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Nancy Drew Mystery Stories #46
The Invisible Intruder
"Nancy Drew, forget the ghost hunt!" a male voice rasps on the telephone.
Despite the mysterious warning, the pretty teen-age detective and a group of friends start out on a ghost-hunting expedition to investigate five places reputed to be haunted. Danger strikes at once when Nancy tries to overtake the canoe that paddles itself on Lake Sevanee. Thrills and chills mount as the ghost hunters pursue a phantom horse and ghost rider racing across the field that surrounds the Red Barn Guesthouse. During these happenings and other weird events Nancy finds herself pitted against a dangerous adversary, clever enough to operate invisibly.
In a dramatic climax Nancy outwits her enemy in an eerie mansion and traps him in the fantastic Room of Skulls. This unusually intriguing story will delight all Carolyn Keene fans.
Despite the mysterious warning, the pretty teen-age detective and a group of friends start out on a ghost-hunting expedition to investigate five places reputed to be haunted. Danger strikes at once when Nancy tries to overtake the canoe that paddles itself on Lake Sevanee. Thrills and chills mount as the ghost hunters pursue a phantom horse and ghost rider racing across the field that surrounds the Red Barn Guesthouse. During these happenings and other weird events Nancy finds herself pitted against a dangerous adversary, clever enough to operate invisibly.
In a dramatic climax Nancy outwits her enemy in an eerie mansion and traps him in the fantastic Room of Skulls. This unusually intriguing story will delight all Carolyn Keene fans.
175 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1969
119 people are currently reading
2550 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 - 30 of 148 reviews
December 18, 2019
A Psychic Who Can’t Solve Mysteries
Few things have changed over the last 70 years of Nancy Drew’s life, and that is how it should be. She is still in high school and still dating Ned who is still in college. And she still owns a convertible, which replaced her darling roadster years ago, and I would rather have her driving that roadster. Oh, well. The big difference is that her two friends, Bess and George, have boyfriends.How long has that been going on?
This book, though, presents no real mystery in that it is solved in the first two or three chapters. By then you know who the culprits are, but you just have to catch them. So, instead of a Who-Done-It, it is: To Cath a Thief, in this case, thieves. Had I not been under the weather due to weather changes, I would not have read this dreary weather book. But then, I learned that I was wrong. The mystery had not been solved, but it was still dreary.
So, what is this story about? A psychic asks Nancy and her friends and their boyfriends to join her in solving five mysteries, which we soon learn are all committed by the same couple. It appears that they wish to buy inns and resorts around the area, but the owners of the various properties won’t sell them at all, especially at reduced prices. So, this couple decide to spook the guests at the various inns by creating ghosts. Or, in some cases, are there any real ghosts? This, in turn, causes the guests to quit coming, and the innkeepers to decide to sell. And here I thought that people loved to rent rooms in haunted inns, so why the problem? The big question I ask is this: Are not psychics supposed to solve crimes without help?
Few things have changed over the last 70 years of Nancy Drew’s life, and that is how it should be. She is still in high school and still dating Ned who is still in college. And she still owns a convertible, which replaced her darling roadster years ago, and I would rather have her driving that roadster. Oh, well. The big difference is that her two friends, Bess and George, have boyfriends.How long has that been going on?
This book, though, presents no real mystery in that it is solved in the first two or three chapters. By then you know who the culprits are, but you just have to catch them. So, instead of a Who-Done-It, it is: To Cath a Thief, in this case, thieves. Had I not been under the weather due to weather changes, I would not have read this dreary weather book. But then, I learned that I was wrong. The mystery had not been solved, but it was still dreary.
So, what is this story about? A psychic asks Nancy and her friends and their boyfriends to join her in solving five mysteries, which we soon learn are all committed by the same couple. It appears that they wish to buy inns and resorts around the area, but the owners of the various properties won’t sell them at all, especially at reduced prices. So, this couple decide to spook the guests at the various inns by creating ghosts. Or, in some cases, are there any real ghosts? This, in turn, causes the guests to quit coming, and the innkeepers to decide to sell. And here I thought that people loved to rent rooms in haunted inns, so why the problem? The big question I ask is this: Are not psychics supposed to solve crimes without help?
December 21, 2009
Listen, Ned: If two guys kidnap you and you somehow manage to escape, you HAVE TO TELL THE POLICE. I know your girlfriend is a detective and all, but that doesn't really count. You can't just tell her.
