Customer Reviews

Smile and Say Murder (Nancy Drew Casefiles, Case 4)

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

 

 

Nancy's new case takes her to Chicago, where Yvonne Verdi, editor and co - owner of a new teen magazine called Flash, is getting death threats. Yvonne claims that the culprit is Mick Swanson, her partner, and she just wants Nancy to prove it. Nancy isn't so sure until she's the victim of one of Mick's sick practical jokes. Nancy's working under cover, but Mick has branded her as Yvonne's spy, so half the office is giving her the cold shoulder. When Nancy's boyfriend, Ned, comes to help her with her detective work he falls for Mick's sister, Sondra. Now Nancy has two jobs; find out who the poison pen writer is and keep Sondra away from Ned. I loved this Nancy Drew because Ned finally gets a little fed up with tagging along on all of Nancy's cases, and Nancy realises how much she takes Ned for granted.

Nancy Drew is asked by a magazine manager if she would come and solve a mystery about some threat's she's getting. The mystery get's really hard when things take an odd turn, but Nancy can't bear it when she finds out that Ned is flirting with an other girl! Now she has to choose. Keep on solving the mystery and loose Ned or drop the mystery so she can be with Ned. To find out what happens, you have to read this book.

Nancy must unlock another case,but this time it has to do with the most popular teen magizine! Under cover Nancy is an assisstant for Mick Swanson a violent partener to Yvonne Verdi.Yvonne has been getting harsh,threating letters,and she believes Mick is doing it! Nancy believes he's dangerous so she calls Ned Nickerson,to make matters worse Ned starts flirting with mick's sister,leaving Nancy furious with jealousy.Soon she is shocked by the truth Mick's innocent! This book is full of suspicion and wonder! The best!

Nancy goes to Flash magazine to see who's threatening a woman named Yvonne with freaky letters. One of her main suspects, Mick, seems really dangerous so Nancy calls Ned to be her bodyguard. But it backfires when Ned falls head over heels for Mick's sister Sandra!! This was a really good 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 (one character wears "skin-tight red pants with a pattern of black spiders on them". Ouch; it hurts just thinking about it).

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. Still, they are entertaining enough as long as you know what you're in for.

This unfortunately, is not one of the better installments.

Nancy Drew goes undercover as an intern at a popular teen magazine publishing company, called in by the co-owner Yvonne Verdi who has been getting death threats. She suspects her partner Mick Swanson, who thinks that Yvonne wants to sell out the company to a news syndicate. Yvonne doesn't, but the erratic and temperamental Mick firmly believes that she does and between the two of them, the atmosphere at "Flash" magazine is tense. Nancy finds Yvonne's story a bit fishy, but is eager enough to work as Mick's photography assistant and try to get to the bottom of the case.

There is a more personal subplot concerning Nancy and Ned's relationship, in which Ned gets fed up with Nancy taking him for granted and continually putting her cases ahead of himself. He finds a distraction though, in the appearance of Sondra Swanson, Mick's attractive sister, who in her turn is suspicious and unfriendly toward Nancy. It sounds like a reasonable development considering the way Ned always takes the backseat in terms of Nancy's priorities, but the Nancy and Ned *I* know would never fight in front of a crowd of people.

That's part of the problem with the book: the characterization is rather weak, with Nancy coming across as painfully immature and petulant: "I hate him! I don't ever want to see him again!" is what she "sobs" to her father at one stage. Likewise, the entire range of suspects seems to have a split personality, depending on the situation. Throw in Brenda Carlton, the stereotypical rich-bitch and Nancy's rival, and you have a cast that is thoroughly unlikeable.

Often the story relies on cliff-hanger endings to the chapters (which are resolved within moments in the following chapter) and there's nothing subtle here: tarantulas in desk drawers, practical jokes involving severed heads, and Nancy falsely arrested for murder before the police even check to see if the victim is dead. Finally, the resolution makes absolutely no sense. The culprit had no reason to do what they did, inexplicably calls Nancy's attention to the case in the first place, and falls into the usual villain trap of monologuing endlessly about how clever they are before trying to kill Nancy via a convoluted death-trap instead of just shooting her with the gun they hold in their hand.

This series has always been light, forgettable reading - but give this particular installment a miss.