Source: Goodreads
In this exciting beginning to a new mystery series, college student and part-time sleuth Nancy Drew is called upon to help an old friend, Becca Wright, the Assitant Cruise Director on board the fancy new ship Arctic Star. Someone has been sending threatening E-mails to Becca and the ship’s headlining act, causing the first superstar aboard Superstar Cruises to quit at the last minute. Now it’s up to Nancy to discover who’s trying to sabotage the ship’s maiden voyage and put a stop to the mysterious accidents plaguing the passengers before someone gets hurt, and Superstar Cruises is shut down. Permanently.
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A new Nancy Drew? Yes, please! I was a huge fan of the series growing up because my mother and aunt collect them, but it’s been a while since I picked one up. Simon and Schuster’s modernized version of the world’s most famous female detective (yes, even more well known than television’s Veronica Mars!) is spunky and smart, still relying on her wits over technology. It was refreshing to read a mystery where no one whipped out their cell phone and Googled someone to confirm their suspicions.
Although Nancy and her friends Bess and George, as well as Nancy’s boyfriend Ned and Bess’ boyfriend Alan, are all said to be college students, the books are written for 8-12 year-olds and the characters all read like high school seniors instead of college sophomores. The books are short and sweet, but there was a decided lack of actual clues, and what clues there were Nancy seemed to conveniently forget just as she started puzzling over them. Despite this particular frustration, the character writing was quite good, and I enjoyed getting to know the new Nancy, Bess, and George.
Although book one has just been released in hardback, the series started printing in paperback in 2013. Book #15: The Professor and the Puzzle, is due out August 8th, 2017. Overall, I enjoyed the story and will probably pick up the next one when I swing by my library. Hopefully, the clues get more clue-like as the series goes.
HHC Rating: 3.5 Stars