Customer Reviews

Deadly Intent (Nancy Drew Casefiles, Case 2)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When Nancy gets backstage tickets for her and her friends to meet Bent Fender, she's delighted. But minutes before the concert the lead guitarist, Barton Novak, goes missing. Now Nancy's trying to find him. She's still trying to patch things up with Ned after her last case, and her father may be involved with a suspect. Things get more serious when Bess disappears, and Nancy suspects Alan, Bess's boyfriend, of being involved with the kidnappers. Nancy's been warned to stay off the case, but she's going to find Bess and Barton, no matter what. Another classic Nancy Drew!

This Nancy Drew case was a trip to New York to see a rock group,Bent Fender, live in concert. On this trip Nancy takes along George, Bess and Alan (Alan is Bess boyfriend) all four are BIG fans. Some of them are more than others. Just before the gang gets to see Bent Fender perform the groups lead guitarist Barton disappears. The strangest thing is the whole reason the group is performing is because of the fundraiser Barton put together. Why would he disappear just before a charity he put together? Was it a set up? Theres only one way to find out, read this book. You will learn so many new things about the music business that you never knew before. I learned that stardom will make anyone go crazy and it will change them. I also now know that pirating is a major crime that any recording artist can commit (and eventually get caught). On the other hand I also picked up that musicians have just as hard a life as any ordinary person. It's tough being famous. At times I think they have more problems then the people I know do. It is a good book about musicians and friendships.

I think this is a great book and should be read by every mystery fan. When the rock star was found missing before the concert, Roger told Nancy that he wouldn't leave before this concert because he been waiting for it for a long time. Nancy went right on the case and the next thing she knew she was being knocked out! My favorite part was near the end when Nancy figured out where Bess, and Bart?, were being held. Of course if you want to find out where YOU'RE going to have to read the book.

"The Nancy Drew Files" are a series of mysteries set in the 1980s that "update" the famous girl detective within that particular time period. This is achieved with moderate success, and all things considered, the original 1950s-era series is infinitely preferable to this one. The main problem is that the original Nancy Drew series had a longetivity to them; these don't. Published and set in the 1980s, the "Files" are already badly dated in their descriptions of technology, clothing and slang (not to mention the fact that the World Trade Centre is featured in the cover art for this installment).

A large emphasis is put on describing Nancy's wardrobe, most of which sounds quite ridiculous (most of the clothing worn in the 80s deserves to be forgotten forever - trust me, I was there) and the "cool, hip" subject matter of the mysteries, such as teen-magazines, record companies, rock bands, MTV and fashion designers, seem to be trying too hard to appeal to their target audience. Give me the timelessness of the haunted houses in the original series any day.

They're not as meaty as the original books; either in plot or character. Usually relying more on action sequences and a formulaic line-up of suspects, the "Files" series have rather simplistic mysteries that will probably be figured out by the reader long before Nancy does, and will invariably end with the gang in a life-or-death situation (devoid of all tension, since we know nothing will happen to them). The original series were more complex, had a longer page-count, and usually had Nancy five steps ahead of the reader.

Nancy herself is pleasant enough, but doesn't have much in the way of a personality - she's simply the vessel through which the mystery unfolds, with a few high kicks and karate chops thrown in for good measure. The dialogue between characters is stilted, and sounds nothing like how real people actually talk and behave. However, one advantage to the "Files" is a sense of continuity. All the original mysteries were standalone installments, but here there are direct references to past events and characters - in this case, Nancy's flirtation with Daryl Grey in Nancy Drew Files: Secrets Can Kill, and Ned's growing restlessness at Nancy prioritizing her life around mysteries instead of their relationship. It gives a sense of growth and development in the characters (albeit, feather-light growth and development) and Bess and George are given a bit more agency of their own, rather than simply falling into line behind Nancy.

In "Deadly Intent", Nancy and the gang are excited about meeting the band members of Bent Fender before their big charity concert, only to find that the lead guitarist Barton Novak goes missing minutes before they're due on stage. Nancy takes responsibility for finding him, and comes to the conclusion that he's been kidnapped - but why? A further spanner is thrown into the works when the agent and producer of the band insist that it's just a publicity stunt, and when Bess's boyfriend Alan (introduced in the previous book) insists that he saw Barton safe and well.

Added complications come in the form of Nancy beginning to believe that Alan as knowing more than he's letting on about the disappearance, and her father dating one of the suspects, as she slowly begins to find evidence of a piracy ring.

I've been rather harsh on this series in this review: the truth is, these books are fine reading material for a long car or plane ride, or for younger readers who won't notice the flawed writing and plotting. However, if the choice arises between reading a "Files" or one of the original 1950s books...well, the answer is obvious.

I thought this book was going to be great, like the first one. I was very disapointed with it. The plot is VERY confusing. It takes twists and turns all over the place. I found myself not wanting to read it. Even though it sounds great, it isn't.