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Nancy Drew Mystery Stories #164
The Mystery of the Mother Wolf
While enjoying their vacation in Wyoming, Nancy, Bess, and George are plunged into a mystery when Rainbow, their lodge's pet tame wolf, suddenly disappears amidst controversy over the creation of a local wolf sanctuary.
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
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798 people want to read
About the author
Carolyn Keene
1,004 books3,869 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 In a few cases, outdated plots were completely rewritten.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 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 17, 2017
Another great mystery in this series.
May 6, 2022
Meh. 2.5 stars.
The bare bones for the story are good; there’s an interesting point to be made on whether wolf sanctuaries are beneficial, the plot is unique and the setting is cozy. Unfortunately, the beginning of this book reads like a textbook. The characters are not characters, they are wolf encyclopedias. Then once we get into the detective portion of the book, there are plenty of suspects, clues, and investigating. But the culprit’s motive turns out to be ridiculous. She doesn’t want to stop the wolf sanctuary at all. She just wants...
“An African safari,” Mrs. Stevenson said. “They’re terribly expensive, you know.”
“So you stole a mother wolf and her defenseless puppies just so you could go on a trip?” Nancy asked.
And yes. That does appear to be the case. How stupid considering the anti-wolf agenda was right there - we are given no indication throughout the story that wolf-dog puppies sell for a lot of money.
Pretty much the only resemblance to the PC game is the presence of the wolf, the lodge, and some winter activities like snowshoeing and snowmobiling. I was a bit annoyed that it took place at a ski lodge like Treasure in the Royal Tower; there is even a plot point where Nancy gets stranded on a lift like that book (fortunately, Nancy doesn’t jump off the lift and land perfectly on her skis with an injured leg this time.) Another thing that greatly amused me was the fanfiction-esque way the author described what the characters were eating all the time, considering the time-consuming cooking tasks in the game.
Really I wish this book had a better plot so the PC game also had a better plot, because both of them are pretty convoluted. There are some insights about wolves to be researched, perspectives to be explored, but it’s just never woven into the mystery properly, and that’s a shame.
The bare bones for the story are good; there’s an interesting point to be made on whether wolf sanctuaries are beneficial, the plot is unique and the setting is cozy. Unfortunately, the beginning of this book reads like a textbook. The characters are not characters, they are wolf encyclopedias. Then once we get into the detective portion of the book, there are plenty of suspects, clues, and investigating. But the culprit’s motive turns out to be ridiculous. She doesn’t want to stop the wolf sanctuary at all. She just wants...
“An African safari,” Mrs. Stevenson said. “They’re terribly expensive, you know.”
“So you stole a mother wolf and her defenseless puppies just so you could go on a trip?” Nancy asked.
And yes. That does appear to be the case. How stupid considering the anti-wolf agenda was right there - we are given no indication throughout the story that wolf-dog puppies sell for a lot of money.
Pretty much the only resemblance to the PC game is the presence of the wolf, the lodge, and some winter activities like snowshoeing and snowmobiling. I was a bit annoyed that it took place at a ski lodge like Treasure in the Royal Tower; there is even a plot point where Nancy gets stranded on a lift like that book (fortunately, Nancy doesn’t jump off the lift and land perfectly on her skis with an injured leg this time.) Another thing that greatly amused me was the fanfiction-esque way the author described what the characters were eating all the time, considering the time-consuming cooking tasks in the game.
Really I wish this book had a better plot so the PC game also had a better plot, because both of them are pretty convoluted. There are some insights about wolves to be researched, perspectives to be explored, but it’s just never woven into the mystery properly, and that’s a shame.
April 30, 2022
This book was extremely disconnected in its storytelling. The mystery is decent and the dangerous Nancy encounters were fun, but the reveal at the end had almost zero foreshadowing throughout the book and was resolved in a pretty lame way. Puppies are cute, but pointless extra characters just to add to the suspect list are not.
January 21, 2025
Kind of a messy plot. Very different from the game which I got stuck on. Tons of info dumping about wolves but the whole wolf sanctuary plot is never resolved.
Lots of winter sports: skiing, snowshoeing, dogsledding, snowmobiling.
Nancy gets stuck in a ski chair lift again. I swear they have used this plot device in every Nancy skiing book.
Published in 2002.
Lots of winter sports: skiing, snowshoeing, dogsledding, snowmobiling.
Nancy gets stuck in a ski chair lift again. I swear they have used this plot device in every Nancy skiing book.
Published in 2002.
November 28, 2017
I read the kindle version, there were a few spelling and grammar errors that disrupted the flow. I had to force myself to finish this one, not one of the better written Nancy Drew books in my opinion.
February 28, 2020
A decent mystery with a new plot line. I think Nancy does more foolish things than usual in this given the risks when snow and cold temps are involved. I like that George had a major role in wrapping this up for a change.
July 27, 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.
November 8, 2020
i loved this!!! books set in winter or at ski resorts or lodges are my favorite cozy winter books.
April 17, 2024
Enjoyed the premise and mystery of this one plus the fun setting. Good read.
January 19, 2016
Nancy, Bess and George go to a place to get some skiing done, but find out they have stepped into the middle of a controversy about re-introducing wolves to an area. There are hard feelings on both sides of the issue. There's also a strange, nasty neighbor named Rusty that has lots of junk in his front yard and won't get rid of any of it.
There's also some puppies that were from the mix of a wolf and a dog and the puppies are rather valuable, so it's possible someone wants to steal them and, as expected, the mother and the puppies go missing. The father is tranquilized during the theft.
There's the usual problems that arise like a sabotaged dog sled and a surplus of suspects. This is one that I didn't get the the villain right.
There is one problem with the story, though, and that is that Bess seems to have been put on the sideline of the story for some reason, eating and flirting with a guy.
Otherwise it is a story that is about a up-to-date controversy.
There's also some puppies that were from the mix of a wolf and a dog and the puppies are rather valuable, so it's possible someone wants to steal them and, as expected, the mother and the puppies go missing. The father is tranquilized during the theft.
There's the usual problems that arise like a sabotaged dog sled and a surplus of suspects. This is one that I didn't get the the villain right.
There is one problem with the story, though, and that is that Bess seems to have been put on the sideline of the story for some reason, eating and flirting with a guy.
Otherwise it is a story that is about a up-to-date controversy.
May 4, 2013
Don't remember much but I liked Nancy and the mysteries.
January 30, 2016
loved this series when I was younger
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews