The Nancy Drew Sleuth Book: Clues to Good Sleuthing

by Carolyn Keene

In solving a series of mysteries, Nancy and the members of her Detective Club study techniques of criminal investigation involving handwriting, fingerprints, codes and moulages.

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

160 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1979

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 In a few cases, outdated plots were completely rewritten.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

[Sheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short chapters covering various techniques for sleuthing out the criminal. Perfect for the budding junior detective and complements the Nancy Drew series quite nicely.

[Seema M. Fazil · Rating 2 out of 5]

Finally! Glad I finished it. Took me a long time to finish it.
I didn't really like it as it was so boring. All it talked about was sleuthing skills and things like that. No real mystery! Not that I expected it. Just that I didn't feel like I was reading a real Nancy Drew book. On chapter eight, it talked about palm prints. Nancy does not believe about reading palms, okay? It made me kind of mad! Also, Bess and George rarely appeared. They only appeared on chapter two.
Reading this book was a chore! If you want to read a good Nancy Drew book, don't waste your time on this one! I felt like falling asleep in most of the parts.

[Ralph · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a modern criminology textbook, "The Nancy Drew Sleuth Book" leaves much to be desired. However, as a detective handbook aimed at the target audience of the venerable series it is excellent. It's the sort of book I would have liked to own when I opened my first detective agency, and at the time I would have been at the lower end of the "target audience" agewise even if not genderwise. During a single summer, I read every single Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys book that had been published up to that time, and the experience hooked me as a fan of both series as well as a gumshoe wannabe. Unfortunately, this book did not exist in that long-ago year, so I had to glean what I could from the books themselves, and, all in all, that was no small amount of sleuthing lore.

In this book, the techniques of detection are dispensed to the reader in ten easy-to-digest chapters in the form of cases solved by Nancy Drew's Detective Club, which is composed of several of her friends in River Heights. Each chapter covers a particular phase of crime detection, such as handwriting, fingerprints and codes. There is even a fun section in which Nancy and her friends, by learning the psuedo-science behind palmistry, are able to turn the tables on a crook who believes in fortune telling. None of the crimes investigated are graphic or horrific in nature, and parents need not worry about the violence level. The book is clearly written, the cases are intrinsically interesting, justice is always served (with ethics thrown in for good measure), and the information presented is accurate and useful. Sam Spade might not have much use for this book, but Sam Spade Jr, well, that's another story entirely.

[onysha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining at its best. I don't agree with using handwriting as a way to know someone's personality, and the chapter on palmistry was just plain weird. Apparently, I am very unlucky according to palmistry.

A bunch of unrealistic chase scenes, with shockingly docile criminals. And the thing about expensive brooches is that you don't wear them outside. Ever. Unless you want to lose them.

Codes like "FSSU KCUXUDIEFJV EKFNEBHFWKDMWFNEGJBG"* sound like they're a foreign language? Oh, puh-lease, how stupid can you get? Foreign languages don't sound that much like the nonsense spouting from your mouth.

*Not a reproduction of the code in the book, but you get the gist.

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Before opening this, I had expected it to be an instructional manual of sorts. It is, to a degree...but, it also contains several mini-mysteries involving Nancy, her father, and friends of hers who don't appear in any of the other books I've read. While entertaining at times, I found some parts--especially the ones on palmistry and interpreting someone's personality via his/her handwriting--to be ridiculous. Still, it's better than I thought it would be.

[Shaundell · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great little book! This book is divided down into ten chapters, with each chapter focusing on a different element that a good detective focuses on, such as body language, handwriting, and fingerprints. Activities and information are located at the back of each chapter. I took this book and created a detective unit for my English class to help us as we write our mystery/suspense stories.

[Chaya & Cinnamon · Rating 1 out of 5]

This isn't much of a sleuth book at all! "Clues to Good Sleuthing" - wrong.
The chapter on handwriting analysis can be easily debunked by real life observations. You can compare handwriting and determine that it is a match or not for forgery or whether or not the writing is written by the same person. That wasn't the focus of the chapter, though. The incorrect theory of determining a person's personality according to how a person writes ignores so many reasons for the various ways, such as being in a hurry, being happy or sad, or distracted, etc.. It's ambiguous and ridiculous.
The chapter on palm reading didn't belong in a Nancy Drew book about how to be a detective. That's just ignorant. Do I really need to explain why?

