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Barlow was confident that Nancy and Bess had no concrete evidence at all. But that was where the arrogant businessman was wrong. The girl sleuths had done their research and were able to prove beyond doubt that Barlow was the only person with the opportunity and motive to steal the marbles. Nancy still gave the man one more chance to co-operate.

“If you confess everything and surrender to us now, Mr Barlow,” she told him, “it will go better for you. We’ll even put in a good word for you with the sheriff if you come quietly, won’t we, Bess?”

“Absolutely, Nance,” her friend replied.

AI image created via Microsoft Bing before its upgrade.

#nancy drew #woman detective #mystery #adventure #girl detective #capture #strong women

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“Confess, Mr Dawson!”

“We know you are part of the kidnapping gang, Mr Dawson, so you may as well confess!” Nancy accused. The stunned man began to bluster. “You kids are crazy!” he protested. “Now get off my property before I call the cops!” Nancy glared at the man and turned to her two grim-faced friends. “Grab him, girls!” she ordered. “”We need to look around!”

Later, with Dawson securely tied up in the back of Nancy’s car, the girls drove to Dawson’s shack in the woods. Leaving their infuriated prisoner propped up against a tree and guarded by Bess, Nancy and George cautiously approached the cabin. “I can hear muffled voices inside,” whispered George excitedly, while the bound Dawson watched helplessly from a distance.

Sources: Illustrations from Alice Roy novels by Albert Chazelle

#nancy drew #woman detective #mystery #girl detective #adventure #girl detective tying up bad guy #man tied up by woman #mystery stories #alice roy #Albert Chazelle

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The Mystery of the Fire Dragon, The Nancy Drew Mystery Stories #38 (1961)

In this early sixties yarn, Nancy is contacted by her Aunt Eloise, who lives in New York, on behalf of her elderly Chinese neighbour, archaeologist Mr Soong whose granddaughter, a university student named Chi-che, they believe has been kidnapped. Aunt Eloise asks Nancy to find the missing girl and to bring those responsible for her disappearance to justice. Nancy’s only real clue is Chi-che’s letter, embossed with a fire dragon, that indicates she believed she was in danger. Nancy rallies her friends Bess and George and the sleuthing trio head off to NY to investigate the case. Nancy decides to bait a trap and persuades George to disguise herself as Chi-che (quite how this is achieved by George who always comes across in the novels as a tall, athletic all-American college girl, isn’t made entirely clear) and the detectives set up in the bookshop where Chi-che worked. Nancy soon confronts the sinister owner there called Mr Stromberg.

Stromberg eventually confesses his part in Chi-che’s disappearance, revealing the student had found out the bookshop was a front for smuggling activities. Stromberg is arrested, and a series of clues then take the girls to Hong Kong, where George again uses her disguise to entice the kidnappers out of hiding. However, Nancy’s plans go awry when she herself is kidnapped and bundled aboard a private plane. Despite being bound hand and foot, the enterprising girl detective uses her lipstick to write SOS on a porthole window before take off and the bad guys are foiled. After her rescue, Nancy leads Bess and George to smoke the kidnappers out once again and discovers the criminals are in fact international smugglers. Lured by the false Chi-che, the bad guys finally reveal themselves and after a pell-mell chase, the girls succeed in capturing them and releasing the real Chi-che.

This story is great fun, its international location giving it an espionage feel and the denouement is genuinely exciting as Nancy and her friends, after much peril, turn the tables on the criminals.

#nancy drew #woman detective #mystery #girl detective #adventure #mystery of the fire dragon #Nancy Drew mystery stories

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“I Suggest You Surrender.”

Those words were like hammer blows into my chest. It wasn’t just the fact that Nancy Drew, “Girl Detective”, was standing nonchalantly on my very own stage, the coronet of Laura Farmer, the Homecoming Queen I had just ransomed back to her grateful family for a pretty penny, swinging in her hand. It wasn’t simply that the insouciant smile on Miss Drew’s girl-next-door pretty mouth meant she had discovered the offending article in my apartment, or even that I knew she was right - my crime was discovered, and I was caught. No, it was the fact that the little vixen was telling me I needed to surrender. Me - who had been arranging pageants before this absurd little amateur sleuth was even in kindergarten!

