Girl Detective

Riverboat Ruse, from the Girl Detective series

Girl Detective is a series replacing the long-running Nancy Drew mysteries series, which had been running since 1930, first from Grosset & Dunlap and latterly from Simon & Schuster. Stories are written in first person narrative style with Nancy herself describing all the action, and feature updated and overhauled versions of the main Nancy Drew characters. In 2013, The series was ended and a new current series called Nancy Drew Diaries was launched.

History

In the 90s and early 2000s, sales of the Nancy Drew novel series began to drop. At a Nancy Drew conference held in early 2005 in New York, a Simon and Schuster representative said that the digests had been selling about 30,000 copies. In order to boost sales, the original series was ended and the Nancy Drew series re-launched.

This new incarnation of Nancy Drew is supervised by Bonnie Bryant (Jacobson).^[1] The first volume of the new series, Without a Trace, reached the New York Times bestseller list in the Children’s Series category and #113 on USA Today’s Top 150 sellers list due to the .99 cents introductory price.^[2]

Differences from the original series

The publisher describes the series in the following way:

“

"Nancy Drew has a new spring in her step. And it's no wonder: We've given her whole world more oomph. In the all-new Nancy Drew, we've enhanced and expanded everything you've loved about Nancy, Bess, and George, and the rest of Nancy's crew. You loved the series before, but with more dimension, you'll love the series even more now! Learn why River Heights is such a hotbed of criminal activity, meet some new key sources of information for Nancy on all her cases, become acquainted with Nancy's new nemesis, and become even closer friends with Bess and George. And that's just the beginning..."[3]

”

List of books in the series

Books in the Nancy Drew: Girl Detective are released in paperback format by Simon & Schuster.^[4] From 2008 to 2012, the mysteries were presented as 3-book mini arcs, drawing the mystery out over three distinct, but linked, titles. The re-designed covers feature model Jessica Silverman as Nancy Drew.

Nancy Drew (All New) Girl Detective (2004–2012) 1. Without a Trace, (Mar 2004) 2. A Race Against Time, (Mar 2004) 3. False Notes, (Mar 2004) 4. High Risk, (Mar 2004) 5. Lights...Camera..., (May 2004) 6. Action! (Jul 2004) 7. The Stolen Relic, (Sep 2004) 8. The Scarlet Macaw Scandal, (Nov 2004) 9. Secret of the Spa, (Jan 2005) 10. Uncivil Acts, (Mar 2005) 11. Riverboat Ruse, (May 2005) 12. Stop the Clock, (Jul 2005) 13. Trade Wind Danger, (Sep 2005) 14. Bad Times, Big Crimes, (Nov 2005) 15. Framed, (Jan 2006) 16. Dangerous Plays, (Mar 2006) 17. En Garde, (May 2006) 18. Pit of Vipers, (Jul 2006) 19. The Orchid Thief, (Sep 2006) 20. Getting Burned, (Nov 2006) 21. Close Encounters, (Jan 2007) 22. Dressed to Steal, (Mar 2007) 23. Troubled Waters, (May 2007) 24. Murder on the Set, (May 2007) 25. Trails of Treachery, (Aug 2007) 26. Fishing for Clues, (Oct 2007) 27. Intruder, (Dec 2007) 28. Mardi Gras Masquerade, (Feb 2008) 29. The Stolen Bones, (Apr 2008)

These books are three part stories. Perfect Mystery Trilogy: Nancy uncovers a secret behind a cosmetic line. 30. Pageant Perfect Crime, (Jun 2008) 31. Perfect Cover, (Jul 2008) 32. The Perfect Escape, (Oct 2008) Identity Mystery Trilogy: Nancy joins an online world to find some cyber bullies. 33. Secret Identity, (Dec 2008) 34. Identity Theft, (Feb 2009) 35. Identity Revealed, (Apr 2009) Model Mystery Trilogy: Nancy must find out who's sabotaging a model's wedding. 36. Model Crime, (Jun 2009) 37. Model Menace, (Aug 2009) 38. Model Suspect, (Oct 2009) Eco-Mystery Trilogy: 39. Green-eyed Monster, (Dec 2009) 40. Green with Envy, (Feb 2010) 41. Seeing Green, (Apr 2010) Sabotage Mystery Trilogy: 42. Secret Sabotage, (Jun 2010) 43. Serial Sabotage, (Oct 2010) 44. Sabotage Surrender, (Feb 2011) Malibu Mayhem Trilogy: 45. California Schemin', (June 2011) 46. Mystery at Malachite Mansion, (Oct 2011) 47. Stalk, Don't Run, (Feb 2012)

Trivia

• In addition to the above list 3 Super Mysteries have been released. Where's Nancy? June 2005; Once Upon a Crime June 2006; Real Fake July 2007.
• Nancy Drew, Girl Detective Ghost Stories was published August 2008. The four stories are Manga Mayhem, America's Got Terror!, Visitor from Beyond, and Carnival of Fear.
• #7 listed in Library of Congress as The Riddle of the Relic
• The Stolen Relic and The Scarlet Macaw Scandal were both written for the original series, but re-written for the Girl Detective series
• Working titles for #12 were The Secret of the Library Clock and Out of Time
• Working title for the Sabotage Mystery Trilogy was Carnival Mystery Trilogy. This title was on the first cover art posted on-line at Simon and Schuster's website.

List of graphic novels series

Graphic novels series were released in paperback and hardcover format by Papercutz.

