The Mystery at Lilac Inn (Nancy Drew #4) by Carolyn Keene

Title: The Mystery at Lilac Inn

Series: Nancy Drew

Author: Carolyn Keene

Release Date: January 1, 1961 (revised ed.)

Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap

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★★★★★

Synopsis:

Nancy and her friend Helen visit their friend Emily Willouby at the Lilac Inn, which Emily now owns, to help her plan her wedding. Emily plans on selling inherited diamonds in order to help fix up the Lilac Inn. However, Nancy soon learns that someone has been impersonating her and making expensive purchases under her name. Soon after, Emily's diamonds are stolen! Can Nancy find the thieves and recover the missing diamonds?

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My Review:

An intriguing, fishy mystery that kept me reading until the end.

This is one of the Nancy Drew books that have been on my TBR for a long time. Like The Bungalow Mystery, the cover drew me in. For a long time, I've wondered about the mystery at Lilac Inn. 👀

I was so happy when I finally got it.

In this installment of the Nancy Drew series, Nancy and her friend, Helen Corning, visit their friend, Emily Willouby, who recently bought the old inn along with her fiancé, Dick. As soon as Nancy and Helen arrive, though, they instantly notice that there is something wrong with Emily. They learn that there has been trouble at the inn; strange things have been happening, such as a stolen lilac tree, and one of the waitresses claimed it was haunted!

The Mystery at Lilac Inn was intriguing right from the first page!

While on their way to Lilac Inn, Nancy and Helen run into Doris Drake, Nancy's friend, who wonders how Nancy and Helen canoed from River Heights so fast, as her friend Phyl informed her that she was just talking to Nancy at the Elite Drug Store in River Heights half an hour ago! Nancy got surprised and claimed that she and Helen were on their way at the time.

Doris's friend, Phyl, was talking to Nancy at the Elite Drug Store in River Heights half an hour ago, but Nancy was on her way at the time! How could that be? Intriguing!

Then Nancy and Helen's canoe suddenly gets capsized! How did that happen? Was it a floating log? Strange! And who was that man with the crew cut who saw them but rowed away, not bothering to help them? What a rude man!

Strange things have been going on at Lilac Inn. Then Nancy gets a phone call from their housekeeper, Hannah Greun, and learns that there had been a burglary at their home! And then she learns that she owes Burk's Department Store for merchandise worth two thousand dollars! Right then, we learn that Nancy has an impersonator, who's been making expensive purchases under her name!

Then Emily's diamonds get stolen at Lilac Inn...

A lot of exciting and intense scenes in this Nancy Drew book, with a lot of bravery and smart sleuthing. I was really impressed with Nancy's bravery despite the danger going on. She was pro!

That intense scene when Nancy dared to dress like her impersonator at night...

The Mystery at Lilac Inn was a very well-written mystery that would keep the reader reading until the end! Every chapter ended with a cliffhanger!

While I really enjoyed The Mystery at Lilac Inn, I've got only one comment.

I'm not sure if it was just me, but at times, I felt like a lot was going on that I would have to go back to previous pages to remember the incidents and who was who. Overall, I loved it and would recommend it to Nancy Drew and mystery fans.

Gold Medal Murder (Nancy Drew GD and The Hardy Boys UB Super Mystery #4) by Carolyn Keene and Franklin W. Dixon

Title: Gold Medal Murder

Series: Nancy Drew: Girl Detective and The Hardy Boys: Undercover Brothers Super Mystery

Author: Carolyn Keene and Franklin W. Dixon

Release Date: July 6, 2010

Publisher: Aladdin

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★★★☆☆

Synopsis:

When a world-famous Olympic swimmer is sabotaged during the Summer Games, Nancy Drew, her friends, and the Hardy brothers have their work cut out for them after they decide to investigate the scandal. Can they find out who wants the swimming superstar to sink, or are they in water over their heads?

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My Review:

Good ole Hardy Boys: Undercover Brothers and Nancy Drew: Girl Detective.

It's been a while since I've last picked up a Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Super Mystery. I've always enjoyed reading about them together. I've read most of the super mysteries in that series, with #5 Bonfire Masquerade being the first one.

