Tour of Danger

Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys: Super Mystery #12

by Carolyn Keene, Franklin W. Dixon

The teen sleuths team up in Tokyo, Nancy investigating the smuggling frame-up of an elderly lady, the boys looking into the counterfeiting of Amsa electronic devices, and the young detectives soon realize the cases are linked.

Genres: Mystery, Young Adult, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Childrens, Middle Grade

224 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 1, 1992

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 In a few cases, outdated plots were completely rewritten.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

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one definitely suffers from being nearly 20 years old. The Japanese representation isn't great, and for that matter, neither is the mystery. And it's basically a non-entity where Frank/Nancy are concerned, so really, what is the point of it.

[Ronnie Bunn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Summary: Nancy Drew and her friend Bess travel to Japan to see the sights, but very quickly get wrapped up in solving a mystery about smuggling pearls outside the country. Things get complicated when they see the Hardy Boys are on their own case, undercover to find out who’s selling cheap imitation hardware under false pretenses in America. The two cases intertwine in ways they don’t expect as they tour and find clues in unexpected ways, people and places.

Thoughts: It’s an alright mystery, if pretty predictable, even for someone like me who’s not read a whole bunch of mystery novels. Same with the main characters, who overall feel mostly static, and uninteresting to me. What’s more interesting is how it relates to the feminist lens, and how you can see the how the ideas of wave three of feminism come out in this book, like a greater focus on personal identity (which you see a lot of in the character Mariko), and in how Nancy interacts with people. She’s solving her own mystery (not for instance taking cues or clues from her father), and it comes across as just another mystery, like an episode of a Saturday Morning cartoon.

Content Warnings:
Mild Violence (Non explicit)

[Vishal Tambrahalli · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the best work from this author, especially in a series as famous as this is. I had difficulties getting into the plot, and a feeling of disjointedness stuck with me throughout the book. If you're a huge fan of the series and want to read this for completions' sake, then go ahead, but otherwise, this does not have anything to offer you.

[Veronica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not one of my favorite books from this series. I was super excited to read this book originally because this particular mystery takes place in Japan, the country I most wish to visit someday. Unfortunately it didn't live up to my expectations. I had trouble getting into it because of the writing style and because there are just sometimes where I just have a hard time getting into the reading mood. However, my biggest disappointment were the typical attitudes that some, not all Americans have regarding the Japanese culture that the author gave some of the characters. Very disappointed. There were good points of course, but unfortunately they really didn't save this book from being disappointing to me.

[Hpitcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

you gotta love nancy drew and when you add in the hardy boys, every thing just gets a whole lot better!

[Ericka May Blanco · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a complicated one because two of the top mystery books, Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys, are merged. Double the mystery, double the fun.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like it better when they team up and the cases are connected.

[MaRgArEtTe · Rating 5 out of 5]

for the young and young-at-heart sleuths

[Pavan Santosh]

good

[Michael Angelo]

its good'