Unfortunately, the quality dipped again after that hopeful progress in the previous book. While Nancy is still a strong, interesting character, this mystery is just plain messy. Pretty much none of it makes sense, nor is it structured in a pleasing whodunit format. The appeal of a mystery is two-fold: it should set up clues that allow the reader to intelligently participate in the story, as a co-detective of sorts; and it should include enough clever twists and reveals to keep readers on their toes and still engaged in the final pages. This book does neither.The thieves in this story are extraordinarily, unbelievably careless. They literally drop important clues in plain sight (with names clearly printed on them!) or leave them visible in tree branches, where they can be retrieved and used to send Nancy on the right path.The main villain was so blatantly telegraphed at such an early part of the story that I nearly rolled my eyes and gave up then. I kept reading, and nothing improved. The final cast of villainous characters was made up of the obvious ones, plus a handful of people we'd never seen or even heard of in the narrative. This is lazy plotting and a lazier tie-up of the numerous loose ends.The motivations are equally a mess, and Nancy and her father are shoe-horned in as personal targets for some unfathomable reason. Plus it reuses an idea - actors in makeup that somehow makes even close friends and family members fall for the disguise! - that was an intrinsic part of the previous book. They didn't even wait a single plotline before rehashing (and mangling) it.Such a disappointment.
This was the Nancy Drew book that got me hooked on the series when I was 10. I remember being sick with the flu and home from school. My mom brought home several of the Nancy Drew books that a friend had given her for me that her daughter had outgrown. This was the first one I read. I so LOVED Nancy that it inspired me to write my first real story - a mystery modeled on the Nancy Drew concept. My mom and I added to my collection over the years, and I still have them all - about 25 of them - I'm hoping to collect them all at some point. They are my special treasures. I've leant them to the daughters of friends and my mom's friends, but I've never given them away - because, unlike the daughter of that initial friend of my mom's, I've NEVER outgrown them, and I don't think I ever will.I'm hoping to get time in this next year to begin re-reading them all again. I've started to collect all the original 1930s editions when I can find them (the Applewood editions). I've got this one and the first one (The Secret in the Old Clock) in the original editions.
What do You think about The Mystery At Lilac Inn (1994)?
A trip down memory lane! This book should have been called The Mysteries at Lilac Inn as the stolen diamonds was just one of the many perplexing things going on in and around Lilac Inn. Who is impersonating Nancy? Who stole the lilac bush? Who or what almost capsized Nancy and Helen's canoe? What's not to love about a Nancy Drew mystery? Great characters, action on every page, and the best titian blond sleuth ever! Writers of adult novels should take a page from Carolyn Keene's book and fill the pages with action instead of "filler".
—Cindy
I've read many Nancy Drew books and just love them. As an adult I began to read them again as I found them. This was the only time I found myself progressively becoming more angry at the father (Carson Drew) for allowing his daughter to face the type of real danger she was in. But then it wouldn't make good reading if the star of the book could not be the one who solved it. Through the book we find The thing is, there's so much excitement packed into the book it was just hard to put down. We first find Nancy and her friend heading to Lilac Inn. There's a situation at the dock of a river where someone first sends a warning to Nancy by holding her under water. When they reach the Inn, someone who is Nancy's double breaks into her home, steals her bank account card, makes a false purchase of a watch which brings the police in. Everyone who saw the double believes it to be Nancy which acts as a deterant and requires more of her attention. The person who they went to the Inn to see was to receive her diamond inheritance. As they are seated at the table, the lights go out and the diamonds are stolen. All of these separate events have made Nancy the target of harm. Once again with her keen insight the puzzle pieces come together. Intense throughout the book, fun ending.
—Vicki Gooding
When I was in 4th grade, the table I sat at in the school library was adjacent to the shelf where I could eye those inviting spines labeled: Carolyn Keene. I read at least one a month that year.Returning to her as an adult, I'm delighted to find Nancy Drew as awesome as I remember her. The writing is quaint, but strong enough to stand the test of time. This particular volume was chock-full of Nancy-in-peril scenes, but also pretty convoluted in the plot department and some bits of the conclusion seemed to come out of left field.
—Laura
