Audio Book Review: A Nancy Drew Christmas by Carolyn Keene

I enjoyed this light mystery which reminded me how I enjoyed other teen detective stories as a child.

A Nancy Drew Christmas
Written by Carolyn Keene

Narrated by Jorjeana Marie

Series: Nancy Drew Diaries, Book 18
Run time: 6 hours and 24 minutes
Release date: 02-11-19
Publisher: Oasis Audio
Genre: Christmas, Classic, Mystery
My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.0; Narration 4.25.

Publisher Description
Nancy finds herself a Christmas mystery in this super special eighteenth book of the Nancy Drew Diaries series, a fresh approach to the classic mystery series.
Nancy Drew’s dad surprises her with a trip to a beautiful New England ski resort for Christmas break. Nancy is so excited. What could be better than a whole week of skiing and five-star dining?
But no vacation can go smoothly when Nancy is involved. On her very first run down the slopes, Nancy hits a bad patch of ice and takes a serious tumble. A doctor sends her back to the hotel in a cast and mandates twelve days of bed rest. That means no long car trips back to River Heights and twelve days of sitting around. Luckily, there’s still the five-star dining and beautiful views.
Just hours into her convalescence, Nancy witnesses something very suspicious through another hotel room window. And when she presses the concierge she learns there have been mysterious break-ins throughout the hotel. It’s clear someone has been going into guest’s rooms but, as far as anyone can tell, nothing has been taken. Nancy can’t resist-she has to investigate. Only trouble is, she’s still bed bound.
Taking some cues from Home Alone’s Kevin McCallister, Nancy devises some clever schemes to get her investigating done from her bed. But for all her plans, Nancy still can’t find the source of the break-ins. Or the purpose. What’s worse the mood of the hotel has turned decidedly un-merry. People are leaving in droves and the jolly hotel owner is worried about the hotel’s success.
With all the odds stacked against her, can Nancy solve this crime in time to save Christmas? Or is this one Yuletide she’ll wish to forget?

Review:
Nancy Drew is excited to enjoy a ski resort vacation with her father. She arrives early and skis right into trouble, hitting an unmarked ice patch when she agrees to fill in to ski an easy slope for a missing staff member who doesn’t show up. The doctor puts a full leg cast on Nancy and tells her to stay in her room for the next twelve days. Nancy isn’t one to sit quietly and she soon spies suspicious activity from her window.

Nancy learns there have been break-ins in guest rooms and then the first dinner of the season is nearly ruined. Nancy is aware there is tension regarding the ski resort and a pipeline that wants to go across land owned by the resort owners. She goes to one owner to try to help solve some of the problems and gets limited support. She also discovers two boys snooping around the other owner. She soon learns that the boys are Frank and Joe Hardy. She knows things aren’t right when the local sheriff shrugs off handling complaints against an employee and instead arrests Frank Hardy.

Even when the owner tells Nancy that her job is done, she presses on with the help of Joe. Nancy experiences another incident in the snow paths which is clearly an attack and not an ‘accident’. She and Joe find clues and hidden passageways before coming face to face with threats of death. Can Nancy and the Hardy boys solve the crimes before the resort is closed for good?

This was an easy, light listen. I liked the multiple crimes and clues as well as Nancy’s determination to solve the cases. I read the Hardy Boy stories rather than Nancy Drew as a young girl apparently because the Nancy Drew books didn’t get published popularly until I was already in college. I was delighted when Frank and Joe showed up as characters in this book. The plots involving these teen detectives are engaging, with twists and danger. I was a little surprised about the current day environmental issues, considering these were written years ago. H however, I liked the light pacing and clean nature of the story. I plan to listen to more in the series when I want a light read. I recommend this story as a very nice holiday read for young and older mystery fans.

Audio Notes: Jorjeana Marie does a fine job with the narration. Her voice fits the main character and she makes the listening easy to enjoy.

