The Clue Of The Whistling Bagpipes (1964) - Plot & Excerpts
The Clue of the Whistling Bagpipes is a children's story by Carolyn Keene (pseudonym) and the 41st book in the Nancy Drew series. Warnings not to go to Scotland can't stop Nancy Drew from setting out on a thrill-packed mystery adventure. Undaunted by the vicious threats, the attractive young detective—with her father and her two close friends—goes to visit her great-grandmother at an imposing estate in the Scottish Highlands, and to solve the mystery of a missing family heirloom.And there is another mystery to be solved: the fate of flocks of stolen sheep.Baffling clues challenge Nancy's powers of deduction: a note written in the ancient Gaelic language, a deserted houseboat on Loch Lomond, a sinister red-bearded stranger in Edinburgh, eerie whistling noises in the Highlands. Startling discoveries in an old castle and in the ruins of a prehistoric fortress, on a rugged mountain slope and in a secluded glen, lead Nancy closer to finding solutions to both mysteries.Wearing a time-honored tartan, Nancy climbs the mountain of Ben Nevis in the dark of night and plays a tune of historic heroism on the bagpipes—all part of her daring plan to trap the sheep thieves and to recover the valuable heirloom.I’ve always been a voracious reader. So, as a child, one of my favorite things about summer was the frequent trips to our local library, which was less than a mile from our house. Like most young girls of a certain age (ahem), my love for mysteries started with Nancy Drew—there simply was no mystery too baffling that she couldn’t solve. And as I would read her most current adventure, I would imagine myself following in her footsteps … taking charge and plunging ahead, getting into mischief, chasing down culprits and solving the mystery. Even though I haven’t re-read any of these books since I was a child, I still think that Nancy is a great character—her courage, confidence and fierce independence, makes her an iconic source of inspiration for young girls everywhere. A must-read children's book, The Clue of the Whistling Bagpipes is another wonderful Nancy Drew mystery.
I thought this book was okay. The beginning wasn't that engaging, but slowly, I started to enjoy the book and Nancy's adventure. The mystery starts with a heirloom getting lost from Nancy's great grandmother. Then, Ned Nickerson suggested solving the mystery of the stolen sheep while Nancy is in Scotland. Later in the book, Nancy finds out that both mysteries are connected. The gang that stole sheep also stole the heirloom for more money. Unfortunately for the leader of the gang, Mr. Dewer, he t
What do You think about The Clue Of The Whistling Bagpipes (1964)?
In this book nancy travels to Scotland. Her father tells her about how her great-grandmother Lady Douglas has an heirloom for her, but it is missing. Nancy also goes through many trials before she leaves. Her car is hit, and a bomb is put in her mailbox. Bess also enters Nancy's picture in a competition, which makes her more well known as a detective, and allows Bess and George to go to Scotland with Nancy. When they arrive in Scotland, they all go to their hotel rooms. In her room Nancy finds a coded note, but then the concierge calls and says that he put them in the wrong room. They were actually put in Mr. Dewar's room. One day they go sight-seeing. They save a girl and her mom from drowning in their house boat. The neighbors talk about these men that are staying in one of the house boats.
—Kendall
This is one of the first Nancy Drew books that I read and at a tender age, I was thoroughly disillusioned. In one sitting, Nancy learns to play the bagpipes. Imagine that! I asked my father, a bagpiper, how long it took to learn and guess what? Pipers learn to play on a chanter and have to get the fingering down pat before they even attempt to play a bagpipe itself. Betrayed by Nancy Drew! It was an awful moment for me. I recovered enough to read other Nancy Drew mysteries, of course, but I was never the huge fan that I could have been if I hadn't started with this one early on.
—Siobhan
I thought it was really amazing how Nancy went through all that trouble just to catch the sheep-stealing thief and find the missing heirloom.
—Elizabeth
