Secret Cargo

Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys: Be a Detective #4

by Carolyn Keene, Franklin W. Dixon

Nancy Drew and the Hardy brothers run into danger when they try to prevent the sabotage of an anti-pollution campaign. The reader controls the outcome of the story by choosing different ways of advancing the plot.

Genres: Mystery

116 pages, Paperback

First published May 15, 1984

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 In a few cases, outdated plots were completely rewritten.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

[LuAnn · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I’ve collected Nancy Drew books for decades now, I’d never heard of this Be a Detective Mystery Stories series until recently. Fun though confusing to try to follow all the plot lines, and there are many variations, some totally unexpected. Thoroughly plot driven, so not as engaging as the original series.

[Eric Wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun adventurous entry in the series!

[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.

[Miri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a Be Your Own Detective book featuring Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. You read along and choose what path to follow to solve the crime, which in this book is about a man delivering a truck full of cargo that is surrounded by suspicious circumstances.

[Francesca · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this kind of book, I used to read them a lot when I was younger. I prefer this format in adventure books though, and they are always too short. It's good fun though.