Trouble in Tahiti

Nancy Drew Files #31

by Carolyn Keene

Bree Spada receives information that her mother's death may not have been accidental, and she enlists the formidable sleuthing powers of Nancy Drew to discover the truth

Genres: Mystery, Young Adult, Childrens, Fiction, Crime, Classics, Juvenile

151 pages, Hardcover

First published September 15, 1987

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 In a few cases, outdated plots were completely rewritten.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

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good one! Set in the lush tropical climate of Tahiti, with fantastic bits of local flavor, fauna and flora, this book was action-packed. It read like a female-led teenage James Bond movie, complete with gambling, smuggling, scuba diving, shark attacks, and - of course - murder. Nancy is without her trusty friends, but there are plenty of characters and suspects who keep the scenes populated with interesting characters. This one has a lot of twists and a really interesting backstory about the mysterious boating accident and death of a famous Hollywood film actress. It was great!

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good murder mystery though goes all improbable at the end. Lots of suspects. Almost as many as a ND/HB Super Mystery.

-boats
-spear guns
-sharks
-scuba
-electronics smuggling
-suspect with my same first name
-Nancy charms a snake and catches it with a shoe holder? lol.
-lots of outfit descriptions. Resort wear of 1989.
-rental car remained intact which is unusual for these vacation mysteries.
-hunky Tahitian police chief that Nancy makes eyes at

[Melody · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nancy is deep under water and with one breath of air she patiently hides from the villain, fights off a shark, fights off the villain, and makes it to the surface. In real life Nancy would have been so extremely dead.

[Katherine]

i used to read all the nancy drew and hardy boys case files. this is all that remains of my childhood

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read! It’s kinda ridiculous how quickly the murder attempts on Nancy start, but other than that, I have little complaints. The murder investigation is solid and I enjoyed the final underwater scuba fight.

[Jamie (TheRebelliousReader) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars. The best part of this book was the location. I thought that was fun but the mystery itself wasn’t that interesting but that may be because I figured it all out before the ending but whatever. Three stars for the use of the Tahiti setting.

[V. Arrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has everything: Hollywood feuds! Black mambas under the duvet! French smugglers! Big Lesbian Vibes! Cold case murder mystery! Threatening notes! Fighting... off... a great... white... shark!

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun as always!

[Bookish Indulgenges with b00k r3vi3ws · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys throughout my school and college days.
Nancy Drew is an amateur detective who solves crimes with occasional help from her best friends, Bess and George and, her boyfriend Ned. She also has occasional help from her father Carson Drew who runs a private law practice. From finding stolen goods to missing persons and solving mysterious happenings, Nancy is a force of nature.
Until I discovered that Carolyn Keene is a pen name for a whole bunch of ghostwriters, I used to feel confused about the slight differences in each character from books to book over the many series of Nancy Drew mysteries. I like the character of Nancy best in the original books written by Mildred Wirt Benson where Nancy is truly a character to root for – an independent and street smart girl with a penchant for trouble.

[Lu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es mi primer libro de Nancy Drew, y me encantó ♥
Estaba esperando que fuera un misterio súper predecible, con personajes infantiles y cómicos, pero me sorprendió mucho. No me vi venir el final, aunque algunas partes de la trama sí. Nancy me encantó, es valiente, decidida, centrada, súper dedicada e inteligente. No compite con otras chicas ni llora por chicos o espera que los demás la ayuden. Y cuando la subestiman, ni se molesta en corregirlos con palabras, sigue resolviendo sus casos.
Es sencillo en cuanto a desarrollo de personajes, y tampoco es que tuvo una trama súper intricada, pero es un libro tan entretenido y divertido. Se siente como verano, es perfecto para leer en la playa o de una sentada.
Quiero seguir leyendo la saga, aunque sea interminable.

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

I always enjoy the installments in this series.

[Cintarose · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was good

[Karisti Severt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solvable. This is by far my favorite of the Nancy Drew Files series so far. 99/100