Cover Art: Ruth Sanderson
Interior Art: Paul Frame

Author: James D. Lawrence wrote the outline and manuscript; edited by Nancy Axelrad

PLOT:

A newspaper reporter challenges Nancy to solve a weird mystery involving an amusement park merry-go-round. Why does the carousel light up in the middle of the night and begin revolving and playing music when no one’s around? In search of an answer, Nancy finds herself matching wits with two clever criminals – and tries to hunt down one of them in the park’s haunted house. Meanwhile, a teenage heiress seeks the young detective’s help deciphering a strange flower riddle that her father presented to her just before he died. The plot thickens when a woman who may hold a vital clue to the mystery suddenly disappears! With the held of her friend, Ned, Nancy sets out to catch the sinister culprits, but discovers too late that she and Ned are the ones really caught in a trap! (from the back cover)

CHARACTERS:

Nancy Drew – the teen sleuth is challenged to solve a haunting mystery

George Fayne – Nancy’s athletic friend is always ready to help out

Bess Marvin – Nancy’s timid friend overcomes her fears to assist the sleuth

Carson Drew – Nancy’s attorney father has great faith in Nancy’s abilities

Hannah Gruen – the Drews’ faithful housekeeper who ever fears for Nancy’s safety

Ned Nickerson – Nancy’s boyfriend who is quick to aid her whenever duty calls

Rick Jason – reporter for the River Heights News who issues the challenge to Nancy

Konrad & Trudi Trompel – a Swiss couple who are robbed at the amusement park

Leo Novak – owner and operator the merry-go-round that is haunted

Joy Trent – a young woman who has a private mystery for Nancy to solve

Selma Yawley – Joy’s aunt who is her temporary legal guardian

Mike Norris – a detective from the St. Louis police department on the trial of crooks

Fingers Malone – a scrawny man who is an expert pickpocket

Baldy Krebs – Fingers’ right-hand man, a big man with a violent history

Arno Franz – a retiree who is an amusement park buff

Neil Sawyer – an electrical engineer student who inspects the haunted carousel

Police Chief McGinnis – River Heights police chief who is always a great help

Walter Kruse – a deceased painter/sculptor who sculpted the lead horse for the carousel

Nina Ogden – Walter’s girlfriend and daughter of the original owner of the carousel

Fred Trimble – the attorney for Joy Trent’s deceased father

Rose Harrod – a mysterious woman with a connection to both Joy Trent and the carousel

REVIEW:

When Nancy agreed to help her friends, George and Bess, take their young relatives to the amusement park located in Riverside Park, she never thought she’d find herself challenged to solve a mystery! But when River Heights News’ reporter, Rick Jason, challenges her to uncover the mysterious haunting of the amusement park’s carousel, how can she say no? Before she can even begin, however, she finds herself thrust into another situation where her help is needed – the Trompels, a family visiting from Switzerland, just had their money stolen! Nancy asks around and quickly gets a description of the perpetrators – but when she confronts them, she finds that she may be in for more trouble that she bargained! The timely arrival of a police officer drives the crooks away, but not before Nancy is able to recover the Trompels’ money so they can remain in the country for the rest of their vacation.

Nancy turns her attention back to the haunted carousel and decides her first step in solving the mystery is to speak with the owner of the carousel. Leo Novak proves to be little help, informing her that the carousel used to be in the park until about eight years prior with the previous owner decided to move it to the Midwest. Mr. Novak only recently returned the carousel to its original home. Not giving up hope, Nancy makes plans to stake-out the carousel overnight to see if it truly is haunted. Nancy’s boyfriend, Ned, joins her, and just as they are ready to call it a night when several hours pass uneventfully, Ned spies two mysterious figures inspecting the horses of the carousel! Then, without warning, the carousel lights up and begins to move!

The two figures take off into the night, and although Ned attempts to follow them, he is knocked unconscious and loses them. The next morning, Nancy finds that her challenge to solve the mystery is the top story! Hannah informs her that a number of people have already called the house with theories, but that one person named Joy Trent had called for a different purpose – she has a private mystery that she needs Nancy to solve. Bess arrives, however, before Nancy can learn any more, and the two head off for the amusement park. It is there that Nancy is informed by the police officer that helped her with the Trompels that the two crooks who stole the Trompels’ money were wanted felons who escaped from prison! Detective Norris from the St. Louis police department explains to Nancy that Fingers Malone and Baldy Krebs are dangerous and have a history of crimes!

