Litsy

Nancy Drew 24: The Clue in the Old Album | Carolyn Keene

What could the clue in the old album mean?!?

October‘s #NancyDrewBR title is the 24th in the series…hard to believe we are up to 24! Discussion on October 15th.

All are welcome to join. Please let me know if you wish to be added/removed from the tag list.

rubyslippersreads, DebinHawaii, DGRachel, BarkingMadRead, Jennifer3, kspenmoll, PurpleyPumpkin, JenlovesJT47, MariaW, CogsOfEncouragement, AnneCecilie, Born.A.Reader, Bookwormjillk, Read4life, StayCurious, bookandbedandtea, Laughterhp, Sace, Bren912, kwmg40, CSeydel, Ruthiella, dabbe, Julies_Bookshelf_Adventures, Enchanted_Bibliophile, Allylu, TheAromaofBooks, Charityann, Roary47, KristiAhlers, peanutnine, PageShifter, AmandaBlaze

Librarybelle @LitsyEvents 1d

BarkingMadRead Can‘t wait!! 1d

Ruthiella I‘m still reading this month‘s book! 😂 I need to get my holds in earlier. Looking forward to what Nancy and crew get up to next. 1d

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Bookwormjillk I missed the last one but am recommitting for this one. 21h

Librarybelle Yay, @BarkingMadRead ! 17h

Librarybelle @Ruthiella 😂 17h

Librarybelle @Bookwormjillk Hooray! 17h

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kwmg40

Mystery of the Tolling Bell | Carolyn Keene

pick

A pretty good installment in the Nancy Drew series, in which caves, bells and fraudsters play a part. I found the plot much more plausible than those of earlier ND stories.

#NancyDrewBR @Librarybelle

Librarybelle Completely agree! 3d

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DGRachel

Nancy Drew 23: Mystery of the Tolling Bell | Carolyn Keene

so-so

This is impossible for me to fairly rate, as I know I‘m the problem. It‘s definitely one of the more believable episodes, so I‘ll give it points for that, but I fell asleep twice. There was a lot of conveniently timed Ned intervention, and plenty of danger for all of the girls. Carson finds himself in trouble, too. George is exceptionally mean to Bess re: food at the very beginning, and I think that soured me on the whole thing. #nancydrewbr

Librarybelle

Librarybelle I‘m still not sure why Ned had to randomly show up. It was a bit too convenient. 3d

DGRachel @Librarybelle I‘m annoyed that he was the hero, swooping in to save the day” so often. As a child, I read these for the girl power vibes, not the “even the smartest woman needs a man to save her sometimes”. 3d

Librarybelle Yes! 3d

Roary47 I really felt the shaming on Bess more on this one too. I‘m glad Ned was there, but Nancy probably would have MacGyver‘d a way to save herself. 3d

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Librarybelle

Nancy Drew 23: Mystery of the Tolling Bell | Carolyn Keene

pick

Ghosts, pirates, a bad-smelling perfume, an abandoned home, and a missing Carson Drew. Sounds like a case for Nancy! A fun read with Nancy and her friends. I commented earlier on the abruptness of Ned‘s arrival. And hooray for Bess for showing she can be extra strong in a difficult situation! #NancyDrewBR

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Librarybelle

Nancy Drew 23: Mystery of the Tolling Bell | Carolyn Keene

Better late than never! It‘s been a morning here. Zeke has been unwell the last couple of days, and then the roofers came without notice to replace my roof today. Yay for a non-leaky roof, but I was not prepared for the minimal notice I received about them coming today (and neither were the cats). My apologies.

I have 6 questions posted as spoilers for our discussion. You can find them on my feed, the book‘s feed, or by searching #NancyDrewBR .

CogsOfEncouragement Ahhh! Thanks for hosting this in-it-for-the long-haul BR. There will be days like this, and I appreciate that you still came through with your posts for our discussion. I respect you for taking care of what you needed to, and still managed to get the posts up. This positive interaction about books is valuable, and it matters. Thank you again for your role as host. ✌🏻♥️📚 4d

Ruthiella Hope Zeke feels better soon. ❤️ New roof is so loud and disruptive, but much appreciated when it rains! I can only pick up my hold today. I will have to catch up today and tomorrow. 😅 4d

bookandbedandtea Thank you for carrying on with this despite the obstacles. I'm sorry Zeke has been unwell again. Poor little kitty. New roofs are a good thing but definitely disruptive! We had a terrible hailstorm last spring and every house in the neighborhood, including ours, has gotten a new roof. I'm very fortunate that I work from home, but some days the noise has been a challenge. 4d

