Review of "The Secret of the Old Clock"

"But I guess a fight to break the will would be hopeless."

     The Secret of the Old Clock, Carolyn Keene's tale of incredible sleuthing, turns a regular girl into a master detective. When eighteen-year-old Nancy Drew sees a young child lose her balance on the side of a bridge, her only thoughts are ones of pure terror. She rushes to the child's side and, with the help of the girl's two concerned aunts, cares for her until she wakens. It is then that the elderly aunts explain their predicament: money is running out, their seamstress days nearly over as they struggle to raise little Judy without any income. Their only hope was the will of the late Cousin Josiah, but to their great surprise it appears to have excluded them entirely! Convinced the most recent copy includes the Turner aunts, Nancy sets out on a quest to recover it and return prosperity to their little family. If she can find the will, she'll be a hero; but she may find that sleuthing is easier said than done when the object of her search is in the hands of criminals.

     Nancy Drew is a tough, powerful character with plenty of heart, no matter what edition of The Old Clock is read; though the adventure was originally published in 1930 and revised in 1959, the fundamental story remains the same. The difference between the two versions of Nancy lies in her levels of risk-taking and her underlying motivation, but in the end it doesn't much matter. Nancy is strong-willed and lovable, even if she is more charitable than is always relatable. With the help of her gossiping friend Helen Corning, she embarks on a noble quest to help the less fortunate. Helen and her fellow supporting characters remain fairly static throughout the novel, as does their young sleuth friend. This is rather disappointing, though the story is short enough that the lack of character arcs is understandable.

     Keene's writing is what makes this title a children's story. Though Nancy is eighteen, she and her friends are clean-mouthed, fair, and as pacifistic as they can get while hunting down unpleasant villains. The narrator's vocabulary is simple without being patronizing, a feat many children's authors find difficult to accomplish. The action is intense not because it is gory or violent, but because it takes place just when the stakes are at their highest.

     I would recommend this book to kids and tweens interested in a powerful young detective with a big heart and a desire to make the world a better place. Though the Turners' tragedy is brought to light quite abruptly and Nancy's character transforms very little over the course of the narrative, the plot surrounding her is interesting and exciting. Readers willing to overlook the prose's strong leanings toward young folk will find themselves wrapped up in a great mystery headed by an ordinary girl with a talent for charming her way into her audience's hearts. For adventure, suspense, and an intriguing plot, Carolyn Keene's The Secret of the Old Clock deserves three stars.