Rich and Dangerous

Nancy Drew Files #25

by Carolyn Keene

Nancy Drew is in New York with her father. At the Plaza Hotel, she meets Sarah Amberly. However, Sarah is soon murdered, and Nancy's the main suspect! If she does not solve this case fast, she could end behind bars!

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

180 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

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 In a few cases, outdated plots were completely rewritten.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]

This was an intense one...but it was definitely fun!

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tarot cards and the Plaza hotel, this was definitely a fun one!

[Melody · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read about 35 of the Nancy Drew Files and this one is written a lot different from the others, in tone and events. For example Nancy sees an older woman yelling at her family and pretty much thinks "what a bitch" however later she changes her mind and befriends her. Not like Nancy. She also holds the woman while she dies a little later. Which is also very unusual for these books.
Overall I would say this book is okay. You kind of have an idea who the villain is but it keeps you guessing.

[Jamie (TheRebelliousReader) · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars. This was such a bore and the writing and characters felt off. I don’t know who wrote this one but their writing sticks out compared to the others and not in a good way. A lot of little inconsistencies. Plus, the case was a bit of a mess and it didn’t make for an entertaining read at all. It was boring. Oh, well.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

My review/recap (includes cursing): https://anchor.fm/nancy-drew-nickerso...

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a really weird one.

[V. Arrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

So soapy and salacious. Tarot cards. Missing diamonds and rubies. The Plaza penthouse suites. The only improvement could have been a cameo from a grown-up Eloise.

[K.L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nancy and her dad are at a posh hotel but Carson is too busy to spend time with her so she pokes her nose into an argument she hears her neighbours having. There is no mystery, just Nancy being a nosy snoopy snooper... until the old lady she befriended dies suspiciously in Nancys arms, leaving Nancy suspected of her murder. Nancy needs to unravel the tangled family dynamics and find the real murderer before she gets locked up for good!

[Allison Evans]

Nancy Drew Rich and Dangerous is the 25th case in the Nancy Drew files. In this case Nancy is all set to spend a weekend away in New York with her father Carson Drew. They are all set to enjoy a weekend of luxury at the Plaza in their penthouse sweet, but Nancy soon notices their exceptionally wealthy neighbors have some kind of mystery to them. Before she knows it, Nancy is getting to know the wealthy Sarah Amberly and the fortune her husband left her after she died. Sarah seems nervous about her family members, and Nancy investigates further into the Amberly's world. Soon Nancy discovers Sarah dead, and things soon escalate as Nancy's laid back weekend becomes anything but.

This was a fun read. I read so many Nancy Drew mysteries as a youth, and have many fond memories of them. Of course it was a somewhat different experience now then I remember then. The novels are a lot simpler, and the mysteries not quite such cliff hangers as I remember, but it was a good read none the less.

[Bookish Indulgenges with b00k r3vi3ws · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys throughout my school and college days.
Nancy Drew is an amateur detective who solves crimes with occasional help from her best friends, Bess and George and, her boyfriend Ned. She also has occasional help from her father Carson Drew who runs a private law practice. From finding stolen goods to missing persons and solving mysterious happenings, Nancy is a force of nature.
Until I discovered that Carolyn Keene is a pen name for a whole bunch of ghostwriters, I used to feel confused about the slight differences in each character from books to book over the many series of Nancy Drew mysteries. I like the character of Nancy best in the original books written by Mildred Wirt Benson where Nancy is truly a character to root for – an independent and street smart girl with a penchant for trouble.

[Nadine Keels · Rating 5 out of 5]

Granted, I don't know how many Nancy Drew books I read back in my adolescence, but I do remember enjoying a good number of them, and Rich and Dangerous was one of my favorites--made all the more memorable by the fact that the Nancy on the cover had redder hair than she did on most of the other Nancy Drew covers I'd seen.

[Posie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic Nancy Drew novel!

[Alexa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crafty.

[Rei Anthony Albon · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was really funny how tomboyish George fell in love. hahaha...

[Karisti Severt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solvable. 94/100

[Gabi Sundquist]

This case of Nancy Drews is, of course, full of mystery and suspiciousness, as are all the other cases. This one though is slightly different. Nancy and her father Carson go to New York to try to bond, but of course, Carson gets called away to work the whole time, and so Nancy ends up finding the mystery and solving it on her own. Nancy becomes enchanted by the neighbors, the Amberly's who are staying in the suite next to her own. For the rest of the "vacation", she tries to be near them as much as possible. Suddenly one day the mother, Sarah Amberly collapses, with none of her loving family around. Nancy is quick to be there and save the day, but then she can help but wonder why none of the family was there? Was someone looking to get some money from Sarah's death? Nancy can't help but to solve this mystery and follow her hunch.
This book was a classic Nancy Drew novel with mystery and excitement. It doesn't let down the dedicated readers. It is great for kids who love a good mystery and want to get started on reading their own novels. It is entertaining and will keep them enthralled until the last page is turned.