“Surrender? To you?” I replied, unable to keep the sneer from out of my voice. “It will go a lot easier for you if you come quietly, Mr Briggs.” the young woman replied simply. “I called the sheriff before confronting you: he will be here in twenty minutes.” I gazed in bitter frustration at my teenaged nemesis - taking in her dreary flat shoes, her conservative tan pantyhose and her sensible beltless grey dress. “You would never have won the Pageant, Miss Drew!” I told her somewhat pointlessly. “You are far too boring!” The girl laughed at that despite herself as my head dropped in defeat. “I think I had better tie you up, Mr Briggs,” she smiled at me happily, “just in case the sheriff is delayed, you see.” The girl removed the unsophisticated cloth band from her head, allowing her fair hair to tumble over her shoulders and then walked towards me. “Put your hands behind your back please, sir.” she told me. I glowered back at her miserably, but did as she instructed…

My interpretation of the cover to Pageant Perfect Crime, Nancy Drew Girl Detective #30 (June 2008); caption mine.

#nancy drew #woman detective #mystery #adventure #girl detective #capture #girl detective tying up bad guy #man tied up by woman #mystery stories

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The Case Of The Curious Collection is the first addition to the “yellow cover” Mystery Stories classic Nancy Drew canon in nearly fifty years. The so-called five-chapter “novella” was due to be published in 2023 as a Kickstarter promotion for a series of Nancy Drew figurines - drawn from specific titles of the iconic series - produced by Wandering Planet Toys. I have not read the book, but a real draw is the cover illustration depicting the titian-haired detective in her mid 1960s classic look examining a collection of toys with her trusty magnifying glass. The art is by Ruth Sanderson who illustrated original Nancy adventures in the 1970s. Written in the classic Carolyn Keene style, the new book presents itself as a “lost work”.

All clever marketing for what look like quality collectibles for fans. What I’m not sure of is whether the novella itself was ever published, although facsimiles of the Sanderson art work are available for purchase online.

#nancy drew #mystery #adventure #girl detective #lost Nancy Drew novel #wandering planet #kickstarter #the case of the curious collection #Ruth Sanderson

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Confession to Nancy

After Bill Travers finished, he looked appealingly at Nancy. His gun was forgotten about, discarded on a table as he confessed everything to the titian-haired girl sleuth. “But what happens now, Miss Drew?” he asked her sadly. Nancy took a deep breath. “I think you are basically a good man, Mr Travers,” she told him, “and you got mixed up in something you couldn’t control.” She looked him hard in the eye. “You need to let me have your gun and come with me to the sheriff.” Nancy continued earnestly. “Tell him what you told me. I can put a good word in for you.”

Travers bowed his head and he indicated with a slight nod that he agreed. “Very well, Miss Drew,” he sighed, “I agree to surrender to you.” Nancy exhaled in relief and looked around her erstwhile kidnapper’s forest shack. She noticed with satisfaction a coil of thin rope hanging from a hook on the wall. “Mt Travers?” she then said to her captive tentatively, “I will need to tie your hands behind your back before we set off. It is a long journey.” Travers looked up at the young detective and smiled wryly. “In case I change my mind?” he asked a little ruefully.

“Yes, sir,” Nancy replied.

AI image created via Microsoft Bing before its upgrade.

#nancy drew #woman detective #adventure #capture #girl detective #girl detective tying up bad guy #man confesses to Nancy Drew

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The Strange Message in the Parchment, The Nancy Drew Mystery Stories #54 (1977)

One of the more recent titles in the Mystery Stories series, this tale involves Nancy and her friends in yet another fight against kidnappers and extortionists. The story kicks off with a sheep farmer receiving a strange telephone message instructing him to decipher the writing on some paintings on parchment he bought as a curiosity to “right a great wrong”. His daughter, Junie, contacts Nancy and asks the young detective to help find out what the message and its alleged “great wrong” might mean. She Junie, commence their investigations and soon find themselves up against a suspicious and dangerous Italian named Sal Rocco, possibly involved in trafficking undocumented migrants to local farms. While investigating this angle the girls rescue an abused child, Tony, who has been staying with his uncle Rocco and threaten the man with the police.

Nancy then calls in the assistance of Bess and George and together the group of young women set out to solve the mystery of the parchments and capture the villain behind the mysterious goings on. They soon establish Tony’s mother in Italy is a talented artist who put together the paintings on the parchment before Sal stole them and abducted Tony. He now runs a fake union scam amongst the migrant workers. This leads to the girls being kidnapped and tied up by Ricco’s hired muscle, but they manage to escape and then turn the workers against the exploiter leading him to confess and surrender to Nancy and her friends in order to get them to summon the police to protect him.

Despite the Italian stereotypes, this is a curiously modern tale given our current vexed debates about illegal migration and the role of organised crime in trafficking. Not the best Nancy novel, but worth checking out.

#nancy drew #woman detective #mystery #adventure #girl detective #capture

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“What are you DOING?” Nancy cried.

She clattered up the wooden stairs towards the suited stranger who was kneeling in front of her locked bedroom door, trying to unlock it with a key. The man looked up in alarm as the girl detective pounced. Aided by the element of surprise, Nancy was able to knock the intruder off balance. The young woman pressed her advantage and quickly sat astride the man, pinning his arms to the floor of the landing. He struggled fitfully for a couple of seconds but Nancy was too strong and he soon gave up his efforts to escape. The young sleuth hauled the sullen-looking man to his feet and put him in a firm armlock. “Who are you?” she demanded. Her prisoner just sneered at her. “You’re the detective!” he replied sourly. “Find out yourself!”

Nancy looked at the man with an annoyed expression on her face. “If you won’t talk to me, maybe you will to the police!” she retorted. Keeping the glowering man restrained with one hand, she felt in the pocket of her skirt with the other and found her spare pair of tights. “I’m going to tie your hands behind your back!” she warned the man. “No struggling or trying to get away while I do so!” The intruder glared angrily at the woman over his shoulder but made no attempt to resist as she bound his wrists together securely.

My interpretation of the story behind the cover to Kitty: Och TornRummets Hemlighet, the Swedish language version of The Sign of the Twisted Candles, The Nancy Drew Mystery Stories #9 (1933 and 1968).

#nancy drew #woman detective #mystery #adventure #girl detective #capture #strong women #girl detective tying up bad guy #man tied up by woman #fm bondage

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The Plan

Nancy peered cautiously around the wooden frame of the window. Alonzo Rugby, hat at a characteristically jaunty angle, was talking confidently into the telephone, assuring his caller that he had the artefact safe and sound and all they needed to agree was the price. Nancy took in a sharp intake of breath. Apparently Rugby had found the missing window! Nancy turned to her friends with a concerned look on her face. “That is Alonzo Rugby,” she told Bess and George in hushed tones. “He has the stained glass window. He is trying to sell it!” The two girls looked shocked. “Then we must stop him, Nancy,” Bess urged a little unexpectedly, “if Rugby sells the window it will be lost to the family forever!” George nodded grimly. “I agree.” she said. “Do you have a plan, Nance?” The girl detective looked a little sheepish. “Not a very good one, I’m afraid, George.” she replied. “Let’s hear it.” George responded.

Nancy took a deep breath. “I know we are girls, but there are three of us and he is by himself,” Nancy went on, talking quickly while continuing to glance in the window to keep an eye on Rugby, “so I suggest we rush in, confront him, tell him we know everything and that we have called the police. Hopefully he will surrender then and we can tie him up.” Nancy looked from George to Bess anxiously. She could see neither were entirely convinced. “It’s either that or we let him get away with it.” she finished. “What if he doesn’t want to surrender?” asked George . “Then we’ll need all the judo tricks you can come up with to subdue him , George!” the girl sleuth replied. There was a pause. Nancy glanced through the window to see Rugby putting down the phone with a satisfied smirk on his face. “It’s now our never, girls.” she told Bess and George. “We either try to capture Rugby now, or we sit and watch while he gets away with the theft of the Fifties!” Bess sighed and George frowned but both now had a determined set to their young faces. “We’re with you, Nancy!” declared Bess bravely and all three young woman rose and rushed towards the crook’s unlocked front door.