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Librarybelle Thanks so much, @CogsOfEncouragement @Ruthiella @bookandbedandtea ! Zeke ate something he should not have the end of last week but he also stopped eating the food that really helps his belly. So, I‘m not sure it‘s a reaction to eating something he can no longer tolerate, the new food he cannot tolerate, a combo, or simply a bad spell with his cancer. He does want yummies, so that‘s good at least! 😂 4d

DGRachel I hope Zeke feels better soon! 3d

Roary47 Thank you for still posting! I hope Zeke feels better soon and you enjoy your new roof repairs. 💛 3d

Librarybelle Thank you, @DGRachel and @Roary47 ! 3d

35 likes7 comments

Librarybelle

Nancy Drew 23: Mystery of the Tolling Bell | Carolyn Keene

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6. I think young me would have been terrified for Nancy and her friends in a cave that floods during high tide! Adult me knows they're going to get out, but young me probably would have had nightmares!

The perfume that acted as poison was a good touch, in my opinion. And thankfully, no exploding oranges.

What did you think of Nancy's adventures in this one? #NancyDrewBR

BarkingMadRead Caves full of water? Hard pass 4d

CogsOfEncouragement Yeah, the girls' faith in their own swimming ability in open water was really something. Probably not what Carson means when he tells them to be careful.

The part w/Carson missing, & ND being warned twice that he wasn't really at that motel, and don't fall into the trap, had me on the edge of my seat. I didn't know what to think! I was fearful of a #nancynogginknockout for sure. And then he disappeared from the room he was just in. Very fun.

4d

bookandbedandtea The flooding cave was really scary! The noxious fumes were an interesting factor. I wonder why the effect lasted so long with Mr Drew? 4d

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MariaW @bookandbedandtea I think because the hotel clerk Slocum was part of the gang and Madame came and went as she liked. 3d

MariaW How come there was no kidnapping (of Nancy or a minor character) this time? 😜 Again, the cave posed the only real danger this time and it a very likely one and very believable. Waves can be pretty dangerous and this was definitely made clear. 🌊🌊🌊 (edited) 3d

DGRachel The cave and flash floods were terrifying. The rest was pretty tame. I didn‘t mind the lack of oranges, but I think I prefer a little more life-or-death shenanigans. 😂 3d

kwmg40 I found the cave scenes scary. However, the part I found most tense was when Carson was missing. He is not usually the one who needs rescuing, so I found that situation interesting. 3d

Roary47 It was a very good story this time. Nancy did get knocked out I thought with the gas. Even though the doctor basically just got there I was still surprised no one contacted her sooner. Wasn‘t he gone for a couple of days? 3d

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Librarybelle

Nancy Drew 23: Mystery of the Tolling Bell | Carolyn Keene

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5. Before we go to the adventures and dangers, we have to talk about the side characters! Bess and her determination to get George out of the water was amazing! Go Bess!

I felt bad for everyone who had been swindled by the villains and hope that restitution comes to them (I finished this really late last night and cannot remember if Carson found all of the stolen money).

I also missed Hannah in this one! #NancyDrewBR

bookandbedandtea I loved how Bess rescued George- and the boat! The doctor was really creepy, I thought, for someone who wasn't a bad guy. I agree about missing Hannah; I always like having her around. 4d

CogsOfEncouragement Yes, Bess can be brave when necessary and we love her for it.

The older people being taken advantage of sadly read like true crime. In the closing of the story, we are told that “Nancy and her friends were happy when they learned that Harry Tyrox...together with his New York accomplice, still possessed most of the money he had fleeced from innocent victims. ...who had bought the worthless stock would recover a sizeable amount of the cash... 4d

MariaW I thought A.H. behave very suspiciously as well. I mean, how could you leave the girls stranded, even if you have an important appointment? Then send somebody else at least. And Ned seems to turn out a skills wizard like Nancy (golfing tapdancer) and Carson (picking locks, using dynamite) as well, together they make a good superhero squad: He came back from South America (what did he do there???) to sell insurance… 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ 3d

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DGRachel I found both the doctor and AH to be suspicious, so I was really surprised neither of them turned out to be in cahoots with the bad guys, but AH‘s behavior was abhorrent. I think what I love most about Bess is that she is brave in her own way. Nancy, and even George to a lesser extent, is reckless. Bess is rarely reckless, but is always there to help and save her friends. 3d

kwmg40 I too liked Bess's contributions to this story. Because we know her to be less adventurous than Nancy and George, her bravery is even more admirable. 3d

Roary47 I agree about Bess being brave when she is the more reserved one. I also thought the doctor and AH were fishy. 3d

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Librarybelle

Nancy Drew 23: Mystery of the Tolling Bell | Carolyn Keene

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4. Let's look at the story line now. I've seen some in the group comment on this story line seems more plausible, and I agree. We'll talk about the dangers and the adventures in a later question.

