Customer Reviews

The Secret of Shadow Ranch (Nancy Drew, No. 5)

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have a large collection of the original "blue" Nancy Drew books, and every so often I go back and read them, despite the fact that I'm well into my forties. Lately I've been amusing myself by reading the old books, then downloading the newer Kindle editions and comparing them. For the most part, the original editions (now published by Applewood, sadly not available on Kindle) are far better. Not only do they have the charm of roadsters and frocks and chums, but they're simply better written. They flow well, and don't have that cut-down, spliced-together feel of the newer editions. Also, the original Nancy has a certain devil-may-care, reckless attitude the newer Nancy is missing.

THE SECRET OF SHADOW RANCH is the one exception I've discovered so far to this rule. As a few reviewers have mentioned, the original edition is hardly a mystery at all. Nancy doesn't spend her time sleuthing; she and her "chums" learn to ride, then repeatedly go up into the mountains, getting lost and facing down bobcats, mountain lions, and rushing rivers. All of which may be exciting, but has little to do with the Nancy Drew most of us know. The book does introduce Bess and George, but otherwise, it's not really worth your time. The mystery is very slight, and is solved at the end through Carson Drew's efforts, not Nancy's. This is the one older edition that's better left on the shelf.

The newer edition, on the other hand, starts with excitement and mystery, and never really lets up. There's a "phantom" horse (of course Nancy figures out what it really is!), bad guys, good guys, a treasure concealed where only our redoubtable heroine can find it... It's a surprisingly good read, and doesn't have that choppy feel (perhaps because it was written from scratch, rather than cut down from the original). Overall, the newer edition is an enjoyable book.

The Sceret Of Shadow Ranch is great mystery. It's about Nancy and her friends thinking they wher going for a vacation on Beth and Georges uncels ranch ranch in Arizona for the summer. A hidden treasure and a phantom horse became another mystery for the three friends to solve. I mostly liked the ranch setting . i would love to spend a weekend at a ranch like that. i didn't however like how mean the bad guys wher to each other. I think it is sad when other people make others feel worthless. Nancy, was my favortie chartecter because she was mysterious also when she was solving mysterys she keept going no matter how hard they were to solve. My favorite part is on page 152;"You're a downrite marvel, that's what you are young laddy," Ms,Thurmond said that about Nancy Drew. i like when the charecter,Nancy, how she helps notice how smart she really is. it is a really good story. The only question i have about this book is that;i wish they would have said what the debt was, like why they had to sell the ranch? I would recommend this book greatly because it really makes you think.

For all the teenage girls out there who are looking for a good read, but think Nancy Drew is just a little too old, you are TOTALLY wrong.I started reading Nancy Drew when I was seven, and I still love them (I'm 13 now.)This book, especially is really exciting, it takes place on a ranch and the adventure is continuos.You will find yourself on the edge of your seat whispering, "Hurry, Nancy, he'll find you!"the overall plot of the story if fantastic, and, like all of Keene's books, it's really worth reading! I would suggest this book to everyone, no matter theyre age or sex.

This is my favorite Nancy Drew book.It starts off with Nancy,Bess,and Gorge.They were at the airport and they ate at a cafe.This is when Nancy first heard about the mystery.(you can read the book to find out what the problems are.) Turns out one of the bad guys heard them talk about this.He gave them two warning notes.That is only the beginning of the book.I would have to write about twenty pages(but I am not going to)to describe and tell you what happens in the book.For mystery lovers,I highly recommend this book. (p.s. Nancy Drew rules!!!!!!)

I like the fact that it has horses in it and that it is set in a ranch. The mystery starts near the first page with a mysterious man, and ends with Nancy solving a ghastly crime. Go Nancy!

this book was one of my favorites. it always kept you thinkin and wondering what was going to happen next. i am 13 years old and have really enjyed the nancy drew books. i love the mysterious feelin of all the nancy drew books. but this one was an amazing book that i recomend for all nancy drew fans of all ages. in this book you cant help but think....«is that person my friend or foe?». i really like this book and i think you willtoo.

One of the very first Nancy Drew mysteries is fittingly one of the best. Nancy is invited to holiday with her friends Bess and George on their aunt and uncle's ranch in Arizona, only to find the two of them desolate when she joins them at the airport. It turns out that Shadow Ranch is being haunted by the phantom horse of a legendary outlaw named Dirk Valentine who loved the sheriff's daughter and was shot on the premises. As he lay dying he cursed the land, and since the appearance of the phantom horse always results in sabotage somewhere on the farm, the owners are convinced that the place is unsafe for the girls.

