In an interview, American actress Keri Russell was discussing her love for reading when she said:
“I must have ready every Nancy Drew book on the planet!”
And after reading “The Whispering Statue,” Nancy Drew # 14, I can definitely relate to Russel’s enthusiasm. The story is well written, the plot engaging and the characters, both primary and supporting, were diverse and compelling enough to keep me absorbed. Simply put, this book was a delight to read!
For those who haven’t read this one yet, here’s a basic overview:
Mrs. Horace Merriam is wealthy, dignified, statuesque, slender and pretty, but despite everything she has going for her, she’s stuck with a problem she’s unable solve on her own. This eventually prompts her to call on River Height’s most respected, experienced and adept attorney, Mr. Carson Drew.
As for Drew, when Mrs. Merriam informs him of the nature of her predicament, he realizes that he has a problem of his own. He’s unable to dedicate the time to Mrs. Merriam’s case that he knows is required:
“I know Mrs. Merriam is in a hurry to have this mystery solved. Unfortunately I am busy on another case which will take me out of town for a while.”
Suddenly, an idea comes to him and he knows he has the answer.
He’ll bring his work home.
Rather than making an appointment at the office, He invites Mrs. Merriam to his home for dinner with his family where he introduces her to the Drew’s longtime housekeeper, Mrs. Hannah Gruen, his daughter’s best friend George Fayne, George’s cousin, Bess Marvin and lastly, his daughter, the superstar amateur sleuth, Nancy Drew.
After the introductions, Carson asks Mrs. Merriam to share the nature of her dilemma with the group.
Her uncle, she explains, had left her a fine library of rare books, and apparently the collection was so large she was unable to shelve them at her residence. She then hired a certain Mr. Willis Basswood, the owner of a high-class art gallery and bookshop, to act as a commissioned seller of the books.
At first everything seemed to be going well, and Basswood was able to fetch a few fairly favorable sums for the first couple of volumes. Then suddenly the money stopped coming. It was about that time that Mr. Basswood began to comport himself in a cagey fashion.
“The books are not selling,” he’d declared rather defensively.
Mrs. Merriam gave it a bit more time and when no additional funds were coming her way, she began to suspect that Mr. Basswood was actually selling the books and not turning the money over to her. That, she told the group, was when she contacted Carson Drew to look into the case.
After Mrs. Merriam told her story, Carson Drew noticed how engaged and intrigued his daughter Nancy was. He was already thinking that his daughter was ready to take on a case of her own, especially after she’d recently solved the “Mystery of the Ivory Charm.” She was showing greater and greater promise as a detective and Carson also knew that George and Bess would be a wonderful help to her on top of giving him a greater sense of confidence that she would be safe while out of town. Soon, it was decided that Nancy, George and Bess would travel to Waterford, the coastal town where Mrs. Merriam lived. Once there, they would begin to investigate the case.
It was at that point that Nancy, George and Bess learned that there would be yet another mystery awaiting them in Waterford. It was about a whispering statue no less!
“It concerns the yacht club,” Mrs. Merriam began, “Maybe you three girls would like to solve that mystery too?” She saw that she had a fascinated audience before her:
She then told the girls of the life-size statue made of fine marble. It had been imported from Italy many years before by a man of Italian descent. “He lived on the mansion, which is now the Waterford Yacht Club. The statue stood on the front lawn.”
Then Mrs. Merriam seemed to be studying Nancy’s face, her expression was curious:
“You know, as I recall the face of the sculpture, the young woman looked very much like you. Actually, she was supposed to resemble the wife of its owner. The couple had come from Italy, but she never got over the feeling of homesickness. She passed away in her twenties.”
She then told the girls how the husband died shortly after and how it took a long time to settle the estate. In the meantime, the Waterford Yacht Club purchased the estate. It was sometime between the signing of the contract and the day the yacht club took title of the property that the statue was stolen. The police had made a careful investigation, but no clues were ever found.
“Did you ever hear the statue whisper?” Mrs. Merriam was asked.
“Indeed I did. It was kind of weird. Sometimes you could almost distinguish words. There were warnings and then affectionate little murmurings.” Her story left everyone speechless.
A couple days later, Nancy, George and Bess all met at the airport. Their destination was Waterford, the case of the missing book collection, and most amazing, the mystery of the legendary whispering statue.
That is where the story really began, and what followed was an amazing saga complete with, clever disguises, sailboat attacks, fine art forgeries and attempted kidnappings. In addition to this, “The Whispering Statue” was brimming with many of the “Nancy Drew Features” that I love so much! These include: cut telephone lines, great character names (i.e. “Trunk Rasson”), hidden passageways to secreted rooms and letter fragment clues.
And this review would not be complete without my favorite moment in this book. Fear not, it does not spoil anything!
I won’t tell you exactly what happened, but suffice it to say, if you suddenly realize that you are about to be discovered by a goon, and you happen to be in a room containing empty picture frames…then I suggest to stand inside that frame…and remain very, very, still!
Nancy Drew in “The Whispering Statue” is an outstanding story. My only complaint was that it all ended far too soon.