They do not see what you would think they do. Some will take it as "be mean, adults won't notice, and you get a movie and/or book made about you". Others will see "don't tell adults when you are bullied and they will find out eventually". But books and movies should make you feel good! You deal with real life and the "real world" every day. Books should give you a chance to visit another world for a while, so you can feel better about your own. Nancy Drew has unlimited funds, a nice car, nice clothes, good looks, friends and a boyfriend who will drop everything and fly to the ends of the earth to solve a mystery with her, a kind dad who lets her go anywhere, even straight into danger, a kind housekeeper who makes her and her friends delicious meals around the clock, a cute dog who helps sometimes, and even, for one book, a beautiful cat. No, it is not by a long shot realistic. But why should it have to be? I had some things that Nancy had. The car, the friends, the food, the boyfriend, the clothes, the freedom, the parents (I was lucky to have both alive and happy), the dog, and I like to think good looks but that is always in the eye of the beholder. Yet my life was so incredibly different than hers, even though I grew up in what I consider to be Nancy's zenith. Nancy's adventures were still an escape for me, a welcome one. They were comforting, too. In a world where nothing is really certain and good might not always win over evil, I felt safe and content knowing that at the end of the day, Nancy will come out on top and right many wrongs, and what is just will triumph over what is unjust. That even though she does not exist, the spirit of Nancy Drew lives inside everyone who believes in her.
So, whiners and haters, go ahead and tear this book apart. Pick at it letter by letter, and maul it with your interpretations. But you can never ruin it for me. Because I will never forget that day in 1967 when I opened it for the first time and was whisked to Peru with Nancy, Bess, George and Carla.
For someone reading this review and wondering if they should read the book or not, I say, read it! Enjoy it. Travel to Peru with Nancy and her friends and have a marvelous time there. I hope that this review has maybe helped you in your decision-making, and that you will love this book and Nancy’s other adventures for years to come.
When I first read this in 1967, I was so excited that Nancy Drew is going to Peru! I am part Peruvian, and looking at it I wondered “is the mystery going to be stupid? Is it going to be racist?” But no. From the start there was so much action and the mystery was actually interesting, not just an excuse for Nancy to go to Peru. The scenery, the places, the mystery that keeps you hooked until the last page, I loved it. There is also a lot to learn about the ancient Inca culture, and, my favorite part, Nancy gets to speak real Quechua! So imagine my surprise that the internet is blown up about how awful this book is and how Bess gets “fat-shamed”. I did not remember that at all! So I picked up my old copy and read it, afraid that the pleasant memory of reading this book over and over would be ruined. But it was exactly how I remembered it. And Bess does not get fat-shamed! (More on that later.)
I think that people today just want to complain about something, and vintage books are a perfect scapegoat. They like to say things like “America’s favorite girl sleuth is a racist homophobe” and things like that that are not actually true. Honestly, how many articles have you read where this is the title? I do admit that the earlier Nancy Drew books are racist, noticeably more than even The Hardy Boys, my other favorite book series. The criminals are, without failure, “dark complexioned with a long hooked nose and piercing eyes”. As someone dark-skinned, it directly hurt my feelings. I got mad because they were obviously trying to tell children that everyone who is not porcelain-white is evil and steals money and scams old women. It was also hard to believe that every crook Nancy deals with (and there are quite a lot of them!) is dark-skinned. I mean, there would have to be at least a few white thieves, don’t you think?
But we can not expect these books to be perfect. They are a valuable way to see what life was really like, and if we do not know our wrongs, then we can not right them. Instead of cutting new generations off from these books, we must let them read them. Every stereotype, every slur, every “dark complexioned” villain, and tell them that this is not OK. That this is what people thought but it is not true. Times have changed, and because we have these books, and we know what is wrong, we can fight for what is right.
And now, those of you worried about Bess, here is what happens. I have copied it directly from the book, and if you do not believe me, get yourself a copy of it and turn to pages 120-121
After taking a couple of pictures, Bess handed the camera to Nancy.
“Please snap a picture of me seated on the alpaca,” she said. And don’t let anybody slap him so he’ll run away!”
Nancy took the camera and Bess walked forward. She swung herself up onto the back of the animal. “Ready!” she called out.
