The Secret Of The Old Clock (Nancy Drew 1) by Carolyn Keene

Title: The Secret of the Old Clock
Author: Carolyn Keene
Published:1987 by Grosset and Dunlap
Genre: Young adult mystery
How I got the book: The book got donated and I took it

Summary:

Nancy, unaided, seeks to find a missing will, and the search not only tests her keen mind but also leads her into a thrilling adventure.

My Review:

Nancy Drew was a big thing went I was younger. Did I hop on that train? No. So, when my dad brought home some books from his work that they were getting rid of, I picked out this Nancy Drew story and thought I’d give it a read.

Nancy Drew is an 18-year-old young lady whose father is a lawyer. She by no means is an actual detective, but she certainly acts like it and actually gets the job done.

When a man named Josiah Crowley passes away, Nancy meets all sorts of people who were supposed to get money from his will, people who actually need the money. But of course, the only will that came to light was a will that gave one snobby family everything.

Nancy knows there’s a second will out there, an updated one, and goes on the hunt to find it. At the same time, she stops a band of robbers.

It’s a simple plot, but it worked. It certainly isn’t a “hardcore” mystery and there’s no murder involved. I honestly think this is the first mystery I’ve read without murder being involved. It was a simple search, almost like a race against time, and it was refreshing to read.

Honestly, Nancy wasn’t who I thought she’d be. She was a great character, especially as a protagonist, but there were definitely times I thought she was younger than 18. Still, I enjoyed reading in her voice.

Her father was an awesome character as well. He was kind and supported Nancy in anything she did all the while doing his job and helping other people.

There were various other characters in the book that all had a purpose and kept the story going. It was well done.

This is a short book being 180 pages. And, while it’s classified as young adult, I see it more as middle grade. There was a lot of inner monologue for Nancy, yet the third-person limited was broken a couple of times.

Still, it was an easy read. There were a handful of illustrations throughout the story and even though they were simple, they were fun to look at.