Not deterred from her sleuthing, Nancy, along with Bess, inspects the carousel. While they are looking over the horses, a man who introduces himself as Arno Franz begins to talk with Nancy about the carousel. He unwittingly gives Nancy a clue when he informs her that the lead horse, which is the most ornate and fanciful horse on the carousel, was not the original horse! Nancy goes straight to Leo Novak, who shrugs it off, explaining that a garbage truck unknowingly backed into the lead horse and damaged it, and so it had to be replaced. Not knowing what else to do for the day, Nancy and Bess prepare to leave. It’s at that moment when she spies Fingers Malone! Nancy chases the criminal into the haunted house ride, but loses him inside. Just as she spies him again and renews her pursuit, she is hit on the head from behind and loses consciousness!

When Nancy comes to, she is shocked to find that no one has found Fingers Malone. Bess, who was watching the exit the entire time, said he never came out. While the police suspect that Nancy might have misidentified the person she was pursuing, Nancy is positive it was Malone.

Returning home, Nancy discovers that Joy Trent visited her home to seek out her help. Nancy promises to follow up on that, but her attention is focused on the carousel. George suggests they allow Neil Sawyer, who is an electrical engineer student, to inspect the carousel, which Nancy agrees to immediately. When they later meet up with him at a cookout that George’s and Bess’ families are having, Neil surprises them with the news that he already inspected the carousel! He reveals that the carousel is being activated remotely by radio signal. Inspired by this news, Nancy confronts the carousel owner the next day. When she arrives, she sees him talking with an attractive, well-dressed woman who leaves just as Nancy shows up. When questioned, Mr. Novak complains that she is one of the many pushy people who come in daily with theories about the haunted carousel. Nancy then informs him of Neil’s theory. He denies any such device having been attached to the control box, stating unequivocally that he would have noticed such a thing.

Despite her determination to get to the bottom of the mystery, Nancy finds herself embroiled in more that just this one mystery! One of Ned’s professors at college is doing research on a Walter Kruse, a local artist and sculptor who died. It seems he once dated the daughter of the carousel’s previous owner, and had written numerous letters to her. Nancy agrees to see if she can locate those letters. Then, she finally meets Joy Trent, who seeks Nancy’s help in solving a riddle left to her by her deceased father – a written equation that simply says “iris = ? = old glory.” Joy’s aunt, Selma Yawley, is very disturbed by Joy’s involvement of Nancy into their personal affairs, but Joy feels that the clue is important to finding out more about her mother who died when she was born. Nancy agrees to help Joy despite her Aunt Selma’s protests.

Things suddenly become fast-paced as Nancy finds herself getting closer to the solutions to all of the mysteries. Misleading stories about the original lead horse, the kidnapping of the woman who was talking with Leo Novak, the cutting loose of and sending adrift the houseboat on which Nancy and her friends are asleep, a painting of a Civil War battle scene that points Nancy in the right direction, and a tissue paper with a crude drawing of a horse all lead Nancy to uncover not only the truth behind the lead horse, but also the true identities of several people involved, the true reason for the haunting of the carousel, and the true meaning of the riddle left behind by Joy Trent’s father!

PERSONAL THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS:

Sometimes even the best of editors can miss a thing or too, as is apparent in the very first chapter of this book. When Nancy meets the Swiss couple who are robbed, they are first introduced as Konrad and “Judi” Trompel on page 10 – yet, on the very next page, and each instance thereafter, they are referred to as Konrad and “Trudi” Trompel! Perhaps the name “Judi” didn’t sound Swiss enough and they went back to change it and missed one, I’m not sure. Later printings show that this error was not corrected.

So different from the new Girl Detective series, Police Chief McGinnis seemed ever-ready in this mystery to hearken to Nancy’s beck and call! Whether it’s providing her with a list of all the calls for when the carousel lit up at night by itself, or providing her with information regarding a robbery at Joy Trent’s house, the police chief has no problems giving Nancy all the assistance she needs to solve the mystery! And it was quite humorous that when a stolen rowboat is suddenly returned to its owner, it is Nancy that must ask the police chief to go take fingerprints from the boat!

And one just has to love that magical Nancy Drew formula – a large group of characters, many of whom seem unrelated, two or three separate mysteries, and foils and red-herrings at every turn – yet, by the end of the book, not only do the characters ultimately relate one to another, but the mysteries all turn out to be interwoven, and by solving one mystery, Nancy solves them all! Which, considering the number of characters in this mystery, was certainly no small feat!

These paperbacks are not the original texts – they may not be as rich in details, and the characters may not be as multi-dimensional; but the stories are entertaining and original, and the cover style and the art are definitely high standard. Give them a chance – start “wander-ing” through these first Nancy Drew paperbacks – you might just find you like them!

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