The Secret Of Shadow Ranch (1992) - Plot & Excerpts
Nancy has just finished a case headed for a much needed vacation with her best friends Bess and George in Arizona at Shadow Ranch. However her vacation may be short lived because upon arriving she learns that a mystery is unfolding at the ranch that could force all the girls’ home early. Before the girls can even leave the terminal they encounter a stranger warning them away from Shadow Ranch, as if that’s not enough they have car trouble on the way to the ranch. As the girls arrive at the ranch Nancy convinces that Rawleys that she will be able to solve the mystery before times runs out for them all. As the girls dive deeper into the mystery they learn more about the phantom horse. They also learn the lore about who Dirk Valentine was and why someone would want to scare them off the ranch. With her friends by her side Nancy sets out to find who’s really after the ranch, will she find them before they find her?I love Nancy Drew she one of those girls I was able to relate with as I was growing up. She’s also still enjoyable now that I’m an adult it’s just good clean mystery. Nancy is the kind of girl you can’t help being addicted to she’s smart and savvy but comes off as a real girl. Plus what can I say I love the outfits she wears; I visualize her as this cute blonde high school girl in grown woman clothes. Plus who wouldn't want to solve cases with your best friends by your side. I've always been a Nancy Drew fan my mom hooked me on her before I was ten, so reading her books is like visiting an old friend or fond memory. All of the books in the Nancy drew series can be read separately, or in order which is nice because I've been known to read them out of order as a child. It’s been ages since I've read a Nancy Drew and happened to be craving a clean quick mystery. Shadow Ranch is a fast paced quick read filled with action, adventure and horses the perfect makings of a great story. I always suggest Nancy Drew to younger girl readers because I feel like they will connect with her and want to read more of the series. That being said I think it’s a fun series that teen’s even adults will enjoy. I loved picking up and reading the whole book in one afternoon.
FINALLY. This is the type of well-crafted, engaging mystery I've been waiting for in this series. Oddly, though, it feels like an entirely different Nancy Drew, written by an entirely different author. It has all the classic YA mystery elements: traveling to a friend's ranch, meeting mysterious strangers, riding horses, solving ghostly appearances, finding hidden treasure. It makes sense, from start to finish, with clear motivations from both the heroes and the villains. Sadly, that's an area that's been missing from these books.There's a new cast of characters, and maybe that helps. As much as I liked Helen, she pretty much felt like a Nancy Drew clone. While Bess and George's descriptions are sometimes a little uncomfortable (tomboy and pudgey, to set them apart from slim, titian Nancy), they round out the cast of characters nicely.There's a little summertime romance sprinkled in with the young ranch cowboys, but it's still mostly tame flirtation, with Nancy's attention focused on the case, while the handsome cowboy admires her.It's an enjoyable story. If I decided to give any of these books to my niece, I'd probably start here, rather than buying that nicely packaged five book set. The one unfortunate element is a lingering cultural insensitivity that must not have been addressed in the 1950s rewrites. There are a few unnecessary scenes where Nancy and her friends buy "Indian costumes" for the dance; although, if you look at events like Coachella, that's something modern audiences still might not think to cringe over.
What do You think about The Secret Of Shadow Ranch (1992)?
I love this particular edition of The Secret at Shadow Ranch, because it's completely different to The Secret of Shadow Ranch. Having read this one first and then the "revised edition" I can see that it changed way more then just some editing.In this one it is about a kidnapped child, in the revised it is about a shadowy horse. Big editing, right? (Like chop out the whole plot and write a new one) Both are good, but while the older is Imo superior, the later was just okay. I think Nancy changed too much, she doesn't seem as goody-two-shoes as she does in the later version. And I like it when Nancy has some faults! It could just be me, but it also feels like they trimmed the size of the book down, making it lose some of it's 1920s feel. But, who knows? Maybe I'm mistaken. I do recommend it though, either edition, but preferably the first edition. (If you are picky like me)
—Tweety
Helen Corning ceases to exist while Nancy gets new friends that she's apparently had all along. It's Bess and George, of course! Nancy ventures to Bess and George's aunt and uncle's ranch for a vacation and finds a mystery to be solved (of course). Well, there's like 3 mysteries going on. One is the phantom horse and the sabotage that follows at Shadow Ranch. Then there is Bess and George's younger cousin's missing father. And then there is the missing treasure of outlaw, Dirk(!) Valentine. Of course, the solution for two of the mysteries is the same and Nancy is an expert at finding things that have eluded others for a long time.Oddly there is a mention of Ned even though Nancy doesn't meet him until The Clue in the Diary (#7). This was apparently a mistake when the revisions were made. The Little Bookworm
—Andrea
Nancy is invited to holiday with her friends Bess and George on their aunt and uncle's ranch in Arizona, only to find the two of them desolate when she joins them at the airport. It turns out that Shadow Ranch is being haunted by the phantom horse of a legendary outlaw named Dirk Valentine who loved the sheriff's daughter and was shot on the premises. As he lay dying he cursed the land, and since the appearance of the phantom horse always results in sabotage somewhere on the farm, the owners are convinced that the place is unsafe for the girls. But in proving her clear head and knack at solving mysteries, Nancy is granted a reprieve to try and solve the mystery of Shadow Ranch. She is convinced that the phantom is merely a hoax designed to scare the Rawleys off their property and to serve as a distraction whilst the sabotage goes on elsewhere. Mysteries are always really fun to read and to incorporate in a classroom having students make their own mysteries and having others solve their mystery or read their mystery story.
—Kelsey Abella
