Into Thin Air

Nancy Drew Files #57

by Carolyn Keene

When a man under investigation for embezzlement dies in a fiery helicopter crash, Nancy helps a friend investigate the case

Genres: Mystery, Young Adult, Childrens, Mystery Thriller, Crime, Fiction

152 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1991

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 In a few cases, outdated plots were completely rewritten.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

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

Between it being Mystery Month and trying to get ahead on my reading goal, it's a perfect time to rediscover these classic whodunits. Thanks to Apple Books and Amazon, I can access the eBooks I bought any time I want!

[Eric Wood · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable ND book. At first, I didn't really like that the mystery seemed like it was going to be a wild goose chase for most of the book, but halfway through, the mystery became real and I really enjoyed the second half. I liked how Nancy was in this book and her investigating was fine, but thought she had some coincidences help her. I enjoyed Mark and thought he was a pretty entertaining character, but was also a little annoying and immature. Some parts of the solution seemed a bit questioning to me, but overall, this is good book, it moves along nicely and will keep you turning the pages. 3 stars.

[Jamie (TheRebelliousReader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars. Mark is such a chaotic, clumsy, bumbling little trash goblin and I love him so much. What an idiot but he's lovable. Nancy works with Mark who thinks he's a detective to solve a case of a guy who was thought to be dead but is still alive. This was so much fun. From start to finish I was really into this. There was some great action in this at the end, including a badass helicopter chase scene. Just an awesome read and so entertaining. One of my favorites in this series for sure.

[K.L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite enjoyed this. Nancy and crew help George's new neighbour- a bumbling and disgraced PI. His gung-ho behaviour leads the girls into a fair amount of trouble as he is annoyingly hotheaded. A cool helicopter chase scene!

[aem · Rating 2 out of 5]

How annoying is Mark!!!

[Sandra Matthews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sandra review

This was a very good book thank god Nancy and her friends him the young man out and got the bad guy off the street

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun as always, but I hope we never hear from Mark again.

[Ingrid · Rating 3 out of 5]

so glad mark is a one-off character

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one sounded a lot better than it actually was. Nancy is called upon to help George's new neighbor, the world's klutzy-est and dumbest private detective, to solve a case that has already lost him his job, apartment, and girlfriend. So many details of this case were obvious from the start, and the fact that none of the characters put the pieces together was both frustrating and unbelievable. The plot was also pretty sluggish.