The Secret of Mirror Bay

Nancy Drew Mystery Stories #49

by Carolyn Keene

Eloise Drew invites her niece and the cousins to a cabin near Cooperstown, New York to solve the mystery of a woman who glides across the water. Upon arriving, Nancy becomes involved in a vacation hoax when she is mistaken for a woman in on the fraud. On the wooded mountain near the cabin, a weird luminescent green sorcerer appears, threatening to cast an evil spell on those investigating his strange activities. A lost treasure involving the gliding woman leads Nancy to uncover a cleverly concealed criminal operation in the woods. This book is the original text. A revised text does not exist.

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

178 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1972

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 In a few cases, outdated plots were completely rewritten.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

[Brina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Nancy Drew mystery taking place just outside of Cooperstown, New York? Yes, please. My detective and baseball worlds collide, well not so much. Nancy, Bess, and George are invited by Aunt Eloise to Bide-a-Wee, a cabin on Mirror Lake, just outside of Cooperstown. The mystery just happens to take place in one of my favorite places but only about two pages take place in baseball’s hall of fame. This time around, the girls are on vacation, but there are two mysteries to solve. The first is that a Nancy look alike has been posing as a tourist and terrorizing people trying to enjoy their vacations. Her actions are somehow connected to a mysterious green person up the mountain from Mirror Lake, who is determined for Nancy and her friends to leave him to do his bidding in peace. Meanwhile, there is said to be a hidden treasure on the bottom of the lake. Nancy is supposed to be on vacation at a serene spot where all there is to do is swim and sail and eat in the great outdoors. Sounds great to me, yet, somehow mysteries just find her, or she wouldn’t be Nancy Drew.

Having completed the modern diary series, I decided to circle back and reread the original Nancy Drew series, not necessarily in order. The original series ran for over fifty years and seemed to be eternally set in the late 1950s, the writing setting the mood for the time period down to Nancy’s blue convertible. My usual gripe with this original series is that Bess and George are usually bystanders while Nancy sleuths. In this case, the two friends assist her with the detecting, George taking part in some of the grittier details. If the consortium updated the friends’ role in sleuthing as the series progresses, I am happy to revisit these. Also, Ned and friends make an appearance, and the couple has more alone time here than they do in the diary series, go figure. Even Aunt Eloise gets a love interest in Burt’s Uncle Matt, who just happens to be a PhD scientist. The young people giggle at the prospect of Eloise and Matt getting together , which adds a lite hearted element to this mystery.

Are Nancy Drew mysteries cliched and relatively easy to solve? Of course, so that the young readers the series is geared for do not get discouraged and fail to solve the mysteries. Are most of the original mysteries dated and in need of a face lift? Yes, again. Nancy Drew has been around since 1930 and has undergone many iterations over the years. In many cases, she solves her mysteries while on vacation making for summer reading delights. Also with all the car chases I feel as though I am back in a late 1950s-60s television series so added bonus. That this mystery happened to take place near Cooperstown was an extra bonus as I transition to summer reading, where I am known to read a mystery a week on those long summer nights.

4 stars

[Melody · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Aunt Eloise Drew invites Nancy and her friends to Mirror Bay Bide-A-Wee cabin near Cooperstown, New York, for a visit and a chance to solve the mystery of the woman who glides across the water.
Upon the arrival Nancy becomes mixed up in a vacation hoax because she resembles the young woman involved, and is nearly arrested for fraud.
On the wooded mountain near the cabin further exciting events await Nancy and the other girls.There in the deep forest, a weird luminescent green sorcerer appears and threatens to cast an evil spell on anyone investigating his strange activities.
In a dangerous twist of circumstances Nancy finds that solving one mystery helps to solve another. What happens when the young detective and her friends uncover a cleverly concealed criminal operation makes thrilling reading."

This is the last Nancy Drew book I'm reading for the first time. After this I will have read all 56 books of the original series! This is really big to me. When I was little I use to dream about having the whole series and having read them all. It took a long time to make it happen but I'll have finally done it and it just feels like I've accomplished something for my childhood self.
Ok enough being sappy! The summary doesn't make this book sound very interesting. The two books before this one, Mysterious Mannequin and Crooked Bannister, are so totally weird (a living mannequin and an attack robot) that I am curious to see if this one is weird too. But the summary mentions a "luminescent green sorcerer" so I would stake my money on yes, this book gonna be weird as heck.