Instantly the alpaca bent its knees and sat down in the roadway.
“Oh, you mean old thing!” Bess scolded. She slapped the animal gently. “Stand up!”
When the alpaca did not obey, Nancy laughingly snapped the picture, anyway.
Maponhni walked forward and with a chuckle said, “Miss Marvin, you must weigh over a hundred pounds. That is the limit of a burden an alpaca will carry. He cannot be coaxed. You may as well get off.”
She grinned, but did not reveal her weight. She got off the animal and instantly changed the subject.
(Maponhni is their native guide, who helps them a lot in the mystery. I wanted to clear that up because someone claimed that “Bess gets fat-shamed by the guy selling alpaca rides”.)
OK, so first of all, Bess should not have just gotten on an alpaca without asking someone. As a rule, you should ask an authority before climbing up onto an animal you have no experience with. Second, Bess is over 100 pounds. We know that. But so are Nancy and George! Bess might weigh something like 110 or 115 pounds, which is still over 100 and too much for the alpaca. If Nancy or George tried to get on the alpaca, they would get the same response (I know that she probably weighs more, but still). Just because Bess is over 100 pounds and saying so does not necessarily mean that she is overweight and is not fat shaming. Fat shaming is what George does pretty much every book. “You shouldn’t eat too much or Dave will not want to dance with you” or “My dear cousin, you ought to skip dinner and breakfast tomorrow or no one will recognize you when you get home!” I never liked how George is always bothering Bess about her weight. Enough already! It really bothered me and still does, and in this book and some of the later one, George gets worse. But I always thought of it as a sort of satire. In Bess’s second appearance, the original “Secret Of Red Gate Farm”, she is fat-shamed quite a lot by George (but you have to keep in mind that this is only the second book with her in it, so they wanted to hammer it in that Bess is slightly plump and George is going to tease her about it, so get used to it for every book after this one. It is not an excuse, but that is probably why).
But Mrs. Burd (owner of Red Gate Farm) says, at the same meal where Bess is fat-shamed:
“I don’t know what has come over the young people lately. All the girls are bent upon staying as thin as a rail. Take Millie now— I can’t make her eat enough! Perhaps she will do better with you girls as good examples.”
And in “The Witch Tree Symbol”, when the girls are ashamed of their appetites, they are told:
“We Amish like a little flesh on our maidens.”
It was these little hints that made me think that Bess being fat shamed was not exactly meant to be taken seriously. I know that most of the fat shaming was called for in the Stratemeyer outlines, but do you really think that such an ahead-of-her-time feminist like Mildred Augustine Wirt would write all of that without winking at us? (I know that she did not write “The Witch Tree Symbol”, but there are plenty of other hints in her writing. I also know that this is all just my own interpretation that I am presenting, not imposing, so please don't rip me apart in the comments).
Also, remember that Nancy Drew was truly radical. She was ahead of her times and she inspired girls and women throughout many decades. And in the late 60’s, feminism was making a big comeback. You would have to be a complete idiot to think that Nancy Drew did not have at least a small part in all of this. And she has also inspired so many feminists!
And of course even some of the more recent books are not politically correct. But like I said earlier, we need to learn from this! Tell your daughter reading these books that George always fat-shaming Bess is NOT OK. But are you really going to ruin an amazing book because one out of the 177 pages has an incident that bothers you? Are you going to ruin this book for yourself and everyone reading your review because of your interpretation of page 121? Bess would say to just get over it and enjoy the books. She just changed the subject, and if she can, so can you. And I’m SOOO sorry if a book written in 1967 is not up to your 2020 politically correct standards.
Book review sites kind of bother me because I come from a time before reviews for every single book were easily accessible to everyone, and people would just read books and form their own opinions. I only joined Goodreads because I feel like many of my favorite books are getting a bad reputation.
But it bothers me because if you do not like old books that are not exactly politically correct, why do you even read them and post a negative review on them? Why ruin them for someone else before they have even read it? So I joined to stand up for my favorites, because I know that a lot of people visit this site and maybe I can help people form positive opinions of books instead of negative ones. We can't create the future unless we learn from the past.
You miss 100% of the shots you don't take, and if you read a book and don't like it, that's that and you move on. But if you are warned away from a book by someone you don't even know, then you will never know what might have happened. You might have loved the book, it could have even changed your life, but because of a random person on the internet, you will never know what could have been.
And for those who are all "in this edition of Nancy Drew and her friends drop everything and travel the world" and "would an eighteen year old really be doing all of this?", you are right. It is all very unrealistic. But for me and pretty much everyone who read these books, they were an escape. If you were down and sad, you could whisk yourself off to the world of Nancy Drew where everyone is always grinning and the people who do wrong are always caught by a very smart girl and her friends. Books and movies nowadays like to focus on "good doesn't always win" and "try hard even though you won't always get recognized" where some sweet kids are bullied and they don't tell an adult until one finally just finds out. This, however, is not how children interpret it! They do not see what you would think they do. Some will take it as "be mean, adults won't notice, and you get a movie and/or book made about you". Others will see "don't tell adults when you are bullied and they will find out eventually". But books and movies should make you feel good! You deal with real life and the "real world" every day. Books should give you a chance to visit another world for a while, so you can feel better about your own. Nancy Drew has unlimited funds, a nice car, nice clothes, good looks, friends and a boyfriend who will drop everything and fly to the ends of the earth to solve a mystery with her, a kind dad who lets her go anywhere, even straight into danger, a kind housekeeper who makes her and her friends delicious meals around the clock, a cute dog who helps sometimes, and even, for one book, a beautiful cat. No, it is not by a long shot realistic. But why should it have to be? I had some things that Nancy had. The car, the friends, the food, the boyfriend, the clothes, the freedom, the parents (I was lucky to have both alive and happy), the dog, and I like to think good looks but that is always in the eye of the beholder. Yet my life was so incredibly different than hers, even though I grew up in what I consider to be Nancy's zenith. Nancy's adventures were still an escape for me, a welcome one. They were comforting, too. In a world where nothing is really certain and good might not always win over evil, I felt safe and content knowing that at the end of the day, Nancy will come out on top and right many wrongs, and what is just will triumph over what is unjust. That even though she does not exist, the spirit of Nancy Drew lives inside everyone who believes in her.
So, whiners and haters, go ahead and tear this book apart. Pick at it letter by letter, and maul it with your interpretations. But you can never ruin it for me. Because I will never forget that day in 1967 when I opened it for the first time and was whisked to Peru with Nancy, Bess, George and Carla.
For someone reading this review and wondering if they should read the book or not, I say, read it! Enjoy it. Travel to Peru with Nancy and her friends and have a marvelous time there. I hope that this review has maybe helped you in your decision-making, and that you will love this book and Nancy’s other adventures for years to come.
July 8, 2015
This book has probably the greatest amount of WTFery to date.
In this edition of The Nancy Travelogues, Nancy and B&G go to South America! To decode some old plaque. I was hoping for more of a treasure-in-plain-sight thing like with the NYT Crossword Puzzle, but no luck. Nancy dives into a creek to save the plaque, and takes a ride on a runaway ox. Nancy almost gets sucked out of a plane (at a high cruising altitude, the passenger door just falls off the fuselage! For some reason they fly all the way to Lima Peru from "The Argentine" and land safely). A guy hurls roofing material at her in an attempt to kill her and also throws a BOMB at her. And you know what? He's the head of a smuggling ring that smuggles (get this) QUININE in hollowed out fork handles. I'm waiting for the bad guy in the next book to be smuggling table salt. Anyway, it makes NO sense for him to try to kill/hurt Nancy.
ALSO: Ned kisses Nancy. This is the first such contact I've ever read about.
The girls find a wooden plaque *nailed to a tree* that reads: "Trees are man's good friends. Do not wound them."
The fat-shaming of Bess hits new lows too, even with an alpaca fat-shaming her, and a guy saying, "Alpacas won't carry loads of over 100 lbs." No idea how heavy Bess is but I'm thinking at least 150-175, maybe more.
Anyway, they find a box with gold monkeys or something in it. And they slightly vandalize the Nazca Lines.