And--20 pages later, mind you--when it becomes clear that the bad guys are trying to drive the prices down on various pieces of real estate (including the Red Barn Inn) by making them seem haunted, that's not the best time to conveniently remember that oh, you saw a piece of paper in the back of the kidnappers car that said "Force sale Red Barn." Ned, that's a MAJOR CLUE! The bad guys WROTE DOWN THEIR EVIL PLAN and then LEFT IT IN THE BACKSEAT OF THE CAR THEY KIDNAPPED YOU IN!
See, this is why you're not a boy detective like the Hardy Boys. Don't kid yourself: Nancy keeps you around because you're easy on the eyes, not because you're a teenage Sherlock Holmes.
And--20 pages later, mind you--when it becomes clear that the bad guys are trying to drive the prices down on various pieces of real estate (including the Red Barn Inn) by making them seem haunted, that's not the best time to conveniently remember that oh, you saw a piece of paper in the back of the kidnappers car that said "Force sale Red Barn." Ned, that's a MAJOR CLUE! The bad guys WROTE DOWN THEIR EVIL PLAN and then LEFT IT IN THE BACKSEAT OF THE CAR THEY KIDNAPPED YOU IN!
See, this is why you're not a boy detective like the Hardy Boys. Don't kid yourself: Nancy keeps you around because you're easy on the eyes, not because you're a teenage Sherlock Holmes.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 15, 2024
THIS WAS IT. THIS WAS THE TOP NANCY DREW. THIS COVER FREAKED ME TF OUT WHEN I WAS YOUNGER AND THE MYSTERY DELIVERED. I AM RIDING HIGH HERE 🐚
Compelling MULTIPLE mysteries!!!!!! Helen Corning Archer making a guest appearance! Kidnappings!!!!!! Mediums and the supernatural!!!!! VALUABLE STOLEN SHELLS!!!! SUCCESFULLY INTERRELATED PLOTLINES!!!!!! I AM GEEKING 🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚
The house full of shells and skulls and skeletons at the end?!?!?!? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?!?!?
If every Nancy Drew was like this one, it would be a unified nation. Ned and her worked together so well in this one, and all the friends and relations were there to help too.
WHAT A STORY 🎆🎆🎆🎆🎆🎆🎆🎆 *insert standing ovation here*
This review brought to you by two Moscow Mules.
Compelling MULTIPLE mysteries!!!!!! Helen Corning Archer making a guest appearance! Kidnappings!!!!!! Mediums and the supernatural!!!!! VALUABLE STOLEN SHELLS!!!! SUCCESFULLY INTERRELATED PLOTLINES!!!!!! I AM GEEKING 🐚🐚🐚🐚🐚
The house full of shells and skulls and skeletons at the end?!?!?!? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?!?!?
If every Nancy Drew was like this one, it would be a unified nation. Ned and her worked together so well in this one, and all the friends and relations were there to help too.
WHAT A STORY 🎆🎆🎆🎆🎆🎆🎆🎆 *insert standing ovation here*
This review brought to you by two Moscow Mules.
July 25, 2021
Nancy's 46th adventure in solving world problems is all about ghosts! Not just places are haunted, things are haunted. . .a canoe, a filmy white fabric that floats out of the woods (suggesting a figure of some kind). There are whisperings and fortune tellers, phantoms and invisible intruders. . . .lots to keep one wondering. But, Nancy unravels it all, and it is a rather common resolution. The scoundrels are still pulling their tricks to this very day.
On to #47. I'm going to be done with all of Nancy's classic adventures within the year! Huzzah!
On to #47. I'm going to be done with all of Nancy's classic adventures within the year! Huzzah!
May 5, 2017
The Invisible Intruder (Nancy Drew #46; 1969) was one of my favorite Nancy Drew books when I was a young reader. It ranks up there with The Clue of the Broken Lock, The Clue in the Crumbling Wall, The Hidden Staircase, and Mystery of the Glowing Eye in the top five. I first read it from the school library, but naturally I had to get a copy for my very own. When the Birth Year Reading Challenge was revived this year, I decided I needed to read my copy of the Nancy book that is as old as I am.