- When Nancy tells Bess and George about the trip to Mirror Bay the girls ask when they are to leave to which Nancy says "tomorrow morning". Ain't that kinda short notice?

- Of course Nancy is the one who happens to look just like a wanted crook. Its never George or Bess.

- The conversations in this book are quite awkward. They're very straight to the point and remind me of the dialogue in the Nancy Drew games.

- This book has a lot of words that seem out of place: instantaneous, infinitesimal, solicitousness.
These words seem out of place in a children's book . Nancy Drew books are usually kept to a simpler language.

- The scene where Nancy rescues a woman from drowning is much more intense than the average ND rescue. The woman begins to drown, ceases breathing, and Nancy has to perform CPR.

- I found it annoying that the price that Nancy paid for the valentine wasn't listed, it just said she paid a lot plus $10 on top of that.

- The mystery of the "sorcerer" seems strange. I guess the mystery that Nancy wants to solve is why the man is there and scaring people away. Nancy believes its because the mysterious Sam and Mike are concealing something farther in the woods but she doesn't really speculate or have a clue what it could be. She mentions that her criminal lookalike could be hiding there but doesn't really seem to eager to find out. Also none of them seem to take Bess' attempted kidnapping very serious.

- After encountering the mysterious glowing monster in the woods the gang spreads out around it but when they close in on it, it vanishes before their eyes. Dave explains this by saying the "monster" was probably wearing a special suit which glowed on one side and was dark on the other and that while they were encircling them the "monster" had taken off the suit, reversed it, and ran away. Uhm...how could someone do all of that in plain site of 6 people who were circling them and have none of them notice? This book doesn't make any sense.

- The cliffhangers in this book are either very tame or non existent. I wonder if they were thinking about doing away with them.

- Ned decided to paint the rented sailboat which seems really inappropriate.

You can read the rest of this review at VintageGirlsBooks.blogspot.com

You can see all the illustrations from this book at www.pinterest.com/Nancydrewart

[John Yelverton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yet another excellent addition to the Nancy Drew mystery book series.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to re-read this one because Nancy and friends travel to Mirror Bay, just outside of Cooperstown, New York. I was curious as to whether they would actually go to the Baseball Hall of Fame, and was pleasantly surprised when they did, and they actually discussed some of what they saw there. Having made the long trek to Cooperstown myself specifically for the HOF I would have been majorly disappointed if they had not visited it, being so close! One thing that bugs me on re-reading Nancy Drew is how mean George is with teasing Bess about her weight.

[Katja Labonté · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars & 5/10 hearts. This was a ghost story that wasn't a ghost story--which I found pretty cool! D, S, & M were very interesting villains. And Yo and Matt were splendid side characters--I hope Matt shows up again! The mystery was split, and I liked that. Also the part about George's arm was really cool. XD

[Jessica Petrovich · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 stars, mysteries were blah but the character details were AMAZING ✨✨

ATTENTION EVERYONE ‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️ IN A STROKE OF GENIUS, MY FAN CAST OF NANCY AND NED HAS BEEN REVEALED.

Whilst scrolling through Instagram, I was fed Bridgerton content. And then the heavens opened up. And Simone Ashley and Jonathan Bailey descended, declaring themselves as literally the perfect Nancy Drew and Ned Nickerson. Both incredible to look at, AND THE CHEMISTRY?!?!?!? THE BANTER?!?!?!? Pedro Pascal as Carson Drew DEFENDING HER WITH JONATHAN?! 🧎‍♀️🧎‍♀️🧎‍♀️🧎‍♀️🧎‍♀️
HOW DID IT TAKE 49 BOOKS FOR ME TO REALIZE THIS?!

I better get royalties when some streaming service picks this all up.

Anyway!!! I loved the Yo side character here, the scene with him sucking the poison out of George’s arm was crazy ☠️.

And I screamed at Aunt Eloise getting set up with Burt’s hot professor Uncle. She deserves it 💁🏼‍♀️

The mysteries in here were so random and didn’t tie together at all 😂 Fireflies and sunken treasure, at least it was unique.

[Moonkiszt · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Nancy's #49, her father's sister, Aunt Eloise Drew - a gorgeous older bachlorette invites ND and her friends to Mirror Bay Bide-A-Wee. . . .the name itself is worth writing a book for! It took me a while to realize that's Scots talk, and so explains the appearance of the Cardiff Giant, and the sightings of a ghostly Green Man.