Source: 1/20/2020 Chirp Purchase $.99. This qualifies for 2021TBR, 2021Audiobook, and 2021AudioAlphabit goals.

Audible Book Review: 12 Days at Bleakly Manor, Once Upon a Dickens Christmas, Book 1, by Michelle Griep

This is a sort of haunted house Christmas Mystery/Romance which I read and enjoyed for Ladies Book Club.
12 Days at Bleakly Manor
Once Upon a Dickens Christmas, Book 1
By: Michelle Griep
Narrated by: Nan McNamara


Length: 5 hrs and 35 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Release date: 01-11-18
Language: English
Publisher: Oasis Audio
Genre: Christian, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Victorian
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.25; Narration 4.25.

Publisher's Summary
A mysterious invitation to spend Christmas at an English manor home may bring danger...and love?
England, 1851: When Clara Chapman receives an intriguing invitation to spend Christmas at an English manor home, she is hesitant yet feels compelled to attend - for if she remains the duration of the 12 day celebration, she is promised a sum of 1,000 pounds.
But is she walking into danger? It appears so, especially when she comes face to face with one of the other guests - her former fiancé, Benjamin Lane.
Imprisoned unjustly, Ben wants revenge on whoever stole his honor. When he's given the chance to gain his freedom, he jumps at it - and is faced with the anger of the woman he stood up at the altar. Brought together under mysterious circumstances, Clara and Ben discover that what they've been striving for isn't what ultimately matters.
What matters most is what Christmas is all about...love.
Pour a cup of tea and settle in for book 1 of the Once upon a Dickens Christmas series - -a pause-resisting Victorian-era holiday tale by Michelle Griep, a listener and critic favorite.
©2017 Shiloh Run Press (P)2017 Oasis Audio

Review:
Clara and Ben were separated on the morning they were to be wed. He was sent to the jail for theft and she was left jilted at the altar believing her fiancé’ had run off with the family fortune.
Clara is struggling out a meager living caring for her elderly aunt and wondering: “Why, God? Why?” She receives a strange invitation that promises her 500 pounds if she spends 12 days at Bleakly Manor. Although a strange request, and reluctant to leave her ailing aunt, Clara welcomes this one chance to restore her circumstance.

Ben believes Clara abandoned him during the rigged trial proceedings and wonders: “Why, God? Why?” When Ben is called to the warden’s office, he suspects that his time to be deported has come. Instead, he is given an invitation that promises his freedom if he stays at Bleakly Manor for 12 days without trying to escape.

As Clara and Ben arrive at the bleak manor house, they realize they are not the only guests invited. There are a handful of others and each person has been promised something unique to their circumstances but only one of the participants can gain the promise by staying the full time. At first, the manor seems warm, if dark, but as soon as everyone has arrived, most of the staff disappears leaving the group to fend for themselves without proper food or warmth.

Tensions are high between Clara and Ben who are shocked to see each other and even more startled when they finally agree to listen to what happened to each other. Soon tensions begin to rise among all of the guests as the conditions deteriorate starting the first morning with an alleged jewel theft. The police inspector guest claims he will investigate but his procedures leave a lot to be desired. Meanwhile, Ben is certain he feels “eye” watching from the halls.

This plot was great fun, reminding me of the Agatha Christie mystery “And Then There Were None” and making me think of the movies Clue or Murder by Death. It appears that I haven’t read enough Dickens recently enough to catch all of the connections to Dickens's characters and locations (Bleak House). Still, I had great fun following the mishaps that helped to eliminate the guests and the dilemmas that Clara and Ben had to face.

I have enjoyed several books by Michelle Griep and look forward to more! I recommend this to fans of Victorian and noir mystery, and clearly to any true Dickens fans.

Audio Notes: Nan McNamara’s narration drew me into the setting and kept me following the characters. I thoroughly enjoyed the audio presentation.

Source: December 2019 Audible Sale purchase $5.24. This qualifies for Ladies Book Club and 2019Audiobook goal.