Based on the reviews I read for this one, I can't believe I thought of skipping it! It was actually not bad. From what I remember, one reviewer on Amazon mentioned that the old Nancy Drew would be gasping in shock at herself in this book, which prevented me from picking it up in the first place. They made it sound like she was really bad or something. Well, I didn't see anything wrong with Nancy in that one. Other than that one part when she thought about that one woman who was rude to her, I hope she slipped in her own puddles! The Nancy I know is kind whether someone is nice to her or not. But, as I understand that Nancy is human, it did not bother me.

Also, there wasn't much swearing. Joe only used the D word, like, a few times.

Note to the cover art people: Beautiful cover, but Nancy is reddish-blonde.

The Hardys and Nancy solve a mystery in LA in Gold Medal Murder.

While Nancy goes to LA to support her friend Lexi in the Olympics, the Hardys get an assignment from ATAC to protect the champion swimmer, Scott Trevor, who's been receiving threats. Lexi happens to be Scott's girlfriend, and she's also been recieving death threats. While Joe is Scott's assistant, Frank is posing undercover as a fan. The Hardys and Nancy team up to solve the mystery.

I enjoyed the description of LA; it sounded like a beautiful city, and it made me want to go there one day.

I really liked Vijay, the ATAC agent. I think I recall having seen him in previous Undercover Brothers, but rarely. Glad got to see more of him in this book. He was really cool.

As someone who kind of ships Joe and Bess, I enjoyed their minor interaction in this book. I think they would make a cute couple.

"You guys did this?" said Joe. "I love a girl who knows her way around an engine!" He wiggled his eyebrows at Bess, and she stuck her tongue out at him.

While I enjoyed Gold Medal Murder, to be honest, I wouldn't say it was the best. I'm not sure if it's just me, but I felt like not much happened. Near the ending was suspenseful, but the ending was rushed. Also, it was not clear who bombed Nancy's car and why. It was not relevant to the story.

Overall, it was good, and I'm glad I picked it up and gave it a chance.

The Disappearance (Hardy Boys Adventures #18) by Franklin W. Dixon

Title: The Disappearance

Series: Hardy Boys Adventures

Author: Franklin W. Dixon (pen name)

Release Date: February 19, 2019

Publisher: Aladdin

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★★★☆☆

Synopsis:

It’s a case of hidden identities for brother detectives Frank and Joe in the in the eighteenth book in the thrilling Hardy Boys Adventures series.

The Hardy brothers and Frank’s new girlfriend, Jones, are attending a local comic book convention on the shore. They meet up with Jones’s friend Harper, a fellow comics super fan, on the boardwalk outside the convention. The four of them spend hours running from booth to booth and end the perfect day with pizza at Harper’s short-term rental apartment.

Things don’t stay so perfect, though. On the way home, Jones realizes she switched phones with Harper by accident and she is getting some really scary texts. When they show up at the apartment the next day, they find it totally destroyed and Harper is missing.

Frank and Joe start digging into their new friend’s life, hoping to find out where she might have gone, but the more they find out about her, the more mysterious she becomes. Can Frank and Joe find this secretive character? Or has she disappeared forever?

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My Review:

It's been a while since I've last picked up a Hardy Boys Adventures.

With its intriguing, catching cover, ever since its release, I've been wanting to pick up The Disappearance for a long time.

In this installment of the Hardy Boys Adventures series, the Hardys' friend, Harper, goes missing. The mystery was fishy. Before she disappeared, Harper was acting strange at the comic book convention. Looking around her like she was afraid of someone. We notice that about her right away as soon as we meet her. As someone who loves geeking out, I enjoyed the description of the comic book convention. Then the next day, when the Hardys returned to her apartment to return her phone, she was missing and her apartment was ransacked!

Harper was a mysterious character. After she disappeared, the Hardys find out fishy things about her. Who was she?

The Disappearance intrigued me until the end.

While I enjoyed The Disappearance, I've only got a few comments.

• Isn't Joe 17? Earlier in the book, it mentioned that he was around 16.

• Being into things like comics doesn't suit Frank. Isn't it more of a Joe thing? (I'm not sure if the author read the Hardy Boys before)

• I didn't like Jones, Frank's girlfriend. I felt like she was in the way of the Hardys, and I hated that there were a few times when Frank acted okay with the fact that she can be a replacement for Joe in the sleuthing. Frank annoyed me in that! That was not Frank!

• The cover didn't match the story. The cover may be intriguing and exciting, but it didn't happen in the story.

  
  

  Overall, while I enjoyed The Disappearance, it wasn't the best Hardy Boys I've ever read.