Nancy's friend Helen invites her, Ned Nickerson, Bess Marvin, George Fayne, Burt Eddleton, and Dave Evans to join her and her husband Jim as well as three other couples on a ghost-hunting trip. They've pinpointed five places with mysterious reputations: Pine Grove Camp with a haunted canoe that propels itself across Lake Sevanee; Madame Tarantella's prophecy hut which is plague by ghostly thunderstorms; the Red Barn Guesthouse with its phantom horse and unseated ghost rider; a mountaintop inn which was an old fort and has the ghosts of prisoners flitting about; and a private home with an invisible intruder. Most of the young people are prepared to play ghost-busters, but Rita Rodriguez is hoping for a real ghost or two. It isn't long before Nancy realizes that there are some common factors in all the "hauntings" and that some very real humans have ulterior motive for scaring the owners.
Intruder is interesting for a couple of reasons. First, it brings back Helen (Corning) Archer. Helen featured several of the early volumes (before the series was rewritten in 1959), but rarely had much of an active role in the investigations. This book gives her--and her husband and married friends--a somewhat larger part, though it is still Nancy and company who do most of the clue-finding. As Helen says when the group draws lots for sentry duty in their investigation of the phantom horse:
We didn't see a thing....I'd like to bet that if there is going to be any excitement it will come during the time Nancy Drew is here!
I did enjoy that she and Jim were able to assist Nancy and Ned in the grand finale--capturing the crooks and handing them over to the police.
The other interesting feature of this book is that Nancy and her friends set out to investigate five mysteries instead of just one. In the other books Nancy is interested in mysterious happenings at one location or surrounding one particular person. This time she and her friends move from place to place checking out incidents affecting a number of people. Of course, they find clues that indicate there may connections but this is the first mystery to cover so much ground.
I had just as much fun reading this now as I did when I was young. More of an adventure story than a mystery--it's pretty clear fairly early who is responsible for the hauntings, but it is interesting to watch Nancy and company figure out how each of the hauntings is really worked.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
Nancy's friend Helen invites her, Ned Nickerson, Bess Marvin, George Fayne, Burt Eddleton, and Dave Evans to join her and her husband Jim as well as three other couples on a ghost-hunting trip. They've pinpointed five places with mysterious reputations: Pine Grove Camp with a haunted canoe that propels itself across Lake Sevanee; Madame Tarantella's prophecy hut which is plague by ghostly thunderstorms; the Red Barn Guesthouse with its phantom horse and unseated ghost rider; a mountaintop inn which was an old fort and has the ghosts of prisoners flitting about; and a private home with an invisible intruder. Most of the young people are prepared to play ghost-busters, but Rita Rodriguez is hoping for a real ghost or two. It isn't long before Nancy realizes that there are some common factors in all the "hauntings" and that some very real humans have ulterior motive for scaring the owners.
Intruder is interesting for a couple of reasons. First, it brings back Helen (Corning) Archer. Helen featured several of the early volumes (before the series was rewritten in 1959), but rarely had much of an active role in the investigations. This book gives her--and her husband and married friends--a somewhat larger part, though it is still Nancy and company who do most of the clue-finding. As Helen says when the group draws lots for sentry duty in their investigation of the phantom horse:
We didn't see a thing....I'd like to bet that if there is going to be any excitement it will come during the time Nancy Drew is here!
I did enjoy that she and Jim were able to assist Nancy and Ned in the grand finale--capturing the crooks and handing them over to the police.
The other interesting feature of this book is that Nancy and her friends set out to investigate five mysteries instead of just one. In the other books Nancy is interested in mysterious happenings at one location or surrounding one particular person. This time she and her friends move from place to place checking out incidents affecting a number of people. Of course, they find clues that indicate there may connections but this is the first mystery to cover so much ground.
I had just as much fun reading this now as I did when I was young. More of an adventure story than a mystery--it's pretty clear fairly early who is responsible for the hauntings, but it is interesting to watch Nancy and company figure out how each of the hauntings is really worked.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.
March 2, 2025
This was different from the usual Nancy Drew. Nancy and her friends are joined by some other people who don't really figure into the story for a "ghost chasing" getaway. It seems there have been lots of sightings of ghostly figures in the area, so the group is travelling from one place to the next, staying in various B & Bs, solving the mysteries. They slight
I usually remember reading these from decades ago, but I have no memory of this one. Either I missed it or just forgot, which is possible as, other than the structure, there really wasn't anything to make this stand out.
I usually remember reading these from decades ago, but I have no memory of this one. Either I missed it or just forgot, which is possible as, other than the structure, there really wasn't anything to make this stand out.