In this edition of The Nancy Travelogues, Nancy and B&G go to South America! To decode some old plaque. I was hoping for more of a treasure-in-plain-sight thing like with the NYT Crossword Puzzle, but no luck. Nancy dives into a creek to save the plaque, and takes a ride on a runaway ox. Nancy almost gets sucked out of a plane (at a high cruising altitude, the passenger door just falls off the fuselage! For some reason they fly all the way to Lima Peru from "The Argentine" and land safely). A guy hurls roofing material at her in an attempt to kill her and also throws a BOMB at her. And you know what? He's the head of a smuggling ring that smuggles (get this) QUININE in hollowed out fork handles. I'm waiting for the bad guy in the next book to be smuggling table salt. Anyway, it makes NO sense for him to try to kill/hurt Nancy.
ALSO: Ned kisses Nancy. This is the first such contact I've ever read about.
The girls find a wooden plaque *nailed to a tree* that reads: "Trees are man's good friends. Do not wound them."
The fat-shaming of Bess hits new lows too, even with an alpaca fat-shaming her, and a guy saying, "Alpacas won't carry loads of over 100 lbs." No idea how heavy Bess is but I'm thinking at least 150-175, maybe more.
Anyway, they find a box with gold monkeys or something in it. And they slightly vandalize the Nazca Lines.
September 25, 2011
Yet another great addition to the Nancy Drew mystery book series.
September 28, 2019
Read in 2009
January 8, 2021
This is my first book of Nancy Drew series. Carla Ponce invites Nancy and her friends to visit her and solve her mystery. The book is about Nancy trying to find a clue in a crossword puzzle. Nancy is a smart and brave girl. I really liked Nancy's friends Bess and George. The book was light and fast paced. But this book has mentioned about bodyshaming several times. Okay I know this book was written in 1967, but still it bothered me.
August 30, 2025
I mostly read it because Nancy goes to Peru. For that, I enjoyed it.
September 18, 2020
Wow, finally one of these that's genuinely interesting. Nancy goes up against some smugglers and must decode a 300-year-old cipher before they get her. During this she has a bomb thrown at her, is almost sucked out of an airplane and nearly pushed off a ledge at Machu Pichu. The book is pretty much a tourist's guide to Peru, which is a lot of fun to read with the kiddo as we googled videos of the locales mentioned and researched the nation's history. (Also loved explaining how the Spanish met the Incans and the resulting genocide to a 4-year-old. She responded that people shouldn't kill people and I had to agree.) Bess and George had more to do than usual, even if Bess got fat shamed way too often.
I'd been planning on making Peru and Argentina my big 2020 fall trip, so I guess this book was some sort of universal compensation in any case. Thanks?
I'd been planning on making Peru and Argentina my big 2020 fall trip, so I guess this book was some sort of universal compensation in any case. Thanks?
March 3, 2020
Getting a little tired of all the fat-shaming being heaped on Bess. Maybe I notice it more now reading it as an adult but it’s also a terrible read for adolescent girls to have it come up so frequently.
September 6, 2024
3.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
Major MAJOR deductions here for all the Bess eating/weight comments!!! There were SO MANY in this story?! Come on now. Usually it’s little enough that I can grunt and move on, but this one was absurd. There was one particular comment when she sat on a llama about her weighing over 100 pounds?!?!?!? Yes, she’s over the age of 10 thanks. UGH!!!!
👹👹👹 Now, as for the ACTUAL PLOT, Nancy got her new, rich friend’s dad to jet her all over South America in search of a long lost treasure. I really enjoyed all the accurate geographical and historical details, I’m not familiar with much of them and google verified basically everything that was in the story.
George used some magnificent judo moves to take out baddies in this story. 🤸🏻♀️
There’s an incredible illustration that I’m going to try to insert here once I can get on a desktop. Absolutely classic Nancy Drew.
Nancy conveniently discovering what Machu Picchu looked like before it was destroyed was just a little bit beyond my suspension of disbelief, and that’s saying something in a Nancy Drew 😂
Overall a wacky read that just wasn’t a home run. OH AND NANCY ALMOST GOT SUCKED OUT OF A PLANE.
Major MAJOR deductions here for all the Bess eating/weight comments!!! There were SO MANY in this story?! Come on now. Usually it’s little enough that I can grunt and move on, but this one was absurd. There was one particular comment when she sat on a llama about her weighing over 100 pounds?!?!?!? Yes, she’s over the age of 10 thanks. UGH!!!!