[Erika · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5 stars. Great book! Awesome insight on tips used by Nancy Drew to solve cases. Each chapter focuses on a different strategy - from decrypting codes to observing appearances, this book gives readers of all ages inspiration to go out and solve a mystery!

[Hillarie (Hillareads) · Rating 1 out of 5]

So, I thought this *might* be decent for a certain ambitious project I have planned, but ultimately, reading this book was a waste of time. Nancy, as always, is such a Mary Sue. So, meh. Read it if you like the idea of completing the series.

[Jea Song · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a kid I've always adored detectives and have always loved books, films, tv series and animes with detectives on them. To become like Nancy Drew was one of childhood dreams and this book was such a nice read!

[Emily Pohl-Weary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the book that made me determined to be a detective, just like Nancy.

[The Eod · Rating 3 out of 5]

Buku ini menceritakan kegiatan Nancy mengajarkan pada anggotanya tentang bagaimana menyelidiki kasus di sekitar, mulai dari mengunjungi TKP, deteksi sidik jari, sampai menyelidiki pakai metode ramalan telapak tangan.

Jadi, di buku ini setiap bab ceritanya beda-beda, aku suka di sini penulisannya lebih lugas daripada buku-buku Nancy Drew yang biasanya hihi. Di sini aku juga bisa merasakan gimana Nancy ngajarin membernya tuh pelan, tapi di beberapa terakhir tuh membernya pada paham dan bisa bikin deduksi sendiri, mana hasilnya tepat pula. Bagian favoritku adalah cara identifikasi gaya nulis, dan mecahin kode-kode untuk tahu letak di mana posisi warisan klien Papanya Nancy.

Terus sukanya di bagian terakhir bab, kita juga dilibatkan tentang penyelidikan. Beneran berasa baca buku aktivitas tapi tetap santuy hihihi.

Kekurangan, tentu saja ada. Ini buku bukan berkonflik yang dar der dor kek cerita Nancy biasanya, jadi yang nggak suka fast pace pada bosen sih.

[Judah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Weird book. Instead of Nancy actually writing out tips and tricks we are given various short stories which highlight one skill apiece. Each is centered on Nancy’s Detective Club consisting of mostly interchangeable girls that make no appearance outside this volume in the greater Canon.

The skills are a mixed bag, some are basic skills (memorizing appearance) but some of them are persudo-science nonsense (handwriting personality test and palm reading).

Maybe fun for a younger set, but even as a detective handbook this is pretty terrible.

[Stef · Rating 2 out of 5]

I should've expected content like this -- Nancy impressing an adoring gaggle of girls who are indistinguishable from each other by solving mini mysteries -- but I'd still hoped for more. I wanted this to teach me -- an adult woman in her thirties -- how to solve charming crimes! I don't have the patience for any Nancy plots right now, no matter hwo short they are. I'm going to stop reading at chapter four, skim all the activities, and call it a day.

[Meltha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, that was just plain neat. Each chapter in this has Nancy and her friends in the Detective Club solve a short mystery by having her teach them an actual sleuthing skill, like code breaking, reading fingerprints, observational skills, learning how to remember faces, finding lost objects, etc. While the handwriting analysis and palm reading are more on the silly side, the rest of it is actually pretty accurate.

[Heidi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't finish, but I did do half of it.

I didn't realize this was a story when I bought it. I thought it was a reference guide. And there are a few tips and bits amongst the story. That said, I'm not sure all the tips are true. Some seemed odd.

I love the original 56 Nancy Drew books. Some are dated and simplistic, but still love them. This however, felt TOO simplistic, to the point of feeling unbelievable. I had to peace out. I think it would be better suited to a younger audience.

[Kereesa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Am I a real sleuth now, Nancy?

This was a like a series of themed short stories. But they were all awful. I think I'll go back to 80s ND now.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was fun to revisit the world of Nancy Drew. Those line pictures are so nostalgic! Ah, the world of an idle rich white girl is very nice.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Obsessed with this book as a kid.

[Cecelia · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of my early favs

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been reading and collecting Nancy Drew novels since I found my mom's original copies in the basement as a kid. I've worked on collecting the entire series as originally printed by Grosset & Dunlap (which are books #1-56) as well as the eight released after Wanderer Books took over the titles (books #57-64). Remarkably, I'm only missing three out of the sixty-four books, and it was during one of my thrift store hunts that I happened across this standalone feature, The Nancy Drew Sleuth Book: Clues to Good Sleuthing, and I couldn't leave without it!

In this book, Nancy Drew and her friends have organized their own Detective Club and each chapter is a new mystery they are tasked with solving. Each adventure presents a new challenge for the girls and a new opportunity for Nancy to teach them her tricks of the trade. From brushing up on observation and deduction skills, to patterns of code-breaking, to easy fingerprinting, we're given (very simplified) methods of a learning what we know to be a detective's skillset through standalone story snippets. It almost feels like a puzzle book, with the answers left for the reader at the end of the chapter in how to apply these skills in the real world. A charming find for any Nancy Drew fan!

[James Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an extremely well done book. The basic theme is that Nancy has a group of girls that form a Detective Club. She tells them about various methods to gathering clues. Each section is a short story about the club, what type of clue they are involved with, and an activity so the reader can try out their own skills.

The first section is on handwriting and the second is on thumbprints. Fingerprints are, of course, of major value in crime-fighting. The next section is about how to really notice what is going on around you so that you can describe to the police any suspicious character that you see.

One of my favorites, codes, is the next section. This is followed by a section on observing and taking shoe prints from a crime scene. Another section on observing people follows that one. Then there's a story about a woman who has lost a cameo and the girls help her find it.

Palm prints form the next section, although I doubt they are considered very useful in actual crime-fighting. A section on testimony shows how two different people, neither on of whom is a crook, can differ considerably on their view of something.

The last section confuses me a little. There's a report of a ghost in a place and, as usual, it's not a real ghost. There is a guy who doesn't want the place sold and he acts the part of the ghost. The odd part is that he leaves a message on the basement wall, but it's in code. Why in code? I know there was a section on code breaking earlier, but a guy who wants people to stay away will leave an easily understandable message, not one in code.

Other than that one problem, this is a really neat book.

[thewestchestarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

The biggest mystery involves keeping track of all the characters in the girl detective club. This compilation book of Nancy's tricks of the trade unfolds technique by basic technique over the course of a small number of chapters. Compared to a standard Nancy Drew book, the chapters are lengthy and include a mystery which Nancy solves despite the input of a extensive number of girls in her girl detective club. The text makes little distinction between these minor characters and none really gets a chance to contribute much to any of the solutions. Each chapter includes a minor activity most of which are silly (e.g., "go to a public place and observe the people there." In short, opt for an installment of the regular series instead.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely a children's book! But still had some good information. I can promise all the information is necessarily true, but still good information to keep in the back of your mind as a reminder. A quick read, though I didn't personally agree with it all. I felt like a lot of chapters were drawn out, still an alright book though with all your favorite characters. Suitable for middle grade and up. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

[Natalia · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's Nancy Drew meets Encyclopedia Brown meets Mr. Wizard. Each Chapter has a story and an activity to do at the end. Such as Chapter one deals with handwriting and how to read "clues" in the way people write.

[Makay · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book helped me a lot with being a better detective I can already tell I am improving. This was an interesting book to read I liked to see if I could figure it out before her. I also learned a lot about fortune telling and other fun things. This is definitely a book I would read again.

[Lois Hecksel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Each chapter is a short story about Nancy Drew and her friends' Detective Club, a mystery to solve, various methods of gathering and deciphering clues (e.g. handwriting, codes, observation, etc.), and an activity so the reader can practice these skills.

[Samia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gave helpful advice for sleuthing...not that i will be. :)

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it! ;)

[Laura Lawson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading it. I found out about it through the Biography I read a couple weeks ago.