January 21, 2022
I really liked this story! Like usual, it was just a little too perfect, but I really liked nancy and her friends for this one! This one read more like a series of small mysteries that all wrap up into a bigger climax, which I enjoyed, for a bit of a different story arc than the rest of the nancy drew books. there was a bit at the beginning (and a pretty major plot point) that involved a romani fortuneteller (but obviously they used the slur, because this was written in the 1930s) who went into a trance and acted oddly, so there was *that*.
overall this was a fun one, although the pacing was a bit off/unclear for a lot of the middle.
overall this was a fun one, although the pacing was a bit off/unclear for a lot of the middle.
May 3, 2024
I read it for the 52 Book Challenge, book with a yellow cover. This was entertaining and brought back memories. I read Nancy Drew books over and over as a girl. Plenty of action, not too realistic.
August 18, 2020
3.5 stars rounded up to 4! I enjoyed it for the nostalgia feel. I needed a book that started with an "I" for my scrabble challenge. This fit very nicely and was an amusing afternoon escape at under 200 pages. It is campy and fun. Light summer reading. Love the covers of the new editions. The octopus and skulls here! Oh my! BAM has them all! I believe I will slowly work my way thru them this year. Why not? Nancy is an adventurous character. I can hang with her!
August 25, 2023
5 stars & 5/10 hearts. Okay, so this was a fun twist on "ghost mysteries." I loved how Nancy & her group was able to show the real explanation for everything, and how all the "ghosts" were related. The séance/medium part annoyed me a little but it was made pretty obvious that Nancy doesn't believe in that stuff and that the medium was really just giving general information. Also, I enjoyed seeing Dave's prank backfire... and the code for the kidnapping was cool. XD
September 25, 2011
Nancy Drew strikes again in this tale of a haunted house and room full of skulls.
Read
January 2, 2024Book 1 of taking books off my childhood bookshelf
August 2, 2022
This book was probably written Harriet Stratemeyer Adams (as Carolyn Keene). A little bit juvenile to my taste...
October 27, 2023
Another easy read! Gotta love Nancy Drew
January 10, 2022
11/4/17 - I last read this book in 2009 and rated it 3.5 stars. I think I like it a little bit better the umpteenth time around reading it, particularly the last few chapters that talk about the giant clam, snail that builds shells on itself, and the starfish. I learned a lot about sea life! However, the previous chapters with the ghost hunting were pretty boring.
Even though I am bumping up my rating to 4 stars, it really is more of a 3.75 stars, rounded up. I would place this book in the bottom half of the 56 classic Nancy Drew mystery series.
1/9/22 - Re-reading this again in one sitting and I like it even less. Definitely not one of the best in the series. The best part was having Helen Corning be in the mystery again.
I'm downgrading to 3 stars but it really does not deserve more than 3.5 stars.
Even though I am bumping up my rating to 4 stars, it really is more of a 3.75 stars, rounded up. I would place this book in the bottom half of the 56 classic Nancy Drew mystery series.
1/9/22 - Re-reading this again in one sitting and I like it even less. Definitely not one of the best in the series. The best part was having Helen Corning be in the mystery again.
I'm downgrading to 3 stars but it really does not deserve more than 3.5 stars.
October 9, 2021
Probably my least favorite Nancy Drew. Felt too much like an episode of Scooby Doo. And way too many people taking part in the “ghost hunt.” Nancy, Bess, George, Ned, Burt and Dave are plenty, but this one adds Helen Corning Archer (our old friend from The Bungalow Mystery) and her husband Jim, plus THREE MORE married couples- Bab and Don, Rita and Rod, and Ann and Bill. Way too many people to keep track of, and since Nancy’s Usual Six often ended up splitting from the group, I don’t really know what the point is of having fourteen people in this one.
This book is safely skippable-I’d recommend it for completists only.
This book is safely skippable-I’d recommend it for completists only.
February 28, 2013
I had high hopes for this book, considering it included a picture of a "flying" octopus! Overall, though, it was a disappointment. Nancy's entourage is too big for my taste, and the adventure seems a bit lackluster -- at least until the end, when it picks up a bit. The illustrations are also less than impressive. At least the story includes a "talking" sting ray and a mention of "dangerous snails."
April 1, 2021
The title is misleading. The invisible intruder is mentioned once early on as one of the stops on their ghost trip, then not mentioned again until the last chapter.
Aside from the expectations based on the title, this was a good book. Nancy and friends go on a ghost hunting trip, encounter a few spooky moments, and then find clues to explain those moments. There's a good amount of action and the plot feels like it's moving forward all the time.
Aside from the expectations based on the title, this was a good book. Nancy and friends go on a ghost hunting trip, encounter a few spooky moments, and then find clues to explain those moments. There's a good amount of action and the plot feels like it's moving forward all the time.