But in proving her clear head and knack at solving mysteries, Nancy is granted a reprieve to try and solve the mystery of Shadow Ranch. She is convinced that the phantom is merely a hoax designed to scare the Rawleys off their property and to serve as a distraction whilst the sabotage goes on elsewhere. On discovering that Valentine left a treasure behind him for the benefit of the sheriff's daughter, she begins to suspect that the ranch has some hidden value. There are plenty of suspects to choose from, including a man who leaves a threatening letter in her bag, an unfriendly ranch-hand who prowls about at night, and the missing father of Bess and George's cousin Alice.

I find that the best Nancy mysteries are those that have a ghostly element to them, even if there always ends up being no supernatural cause, and in this case a luminescent mare galloping over the fields at night is a captivating image that lies at the centre of the plot. Why does a light in the springhouse go on at odd times of the night? Who locked Nancy in the tack room? What is the meaning of the clues Valentine left behind for his sweetheart to follow? And why does the Rawleys' dog go missing?

As Nancy and her friends explore the ranch and the surrounding area they gradually uncover clues as to how and why the trick is done, as well as the culprits behind it and the location of the missing treasure. The plot hangs together exceptionally well, right now to little details such as a glass bottle and an Indian grindstone that have significance that is only realized by the end of the book. Likewise, the book sustains a great atmospheric tone what with its ghost towns, mountain treks, abandoned cabins and Indian cliff dwellings, all of which capture the sights and smells of Arizona and integrate them into the mystery itself.

The book is so popular that it was even adapted into a video game, which is proof enough that "The Secret of Shadow Ranch" lies at the very top of Nancy Drew's canon of books.

I use to read these in middle school and just wanted the collection- they kept me out of a lot of trouble- :)

This is one of the best Nancy Drew books in the series! It is impossible just to read one chapter. Carolyn Keene really set off the series with this book.
Nancy Drew is at a ranch that is haunted by a phantom horse, that was from an outlaw years ago. The horse appears at Shadow Ranch at night and after he leaves something teribble faithfully happens.
The young sleuth has to find out who the culprit is. Could it be Dave Gregory, Shorty Steele, Walt Sanders, Tex Britten or his pal Bud Moore?
Find out in this awesome book, The Secret of Shadow Ranch.

Originally written by Mildred Wirt Benson from outlines by Edward Stratemeyer, the Nancy Drew series was first published in 1930s. THE SECRET OF SHADOW RANCH was the fifth book in the series, and it presented its heroine as a rich, headstrong, and distinctly reckless teenager who sometimes carried a pistol and who wasn't above breaking the law when it suited her purposes.

As the series progressed and other writers began to generate Nancy Drew novels, the character changed and Nancy was "toned down;" instead of flatly rich, she became reasonably affluent; recklessness was replaced by commonsense caution; and while she might be willing to bend the law a bit she would never knowingly break it. In the 1950s and 1960s the earlier novels were re-written to reflect this change in character.

As originally published in 1931, SHADOW RANCH not only found Nancy packing heat, it also demonstrated that she was a good shot when it came to fending off wildlife. Re-written in 1965, the story concerns Nancy's visit to Arizona, where she faces a phantom horse and works to find both a hidden treasure and a missing artist who may be in the hands of kidnappers. Earlier books found Nancy assisted by Helen Corning, a slightly older friend; on this occasion, however, she is accompanied by two cousins, the ultra-feminine Bess Marvin and the tomboyish George Fayne, both of whom became reoccuring characters in the rest of the series.

The Nancy Drew books tend to repeat certain basic ideas, and in this particular instance the repetition is not so much amusing as it simply repetitious. Still, the book does have its minor charms: Nancy is distinctly the ideal of a specific era, able to do whip up a chocolate cake, win a square dance contest, and solve the mystery all at the same time.

The Nancy Drew books are not great literature by any stretch of the imagination--they are too distinctly formula for that--but they are competently written, literate, and never talk down to their target audience. They are also good "comfort reading" for grown-ups who recall their childhood reading fondly. SHADOW RANCH is not among the best of the series, but entertaining nonetheless.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer