The Case of the Vanishing Veil

Nancy Drew Mystery Stories #83

by Carolyn Keene

A Boston Wedding...

A Veiled Threat...

A Dangerous Environment...

When Nancy attends a wedding in Boston, she encounters a marriage marred by mischief. The groom may have stolen the bride's heart, but a thief has made off with her antique lace veil!

From a mansion in Cape Cod to a museum of witchcraft in Salem, Nancy, Bess, and George follow a trail of intrigue and deceit across the New England countryside. They uncover the shocking story behind the wedding-day prank -- and a $60 million mystery behind the vanishing veil!

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

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

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 In a few cases, outdated plots were completely rewritten.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

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nancy Drew is attending a wedding. Somebody steals the bride's veil, and hires Nancy to find it. She pokes around, gets chloroformed (I think she has a fetish), and finds a key to a big treasure.

Not too bad.

[Stavroula · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Lavanya · Rating 4 out of 5]

a really thrilling case

[Melmo2610 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic!

I loved this fun mystery. The missing wedding veil made for a great start to an exciting and dangerous chase for Nancy and her friends. One of the best Nancy Drew’s I’ve read.

[Olivia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book, overall. Especially good for light reading and a short mystery. I think that the plot wasn't as good as some of the Nancy Drew books I have read, but I still very much enjoyed it. I specifically liked how t it starts out with one mystery, then is joined with another, and you are left with trying to figure out how they connect. I won't share too much, so not to spoil the plot for future readers. This book is good for all ages! Enjoy!

[Felicity Hyannis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my top five favorite Nancy Drew paperbacks. It's a great read, fun and interesting, and the plot is more unique than the usual paperbacks. I like the setting, and you get to learn a bit about Cape Cod's history. The solution to the mystery is interesting and unexpected, and the villain is unique as compared to other books. This book is very memorable and enjoyable. Highly recommended!

[Kevin Findley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty good tale; this is one of the books written in the 80s, but it reads pretty timeless, unlike so many of the Drew or Hardy books of this era.

It's a good mystery and I think young boys and girls both would like it. One odd thing though; the page count is only 150, not 160 as in the description.

Read It!

[Mary snedeker · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of a good newer Nancy Drew book!

I really enjoyed this story. It kept me in suspense, and basically in the dark about the outcome of this mystery. I have only given a few 5 star ratings of the newer Nancy Drew books, and it would be interesting to know if they were indeed written by the same author.

[Kriti Heda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, the book was pretty good. I mean, yes, it could be said that some things were obvious guesses but the book pretty much kept the mystery of who stole the veil intact, until the very end and that's something I liked.

[Tizzz · Rating 2 out of 5]

They don't find clues. Clues find them

[Preeti Yadav · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic Nancy Drew.

[Lisa Shower · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fast paced

A good story but all of the editing errors in the ebook were distracting. Overall though it was a decent story for one of the modern Nancy Drew books.

[Izzy]

A very classic mystery. Super dramatic and perfect to end 2025 with!

[Amelia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[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.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not your most stellar Nancy Drew story. Nancy attends the Boston wedding of a girl that her friend George met at camp where the bride is freaking out about her wedding veil being stolen. Nancy jumps right into the mystery, as usual. The secret of the wedding veil was good and plausible but many episodes in this book are not. Mugged, tied up, and kidnapped- Nancy reports it to a friend of her father's, a local policeman, but when he offers protection and follow up she refuses saying that she'd like to follow the clues herself? And he says, "Okay, but call me if you need help?" Really? Would the police do that? Also, I found much of the dialogue stilted. Stupid criminals too. I think this story was written in a hurry with not much attention to details.

[Sarah Zarymbski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nancy Drew books were probably my favorite growing up. I loved reading mysteries, and it was always a very interesting mystery. In this book, Nancy goes to a wedding with her friends in Boston, and the brides veil goes missing. Nancy and her friends are determined to crack the case so the bride can have her perfect wedding. This is a good book for older readers, probably around ages 8-12, because some of the content can be a little scary, and there is also a lot to remember in order to stay on track with Nancy's case. I categorized this as a chapter book.

[Evelyn Montez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was suspenseful and funny all rapped in one cover . The case of the vanishing veil was intruging it made me wish it would never end .This wasn't my faviortie nancy drew book but it was good .I would recommend this book to anyone . it was very sleuthy and I just loved it .this book was beautifuly written .

[Deanna · Rating 1 out of 5]

Without looking at the description or what it was about I started reading this. I'll read any Nancy Drew book (excluding the diaries. I think those are too young, probably.) A missing wedding veil is kind of a weak mystery in itself and this proved to be the case here. I didn't hate it but it was one of the weakest of the Nancy Drew books I've read. Didn't care for it at all to put it simply.

[Marc · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a moment of spare time and so read this as it was handy. As with many of the Nancy Drew stories this one is improbable. Nancy steals things, commits arson, assault and battery, and is the heroine.

[Miri · Rating 4 out of 5]

A friend is getting married, but someone has taken off with her antique veil. A psychic has told her if she doesn't get it back her marriage will be cursed, so Nancy, Bess and George set off to find it.

[Noor Unnahar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nancy Drew was one of my childhood inspirations. Picking this book up after a long time from her series was so refreshing. This story is a light read with a few (and predictable) plot twists. I loved it.

[Chris Comden · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Case of the Vanishing Veil by Carolyn Keene
Series: Yes Nancy Drew Mystery #83
Format: Softcover
Stars: 4
Recommend: Yes
Would Reread: Yes


Reread 9-16-2021

I give honest reviews and all my opinions are my own.

For more of my reviews go to Heavenly High Seas Books

[Joanne]

I meant to put this on my "to read" list (when I have grandchildren to read with :)

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

went home and grabbed this off the old childhood book shelf and remembered why i love mysteries. :)

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually guessed the ending before it happened. One of my favorites it had more personality to the characters than normal.

[Reema · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was quite an interesting book. i liked it!

[Annanya · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was nice but compared to other Nancy Drew books , it was a bit too dull.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Ned wasn't in it. Some elements of the mystery were pretty good, some less so. Note to self: stay away from psychics.

[Deborah Harris]

AR Quiz No. 6759 EN Fiction
Accelerated Reader Quiz Information IL: MG - BL: 4.5 - AR Pts: 4.0
Accelerated Reader Quiz Type Information AR Quiz Types: RP