It all boils down to nefarious doings, criminals afoot, with a side plot that involves a true treasure buried at the bottom of Mirror Bay, and guess what???? Aunt Eloise finds a man. . . .now if we can only get Mr. Drew married. As for Nancy, she's opting more and more for Ned as her only plus one and he's made it pretty clear who's on his list.

Off to #50!

[Kinsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3½ stars)

Let's see...
Nancy has a doppelganger: check
A boat gets capsized: check
The police believe everything Nancy says: check
There's a jewel theft: check
Men conducting illegal activity on a mountain: check

Well this has shaped up to be quite exactly like the other Nancy Drews I've read so far. I wonder if I'll ever get to one that doesn't follow the basic plotline of every single other book lol.

Anyways this one was very much like The Whispering Statue in that it's basically a summer vacation story with a mystery on the side. Like I think it describes them going swimming for fun actually 8 times at least. But since it's fall right now I sort of wanted to read a story set in that season and honestly I used my imagination and pretended this was happening in fall, and it worked pretty well. The small foresty cottage location and the spooky undertones lent themselves to a late September/early October story.

The escapades on the mountain were pretty thrilling and scary. I liked Yo as a character but it seems like he was just there for them to use for clues and to think he was weird like I feel bad for him they never even offered him a meal 😩.

The ending really fell short though like I don't know the explanation for why the villains did what they did is so vague and lackluster like they had to do stolen science experiments in a hole in the ground?? Ok?? And Sam's wife was out there doing the heavy lifting robbing jewelry stores commiting fraud and almost decapitating Bess with a boat for what??

[Tabi34 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've slowed my quest of reading all of the original Nancy Drew books to a crawl. While these were probably exciting to pre-teens in the '60s and '70s, they're quite predictable to this jaded cynical adult.

I do get really excited when there is some romantic progression. In this book Aunt Eloise is introduced to Matt. Burt's uncle and a professor at Emerson University. They seem to hit it off quite well, but beyond overhearing Matt asking Eloise for a date later, that's the extent of it. I wonder if he'll pop up again.

This one had some danger, but Nancy always manages to survive relatively unscathed. There is a local character who loves folk legends about ghosts and there are a couple of old tales in the book. It is interesting hearing about the possible scientific discoveries - in this one Matt discusses how scientists are working on discovering how the chemicals in lightening bugs could be used to make cold light.

Oh, and quite out of character, Dave puts his arm around George as they stroll off. There is very little physical contact in these books. Things were sure different in the early 60s.

The location of River Heights has moved back to the East Coast. Probably located someplace near NYC. It's interesting how it moves from Ohio (Emerson College is located on the Ohio River in one book)to Chicago, to the mid-west and New York.

For what it is, it's a good book

[Kate ★ · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Nancy Drew series will always have a special place in my heart because it was started my love for mystery books, and fueled my love for reading. Honestly though, reading it now is whole different experience and sadly, it's not in a positive direction.

As usual, Nancy and the gang have some couple of mysteries to solve, met danger along the way, but solves them unscathed. Why would the adults in her life allow her to do detective work even if it placed her in harm's way? She got her sidekicks, but they never get as much recognition.

I also noticed an error in the book, at the part when Bess stayed to help clean the boat, but she commented on something at this museum when she's not even supposed to be there.

I might just steer clear of this series so it'll remain wonderful in my recollection as it was in my childhood.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The outdated Medical care book! I’m not really going to hold that against it. The book was written nearly 50 years ago, and aside from the medical stuff, it’s a pretty good mystery. It's a nice setting with a lot of interesting, if not super relevant, trivia, like a trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame and some other museums.

But the medical advice! Several times, characters are injured and given outdated first aid. Again, I know the book was written 50 years ago, but each and every time the characters make an active decision not to call a doctor. I hope any children reading this book know that if they get bitten by a poisonous insect, they should go see a doctor and not try to cut open the wound with a sharp, unwashed rock.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Travelogue voyage to Cooperstown, NY (home of James Fenimore Cooper and the Baseball hall of fame). George is bitchier and butchier than ever. Dave (Bess's boyfriend) gets knocked unconscious by an unknown assailant.

This is a double mystery; a "lost textile process" (developing "cold light" from firefly hormones) and searching for some junk that someone threw in the lake centuries earlier. Also a con artist who looks like Nancy is independently wreaking havoc around the town and getting Nancy arrested several times.

[Sarah Siddiqui · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favourite book in the series.

[Susan]

I wish they could redo these books and take out the Bess fat shaming. It gets worse every book. George is a jerk!!

