The Hidden Staircase

The Hidden Staircase by Carolyn Keene, 1959 Grosset & Dunlap

     In her second adventure, Nancy Drew gets a call from her friend Helen Corning (a returning character) to help her great-grandmother and great-aunt. The Turnbulls are two ladies who think their home is haunted. She agrees to visit Twin Elms Mansion and help the women discover the truth of their concerns. She and the Turnbull women begin to search for a hidden staircase that would explain the ghostly phenomenon. While Nancy is at Twin Elms Mr. Drew disappears, Nancy takes a break to discover what has happened to her father.
     Nancy wonders if the two cases are related and begins pursuing her father's disappearance in earnest. When she discovers Nathan Gomer, the man who forecasted Mr. Drew's troubles, has bought Twin Elms and an adjacent Turnbull family property something smells fishy. Nancy and Helen pursue both ends of the case surrounding the Turnbulls and eventually discover the connection that cracks the case.
     Nancy balances the two cases, their various twists and turns lending new perspectives to the other side. She is persistent and orderly, looking into each new theory and supporting her theories with evidence. While Nancy and Helen make some questionable choices for their era, they show initiative and subdue their own fear to solve the case and return Twin Elms to the Turnbull women.
     The story is written in understandable language. Nancy's adventures play out logically, yet with twists and turns that keep the story from being predictable. It is ideal for early mystery readers: not too frightening, yet it still has chilling elements. The tale is still enjoyable for older readers; it is quick with multiple plots that blend together for an all-inclusive resolution in the final chapters.

The Secret of the Old Clock

The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene, 1959 Grosset & Dunlap

     Nancy Drew is 18-years-old, titian haired, and brilliant! In this introduction to Nancy and her adventures, she rescues a small girl when she falls from a bridge. When she discovers that Judy's well-off and avuncular protector (Josiah Crowley) has died and left everything to snobbish, grasping distant relatives she feels she must figure out why such a thing has happened to such a sweet child and her unassuming family.
     She promises to help Judy and her aunts find the will Crowley hid before his death. Throughout her adventures she relies on her friends, lawyer father, and the Drew family housekeeper, Hannah Gruen, to help with her sleuthing.
     Nancy is stylish and independent, her mother died when she was a small child and occasionally she helps her father in his law practice. Her sensible and logical process makes her an excellent amateur detective. Her courage and persistence, mixed with a sense of right and wrong make her a good role model for young girls.
     The story is written in an accessible language with the old-fashioned values of the 1950s. Nancy is both a traditional daughter and a feminist in her freedom and values. This is a short novel (around 180 pages) that centers on the mystery to be solved, spiced with the relationships that surround Nancy as heroine.