👹👹👹 Now, as for the ACTUAL PLOT, Nancy got her new, rich friend’s dad to jet her all over South America in search of a long lost treasure. I really enjoyed all the accurate geographical and historical details, I’m not familiar with much of them and google verified basically everything that was in the story.
George used some magnificent judo moves to take out baddies in this story. 🤸🏻♀️
There’s an incredible illustration that I’m going to try to insert here once I can get on a desktop. Absolutely classic Nancy Drew.
Nancy conveniently discovering what Machu Picchu looked like before it was destroyed was just a little bit beyond my suspension of disbelief, and that’s saying something in a Nancy Drew 😂
Overall a wacky read that just wasn’t a home run. OH AND NANCY ALMOST GOT SUCKED OUT OF A PLANE.
April 27, 2022
Kind of a preposterous (or more preposterous than usual) Nancy Drew as she travels to Peru with Bess, George, and their friend Carla from Peru to solve a mysterious monkey plaque. The plaque is a couple of hundred years old and no one in Carla’s family has ever been able to figure out the cipher on the back of it. Of course Nancy does and figures out where the golden treasure is hidden among the Nazca Lines. She also has time to visit Manchu Picchu where she is almost killed by El Gatto, the head of a smuggling ring. He is captured at the end—thanks to Nancy and her friends.
February 28, 2022
sometimes ya gotta read a bad mystery to remind yourself how truly amazing the genre can be. I just wanted to read about a cool crossword cipher but that was barely in the book at all. I wanted a crossword! Made me want to go to Peru though.
also JUSTICE FOR BETH! girl was not treated right by the author or the characters.
also also it was kinda interesting to read a mystery novel written (but not published) before Miranda v. Arizona-- it got me thinking
also JUSTICE FOR BETH! girl was not treated right by the author or the characters.
also also it was kinda interesting to read a mystery novel written (but not published) before Miranda v. Arizona-- it got me thinking
December 5, 2025
3.5 ⭐️
I do enjoy when Nancy gets to travel to solve a mystery…this time to Peru. Cultural info is imparted, which was kind of cool (have no idea if it’s all accurate), and yet the fatphobia continues to really piss me off.
I do enjoy when Nancy gets to travel to solve a mystery…this time to Peru. Cultural info is imparted, which was kind of cool (have no idea if it’s all accurate), and yet the fatphobia continues to really piss me off.
August 30, 2021
Nancy's off to Peru to solve a mystery of a friend's family heirloom, which may lead to buried Incan treasure! There's danger at every turn, and a mysterious El Gato at the head of it all.
August 26, 2022
this book was more of a comfort read than anything as j love nancy drew, so while reading i wasn’t really expecting much
September 19, 2025
Copyright 1967, and yes, it's dated, but Nancy goes to Machu Picchu and the Nasca lines, so I'm in!
Read
July 11, 2025bad/5
December 29, 2018
Nancy Drew is asked by Carla Ponce to help her decipher a family heirloom. The item is an old wooden tablet with a monkey on one side and mysterious letters on the other. It is believed that the item once belonged to a Spanish ancestor of the family. So, Nancy and her friends travel to Carla’s homeland in South America, Peru.
Okay this mystery takes Nancy all over Peru and into a part of Argentina. She even visits Machu Pichu and learns a bit of the native tongue. But of course, there are evil men trying to stop her from uncovering the tablet’s mystery.
A group of smugglers, headed by a man calling himself El Gato (The Cat) is focused on solving the cipher before Nancy. Nobody knows what the cipher is going to uncover, but the possibility of its being some kind of treasure is too much for these criminals to pass up. So they try to hurt Nancy multiple times. Even going so far as to tampering with the plane’s door and causing a mid-air emergency. Yeah. While flying from Argentina back to Peru on a private plane, the door flies open and a big panic ensues as the plane begins to destabilize. Talk about a nightmare come true! But the pilot is amazing and is able to land the aircraft safely. Phew!
An incredible mystery. I loved reading about George using her judo skills on the villains. When the trip was being planned, Nancy tells Ned that since he and the boys aren’t going on the trip, they would rely on George. And they did. Homegirl can kick some ass!
Overall, a good mystery with a decent story.
Okay this mystery takes Nancy all over Peru and into a part of Argentina. She even visits Machu Pichu and learns a bit of the native tongue. But of course, there are evil men trying to stop her from uncovering the tablet’s mystery.