My interpretation of the story behind this illustration from The Hidden Window Mystery, The Nancy Drew Mystery Stories #34 (1956).

#nancy drew #woman detective #mystery #adventure #girl detective #capture #girl detective tying up bad guy

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Mystery on the Menu, The Nancy Drew Mystery Stories #117 (1994)

When George wins first prize in a cookery competition, she wins a week-long stay at the world famous Wolfe Culinary Institute in upstate New York. Naturally she brings along Nancy and Bess, thereby guaranteeing the emergence of a mystery to be solved by the girl sleuth. Nancy soon discovers that the kitchens are a hotbed of rivalries, jealousy and intrigue and someone amongst the competitive chefs is capable of resorting to murder in order to become top dog. He is happy to deal in attempted poisonings, explosions and sabotage in order to remove his rivals, so Nancy and her friends are immediately on his trail. The challenge for Nancy is to avoid getting pulled into culinary politics, steer clear of murder attempts and to somehow expose and capture the crazed would-be killer. Can she do it?

Illustration by Pentti Kareinen. Source: artstation.com

#nancy drew #woman detective #mystery #adventure #girl detective #capture #strong women #Nancy Drew Mystery stories #mystery on the menu

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Nancy’s AI Adventure, Part 10

“Come on gentleman, in you go.” said George. She and the waitress supervised the procession of the four sullen and bound men into the manager’s office where they were seated, gagged by the two young women as a precaution against plotting, and then locked up. Meanwhile Nancy, Bess and the remaining staff apologised profusely to the diners, explaining that the police woukd soon be here and that restaurant was closing for the night. “Well, that’s that, then.” sighed Bess wearily. “We captured the whole gang!” Nancy nodded. “You call the police, Bess.” she told her friend. “I would like one last word with Monsieur Dupont.”

The girl sleuth descended the stair to the wine cellar which she entered cautiously. She need not have worried. The restauranteur was still seated, tied up where George had left him after she had hurried away to prevent the cook’s escape. “Have you returned to tell me of your triumph, Miss Drew?” The Frenchman asked the young woman ironically, moving a little uncomfortably in his bonds. “Well your chums are all tied up and locked in your office, waiting for the police to arrive if that’s what you mean.” she replied. Dupont smiled ruefully. “A remarkable young woman.” he said softly. Nancy looked hard at her prisoner. “What made you do it, monsieur?” she asked him. “Turn a local thriving business into the centre of a drugs ring in a town like River Heights?” Dupont stared back at the detective then indicated the racks and racks of high end wine that surrounded them with his head. “How much do you think it cost to set this restaurant up as an exclusive online wine merchant?” he asked her. The young woman shook her head. “Debt, Miss Drew.” Dupont continued. “Eventually you turn to less scrupulous bodies when the banks will no longer loan you the money. And that is how the cartel gets its claws into you.” Dupont bowed his head as the sound of aporoaching police sirens drifted down from upstairs.

Nancy and Bess later met with Sheriff Jane Jessop outside the restaurant after M Dupont and his accomplices had been carted away in handcuffs. “You girls did well,” the policewoman smiled, “ to have turned the tables on the gang the way you did. Luckily for you they were not gang members - just employees who got greedy.” Nancy smiled in acknowledgment. “What will happen to M Dupont?” she asked Officer Jessop. “He will receive at least ten years.” Jane replied. “His team perhaps half of that - depending on what evidence we uncover now and what they tell us. Dupont helped himself by surrendering to you when he did, Miss Drew. “And the cartel?” ventured Bess. “Gone from River Heights, Miss Marvin.” replied the woman. “Something else we have to thank you ladies for.”

Two months later, Bess, George and Nancy sat in the newly opened Pierre’s restaurant. It was the former Chez Dupont, with most of the innocent staff re-employed under new management. The girls had just enjoyed a complementary meal. “It’s nice to eat here and not be investigating!” laughed Bess as she sipped a black coffee. “What next, Nance?” asked George expectantly. “How do you two fancy a holiday on my uncle’s beach house in Florida?” the titian-haired girl detective suddenly asked. “I think we deserve it, don’t you?”

