The Ghost of Craven Cove

Nancy Drew Mystery Stories #92

by Carolyn Keene

Nancy, Bess, and George have been invited by their former grade-school teacher June Braden to spend their vacation on the coast of Maine. Miss Braden's brother, Karl, was recently lost at sea and is presumed dead, but his daughter swears she has seen him lurking in the caves of Craven Cove. Nancy vows to help Laura Braden determine the truth about her father's fate, once and for all.

Genres: Mystery, Young Adult, Fiction, Middle Grade, Childrens, Juvenile, Thriller

154 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1989

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 In a few cases, outdated plots were completely rewritten.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

As usual, this series delivers.

(I would talk about how my history with television has affected my taste in literature, but, I've already done that...so, why reinvent the wheel?)

[Melody · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not a fan of this one. It's like a cross between the original series and the nancy drew files. Moves slowly and is very boring.

[Josiah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good mystery, I agree with the other reviewers about it getting long in the middle, but it was still good. Would recommend to any mystery lovers!

[Candii · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75

[Nikita Wells · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a slow read, but a good read.

[Aysha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I felt like the mystery was dragging on and on. Like, Nancy was making very slow progress and then at the end, she figures everything out in a jiffy!
The mystery was good though.

[Madelyn Flammia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book as one of the theme books for a Nancy Drew conference I attended in Maine last week. It is the first Nancy Drew book I have read that isn't one of the original 56 books. I was pleasantly surprised. This newer book keeps the feel of the originals for the most part. It was a fun read. Nancy is the best!

[Michelle Villmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, fast paced adventure involving naval espionage. A glaring error during the cover scene. Nancy and George are rescuing Laura while Bess and Ms. Braden are walking the beach 20 feet below, yet somehow Bess suddenly asks a question of Laura. She was nowhere near her. Otherwise a goid story that kept me guessing to the last two chapters.

[Alexandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

So Laura asks Nancy to help her find her father then hinders her at almost every turn. Nancy is like look I want both suspects together at lunch so I can see how they react follow my lead. Laura says okay then promptly tells both suspects that Nancy found a coded message from the missing man. . . Laura you idiot, Nancy succeeded in spite of you

[Ash · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 stars
Reliving childhood memories.

[Star ☔️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This mystery was atmospheric and spooky. I really enjoyed the Maine setting with the coastal waters, lighthouse, fog, lobsters, scallops, shrimps, and possible ghost.

[Cindy DeLong · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love Nancy Drew books. Another good one. I read it in a day.

[Darinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nancy Drew Mystery Series #92. Nancy and friends travel to Maine to solve a mystery. Light and entertaining.

[Lakshmi Vijayakumar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another cozy mystery.

[McCaden Moss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can read it book

[James Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nancy, George and Bess go to Maine to help out an elementary school teacher they had. Laura is a girl about their age who is convinced that her father is alive even though he was alleged to have died when his boat exploded. The area they are in has a reputation for smuggling operations. There's strange signals coming from a supposedly abandoned lighthouse.

There's a suspicious fisherman, a naval officer from a nearby base, a boat catching fire (with Nancy and the girls on board) and an attempt to kill the lot of them by setting off some bombs.

So Nancy has to figure out why Laura seems to be sure she's seen her father, why someone seems to be out to kill them and whether or not smuggling or something much more serious is going on.

A lot going on in this rather good novel.

[Eric Wood · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh. I did not like this one at all! I was enjoying it for a couple chapters, then the story stared to drag, and i was soon losing interest in the mystery. From that point on, i just didn't care what was happening, and the mystery was turning into a totally dumb story, with a stupid solution too. Also, I felt that Nancy should have investigated the cave where Laura's dead dad was seen, when she first arrived, because if she did, the mystery would be solved in the first four chapters! Overall, a very dumb mystery which was very slow, and it deserves one star!

[LuAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this mystery even though near the end when Nancy let things get away from her. The formula for this section of the series seems to be 3 or 4 suspects and Nancy doesn't figure out whodunit till the end. I know that's not unusual in mystery stories, but it's so obviously done. Still I found the setting and mystery interesting for a NDMS and thought the premise of a teen thinking her dad was alive when all others thought he was dead a departure for Nancy.

[Miri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Laura Braden's father was recently lost at sea, presumed dead. When Nancy's former teacher calls, her, Bess and George to stay with them, because her niece Laura has been seeing her deceased father, she wants Nancy to discover if her brother is really alive or put Laura's delusions to rest once and for all. If Laura's father is alive, then why is he hiding from his family?

[Brenda · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the first/only Nancy Drew book I've ever read. I read this book in Norwegian in my Norwegian class. I'm proud that I read an entire book in Norwegian, and I'm so glad that we finished it.
I'm not a Nancy Drew fan.

[Prami{reader and dreamer} · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't remember much but I know I liked it.

[Vintagebooklvr · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the Maine setting and you got a bit of the favor of the area with the changeable weather, how cold it can get even in summer, and some of the foods. The story line was ok.

[Erikat]

this had lot of mystery.

[Serena · Rating 3 out of 5]

My Rating System:
* couldn't finish, ** wouldn't recommend, *** would recommend, **** would read again, ***** have read again.