A group of smugglers, headed by a man calling himself El Gato (The Cat) is focused on solving the cipher before Nancy. Nobody knows what the cipher is going to uncover, but the possibility of its being some kind of treasure is too much for these criminals to pass up. So they try to hurt Nancy multiple times. Even going so far as to tampering with the plane’s door and causing a mid-air emergency. Yeah. While flying from Argentina back to Peru on a private plane, the door flies open and a big panic ensues as the plane begins to destabilize. Talk about a nightmare come true! But the pilot is amazing and is able to land the aircraft safely. Phew!
An incredible mystery. I loved reading about George using her judo skills on the villains. When the trip was being planned, Nancy tells Ned that since he and the boys aren’t going on the trip, they would rely on George. And they did. Homegirl can kick some ass!
Overall, a good mystery with a decent story.
July 30, 2013
The Nancy Drew mysteries are so innocent. In this one, Nancy and her friends travel to Peru to solve a 300-year-old mystery that has baffled generations. Nancy is hit in the head with a rock, and endures other dangers including almost being sucked out of the door of a plane.
I find it interesting that Nancy and her friends have unlimited funds to fly here and there. Once Beth did mention that her funds were getting a bit low, but the Ponces said not to worry - they would foot the bill.
This book had quite a bit of history in it and the girls travel to places of archaeological interest. But if these books were written in present day, they wouldn't be allowed to land a helicopter on the Nascan Lines let alone to set up camp and start digging.
In the end, the mystery is solved, but this is the first time that Nancy has encountered drug smuggling - although I'm not sure how hard core quinine is; it definitely isn't cocaine or heroin.
Not a bad read, if a bit dated and naive.
I find it interesting that Nancy and her friends have unlimited funds to fly here and there. Once Beth did mention that her funds were getting a bit low, but the Ponces said not to worry - they would foot the bill.
This book had quite a bit of history in it and the girls travel to places of archaeological interest. But if these books were written in present day, they wouldn't be allowed to land a helicopter on the Nascan Lines let alone to set up camp and start digging.
In the end, the mystery is solved, but this is the first time that Nancy has encountered drug smuggling - although I'm not sure how hard core quinine is; it definitely isn't cocaine or heroin.
Not a bad read, if a bit dated and naive.
April 9, 2016
I think this mystery stands out somewhat from many of the other Nancy Drew mysteries, at least in my view. I found that it wasn't as predictable as some of them, and we get to see more warmth in the character interactions, especially after Nancy's dangerous plane trip. Bess also gets a slightly bigger role, in which she shows courage and quick thinking. I found it very easy to become absorbed in the mystery, and I also really enjoyed all the interesting facts about the Inca that were worked into the story. I don't know how many of them would be considered completely accurate by today's archaeological community, but I was glad that the Inca culture and history played a significant role in the story, and seemed to be represented with a good deal of respect.
Although I would like to have a bit more of a mystery about who the criminals actually are in these books, this was definitely one of the most enjoyable Nancy Drew books for me!
Although I would like to have a bit more of a mystery about who the criminals actually are in these books, this was definitely one of the most enjoyable Nancy Drew books for me!
April 18, 2016
I received this book as a prize for a spelling contest in 4th grade, and I liked it a lot back then because I was so into mystery stories. However, the Hardy Boys books were always tops for me, and even now I can see how superior the Hardy books are. "Carolyn Keene" has her girls basically giggling their way through their mysteries, or shedding tears at the drop of a hat. And Bess Marvin, the poor creature, is nothing but a big overweight mess of emotions. She's the female equivalent of Chet Morton in the Hardy Boys series, who's always terrified and 'quavering'.
I've enjoyed the nostalgic journey of reading the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew books of my childhood these past few months; they took me back to a simpler time where my life was sweet and playful and full of promise. But these books definitely weren't meant for adults with critical thinking abilities.
I've enjoyed the nostalgic journey of reading the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew books of my childhood these past few months; they took me back to a simpler time where my life was sweet and playful and full of promise. But these books definitely weren't meant for adults with critical thinking abilities.