March 13, 2018
I didn't like this one as much as I had remembered. I loved having the whole gang there, but they really weren't in their best form. instead of finishing each of the mystery's as she went along, Nancy always left as they got close to an answer claiming "She'd be back later." It makes sense for the flow of the book but not Nancy's character.
April 1, 2013
"Helen was very pretty, and her tall, good-looking husband was full of fun."
November 1, 2015
This was my first Nancy Drew and is still my favorite. Thank you Ms Drew for giving me the love of reading and mysteries!!
November 13, 2019
I think the book needed to be longer in order for all five mysteries in the book, to be better written. Otherwise the mysteries were interesting.
February 26, 2024
George and Burt are EVERYTHING, I always love their lines and banter, this is one of my favorites from this series
October 21, 2023
I have been reading the new Nancy Drew Diaries and have had a slightly bumpy road with them and I wanted to compare the new Nancy Drew books (I've got one of the Girl Detective books to read soon, as well) to the older ones. I grabbed this one because the only other one I would find my copy for was The Haunted Bungalow and I honestly didn't remember this one at all.
It's very dated. (Ned Nickerson is a 'special friend' of Nancy's. *snicker/snort*) But, what surprised me when I started reading was how… almost abrupt the writing is. There's a lot of synopsis' replacing parts of conversations. To me the writing is much more juvenile than I expected. When I compare it to the newer Nancy Drew Diaries, it almost seems amateurish. And the level of emotions in this book is high - I'd even call it melodramatic, personally.
Everything - or nearly everything - seems the sort for HIGH EMOTIONS and, because of that, I have a hard time telling if Nancy is in more danger in the older books than she is in the new books, or if it's just because everything is EMOTIONAL in the older books. (I will say, if this book is an average example of the older books, Nancy is targeted more in the older books than in the newer ones.)
(Also, I find some of the characterizations extremely dated: Ordering rare steak and 'raw meat for the he-men' and the medium being Roma (but, of course, that wasn't the word they used) and referring to her as a 'strange creature' is just off-putting.)
To me, as a mystery this book is lacking. It's less of a whodunnit and more of a how-do-we-catch-them? with a side of Scooby-Doo unmasking the ghosts. (Which, now that I think about it, this book did come out in 1969, the same year as Scooby-Doo…)
Oh, by the way, it's dangerous to go alone. Take a man with you.
It's very dated. (Ned Nickerson is a 'special friend' of Nancy's. *snicker/snort*) But, what surprised me when I started reading was how… almost abrupt the writing is. There's a lot of synopsis' replacing parts of conversations. To me the writing is much more juvenile than I expected. When I compare it to the newer Nancy Drew Diaries, it almost seems amateurish. And the level of emotions in this book is high - I'd even call it melodramatic, personally.
Everything - or nearly everything - seems the sort for HIGH EMOTIONS and, because of that, I have a hard time telling if Nancy is in more danger in the older books than she is in the new books, or if it's just because everything is EMOTIONAL in the older books. (I will say, if this book is an average example of the older books, Nancy is targeted more in the older books than in the newer ones.)
(Also, I find some of the characterizations extremely dated: Ordering rare steak and 'raw meat for the he-men' and the medium being Roma (but, of course, that wasn't the word they used) and referring to her as a 'strange creature' is just off-putting.)
To me, as a mystery this book is lacking. It's less of a whodunnit and more of a how-do-we-catch-them? with a side of Scooby-Doo unmasking the ghosts. (Which, now that I think about it, this book did come out in 1969, the same year as Scooby-Doo…)
Oh, by the way, it's dangerous to go alone. Take a man with you.
January 29, 2015
The Invisible Intruder
is a children's story by Carolyn Keene (pseudonym) and the 46th book in the
Nancy Drew
series.
I’ve always been a voracious reader. So, as a child, one of my favorite things about summer was the frequent trips to our local library, which was less than a mile from our house. Like most young girls of a certain age (ahem), my love for mysteries started with Nancy Drew—there simply was no mystery too baffling that she couldn’t solve. And as I would read her most current adventure, I would imagine myself following in her footsteps … taking charge and plunging ahead, getting into mischief, chasing down culprits and solving the mystery. Even though I haven’t re-read any of these books since I was a child, I still think that Nancy is a great character—her courage, confidence and fierce independence, makes her an iconic source of inspiration for young girls everywhere. A must-read children's book, The Invisible Intruder is another wonderful Nancy Drew mystery.
