What do you think?
Rate this book
Nancy Drew Mystery Stories #100
A Secret in Time
Working together with the police, Nancy Drew concocts a scheme to use her antique clock as bait, in order to trap the thief who stole a jewel-encrusted brooch from an antiques expo
149 pages
First published March 6, 1991
33 people are currently reading
1148 people want to read
About the author
Carolyn Keene
942 books3,815 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 In a few cases, outdated plots were completely rewritten.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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
June 28, 2023
What better way to celebrate adventure #100 than by bringing back the item that started it all way back in 1930? Nancy's old clock once again becomes the centerpiece of a very dangerous case. Nancy and Bess become involved in a car chase resulting in almost being pushed through a guardrail, George is abducted and her life threatened at gunpoint, and all theree end up as hostages....one even requiring rescue breathing. A great thrillride bringing the series full circle!
April 19, 2025
I don’t think any of the paperback series hold up to the hardcover originals, but they are an enjoyable bedtime read.
September 8, 2019
AUTHOR Keene, Carolyn
TITLE A Secret in Time
DATE READ 09/08/19
RATING 4.5/B+
FIRST SENTENCE I
GENRE/ PUB DATE/PUBLISHER / # OF YA Crime Fiction/1991/S&S/ 102 pgs
SERIES/STAND-ALONE #100
CHALLENGE Good Reads 2019 Reading Goal 135/111;
GROUP READ Nancy Drew
TIME/PLACE 1990's/ Riverview Heights (Fictional …maybe OH?)
CHARACTERS Nancy Drew/ teen detective
COMMENTS Enjoyed this one. Nancy and her 2 friends Bess and George join her in trying to find the thief who placed a stolen brooch in her antique clock -- the clock that was featured in the 1st mystery.
TITLE A Secret in Time
DATE READ 09/08/19
RATING 4.5/B+
FIRST SENTENCE I
GENRE/ PUB DATE/PUBLISHER / # OF YA Crime Fiction/1991/S&S/ 102 pgs
SERIES/STAND-ALONE #100
CHALLENGE Good Reads 2019 Reading Goal 135/111;
GROUP READ Nancy Drew
TIME/PLACE 1990's/ Riverview Heights (Fictional …maybe OH?)
CHARACTERS Nancy Drew/ teen detective
COMMENTS Enjoyed this one. Nancy and her 2 friends Bess and George join her in trying to find the thief who placed a stolen brooch in her antique clock -- the clock that was featured in the 1st mystery.
September 16, 2024
Ok, so this is my first Nancy Drew book since probably 1998, when I was young enough to fit in the target demo age group for these books.
Now, I am a 39 year old man who just read a Nancy Drew book in 2024 lol. I was unsure how to feel about reading something on this level but i've been on this recent YA from the 90s kick recently. There is this guy on Youtube who talks about books from mostly that era and it recently got me interested in digging back into the books of my childhood. It started with Goosebumps, then on to Fear Street and now i'm at the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys stage. I also have some Christopher Pike books coming in the mail next week. Maybe i'm going through a mid life crisis right now but one of the very few things that are making me happy in my life are getting these types of books from ebay and reading through them.
Anyways, sorry for the rant! The book was actually really fun to read (even as an adult!). I will definitely be reading more. I found a bunch of these books at my local used bookstore.
Now, I am a 39 year old man who just read a Nancy Drew book in 2024 lol. I was unsure how to feel about reading something on this level but i've been on this recent YA from the 90s kick recently. There is this guy on Youtube who talks about books from mostly that era and it recently got me interested in digging back into the books of my childhood. It started with Goosebumps, then on to Fear Street and now i'm at the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys stage. I also have some Christopher Pike books coming in the mail next week. Maybe i'm going through a mid life crisis right now but one of the very few things that are making me happy in my life are getting these types of books from ebay and reading through them.
Anyways, sorry for the rant! The book was actually really fun to read (even as an adult!). I will definitely be reading more. I found a bunch of these books at my local used bookstore.
May 29, 2022
I absolutely love that the one hundredth book brings back the old clock from the first book!
July 15, 2014
I finally finished this volume after originally abandoning it last Christmas season.
For volume numbers 100 both The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew have a case that has a tie to their RT first volume.
What originally turned me off from this volume, is that over the years continuity in both series had come to a slow crawl. Most cases are never mentioned again, and everything is self contained (a curse all long running series seem to share). For this one volume we have a huge spurt of continuity referring to the first volume , or more specifically the mantle clock that's key to the first case.
Unfortunately whoever was running the production of the volume, either didn't take a close look at the original volume, or just didn't care. Somehow over 100 cases (vaguely floating in comic-book-time of maybe 2-4 years) the clock has transformed from a undistinguished and rather plan and cheap ordeal (even the face was made of cardboard), into a huge lumbering Edwardian antique , complete with secret compartment (an obvious continuity error to those who've read book #1), gold engraved sides, and crystal baubles crowning it.
Either someone missed the fact the original clock was plan, or Nancy has been wasting her reward money on pimping out her clock.
To those who say "So What?", and without spoiling the first book, for the clock to be a huge valuable antique of this sort would have rendered the happenings in book one impossible.
This volume starts with River Heights holding an antiques expo at River Heights High School, where Nancy loans her pimped out clock to a antique shop owner/friend (who then displays it in a glass case with a display about its story, as if ND was the Queen of Spain, rather than the unusual girl she normally has the reputation as in town).
In another booth a valuable jeweled pin goes missing, and the police shut the place down , search everyone and then send everyone home. Taking her clock with her, Nancy notices a rattle and finds the thief has secreted his loot in her clock's pimped out 'secret compartment' she wasted her college fund on.