THE END.

AI images created via Microsoft Bing before its upgrade and AI Fantasy

#nancy drew #woman detective #mystery #adventure #girl detective #capture #strong women #girl detective tying up bad guy #man tied up by woman

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Dream of Medusa

Nancy’s flashlight picked out the unmistakable carved words on the old wooden upright. “Dream of Medusa…” she breathed. She glanced over at the mate, who stared aghast at the engraved words and the crudely rendered image. “I-I…” he stammered. “It isn’t what it looks like, Miss Drew…” But for Nancy, it was exactly what it looked like. Only one person knew the significance of the misspelled phrase, Dream of Medussa, and that was the kidnapper. “Then why are these words, of all words, carved into this piece of timber, in a part of the ship only you have access to, Mr McLean?” Nancy asked the sailor, turning her torch onto the man’s panic-stricken face. “It’s a sea-shanty I like, it’s just a coincidence!” Harry McLean gabbled, his eyes darting from left to right, seeking escape, but George folded her arms and stood determinedly in front of the steps leading to the upper deck, the only exit from the cargo hold. “Some coincidence!” the dark-haired girl remarked grimly.

Nancy lowered her torch from the miserable looking crewman’s face and illuminated the darkened interior. The girl sleuth was pleased to see a coil of rope against the wall, held up by a rusty nail. Nancy walked over to the hook briskly and pulled the rope towards her. “I think we should tie up Mr McLean now, George,” she said to her friend, “and then we can question him about Melissa’s wherabouts before we hand him over to the police.” George nodded and approached the distraught mate, swiftly putting him into a secure armlock. “Don’t give us any trouble while we do this, you!” the young woman warned him. “But you’ve got the wrong man…!” the girls’ prisoner wailed as George pushed him into a wooden chair and a determined Nancy approached the man, rope in hand.

My interpretation of the story behind this illustration from The Secret of the Wooden Lady, The Nancy Drew Mystery Stories #27 (1950).

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Nancy’s AI Adventure Part 9

Leaving the waitress to guard their two glowering and bound prisoners, Nancy and Bess slowly manoeuvred around the shocked and silent restaurant. Nancy’s eyes alighted on a smartly dressed man standing uncertainly close to the cloakroom door. ‘Of course,’ the girl sleuth murmured to herself, ‘the Maitre D!’ Bess glanced at her friend in wordless acknowledgement and the two young women approached the head waiter. “Excuse me, sir,” Nancy said to him with a winning smile, “would you be able to call the police for us? We think you have some crooked characters on your payroll” The man coloured slightly, but replied urbanely enough. “Of course, miss.” he said. “I will be just a moment.”

The man walked briskly towards the corridor and then suddenly broke into a trot, running past the phone and towards the rear exit. Before Nancy herself could react, Bess flung herself forward. “Oh no you don’t!” the normally most unsure of Nancy’s friends cried and hurled herself bodily at the Maitre D. The sheer momentum of the fair haired young woman’s charge caught the waiter, in mid step, entirely off balance. Over he went, with Bess, in a flurry of skirts, landing on top of him. Nancy almost whooped in delight. “Great work, Bess!” she laughed and leapt onto the struggling pair, helping her friend to subdue the desperate waiter, who sighed in despair and resigned himself to his fate. “I think we may have caught the whole gang, Bess,” Nancy said to her disheveled friend, who brushed a blonde lock of hair from her eye, even as she kept the head waiter pressed to the floor. “I hope so, Nance,” the girl replied, “I’m not sure I could overpower a third crook!”

Soon Nancy had obtained more rope from the admiring waitress and the Maitre D was lined up next to his two captured staff while the girl sleuth tied him up. “No talking trying to fix your alibis, gentlemen,” Nancy told the three sullen-looking captives sternly, “I’m sure you wouldn’t want us to have to gag you in front of all these diners!” The head waiter just sneered at the young woman but kept his counsel while he was bound. Afterwards, a satisfied Nancy turned to Bess. “We had better go tell George everything is wrapped up here.” she said. The girls turned at some shuffling steps behind them and looked towards the kitchen corridor. “Did someone mention my name?” came a young female voice.