July 30, 2025
never meet your hero, or in this case never re-read some of your favorite books from childhood. the pacing is so odd and time moves in the most unusual increments throughout the chapters. the book almost gave me body dysmorphia by fat shaming this one character who was 100 lbs!?!? was hoping for a cute little nostalgia read, got racist read instead:/ cmon carolyn!!!
holy shit turns out carolyn keene is just a pseudonym for a book publisher. capitalism… am I right. how am I just finding out about this
holy shit turns out carolyn keene is just a pseudonym for a book publisher. capitalism… am I right. how am I just finding out about this
February 10, 2019
One of the most boring Nancy Drew books ever, I found that George was very mean to Bess in this book,which was the only funny part of the book. The book focuses more on Carla, Bess, and George, more than Nancy.
November 24, 2022
They really did Bess dirty in this one.
December 9, 2022
C’est assez rare que je le fasse mais au début de l’automne, je me suis lancée dans une relecture de ce tome d’Alice dans lequel la jeune fille est intriguée par un bout de bois détenu par la famille d’une de ses amies.
Comme elle est assez libre de ses journées, elle embarque avec ses copines en direction de l’Argentine où elle va devoir déjouer toutes les manigances de dangereux individus qui veulent l’empêcher de parcourir tout le continent pour découvrir un trésor.
Comme d’habitude avec cette série, il faut savoir fermer les yeux sur certains éléments qui ont plutôt mal vieillis. Alice est toujours autant désœuvrée et peut embarquer du jour au lendemain vers un autre continent, et Beth et Marion doivent également avoir un emploi du temps très allégé puisqu’elles l’accompagnent sans aucun souci.
Tout le monde est très aisé et s’offre des virées en avion et en hélicoptère et des journées de séminaire dans des endroits luxueux.
Mais le point le plus gênant pour un lecteur moderne, c’est tout de même la grossophobie dont fait l’objet Beth. La jeune femme se prend des remarques incessantes sur sa gourmandise, et on a même droit à un moment très malaisant où elle écrase un alpaga.
En revanche, c’est toujours très agréable à suivre au niveau de l’intrigue en elle-même. Il y a beaucoup de raccourcis et de facilités, mais aussi des rebondissements, des méchants redoutables qui cherchent à tuer nos héroïnes, du danger, du mystère et tout ce qui peut rendre la lecture sympathique pour la tranche d’âge visée.
Ca permet également de voir du pays et, si on n’échappe pas à quelques clichés, d’apprendre quelques petites choses sur le Machu Picchu ou le plateau de Nazca au détour de la résolution d’un mystère.
Comme elle est assez libre de ses journées, elle embarque avec ses copines en direction de l’Argentine où elle va devoir déjouer toutes les manigances de dangereux individus qui veulent l’empêcher de parcourir tout le continent pour découvrir un trésor.
Comme d’habitude avec cette série, il faut savoir fermer les yeux sur certains éléments qui ont plutôt mal vieillis. Alice est toujours autant désœuvrée et peut embarquer du jour au lendemain vers un autre continent, et Beth et Marion doivent également avoir un emploi du temps très allégé puisqu’elles l’accompagnent sans aucun souci.
Tout le monde est très aisé et s’offre des virées en avion et en hélicoptère et des journées de séminaire dans des endroits luxueux.
Mais le point le plus gênant pour un lecteur moderne, c’est tout de même la grossophobie dont fait l’objet Beth. La jeune femme se prend des remarques incessantes sur sa gourmandise, et on a même droit à un moment très malaisant où elle écrase un alpaga.
En revanche, c’est toujours très agréable à suivre au niveau de l’intrigue en elle-même. Il y a beaucoup de raccourcis et de facilités, mais aussi des rebondissements, des méchants redoutables qui cherchent à tuer nos héroïnes, du danger, du mystère et tout ce qui peut rendre la lecture sympathique pour la tranche d’âge visée.
Ca permet également de voir du pays et, si on n’échappe pas à quelques clichés, d’apprendre quelques petites choses sur le Machu Picchu ou le plateau de Nazca au détour de la résolution d’un mystère.
October 3, 2020
I'm not good at keeping up with the rate at which I read these books.
Nancy is on the road again! This time trying to find what an old cipher belonging to the Ponce family means.