[Peyton Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh Nancy Drew, you’re a classic. I enjoy your computer games immensely but your mid-20th century self is frustratingly perfect. But this was a hilarious read for me because it takes place in the village of Cooperstown where I have spent the last four years and the fact you seemed to think you could get *scuba gear* on Main Street, happened to find underwater metal detectors in your vacation rental, and thought a non-museum professional had the authority to accept anything you dredged from the bottom of the lake into the museums here made me laugh. Honestly, all good fun!

[Alyssa DeLeon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not expect this to be set in a town so close to where I live! How different to be able to picture everything exactly as it is described. A fun Nancy Drew mystery with the added benefit of a visit to many places I am highly familiar with: Baseball Hall of Fame, Cooperstown village, Fenimore Art Museum, and the Farmers Museum. Even the Cardiff giant makes an appearance!

[Laura Bang · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s pretty funny rereading these as an adult (except the parts where George is a jerk to Bess about her “weight”).

[Aya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not that enjoyable of a mystery tbh.

[Bargain Sleuth Book Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

For this and other book reviews, visit www.bargain-sleuth.com

As I mentioned with The Double Jinx Mystery, I have fond memories of this book because my older sister read The Secret of Mirror Bay to me as a bedtime story when I was very young. It was not long after I was introduced to these books that the 1970’s TV show starring Pamela Sue Martin aired, so I was all in when it came to Nancy Drew.

However, after reading this book, I found nothing magical about the book, and it’s a run-of-the-mill mystery. So little interesting things happen that I barely made any notes upon re-reading it. The girls are invited by Aunt Eloise to Cooperstown, New York to solve the mystery of the woman who walks on the water (as it turns out, the woman is on stilts, and when Nancy and the girls see her, her stilt gets stuck and she falls into the water, at risk of drowning until Nancy saves her).

The book is sort of a travelogue since they’re visiting Cooperstown, the home of the Baseball Hall of Fame and also of James Fennimore Cooper, so there’s a bit of an info dump about the area, but at this point, that’s to be expected in a Nancy Drew novel of the 1970’s. Yet there are also some old tales and ghost stories thrown in, too. It’s all kind of a mish mash of a variety of mysterious elements that only works some of the time.

Of note, Burt’s uncle Matt, who is a professor, visits and he and Aunt Eloise warm up to each other. And in one scene, Burt puts his arm around George. How fresh and forward-thinking. Normally Nancy and the gang show no elements of affection with their “special friends.”

While the nostalgia part of the book for me was great, the mysteries were just so-so.

[Stella Gatzke · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all, the Grosset & Dunlap cover of this book has an amazing cover. And the mystery makes for a good light read. I felt fully immersed in the setting, a picturesque lakeside cabin, and I was always eager to see what would happen next.

The primary mystery, a group of robbers hiding a secret in a nearby mountain lair, was fairly straightforward: it was still intriguing without being convoluted. The Nancy look-alike side plot added a good deal of tension, though it did get exhausting to see Nancy accused of crime so often.

The new characters had distinct personalities and all helped move the plot along clearly, but I did expect more of a supernatural bend with the woman gliding across the lake. Why was she a local legend (that some people there didn’t even believe) I’d there was such a mundane explanation?

The biggest drawback for me in this one was the search for the child’s royal coach. The mystery of it was revealed so soon, and then it became a matter of waiting for Nancy and her friends to find it, which I never doubted they would.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this mystery, though there were some tenuous connections between the story lines. I'm also done with George's snide comments about Bess's weight and eating habits. Though a sign of the times, George is merely a shrew with a sense of adventure. Otherwise, the adventure and mystery process were compelling, and I enjoyed the atmosphere as well.

Fans of Miss Drew won't be disappointed!

[LobsterQuadrille · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Secret of Mirror Bay is a very standard, run-of-the-mill Nancy Drew mystery. It's neither bad nor great, just a light mystery suitable for rainy day reading. It's certainly not among the best or most creative of this series, but it is still worth a try for both kids and nostalgic Nancy Drew fans.

[Carolyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh, it was a mistake to re-read Nancy Drew as an adult. The sexist writing was obnoxious and patronizing.

[Josephine Walter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This books end was very rushed, but other than that this was just another Nancy Drew book.

[ItsNeha]

Nancy’s aunt invites her and her friends on a vacation trip at a bayside cabin owned by her. The cabin is located across a bay in a small New York based town called Cooperstown. Apparently, this trip is not only limited to vacation fun, rather, it is also an invite to solve the mystery of a woman who is reported to be seen walking atop the bay’s waters during early misty mornings.

