Trail of Lies

Nancy Drew Files #53

by Carolyn Keene

When Carson Drew is invited by his friend, Henry Wilcox, to visit him in Alaska; Nancy and George are delighted to join him. But everything turns sour when Wilcox is accused of smuggling ivory and Nancy is asked to investigate. Henry's son Steve has a grudge against Nancy which she can't figure out and George has fallen for him. When George is kidnapped, Nancy has to work harder, and faster, to find the smuggler before George's time runs out!

Genres: Mystery, Young Adult, Crime, Classics, Childrens, Mystery Thriller, Friendship

151 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1990

About the author

Carolyn Keene is a writer pen name that was used by many different people- both men and women- over the years. The company that was the creator of the Nancy Drew series, the Stratemeyer Syndicate, hired a variety of writers. For Nancy Drew, the writers used the pseudonym Carolyn Keene to assure anonymity of the creator.

Edna and Harriet Stratemeyer inherited the company from their father Edward Stratemeyer. Edna contributed 10 plot outlines before passing the reins to her sister Harriet. It was Mildred Benson (aka: Mildred A. Wirt), who breathed such a feisty spirit into Nancy's character. Mildred wrote 23 of the original 30 Nancy Drew Mystery Stories®, including the first three. It was her characterization that helped make Nancy an instant hit. The Stratemeyer Syndicate's devotion to the series over the years under the reins of Harriet Stratemeyer Adams helped to keep the series alive and on store shelves for each succeeding generation of girls and boys. In 1959, Harriet, along with several writers, began a 25-year project to revise the earlier Carolyn Keene novels. The Nancy Drew books were condensed, racial stereotypes were removed, and the language was updated. In a few cases, outdated plots were completely rewritten.

Other writers of Nancy Drew volumes include Harriet herself, she wrote most of the series after Mildred quit writing for the Syndicate and in 1959 began a revision of the first 34 texts. The role of the writer of "Carolyn Keene" passed temporarily to Walter Karig who wrote three novels during the Great Depression. Also contributing to Nancy Drew's prolific existence were Leslie McFarlane, James Duncan Lawrence, Nancy Axelrod, Priscilla Doll, Charles Strong, Alma Sasse, Wilhelmina Rankin, George Waller Jr., and Margaret Scherf.

Reviews

[Carrie]

I remember reading this as a kid

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quintessential Nancy Drew book. It was less overtly old fashioned and gender normative than I was expecting (which is not to say not at ALL, but definitely less than the older ones). And there were some Alaska inaccuracies (such as describing a house built in the Victorian Era and Denali towering over the Chugach Mountains), but there are some adult books that suffer from those types of inaccuracies or worse (cough Dave Eggers cough). Anyway, I enjoyed reading this and feeling like a kid again.

[Melody · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this one but looking back I can't really think of anything special about it. The Alaska setting is cool and so is the dog sledding. The culprit wasn't obvious, I don't think they were even listed as a suspect on the front page.

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another exciting volume in this series.

[K.L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goody, winter AND Alaska AND dogsledding! Love it! George and Nancy head up to Alaska with Carson to investigate accusations that Carson's old school friend is being accused of ivory smuggling. George falls for his grumpy friend Steve- who also happens to be Nancys number one suspect! Dog Sledding! Mush mush!!!

[Jamie (TheRebelliousReader) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars. I liked this one! A smuggling ring is going on and Nancy teams up with George’s boyfriend who hates Nancy to solve the case and that was really fun. I really enjoyed the story here and it was a fun read. I particularly liked the ending and how the culprit was caught.

[V. Arrow · Rating 3 out of 5]

I mean, this one was fine. BY FAR AND AWAY the best part was when George and Nancy speechlessly, in wonder and awe, watch the Northern Lights together while holding hands and feeling so much love in their hearts for one another. For reasons.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable Nancy Drew mystery. I thought the change of scenery to Alaska was fun and I liked the inclusion of the dog sledding. I thought George fell a little fast for Steve but other than that it was a good book.

[Ashley Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love all the Nancy Drew books

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this one a lot more than recent ones I’ve read in the series. I loved the dog sledding scenes!

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my favorite Nancy Drew I have read so far but if I was one of her friends I’d stay home, she’s far too dangerous to travel with

[Adri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nancy hits the ice in the thrilling novel Trail of Lies. In this exciting adventure Nancy, George, and Carson (Nancy's father) travel to beautiful Alaska. While there Nancy meets her newest case, a smuggling! Nancy comes to realize not to judge people by their covers in more than one example.
Nancy has been given 3 suspects who could have all committed the crime. The first suspect is none other than Steve Wilcox. Steve is the son of Henry Wilcox, who owns the cargo shipping company, he also maybe George's next big mistake if Nancy's superstitions are confirmed. The next suspect is none other than... The butler! John Tilden has been working for Henry for a few years now and has never yet disappointed him, but ever since Nancy arrived he has been acting strange. Whenever Nancy even thinks about bringing up past employment John gets edgy. The last suspect is Amanda Spear. Amanda is the book keeper at Henry's company and seems to be a bit to prosperous for her job. She is also Steve's ex and doesn't seem to enjoy Steve or his friends.
One of my personal favorite's in this book is the fact that there is dog sledding. Steve and Craig, his dog nanny, have one of the best teams in Alaska. His main competitor, Lindsey, is none other than Amanda's best friend.
I really enjoyed this book! It was a quick read and super fun to figure out.

[Lauri · Rating 2 out of 5]

Let's be clear - so little research went into this book.
1. Iditarod and other major races will not allow a whip or anything like a whip to be carried. Beating the dogs will cause a musher to be withdrawn and suspended/banned.
2. Whiny handler. Search for mushing handler on the internet. The job is to feed and scoop after the dogs while the musher focuses on running the dogs. He repeatedly complains that the musher expects him to do his job.

[Zoe · Rating 3 out of 5]

good book