Abandoned homes. Haunted caves. Shysters peddling Mon Coeur. It was interesting to me how all of these elements were tied up in the end. #NancyDrewBR

CogsOfEncouragement There is a store in La Jolla, California that has 145 steps down to a sea cave and I kept thinking about that. Plausible.

I was puzzled how that locals didn't understand the tides, and that was the only time the cave had water powerfully flooding from it. Good thing Nancy came along to explain.

Ned was more his “do as Nancy says“ self and I was happy to see it. 4d

MariaW I agree with @CogsOfEncouragement. How can experienced fishermen that have been living in the area for long not have known this? The cave somehow reminded me of The Goonies, even though tgere was no pirate treasure in the end. 🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️ And whole storyline around Mon Ceur seemed plausible as well. Who hasn‘t bought a cheap bottle of a brand perfume on holiday before and ended up with water that smelked slightly the same? Some goes for the (edited) 3d

MariaW fraud. Happens all the time, still today, see the Wirecard scandal. (edited) 3d

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DGRachel Nothing seemed really outlandish in this one, but I too am confused about the tides. For an area where fishing is such a big deal, how has no one put the tides and the cave flood together? Also, this is another thing that bothers me about Nancy taking the bell. It‘s been sounding as an unintentional warning. Why would you remove a safety warning?? 3d

kwmg40 I definitely found this story more plausible than most of the earlier books. 3d

Roary47 Like everyone, I also thought it was more believable. Is this the second time that Bess bought perfume that wasn‘t what it was originally stated to be? The tides thing was strange for a fishing village. 3d

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Librarybelle

Nancy Drew 23: Mystery of the Tolling Bell | Carolyn Keene

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3. One thing that struck me with this was the various foods served at the cafe. Food plays a big role throughout the series, as we've commented on in the past, but this time really stood out for me. Fish pudding and salmon meringue especially.

Has anyone ever tried these? I'm including a recipe for fish pudding. I lead a fairly sheltered food life, so I was not aware of either dish prior to this book! #NancyDrewBR

Librarybelle https://www.tastinghistory.com/recipes/fishpudding 4d

BarkingMadRead Salmon meringue 🤮🤮 4d

bookandbedandtea That recipe sounds every bit as gross as I'd imagine fish pudding to be 🤢 4d

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CogsOfEncouragement I'm not a big fan of seafood so these do not appeal to me. I had never heard of either thing and they stood out to me too. 4d

MariaW I like seafood, but not the dishes mentioned in the book, except for the lobster. And with the puddings I always have to keep in mind that they can be savoury as well. In Germany a Pudding is always a sweet dessert. 🍮🍮🍮 (edited) 3d

DGRachel I don‘t like or eat a lot of seafood and neither fish pudding or salmon meringue sound like anything I even want to see, let alone smell or taste. 🤢 Are savory puddings a thing outside of the UK? I see them on British Bake Off, but as an American, I‘m with @MariaW in having always thought of puddings as sweet desserts. 🤔 3d

kwmg40 I love fish and seafood, and the fish pudding sounds great! I love eggs too, but TBH salmon meringue sounds like a weird combination to me. 3d

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Librarybelle

Nancy Drew 23: Mystery of the Tolling Bell | Carolyn Keene

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2. Nancy, in part, is on the case of the tolling bell in the haunted cave. We hear discussion about the Paul Revere bells, which are indeed noteworthy.

Had you heard of Revere bells? Link in the comments to a Wikipedia post about them for a little background information. #NancyDrewBR

Librarybelle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revere_bells 4d

bookandbedandtea That article was really interesting. This is just the kind of little tidbit I like to learn while I'm reading. 😊 4d

CogsOfEncouragement I didn't remember that about Paul Revere, but I'm sure I knew at one time. I toured his home in Boston during a walking tour twenty some years ago. Ah, the things we learn and then forget. 4d

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MariaW I didn‘t know about them, but the article was quite interesting. I am definitely learning a lot abot US history and inheritance through the ND novels. When Nancy kept the small Revere bell in the end, I couldn‘t help but wonder if she alreay has got an extra room, like a cabinet, where she keeps all the stuff she has been given as a reward at tge end of each book. Does she stroll along the shelves touching them in memory of her cases? 🤔 (edited) 3d

DGRachel I didn‘t know about the Revere bells either. @MariaW I can just picture Nancy as an older woman wandering a hallway of display cases with all her mementos! I did think it was a little weird that she just decided she was going to keep it. The “I deserve a reward and I choose this one” felt a little out of character. 3d

MariaW @DGRachel I felt so too. Without asking, very selfish, even though she knows A.H. hunts for them all over the US. 3d

Roary47 I didn‘t know about the bells before this. Thank you for the article. 3d

kwmg40 I didn't know much about these bells. Thanks for sharing the article. 3d

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