Synopses & Reviews
America's favorite girl detective is back to set the record straight. According to our titian-haired heroine, she was not in fact a fictional character, but an intrepid real-life sleuth who investigated some of the twentieth century's biggest mysteries. And the famous series she starred in was not cooked up by a team of writers, but plagiarized from her exploits by her nosy college roommate Carolyn--who, not surprisingly, got a whole lot wrong.
Here are the daring escapes, brilliant hunches, and dependable stock characters, including interlopers from numerous other beloved series, that have delighted generations of fans. And here, also, are the details of teen-sleuth life that you never saw: the secret romances, reckless driving, minor drinking problems, political action, and domestic drama that have, up till now, remained hidden from these brave detectives' adoring public.
Review
"Chelsea Cain's gleeful parody...affectionately hits all the formulaic high points of a Nancy Drew mystery, sending up and yet saluting America's favorite girl detective." Melanie Rehak, The New York Times Book Review
Review
"A stocking-stuffer tell-all....Fans of the teen detective genre will like the clever but tame co-mingling by Cain of series heroes from Drew up to Encyclopedia Brown (but no sign of Harriet the Spy)." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"This fast-paced, fun-to-read parody feels a lot like the original Nancy Drew books and even includes ten illustrations modeled after the series. It may entice old fans to revisit the original books. Recommended." Library Journal
Review
"A loving parody...breezy fun with a heart of gold." The Onion
Review
"Irresistible, hilarious....Cain is a brilliant parodist." The Oregonian
Review
"Wondrous fun....An immensely enjoyable re-visioning of the much-loved Nancy Drew, and the best kind of guilty pleasure." Portland Mercury
Review
"I can't remember when I've laughed aloud so frequently during the reading of a book....A wonderful send-up of the Nancy Drew novels." Nancy Pearl, NPR
Review
"Cain, a self-proclaimed "teen-sleuth enthusiast," manages to poke fun at her heroine without dissing Nancy entirely. Whether she is playfully lampooning Richard Nixon, 1970s feminists or cruise ships, Cain is a brilliant parodist. One can see why her mother encouraged her to be a stand-up comedian, as is revealed in Cain's acknowledgments." Meg Daly, The Oregonian (read the entire )
Synopsis
America's favorite girl detective is back to set the record straight. According to our titian-haired heroine, she was not in fact a fictional character, but an intrepid real-life sleuth who investigated some of the twentieth century's biggest mysteries. And the famous series she starred in was not cooked up by a team of writers, but plagiarized from her exploits by her nosy college roommate Carolyn who, not surprisingly, got a whole lot wrong.
Here are the daring escapes, brilliant hunches, and dependable stock characters, including interlopers from numerous other beloved series, that have delighted generations of fans. And here, also, are the details of teen-sleuth life that you never saw: the secret romances, reckless driving, minor drinking problems, political action, and domestic drama that have, up till now, remained hidden from these brave detectives' adoring public.
Synopsis
In this delicious and affectionate parody of the beloved Nancy Drew series, Nancy Drew-Nickerson insists she was not a fictional character, and Carolyn Keene was not a hardworking team of writers. In fact, Carolyn was Nancy's college roommate, who shamelessly plagiarized the tales from Nancy's exploits and, in the process, got a whole lot wrong.
About the Author
Chelsea Cain is a longtime teen sleuth enthusiast and the author of The Hippie Handbook, the memoir Dharma Girl, and the forthcoming thriller Heartsick. She edited the anthology Wild Child, about daughters of the counterculture. She has written for a wide variety of publications and is currently a humor columnist for the Oregonian. She lives with her family in Portland, Oregon.