175 Nancy Drew Mysteries in a Nutshell or How It Could Have Happened as told by Nancy by Jennifer Fisher

Looking back at how it all began, it was like one crazy summer of solving mystery after mystery, like I was stuck in a twilight zone gone terribly awry where I was forever 18, always seeking clues...

I was driving home after delivering legal papers for my dad when I came to an old haunted bridge. At the end of the bridge there was a fallen hollow oak blocking my way. A message in the hollow oak told me to take a detour past Red Gate Farm and turn left when I spied the leaning chimney. I got lost looking for the leaning chimney, and stumbled upon a mystery involving a whispering statue wearing a broken locket and tapping heels. The statue whispered to me about a secret involving Larkspur Lane and an old album.

I solved a mystery, found a clue, and uncovered a few ghosts and phantoms while searching for Larkspur Lane. When I located the old album, inside was a picture of an old clock. Before I could locate the old clock, a Ringmaster stole it to cover up his secret and I discovered a mysterious letter in an old bungalow. Before I could read the letter, a mysterious mannequin and a wooden lady stole it.

On their tail, my roadster had a flat tire outside of Blackwood Hall where I found an old brass-bound trunk. Inside was a missing map with directions to Crocodile Island where I discovered the Thirteenth Pearl in an old attic of a moss-covered mansion. While wearing the Thirteenth Pearl, I was double jinxed and tumbled down a crooked banister, 99 steps, and a hidden staircase. A mysterious potion in an ivory charm brought me back to life and I spied a sky phantom with a twisted candle. The candle illuminated an old diary which I tried to decipher.

Inside of the diary was a black key, which I later used to open a hidden window at Lilac Inn and outside I spied Mirror Bay. A message in a parchment located underneath Mirror Bay told me to find the glowing eye at Moonstone Castle which would reveal the clue in the crumbling wall.

I never found that crumbling wall and instead went on a quest for the invisible intruder's scarlet slipper at Pine Hill. An adventure off the ski jump at Pine Hill led to the clue inside a tolling bell which opened a secret entrance to the forgotten city on Shadow Ranch. There I solved the mystery of the fire dragon's dancing puppet who was whistling bagpipes. And in a dramatic flourish to end my adventure, wearing a velvet mask and a spider sapphire, I hopped on an old stagecoach that was parked by the witch tree. I stopped at a golden pavilion and uncovered a crossword cipher which led me to an all-new paperback adventure aboard a haunted showboat...

On the haunted showboat I learned the secret behind the Stratemeyer Syndicate as I tried to decipher between a grosset and a dunlap and ultimately found a simon and a schuster. I uncovered a triple hoax and had a twin dilemma. A mysterious image formed in the eyes of the emerald-eyed cat.

The image was of a flying saucer, which suddenly appeared and it was a race against time to find the disappearing diamonds and solve the Mardi Gras mystery. A captive witness was no help as I tried to decipher the Greek symbol on the Swami's ring. The symbol was a winged lion and it whispered to me the Eskimo's secret. I ultimately learned the double horror of Fenley Place.

At Fenley Place a clue in the camera revealed a case of the joker's revenge at a haunted carousel. It was an enemy match with the ultimate prize up for grabs--a kachina doll with a sinister omen for an elusive heiress. After tracking down the elusive heiress in an ancient disguise in the Bluebeard Room, the Phantom of Venice struck again! He left behind a broken anchor which was the key to the puzzle at Pineview school.

After restoring justice to Pineview School, I became entangled in the silver cobweb while searching for a missing millionairess with a vanishing veil. I found the veil at Shady Glen where a secret was revealed at the stroke of midnight as a masked rider was lost at sea. The Queen's court declared it a crime to search for Cindy Austin, so under the rising stars it was a photo finish in a race to get to Seven Rocks.

At Seven Rocks, I dug up the Tibetan Treasure only to be sidetracked by a silent suspect in a picture perfect mystery. On the trail of the silent suspect, I found a disappearing deejay, a girl who couldn't remember, and two twin teddy bears who were no help in cracking the safecracker's secret at Lake Tahoe. A trip through Misty Canyon revealed the ghost of Craven Cove and I stumbled upon a secret in the dark at Magnolia Mansion.

A stranger in the shadows at Magnolia Mansion told me to travel to the mysterious Horse Island where I would encounter a jade tiger in an antique trunk at Solaire. A silver Persian led me to solve an artful crime about a secret in time. The secret led me to Miner's Creek, where I put together a Nutcracker Ballet in hopes of finding the suspect in the smoke but all that was in store for me was mystery on the menu!

In search of my suspect, a rare book's riddle revealed the fortune teller's secret about the floating crime on the silver screen. A teen model proposed a dangerous solution that led me to discover the treasure in a royal tower, buried by the missing mascot.

Then, a baby-sitter burglarized the haunted mansion and I uncovered the sign of the falcon. The falcon led me on a fox hunt at Candlelight Inn in search of the black rose. A lantern lady's ghost reappears on her wedding day, but then led me on the trail of trouble at the Crystal Palace. There, in the forgotten cave, I discovered a ruby gazelle and uncovered the legend of lost gold. It turns out that a door-to-door deception is responsible for the wild cat's crime on Maui. Then while on Maui, I stumbled across a missing horse after an e-mail reveals a chocolate-covered contest.

After winning the contest, a search of my satin pocket reveals a key that unleashes a tornado alley of capital intrigue at Moorsea Manor. At the manor, a captured queen whispers to me in the fog about a mystery in the stars at a music festival. There it was revealed, the curse of the black cat and I later uncovered a secret in a fiery chamber. The secret led me to uncover gold doubloons lost in the Everglades!

I tracked down those doubloons only to find a crime lab run by a crystal dove who was searching for a lost song. It was a clues challenge but with no strings attached, I went off in search of clues on a bike tour. While biking, I found a mother wolf who was searching for a werewolf under the mistletoe in a winter wonderland.

A trip on the Great Lakes uncovered many ghost stories under the guise of the riding club whose crime was revealed! After a taste of danger, I solved this creative crime by moonlight at the Grand Opera. Indeed, it was all an adventure in intrigue!

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Copyright © 2003 by Jenn Fisher. All Rights Reserved. Nancy Drew® and the Hardy Boys® are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved. This site is neither affiliated with nor endorsed by Simon & Schuster, Inc. Any of Simon & Schuster's Copyright material appearing on this site complies with fair or acceptable use principles established in U.S. and International coypright law for the purpose of review, study, criticism, or news reporting.