Nancy and Bess were amazed to see George emerge from the kitchen area, pushing a miserable looking man ahead of her, his hands tied behind his back. George smiled at her friends’ astounded expressions. “I caught him trying to sneak out.” the dark haired girl told them by way of explanation. “I think this fellow is -or rather was - the cook!” Nancy whistled softly. “It seems half the restaurant were implicated in this drugs ring!” she remarked. “I think it’s time we called the police to come and collect M Dupont and his merry men!”

AI images created by AI Fantasy and Microsoft Bing, before its upgrade.

#nancy drew #woman detective #mystery #girl detective #adventure #girl detective tying up bad guy #strong women #capture #man tied up by woman #fm bondage #girl detectives #bess marvin #george fayne

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The Secret of the Golden Pavilion, The Nancy Drew Mystery Stories #36 (1959)

Nancy, George and Bess find themselves in Hawaii to help Mr Sakamaki, a client of Carson Drew, to find out the mysterious secret of his newly inherited estate, Kaluakua, which is preventing him from selling it. The estate’s main feature is a beautiful golden pavilion in the centre of the grounds, which is alleged to be haunted by a dancing ghost, and that has already been subject to secret tunnelling. The detectives soon find themselves on the trail of three art thieves, a frightening gang known as the Double Scorps.

The situation is then complicated by the arrival of a middle aged brother and sister on the island who claim to be the descendants of Sakamaki’s grandparents and therefore the rightful heirs to the property. Nancy is immediately suspicious of this claim and sets out to prove that the new arrivals are in fact in league with the Double Scorps, who are determined to loot the golden pavilion. Joined by sort-of boyfriends Ned, Burt and Dave, who just happen to be on Hawaii on a college trip, the girls soon find themselves in danger from booby traps and faced with clues written in Polynesian that eventually allow Nancy to solve the mystery of the pavilion.

This adventure is probably one that readers could try to solve themselves given the large number of puzzles to be decoded and clues to be deciphered, but this does make it rather dense, which is exacerbated by the author’s inclusion of much information about Hawaii (which was still quite a new state in 1959), which does come across rather like a tourist guide. Still Nancy and her friends solve the mystery, expose the crooks and foil the Scorps, so, once again, mission accomplished, Nancy!

#nancy drew #woman detective #mystery #adventure #girl detective #strong women #hawaii

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Nancy’s AI Adventure, Part 8

The two young women went flying after the waiter. Nancy reached the fugitive first as his way was blocked by a table, freshly served with the diners’ choice. The frantic man tried to manoeuvre around the table, but the girl sleuth seized his arm. The waiter was still trying to fling Nancy off when Bess joined her friend and grabbed his other arm. Between them, the two girls were able to successfully restrain the man who stopped struggling and instead glared at the astounded and gawping restaurant guests. “What are you looking at?” the prisoner demanded sullenly, glowering at the spectators. Suddenly, Nancy noticed a second waiter looking furtive. “Hold onto this one, Bess,” the titian-haired young woman told her friend, “another waiter over there is trying to get away!”

Bess looked a little alarmed at having to hold onto the captive herself, but his eyes, although they were filled with resentment, showed no sign of defiance and he allowed the fair-haired girl to put him into a double armlock while Nancy bolted after a second waiter heading for the restaurant entrance. Just as it looked as though the man would escape, help came from an unexpected quarter. A waitress suddenly flung herself at the fleeing man, causing him to unbalance and crash into a table. This gave Nancy time to catch him up and she quickly seized her quarry. Between them, the two young woman managed to overpower the anxious looking waiter. “Ok, I give up!” he cried as Nancy and the waitress held onto him firmly. “I always thought you were up to no good, David!” proclaimed the uniformed girl, a note of satisfaction in her voice. Nancy flashed the young woman a look of gratitude. “Do you have anything we can use to tie these two fellows up, miss?” she asked.

The waitress, whose name was Sandra, returned with some lengths of rope and both waiters were then securely bound by the three women. “Now, David,” said Nancy to the man she and Sandra had captured after she had finished tying his hands behind his back. “We know all about your drugs trafficking business, but I think there is a third man involved who isn’t Monsieur Dupont. Would you care to enlighten me?” The waiter just sneered at her. “You’re the detective.” he replied bitterly. “Find him yourself!”

To be continued.

#nancy drew #woman detective #mystery #adventure #girl detective #capture #girl detective tying up bad guy

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Nancy’s Mysterious Letter, The Nancy Drew Mystery Stories #8 (1932 and 1968)

For once the 1960s rewrite did not change the essential plot of the original 1932 version of Nancy’s Mysterious Letter, although it might have been better if it had. This story is so full of wild coincidences it stretches the credibility even of Nancy’s fantasy world. A mailbag is stolen and Nancy, then the postman, Ira, are accused of its theft. The whole thing seems to be a storm in a teacup until Ira advises Nancy one of the stolen letters was addressed to her and when it turns up, it is revealed to be from a firm of British solicitors telling her that she is heiress to an estate in England. This turns out to be a case of mistaken identity, but the piqued Nancy investigates the identity of her namesake and the theft of the letters. The detective eventually establishes that the true heiress, Nancy Smith Drew, is in the process of marrying a cad, Edgar Nixon, who seems to be the ringleader of a money-upfront Lonely Hearts swindle.

By some extraordinary coincidence Nancy S Drew and her fiancé are at the very football match Nancy is attending to watch boyfriend Nick Nickerson play. The girl sleuth confronts Nixon who flees, but this gives Nancy the chance to reveal her suspicions to her namesake who is thus saved from a false marriage and probable defrauding of her inheritance. The 1968 version throws in a chloroform scene to ratchet up the tension but fans of the original text complain that this retro-peril does not compensate for writing out Nick’s dad, who is Nancy’s main helper in this story, or reducing the impact of the football match, described in detail, if somewhat unrealistically, in the original. That said, this is a somewhat pedestrian adventure perhaps suffering from the fact the book’s ghost writer changed at the last minute.

#nancy drew #woman detective #adventure #mystery #girl detective #Nancy’s mysterious letter

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Nancy’s AI Adventure Part 7

Nancy paused as she walked Dupont to the cellar steps. “Wait, George,” the girl sleuth suddenly said urgently, “if Bess is alone up there with one, possibly two crooks still not captured, we may endanger her if we suddenly show up with M Dupont as our prisoner, or the men may escape. You keep an eye on this fellow while I nip upstairs and talk to Bess.” George nodded. “Good thinking, Nance,” the dark-haired girl replied and, turning to the sullen-looking Dupont, she added firmly: “No tricks, you.” The captive simply glared back at her but said nothing.

Nancy scampered up the stone steps of the cellar and emerged into the bright bustling light of the restaurant. It was full of evening diners. Nancy’s eyes darted suspiciously around the various waiters and bar staff until they alighted on an anxious looking Bess sitting at a table. Smiling broadly, Nancy sat opposite her friend who beamed back at the girl detective in relief. “Thank goodness you’re here, Nancy,” Bess told her breathlessly, “I’m sure at least two of the waiters here are drugs couriers!” Still smiling so as not to attract attention, Nancy nodded. “Dupont has confessed everything,” she replied, “and he’s our prisoner downstairs, but we need to capture his accomplices too!”

Bess looked nervous, but there was a determined set to her mouth too. “You see that fellow emerging from the cloakroom?” the young woman asked her friend. “Well, he has been acting suspiciously all evening. I’m convinced he’s expecting a shipment or something.” Nancy looked across at the furtive looking figure. “In that case, let’s make like we are collecting our coats, Bess.” With that, both girls stood up and made their way to the cloakroom. The waiter looked puzzled as Nancy and Bess approached him. “Can I help you two ladies?” he asked them warily.

Nancy gave the man her best dazzling smile. “M Dupont has asked if you could join him in the cellar?” she replied. The waiter’s eyes suddenly widened in alarm. He looked around himself quickly. Seeing no police officers arriving, he pushed past Bess and Nancy and made a run for it. “After him, Bess!” cried Nancy. “Don’t let him get away!” Both detectives immediately gave chase through the crowded restaurant.

To be continued.

AI images created via AI Fantasy

#nancy drew #woman detective #mystery #adventure #capture #girl detective