After this the book just slowly crawls around, George has gotten a summer Job driving an ice cream truck and has spent her earnings on a cell phone. It's amusing to hear someone gush about the amazing technology of a five pound 1990 Cell phone. This is probably the only dating part of the volume, save the cover art with Nancy in Grandpa pants.
The book saves itself half way through, by quickly developing an interesting plot, while interweaving the majority (minus Ned, and Helen Corning) of Nancy's usual cast into the mystery. The book interestingly has mention of some locations and the name of the river that the town gets it's name from, which means someone did their research. (Yet we get a pimped out clock???)
It's a slightly above average plot, which saves the volume from a 2 star rating. Bad beginning , good ending. Yes it throws a HUGE wrench into the cannon, but probably can be overlooked in the overview of the series.
oh, and weirdly the cover art does not happen in the book. Something slightly like it does, but not anywhere near what the picture is selling.
For volume numbers 100 both The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew have a case that has a tie to their RT first volume.
What originally turned me off from this volume, is that over the years continuity in both series had come to a slow crawl. Most cases are never mentioned again, and everything is self contained (a curse all long running series seem to share). For this one volume we have a huge spurt of continuity referring to the first volume , or more specifically the mantle clock that's key to the first case.
Unfortunately whoever was running the production of the volume, either didn't take a close look at the original volume, or just didn't care. Somehow over 100 cases (vaguely floating in comic-book-time of maybe 2-4 years) the clock has transformed from a undistinguished and rather plan and cheap ordeal (even the face was made of cardboard), into a huge lumbering Edwardian antique , complete with secret compartment (an obvious continuity error to those who've read book #1), gold engraved sides, and crystal baubles crowning it.
Either someone missed the fact the original clock was plan, or Nancy has been wasting her reward money on pimping out her clock.
To those who say "So What?", and without spoiling the first book, for the clock to be a huge valuable antique of this sort would have rendered the happenings in book one impossible.
This volume starts with River Heights holding an antiques expo at River Heights High School, where Nancy loans her pimped out clock to a antique shop owner/friend (who then displays it in a glass case with a display about its story, as if ND was the Queen of Spain, rather than the unusual girl she normally has the reputation as in town).
In another booth a valuable jeweled pin goes missing, and the police shut the place down , search everyone and then send everyone home. Taking her clock with her, Nancy notices a rattle and finds the thief has secreted his loot in her clock's pimped out 'secret compartment' she wasted her college fund on.
After this the book just slowly crawls around, George has gotten a summer Job driving an ice cream truck and has spent her earnings on a cell phone. It's amusing to hear someone gush about the amazing technology of a five pound 1990 Cell phone. This is probably the only dating part of the volume, save the cover art with Nancy in Grandpa pants.
The book saves itself half way through, by quickly developing an interesting plot, while interweaving the majority (minus Ned, and Helen Corning) of Nancy's usual cast into the mystery. The book interestingly has mention of some locations and the name of the river that the town gets it's name from, which means someone did their research. (Yet we get a pimped out clock???)
It's a slightly above average plot, which saves the volume from a 2 star rating. Bad beginning , good ending. Yes it throws a HUGE wrench into the cannon, but probably can be overlooked in the overview of the series.
oh, and weirdly the cover art does not happen in the book. Something slightly like it does, but not anywhere near what the picture is selling.
July 6, 2018
I never got to read this one when I was first reading the series in middle/high school because it was out of print by the time I got to that point in the series. This is actually pretty mediocre, but I gave it 3 instead of 2 because of the nostalgia factor (and also the LOL factor of George's new 1991 mobile phone). It was neat to bring back the clock from the first mystery for the 100th in the series, but it was basically just a prop in this one (and also changed rather drastically in appearance from its initial description in #1) and sadly there weren't really any other callbacks (I liked Bess's comment that she likes 1930s period furniture, as that's the decade the series began in, but it's really hard to tell if that was intentional or not).
September 12, 2019
Nancy Drew and friends Bess and George are involved in another mystery when the clock from her first case is on display at an antiques show and a robbery occurs. I loved the circle it formed and the way they stayed true to the characters while updating them a bit from the original out dated books (for instance - George has a mobile phone!). A nice cozy mystery with a little suspense and drama. Loads of fun
February 26, 2015
A nice touch to include Nancy's clock from the first mystery for the 100th book in the series. An ok mystery that takes place in River Heights. The mysterious suspected cat burglar was interesting. Nancy's reluctance to fill her dad in on the mystery in order not to worry him is a huge change from earlier stories where they always discussed the mystery over Hannah's good food.
January 28, 2025
1. I love George's mobile phone in a big leather case.
2. I wish Helen had been mentioned in this book, since she was the friend in SotOC!
3. I cried so hard when Bess and George were frozen and maybe dead and they had to get CPR.
4. I love Nancy Drew so much.
2. I wish Helen had been mentioned in this book, since she was the friend in SotOC!
3. I cried so hard when Bess and George were frozen and maybe dead and they had to get CPR.
4. I love Nancy Drew so much.
May 28, 2010
A really good Nancy Drew, very fast paced with a neat ending.
Really enjoyed this one.
Really enjoyed this one.
May 8, 2012
In most of the Nancy Drew books, once a mystery is solved, it is as if it were forgotten. I was delighted that the clock from the first book in the series makes a reappearance.
September 24, 2016
great book
April 26, 2017
My Rating System:
* couldn't finish, ** wouldn't recommend, *** would recommend, **** would read again, ***** have read again.
* couldn't finish, ** wouldn't recommend, *** would recommend, **** would read again, ***** have read again.
April 27, 2020
all the scenes with the Frosty Freeze truck are just the best!!! this has got to be one of my favorites.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews