Riverboat Ruse

Nancy Drew: Girl Detective #11

by Carolyn Keene

How about a seat at a mystery dinner on a riverboat? Yes, please! I jumped at the invitation to go along with Bess, George, and George's mom, who was hired to cater the dinner. It's all fun until there's an actual theft, and there's nothing like a good crime to stop a party. Since I've got the magnifying glass, it's up to me to catch "sticky fingers" before this dinner's sunk.

Genres: Mystery, Young Adult, Childrens, Crime, Adventure, Detective, Mystery Thriller

152 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Carolyn 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 In a few cases, outdated plots were completely rewritten.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.

Reviews

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nancy Drew may have started out with just one series, but, over the years, she has several different long-running prose series and graphic novels to her name, not to mention multiple movies, at least two TV shows, and even a line of computer and video games. I've been a fan for quite a while...but, some of the books have proved to be hard to find; thank goodness for Apple Books and the Kindle Store!

As for this book, it was usual fare for the famed teenage sleuth...which isn't a bad thing. It was an enjoyable whodunit with plenty of twists and turns.

[Anna Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great Nancy Drew! The mystery is fun, and the elegance of the 1800s riverboats just adds to the story! Would recommend.

[Natalie Markaryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riverboat Ruse by Carolyn Keene is about Nancy Drew and her friends who try to solve a mystery that takes place on a ship. A very wealthy woman’s valuable necklace is stolen and Nancy Drew tries to find out who did it. She finds out that the person who stole it was a guest on a ship. I chose this book because the title was very intriguing. I really liked this book because it shows the readers that you need to always be careful because you never know what some people might do to you. My favorite quote is “Mrs. Mahoney, I’m afraid there’s a thief on board.” Nancy said that to Mrs. Mahoney and she was so bewildered she was about to faint. I chose this quote because it has a lot of meaning behind it. This book was written in first person so it’s easier to understand everything. I would recommend this book to anyone that likes mysteries because this book would be perfect for them.

[Aarshi Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool book! Um... quite like the usual Nancy Drews!
I would still recommend Pageant Perfect Crime... its awesome!! =)

[Katejay · Rating 1 out of 5]

Poor Dog! 🥺😔

[C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nancy's aboard a ship along with George, Bess, and Ned where another guest's precious necklace gets stolen. I thought the story was progressing slowly until I made it to the second half, I felt genuinely nervous.

[Chris Comden · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you are a fan of the old Nancy Drew books don't read this book.

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

i got one suspect wrong. i think i'm geting better

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually REALLY enjoyed this one!

[Falak Patel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read for all age groups
1. It is actually interesting to see the protagonist solve the crime...
2.The necklace caused so many issues u guyss.....
3. If I come across Caroolyn's books, after reading this one, I will definately love to pick them up!
I hope this helps.....

[Izati Saim · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first exposure to Nancy Drew did not disappoint. Fast-paced book, with mysterious and fun clues for the readers to be engaged in the story.

[claud. · Rating 3 out of 5]

i've rated most of the girl detective books i've read 1 star, so i was pleasantly surprised when i found myself enjoying this. a decently solid story where nancy didn't annoy me.

[Claire · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh. Okay so I’ve read some of these newer Nancy Drew books before, but I haven’t been as annoyed or disappointed by them as I am by this one.

I found the plot weak, and not at all entertaining. The usual subtle hints dropped throughout Nancy Drew books were jaw-droppingly obvious this time around and I figured out whodunit in no time.

The characters actually made me crazy. Nancy is portrayed as an entitled brat and her attitude isn’t the humble Nancy we know and love. She’s good and she knows it. Blech. Bess is portrayed as confrontational, which is so opposite her original personality. Don’t even get me started on Nancy’s relationship with Chief McGuiness. Ugh.

And by the way, ghost writers of new Nancy Drew stories, we know that Carolyn Keene never existed and the original ladies behind her are long gone, so why don’t you give the actual authors some credit for a change?

End rant. So yeah, if you want to read a new Nancy Drew mystery, don’t read this one. In fact, just read one of the originals.

2.5/5 stars

Book review blog: http://thebookgirlblog.wordpress.com/

[Deanna · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a new take on Nancy Drew written in the first person. The problem I have with this series is that the facts about Nancy, Ned, George, and Bess are not accurate with the original series of Nancy Drew and Nancy Drew files. The ages, descriptions, etc. are so different that I cannot stand this book series.

[Ash · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book not knowing this was a newer first person version. I was puzzled when I found Nancy talking about wifi in the book initially. This new Nancy Drew was good too, except that the suspense element wasn't that strong. I guessed the culprits way too soon and that kinda spoiled the fun. Still, a good one time read.

[Xyra · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you're a fan of the originals where Nancy and her friends tooled around town in Nancy's roadster then then the modernization may shock you. However, the story itself was very good.

[Prashansa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fine!

[matilde · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet another fabulous Nancy Drew story

[Sydney · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book was a good one,but it doesn't really have a great mystery

[Ananthu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riverboat Ruse

[libby · Rating 1 out of 5]

girll byee 💀

[Anjitha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its a good story . But I don't think this was one of Carolyn Keene's best works

[Lavi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jeg leste disse bøkene for Leeeeeeeeeenge siden. Man alle var like spennende og såkalt "mystiske"