Secret Sabotage

Nancy Drew: Girl Detective #42

by Carolyn Keene

Carolyn Keene's iconic girl detective Nany Drew's cases are more mysterious than ever with three-book arcs!

Genres: Mystery, Childrens, Young Adult, Mystery Thriller, Middle Grade, Crime, Juvenile

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

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 In a few cases, outdated plots were completely rewritten.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

[Chad]

This is the third mystery I've read this year that falls into subgenres I wouldn't normally read (cozy and middle grade). why did I read them? Let's call it research for a pseudonym. While the other two mysteries were cozy adult. Despite this one being middle grade, it was the best of the three, as it wasn't bogged down with a hundred pages of cooking, eating, talk of pets, bad dialogue, and humorless humor at the most inappropriate times. This Nancy Drew book had none of that and got down to actual sleuthing right away. I can see teens enjoying this.

[Alyssa]

I did enjoy reading this book. However, having recently finished the Nancy Drew Identity Mystery Trilogy, I'm seeing a lot of similarities. A bullying "it girl" is now being cyber bullied herself and seeks Nancy's help to figure out who the culprit is. Online threats morph into real life danger, gossip abounds, and every time one mystery is solved another connected one emerges. I will probably keep reading the rest of this series, but am a little bit disappointed in how much of the previous plot is being reused.

[Eurocrime]

This is the first one I've read of the Girl Detective series (I have read many of the early ones but a long time ago) and I thought it was pretty good. Nancy is a bit forgetful which I don't remember(!) but Bess is now a mechanical whiz and George is a technology whiz. Ned is still there but no Burt and Dave. This is the first part of a trilogy and I plan to seek out the other two entries. It contains positive messages along with an intriguing msytery. Despite the book being a few years old the technology isn't too outdated. Reminded me of Veronica Mars.

[Nilmini J.]

I recently picked this copy up - book 1 in the Sabotage Mystery Trilogy and #42 in this series - from my local library’s free book trolley for some light-hearted reading and nostalgia during the Christmas break. I used to read Nancy Drew mysteries when I was a kid and I watched the show starring Pamela Sue Martin. Nancy, Bess and George certainly have had an update since then!

The writing is slightly patronising (?) but still amusing and the mystery was good enough that I’ve actually put book #43 on hold to find out what happens next (I did not think that I’d do that!).

[Kat]

I can tell I'm not going to enjoy this series because it is oh-so-similar to Pretty Little Liars it makes me ill. "It" girls, cyberbullying, random notes, figures in black hoodies, etc. Least they're short.

[Eva]

great book

[Alex]

The writing on this one seems really strange, and I think it's because they're trying to be "hip" in these later books. But, it was still fun.

[Julia]

Interesting.

[Samantha Bartley]

I read this book in one sitting. I remember loving these Nancy Drew trilogies five years ago when they first came out, and this was one of the series I haven't read yet. Reading this today made me remember why I loved them so much. For a children's mystery book, it was written very well. The characters were good,and the mystery was pretty solid. Although I didn't know who the culprit was beforehand, it wasn't a huge surprise, either. Still, a good, quick read. Looking forward to reading part two in this trilogy.

[Diana Hochhalter]

I recommend people to read this because this has been a very interesting book so far. The mystery of this book is the hategirls.com. this girl Lexi Claremont is on the run to become River Heights Daughter.Nancy Drew is solving the mystery so no else gets hurt or seriousely injured.

[Heidi]

Pretty fun and quick one day read.

[Hannahl]

i think this book was really good and it made want to keep reading more and more

[Karisti Severt]

Solvable. It got points off it's score for being overly dramatic 'it girl' and not being faithful to who Nancy is. 54/100 with 6 points of BS.

[Ayesha Ahmed]

i have this on hold

[Ally]

I liked this book. It is about Nancy going undercover at a carnival to catch a cyber bully and also a sabotager (if that is a word ;D). It is actually one of the hardest Nancy Drew mysteries.