1. The Demon of River Heights (Feb 2005)
2. Writ in Stone (July 2005)
3. The Haunted Dollhouse (Nov 2005) On Nostalgia week, there is a series of crimes predicted by a mysterious doll house, and it latest prediction shows that Nancy will be murdered!
4. The Girl Who Wasn't There (Feb 2006) Nancy befriends a girl on tech support, who gets kidnapped!
5. The Fake Heir (Apr 2006) Has Nancy lost her ability to solve a mystery?
6. Mr. Cheeters is Missing (Jul 2006) Nancy has to find a missing pet chimpanzee.
7. The Charmed Bracelet (Oct 2006) When an important electronic chip goes missing, Nancy receives a mysterious charm bracelet, each charm representing a crime!
8. Global Warning (Feb 2007)
9. Ghost in the Machinery (May 2007)
10. The Disoriented Express (Aug 2007)
11. Monkey-Wrench Blues (Nov 2007)
12. Dress Reversal (Feb 2008)
13. Doggone Town (May 2008)
14. Sleight of Dan (Aug 2008)
15. Tiger Counter (Nov 2008)
16. What Goes Up... (Feb 2009)
17. Night of the Living Chatchke (May 2009)
18. City Under the Basement (August 2009)
19. Cliffhanger (Nov 2009)
20. High School Musical Mystery (February 2010)
21. High School Musical Mystery Part II "The Lost Verse" (May 2010)

Setting

The Nancy Drew: All-New Girl Detective novels are usually based in the fictional town of River Heights, which is located in Illinois. Other fictional cities that are mentioned are Silver Creek, East Bank, Cutler Falls, and Trib Falls, which are all near River Heights and the Muskoka River. River Heights is a 1-hour drive east of the real city, Chicago, which has been mentioned frequently.

Main characters

• Nancy Drew is an 18-year-old girl who lives with her father in River Heights. When she was only 3-years-old, her mother died, something with which she has had trouble coming to terms. She and her two best friends Bess and George and boyfriend Ned Nickerson solve mysteries in River Heights and places they visit. Nancy is confident, determined (which her dad calls a 'stubborn streak'), and sometimes forgetful when thinking about a case, but her friends help her out so she stays on track. Nancy has shoulder-length, strawberry blond hair, blue eyes, and is said to be 5'8". She thinks style is okay but prefers comfort.
• Carson Drew, Nancy's father, is a lawyer. He is famous in River Heights for being good at solving crimes, a gift he passed down to his daughter.
• Georgia "George" Fayne, is one of Nancy's best friends. She is an athletic tomboy who is really good with modern technology. She has brown eyes, short brown hair and is tall and thin and doesn't care about fashion at all.
• Bess Marvin is Nancy's other best friend and George's cousin, though they don't have much in common except their friendship to Nancy. Bess is flirty and, according to Nancy, seems perfect in every way. She has blue eyes, blond hair, and curves, unlike her cousin George, who has brown eyes, short, brown hair, and is skinny.
• Ned Nickerson is Nancy's boyfriend. He sometimes comes along with Nancy on her cases. Ned is in college and tends to be casual. He works for his father's newspaper, River Heights Bugle.
• Deirdre Shannon is Nancy's arch nemesis and former classmate. Deirdre's grade school nickname was Dee-Dee. If she is called Dee-Dee, she becomes irritated. Deirdre and Nancy's dislike for each other began when they were in first grade. Deirdre's father, like Nancy's, is also a lawyer in River Heights. She has a big crush on Ned Nickerson even though he is dating Nancy. Sometimes Deirdre tries hard to be as obnoxious as possible, and is very competitive with Nancy. With her black hair, green eyes and pale skin, she looks like a Cruella De Vil Jr. It is hinted that she is jealous because sometimes when Deirdre sees Nancy, she says, "Well, if it isn't the famous Nancy Drew!".
• Harold Safer is Nancy's neighbor. He owns the town's cheese shop and likes sunsets and Broadway musicals. In the first book, Without a Trace, Harold is accused of smashing a zucchini patch. Nancy and her friends help him prove his innocence.
• Hannah Gruen has been living with the Drew family ever since Nancy's mother died. Hannah is their housekeeper and is like a member of the family. She is protective of Nancy, sometimes even when she is working on a case.
• Chief McGinnis is the local police chief. Unlike the old Nancy Drew stories, in which he and Nancy had a friendly relationship, their relationship is more antagonistic in the new series. Nancy beats him to crime scenes and solves mysteries before him, so he is jealous of her success.
• Charlie Adams works at Carr's Garage and half of the time he doesn't even charge Nancy because he is in love with her.
• Luther Eldridge is an expert on River Heights history and he often helps Nancy on her cases. Nancy likes spending time with Luther because she can learn interesting things from him. She was a friend of his daughter but Luther's entire family died (in a car accident when Nancy was still young.
• Mrs. Mahoney is the wealthiest person in River Heights and the owner of Rackham Industries. Her husband's ancestors were the Rackham Gang. The Rackham Gang was part of the great River Heights Heist and escaped with the money on the Muskoka River (As explained in Book # 6)
• Jake Perrault is a young, extremely handsome movie star who is the son of famous mystery writer Hazel Perrault. All girls swoon over him but he is in love with Nancy who ignores him.

References

1. Eveld, Edward M. "The Clue of the New Drew." The Kansas City Star 30 March 2004. Online: www.kcstar.com.
2. Eveld, Edward M. "The Clue of the New Drew." The Kansas City Star 30 March 2004. Online: www.kcstar.com.
3. As quoted on the Nancy Drew Sleuth website: Girl Detective. Accessed April 1, 2008
4. Nancy Drew website: Girl Detective. Accessed April 1, 2008