Nancy Drew and her friends go on a ghost hunting expedition and become involved with a gang of thieves who concentrate their activities on collectors of valuable shells. In a dramatic climax, Nancy outwits her enemy in an eerie mansion and traps him in the fantastic Room of Skulls.
I’ve always been a voracious reader. So, as a child, one of my favorite things about summer was the frequent trips to our local library, which was less than a mile from our house. Like most young girls of a certain age (ahem), my love for mysteries started with Nancy Drew—there simply was no mystery too baffling that she couldn’t solve. And as I would read her most current adventure, I would imagine myself following in her footsteps … taking charge and plunging ahead, getting into mischief, chasing down culprits and solving the mystery. Even though I haven’t re-read any of these books since I was a child, I still think that Nancy is a great character—her courage, confidence and fierce independence, makes her an iconic source of inspiration for young girls everywhere. A must-read children's book, The Invisible Intruder is another wonderful Nancy Drew mystery.
Read
November 9, 2021I adored Nancy growing up, so revisiting these books as an adult has been quite an interesting experience. There have been moments where I’ve noticed inconsistencies in the writing, laughed at how naive I was about funds (the Drew family must be rich), and surprised at some of the interactions/relationships (poor Ned).
The Invisible Intruder was definitely a different style/feel than most of the other ND books I’ve read the last few weeks. Others have given good synopses, so I just want to mention that the amount of information in this book is crazy. Whether it be about the shells or a reference to a Catholic priest.
I found it very interesting that this book dabbled in some occult with seances and a character that “is a student of the occult.” While it also takes a deeper dive into the Christian culture of the time with a description of the church sermon and quote from the Catholic poet Joyce Kilmer. The previous books I’ve reread only mention attending church (a big deal to elementary me to let my mom know that these were okay books, “See mom, Nancy and her family and friends go to church and pray.”)
The Invisible Intruder was definitely a different style/feel than most of the other ND books I’ve read the last few weeks. Others have given good synopses, so I just want to mention that the amount of information in this book is crazy. Whether it be about the shells or a reference to a Catholic priest.
I found it very interesting that this book dabbled in some occult with seances and a character that “is a student of the occult.” While it also takes a deeper dive into the Christian culture of the time with a description of the church sermon and quote from the Catholic poet Joyce Kilmer. The previous books I’ve reread only mention attending church (a big deal to elementary me to let my mom know that these were okay books, “See mom, Nancy and her family and friends go to church and pray.”)
March 7, 2024
I've not read Nancy Drew books in MANY years (the 1970's) but I devoured them as a kid and have a set that my Dad filled in to completion when I was about 20-25 years old (just because he knew that I'd checked a lot of them out of the school library but really wanted to own the complete set.) I picked this one at random to reread for a library book challenge. I didn't remember the story at all and I suspect that it wasn't my favorite but I was surprised, none the less, that it mostly passed the test of time.
As an adult I can see, in way that I couldn't as a young child, just how precocious Nancy really was. Nancy and her friends, Bess and George, are supposed to be 18 years old with boyfriends in college and this story has them all traveling out of town with several young married couples to solve a series of mysteries. The whole thing read like a bunch of 30-35 year olds got together for the adventure. But the entire series WAS written at a different time for a different audience.
Reading this was a fun jump back in time. I may want to do it again - I seem to remember one about a Crooked Bannister...
As an adult I can see, in way that I couldn't as a young child, just how precocious Nancy really was. Nancy and her friends, Bess and George, are supposed to be 18 years old with boyfriends in college and this story has them all traveling out of town with several young married couples to solve a series of mysteries. The whole thing read like a bunch of 30-35 year olds got together for the adventure. But the entire series WAS written at a different time for a different audience.
Reading this was a fun jump back in time. I may want to do it again - I seem to remember one about a Crooked Bannister...
May 5, 2018
While I enjoy what could be with this book, the mysteries are so thin. Seriously, if the bad guy can invent some of the technology used in this book he could make more off the patents than what his schemes would ever think of bringing in. Wilbur Prizer kind of reminds me of the silver age Lex Luthor, a scientist who spent obscene amounts of money to create robots and such to distract Superman while millions were stolen. Does. Not. Compute. :-)
November 4, 2022
This one is a little far fetched in the mystery department even for a Nancy Drew story. It is good but not my favorite.
June 24, 2020
I got bored with Nancy and her friends ghost hunting in different locations and finding rare shells each time.
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