Customer Reviews

The Secret at Shadow Ranch (Nancy Drew, Book 5)

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

 

 

One of the most interesting ways to track the changes in the American social body is to contrast the plots of the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys adventure books over time. This one, originally written in 1931, reflects a far different American culture than those written later.
In this story, Nancy and her companions Elizabeth and George travel to Shadow Ranch in the wilds of Arizona. It is a somewhat rundown place, but still could easily be repaired. While there, they learn how to ride horses and the basic principles of running a ranch. Their adventures revolve around riding horses out into the wild and managing to get lost on a regular basis. The mystery involves a nasty woman named Martha Frank and the young girl named Lucy who lives with her. Other characters are the local junkman Zany Shaw and Ross Rogers, an odd man that was on the train with the girls when they traveled to Arizona.
The ending is one that simply would not be acceptable to the modern child. It involves what was thought to be a murder, the kidnapping of an infant, a case of serious amnesia and all of that being resolved by Nancy at the end. The dialog is typical of the thirties and it is clear that the author had little to no experience with cattle. While I find such stories fascinating as a window back in time, the modern young reader will be baffled by the dialog, plot and many of the references.

I loved these books as a girl and I am now building the set for my niece. It's hard not to read them again before I give them to her. I suppose they might seem old fashioned in this day and age and I know there are updated Nancy Drew mysteries but I am sticking with the originals for the good basic stories that help to develop problem solving skills.

This book is about Nancy,she is trying to find out about the mystery of Shadow Ranch. The book is called that beacause a phatom horse is running around.Nancy and friends go to a cafe and someone puts a note in her bag.And they tried to chatch him but he was to fast.Then,they went to a house where they bought a painting from the people they said it was from Mr.Bursey.So, they grabed a pair of hores and rode to his house.When they got there and asked if he had anymore painting's left he said no.So they went a diffrent path and it was narrow they heard someone following them so,they went in a cave and were as quiet as a mouse. Once the stranger was gone they ran away.Finally they went to the ciff house and saw a huge rock in front.So, Nancy figured out how to get in. She saw a V for valantine on the ceiling and it was and it was Mr.Valanitine treasure some people tried to steal it and ended up going to JAIL.



BY:jESSICA NICOLE MCKENNA

This book is about Nancy,she is trying to find out about the mystery of Shadow Ranch. The book is called that beacause a phatom horse is running around.Nancy and friends go to a cafe and someone puts a note in her bag.And they tried to chatch him but he was to fast.Then,they went to a house where they bought a painting from the people they said it was from Mr.Bursey.So, they grabed a pair of hores and rode to his house.When they got there and asked if he had anymore painting's left he said no.So they went a diffrent path and it was narrow they heard someone following them so,they went in a cave and were as quiet as a mouse. Once the stranger was gone they ran away.Finally they went to the ciff house and saw a huge rock in front.So, Nancy figured out how to get in. She saw a V for valantine on the ceiling and it was and it was Mr.Valanitine treasure some people tried to steal it and ended up going to JAIL.



BY:jESSICA NICOLE MCKENNA

This story starts when Nancy and her "chums" visit an Arizona ranch. They meet a girl on the train whose father has disappeared. Once they reach Arizona, the find an orphan girl living in a remote cabin with a cruel guardian. And then people at Shadow Ranch report a ghost horse is running around at night. Could the three mysteries be related? Find out when you read THE SECRET AT SHADOW RANCH. Only Nancy Drew could solve this one - and you know she will! It's worth the extra money to buy this reprint instead of the 1960's version...this is the original text as it was in the 1930's.

The original Secret at Shadow Ranch Nancy Drew book is lengthly and very descriptive. It takes about 3 1/2 hours to read and seems mildly boring at times, but has a wonderful ending. Nancy, Bess, George, and Alice have several misadventures in the mountains that keep you hooked chapter after chapter. It is just as interesting as the other originals and is a wonderful Nancy book to read.

This particular Nancy Drew book is very good, wonderful for horse lovers also! It is about horses, and there is a ghost horse that has been walking around and Nancy is trying to find out why!

This book is about Nancy,she is trying to find out about the mystery of Shadow Ranch. The book is called that beacause a phatom horse is running around.Nancy and friends go to a cafe and someone puts a note in her bag.And they tried to chatch him but he was to fast.Then,they went to a house where they bought a painting from the people they said it was from Mr.Bursey.So, they grabed a pair of hores and rode to his house.When they got there and asked if he had anymore painting's left he said no.So they went a diffrent path and it was narrow they heard someone following them so,they went in a cave and were as quiet as a mouse. Once the stranger was gone they ran away.Finally they went to the ciff house and saw a huge rock in front.So, Nancy figured out how to get in. She saw a V for valantine on the ceiling and it was and it was Mr.Valanitine treasure some people tried to steal it and ended up going to JAIL.



BY:jESSICA NICOLE MCKENNA

I got this book from the library and i could barley read 5 pages. I lost interest very early on. Since i played the game first, i though it would be similar. the charcters didnt even have the same name. i was bored to tears. i dont recommend this book at all!!!!!!!!1

This review concerns the original 1931 edition. Nancy, Bess, George and Bess and George's cousin, Alice head west to spend the summer at a ranch in Arizona. Unfortunately, this is pretty much all that the book is about. The reader gets 203 pages of the girls' adventures during the numerous times that they are either lost in the wilderness or stuck there during storms. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. A feeble attempt to make the book interesting by adding a couple of mysteries, one concerning Alice and the other concerning an orphan girl being mistreated by her guardian, falls flat because the mysteries are just a sidenote to the escapades of Nancy and her friends. I didn't read the revised edition published in the 1960s; however, the stories are similar. The revised edition has an added mystery concerning a ghost horse which may make it more interesting, but typically the writing style used in the books published from the late 1950s on is so horrible that the books are just plain awful. So I don't have much faith that the revised edition is any good either. Only buy this dull book if you're looking to complete your set.