This bay, named Bide-a-Wee, is known to possess utter beauty in the form of its mirror-like waters, further surrounded by fine woody mountains and jungly green rainforests.

So, along with her aunt and with two of her best friends – Bess and George, Nancy sets out on this adventurous exploration. And guess, what happens as they step into the town? Nancy is mistaken to be a criminal by town’s people and authorities!

Apparently, a girl whose face resembles Nancy, causes the people in town to mistake her identity as a thief and a swindler. This girl, as revealed gradually, is not only responsible for a vacation hoax, but also for her involvement in other crimes such as burglary of a jewelry store.

This mischievous girl, by the end, is caught by the police as well as her two partner buddies. As they confess, they had been scaring the people away from the forest by showing them hallucinations of a ghost-like creature glowing with flashy green light whose source seemed impossible to locate. Since Nancy didn’t believe in ghosts, therefore, she was able to trace their footsteps in the mud and reach the cave they had been using as their hidingplace.

As always, later on in the plot, the three respective boyfriends of the detective crew also join them and alongside them, an elderly man named Matt, too. Uncle Matt is a science professor.

By the end of their venturesome trip, Nancy doesn’t only discovers the secret of the woman walking on the bay’s waters, but also cracks the mystery of a giant fraudulent operation being carried out in a concealed underground chamber located in a secluded portion of the forest. As a bonus, she also digs out some treasured royal items from the bay’s depths including a box of ancient coins, pieces of a codeword letter and a long-lost royal child wagon carved in white and gold.

But like always, this mystery too wasn’t any plain or simple to navigate. As her friends get smacked on head, get poisoned by the forest’s serpents & almost get kidnapped, Nancy too is caught adrift into panic when she finds herself trapped inside the underground cave along with her boyfriend Ned and Uncle Matt as they are scanning through the forested region in the dark of the night.

Meanwhile, in the middle of the book’s plot, there are repetitive details of scuba-diving, boat-riding and swimming presented in a descriptive manner. These routinic scenes caused me to feel as if I am experiencing the refreshing waters of the mirror bay by myself.

In addition, there is a chapter in a book that I really felt quite immersive to read. You’d come across it when you read the book. This chapter mentions a setting of the cabin’s porch. It’s the time of evening. Nancy, her friends, their respective boyfriends, Nancy’s aunt and uncle Matt – all of these people are sitting on or nearby this porch. And they’re witnessing a swarm of glowing fireflies in the forested region surrounding them. Therein, Uncle Matt explains from his scientific knowledge, the process of cold light generation in the fireflies. And I found this detailing really fascinating to read. As Bess cooks her expertly delicious desserts, salads & sandwiches, and as romance begins to bloom between Aunt Eloise & Uncle Matt, these people spend a cool evening watching the sunset and talking about fireflies. I really liked reading this particular setting from all of the scenes written in the book.

Apart from this, there is a character in the book named Yo. Yo is an interesting character who doesn’t only know how to heal a serpent bite, but is also known for telling intriguing horror stories. I really liked these little horror tales inserted between the mystery and narrated through his peppy character.

All in all, I immensely enjoyed delving into this book. In fact, upon having finished this book, I found myself feeling like I’ve just returned from this trip to the bayside cabin myself!

[Suzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aunt Eloise invites Nancy, Bess and George to a cabin near Cooperstown, New York. Mirror Bay Bide-a-Wee, holds a mystery. A woman has been spotted gliding across the water. Nancy is excited to uncover the truth behind the gliding woman. But as soon as she steps foot in Cooperstown, problems arise. A young woman who closely resembles Nancy, has been taking part in criminal activities. It is up to Nancy to stop the young woman and her gang of criminals. 
Once Nancy figures out the mystery behind the woman gliding over water, another one pops up. An old royal carriage is believed to be buried somewhere near the lake. Nancy is tasked with finding it. It’s a little weird how this baby carriage was preserved underwater for so long though. It is explained, but I still find it very suspicious. Idk, I’m not an expert on what technology was available at the time.  

Anyway, Nancy Drew is nearly arrested. Again. It’s actually not the first time this happens to her haha. Whenever she has problems with the law, it’s due to someone else that resembles her. Like in this case, her look-alike is a thief but everyone thinks it’s Nancy. This hampers her sleuthing abilities a bit. She has to constantly keep defending herself to everyone. 

The boys (Ned, Burt and Dave), are also invited by Aunt Eloise to spend time at the cabin. And Burt brings his uncle Matt! He’s going to be a Chemistry professor at Emerson College the following semester. Instantly sparks fly between him and Aunt Eloise! He makes her blush like a schoolgirl. And then when the mysteries are resolved and everyone is set to leave, Bess (the hopeless romantic) tells George and Nancy: 

This morning I overheard Matt say to Aunt Eloise, ‘After you get back to the city I’ll be calling you for a date.’

​

Okay, this book takes place near Cooperstown. So of course, the Baseball Hall of Fame is mentioned. And of course they visit! Nancy and friends are living my dream! 

They paused at the showcase containing Babe Ruth’s uniform and Ned remarked, “I think he was the greatest of all time.”

“Why?” Matt asked.

“Because,” Ned replied, “he was equally good as a pitcher and a batter.”

​

As you can probably tell, I loved this book. The mysteries were pretty good. The new character introduction was a pleasant surprise. (I hope Matt pops up again)! I learned a little about lightning bugs, thanks to Matt. I got to visit Cooperstown with Nancy and her friends. Ah, I am a happy girl.

[Alyson Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book: The Secret of Mirror Bay
Author: Carolyn Keene
Rating: 4 Out of 5 Stars

I am going to be honest here. This is not the best written book I have read, but I had fun with it. It made for a fun Sunday afternoon read. Now, I have read this one before, so that could be a contributing factor to my enjoyment.

In this one, we follow Nancy and her friends on vacation to Mirror Bay. There is a mystery. As the group arrives, they quickly discover that there is more coming on than what meets the eye. Nancy is almost arrested because someone who looks like her has been causing chaos to the local town. There are ghosts and buried treasure. Danger awaits Nancy and her friends everywhere they look.

Once again, this follows the typical Nancy Drew format. We have Nany and her friends going somewhere and there is a mystery. We are taken step by step through the case to solve the mystery. There is danger and excitement, all while remaining predictable. This may bother some people, but I like it. I like getting to follow something that fits the steps we need.

We also get some character moments. Nancy’s aunt finds love. It is also becoming clear that Nancy and Ned are getting closer. I did find it annoying how the male figures in this book had to explain almost everything to the females. I didn’t notice it when I first read this book, but now it is getting old. Plus, we have George still picking on Bess about her weight, which seems to be getting more aggressive.

Overall, I had a fun time with this book. It is a fun way to spend the afternoon.

[Sahifa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally!! A conceivable and plausible Nancy Drew Mystery.For once Nancy had neither taken any foolish expeditions nor took any stupid risks. The entire plot was very much believable with an uncomplicated and straightforward story.
And ,that is the primary reason why I found pleasure reading it. some of the Nancy drew stories are so adventurous and complicated that they become illogical and unreasonable.
I rated it average despite of enjoying it to the fullest because of its simplicity.
Another important point that I would like to highlight is that the entire Nancy drew series is great for the preadolescent crowd (this stands for all the Nancy drew books ) I strongly believe that a 8 years old kid would not only love these books but also devour them. Also the amount of general knowledge these books try to to impart is commendable. Therefore A must -read for all eight and above out there

[Ashley K. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Noteworthy bits:
-a creepy sorcerer who threatens to turn girls' bones into stones (lol)
-Nancy has an evil doppelganger who causes all kinds of mischief for her (am I crazy or did this happen in an earlier book, too?)
-brief mention of entomology when Aunt Eloise is teaching the girls about fireflies (very exciting!!!)
-Bess gets abducted by villains and fat-shamed by her friends and family (as usual)
-there is a chapter called "Bat Attack" which is fearmongering nonsense (all the bats do is emerge from a cave)
-George is bitten by a venomous centipede and a dude named Yo "saves her life" by sucking out the venom (lol lol)
-possible beginnings of a romance between Aunt Eloise and Burt's uncle professor? (ooh la la)
-quick trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame; much baseball trivia ensues (lol lol lol)

[Aarathi Burki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having read so many Nancy drew books this one came as a huge disappointment as there was hardly any mystery and the story was too hard to believe. For starters the story line looked very poor though they tried to combine multiple mysteries they failed to grab attention. Nancy and her friends unearth lot of treasures from the lake so easily that it was hard to believe that they were hidden within the lake all these years without anyone else finding or searching for them and the place Cooperstown seemed to have all possible museums in the vicinity which was again hard to believe

All in all a sheer waste of time and money buying and reading this book and would not recommend this book