The Ponces are descended from the Spanish conquistadors and so there's an interesting juxtaposition between them and the Natives of the land. It's interesting. Nancy gets to travel across Peru and go to Machu Picchu!
Where the villain (El Gato) tries to scare Nancy off by... painting a cat on the wall of a ruin! Oh! Why did that not work? For a supposed widely feared gangster, El Gato needs to step up his game.
A couple incidents of George bullying Bess about her weight. At one point she jokes that Bess can't ride this alpaca because it only carries 100 lbs. George, you weigh more than 100 lbs. Shut up. Alas, George does not get run over by the said alpaca or spit on.
There's a hotel supposedly right by Machu Picchu, which... is highly unlikely?
Spoilers:
Of course Nancy solves the mystery and the cipher leads them to a which involves an ancestor of the Ponces making the cipher to find his body and treasure... at the Nazca lines. The Nazca lines are large carvings in the earth in Peru. I mean, they can only be seen from the sky, so how did a Spanish conquistador know where he was being buried to put it on a cipher? Oh well. It was fun.
I loved the idea of El Gato working as an apprentice for a woodcarver.
Nancy is on the road again! This time trying to find what an old cipher belonging to the Ponce family means.
The Ponces are descended from the Spanish conquistadors and so there's an interesting juxtaposition between them and the Natives of the land. It's interesting. Nancy gets to travel across Peru and go to Machu Picchu!
Where the villain (El Gato) tries to scare Nancy off by... painting a cat on the wall of a ruin! Oh! Why did that not work? For a supposed widely feared gangster, El Gato needs to step up his game.
A couple incidents of George bullying Bess about her weight. At one point she jokes that Bess can't ride this alpaca because it only carries 100 lbs. George, you weigh more than 100 lbs. Shut up. Alas, George does not get run over by the said alpaca or spit on.
There's a hotel supposedly right by Machu Picchu, which... is highly unlikely?
Spoilers:
Of course Nancy solves the mystery and the cipher leads them to a which involves an ancestor of the Ponces making the cipher to find his body and treasure... at the Nazca lines. The Nazca lines are large carvings in the earth in Peru. I mean, they can only be seen from the sky, so how did a Spanish conquistador know where he was being buried to put it on a cipher? Oh well. It was fun.
I loved the idea of El Gato working as an apprentice for a woodcarver.
January 22, 2019
I grew up reading and collecting the yellow bound 1970s versions of this series. What with moving, etc., a lot of them were lost through the years so now I’ve slowly been recollecting them and recently was able to get 7 more giving me now 42 of the original 56 of the series. This is one of them.
This mystery takes Nancy and her pals to Lima, Peru to unravel the meaning of inscriptions on both sides of an antique wooden plaque. The search leads them to an ancient forest in the Argentine. Along the way we learn a lot about Peru, the Argentine and the Incas. The exploration of the Nazca Lines was especially interesting.
Nancy should have taken picture or carried a drawing of the plaque around with her and left the original home in a safe instead of dragging it around where it could get stolen.
Footnote: 1) You know, I loved these books as a kid (and still do), but now as an adult I realize that there are very idealistic. Wherever they go, everybody is happy and wealthy and the homes are beautiful and perfect and the bad guys dumb and are quickly caught. And we know the real world is just not like that.
2) Wow. A sign ‘nailed’ to a tree warning not to wound the trees. That makes sense.
Fave scene: visiting the Arrayanes forest and exploring the monkey.
This mystery takes Nancy and her pals to Lima, Peru to unravel the meaning of inscriptions on both sides of an antique wooden plaque. The search leads them to an ancient forest in the Argentine. Along the way we learn a lot about Peru, the Argentine and the Incas. The exploration of the Nazca Lines was especially interesting.
Nancy should have taken picture or carried a drawing of the plaque around with her and left the original home in a safe instead of dragging it around where it could get stolen.
Footnote: 1) You know, I loved these books as a kid (and still do), but now as an adult I realize that there are very idealistic. Wherever they go, everybody is happy and wealthy and the homes are beautiful and perfect and the bad guys dumb and are quickly caught. And we know the real world is just not like that.
2) Wow. A sign ‘nailed’ to a tree warning not to wound the trees. That makes sense.
Fave scene: visiting the Arrayanes forest and exploring the monkey.
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