Nancy Drew Diaries, No. 23 - The Blue Lady of Coffin Hall

While the previous Nancy Drew book series, "Nancy Drew: Girl Detective," was his or miss, with more misses than hits, this newer series, the "Nancy Drew Diaries," has had more hits than misses - at least when it comes to plots.  The page count has gradually increased, allowing for a bit more depth to some of the mysteries, and the stories themselves have improved, moving away from the constant trope of sabotage in every book (although, to be fair, the Diaries have had their fair share of sabotage mysteries).  So, I go into each new Nancy Drew Diaries book with a bit of high hopes, and thankfully, it's only been a few times that I have been truly let down (such as with The Vanishing Statue...).  With this twenty-third book in the series, I was hopeful, as the mystery was set in a haunted library - what could be a better place for a mystery, right? Well...

The Blue Lady of Coffin Hall (such a unique title!) did not quite meet my expectations.  The premise was actually pretty good - the old mansion turned into a library at the bequest of its last owner is said to be haunted by the ghost of its last owner, Harriet Coffin (Harriet?  As in Harriet Stratemeyer?  It could be a nod to the woman who played such a large part of Nancy Drew's history, but then again, it could be a coincidence - after all, part of what helps Nancy solve all her mysteries are the coincidences!).  Nancy's boyfriend, Ned, who has his own podcast he called "NED Talks," wants to investigate the so-called ghost.  Weird things have been happening at Coffin Hall, and there have even been sightings of a glowing lady dressed all in blue.  Is it really Harriet Coffin, who disappeared all those years ago and was presumed dead?  Or is it something else entirely?  Nancy firmly believes the hauntings are all being perpetrated by a real person, but Ned has his doubts - particularly when he comes face-to-face with the blue lady of Coffin Hall!  Ned suddenly finds himself accused of damaging books and even setting fire to the special collections room that housed the library of Harriet Coffin - and it's up to Nancy to prove his innocence, reveal the truth behind the hauntings, and stop the ghost before any more destruction brings about the end of the library once and for all.

Now all of that sounds great, doesn't it?  But there are problems with the execution.  First, Ned's characterization is completely off.  Ned has always been strong, always one to follow Nancy's lead, and never one to give in to fantasies of ghostly apparitions.  Yet, in this book, Ned is weak-kneed and ready to believe in ghosts, despite Nancy's arguments regarding the inconsistencies with the ghost's appearances and the pranks being pulled at the library.  Instead of helping Nancy, he actually becomes more of a hindrance. Ned simply did not read like Ned at all in this story.  Second, the villains of this mystery are pretty obvious from the moment they first appear.  Sure, the motive may be a little less obvious, but their actions actually scream "I am the one doing all of this!"  I wanted to believe that the author was perhaps doing this to lead us astray, and there would be a twist at the end revealing someone else as the culprit - but, no, the author went with the overly-obvious choice, which lessened the impact of the mystery.  Third, there is very little danger in the story - pretty much no chapter cliffhangers at all.  Nancy Drew has always had a history of exciting chapter cliffhangers that would keep the reader going, unable to put the book down for fear that Nancy might not be able to escape from whatever predicament she found herself in at the end of each chapter!  But not in this book.  Despite the underground tunnel ... despite the dangerous work zone and construction equipment ... despite the dark basement with leaking pipes ... despite the tower room set ablaze ... despite a spooky old mansion turned into a library - I mean, this book was ripe with opportunities for some great cliffhanger moments!  Instead, we get Nancy's statements about what she intends to do next ... or Rosie complaining of more work she will have to do ... or Ned's mother making French toast ... or Nancy wondering if the ghost will appear.  Nothing to really make the reader say, "golly, I've got to start that next chapter and find out how Nancy's going to get out of this one!"  Such lackluster chapter endings takes the wind out of any suspense the author may have been trying to build in the story.  Fourth, and probably most disappointing, is the diary of Harriet Coffin.  The diary was written in code that no one seemed to be able to break, and from the beginning, George and Bess are determined to figure it out.  Nancy even believes it may hold a clue that will help solve the case.  Instead, the reader never actually sees the solution to the code - instead, it becomes an afterthought to the story.  Instead of playing any real part of the mystery, the author merely throws in a throw-away line in the post-script (Nancy's diary entry at the end of the book) saying that Bess and George cracked the code.  Do we find out what that code was and how they cracked it?  Nope. Instead, it's played off as if it has little importance to the story, other than to reveal the diary laid out Harriet's plan to elope and escape her family.

 

The book does make use of quite a bit of modern technology - from the podcasts of Ned and the security guard for the library, to the video cameras placed throughout the library to monitor for the ghost, to the live feed used on social media to use viewers to help watch for the ghost - Nancy Drew and her friends are definitely brought into the modern times with their ability to use the internet, live video feed, social media, and other modern wonders to help solve the mystery.  Oh, for the days before cell phones and personal home computers and the internet - in a lot of ways, it takes the fun out of the good, old-fashioned leg work that used to be required to solve a mystery.

And let's talk about that cover.  I have enjoyed the cover art by Erin McGuire on this series (even if Nancy does look at bit too young at times, and I do wish we saw others on the covers and not just Nancy), and the art on this one is actually pretty good.  The Gothic building, smoke pouring out the windows, Nancy running away with the open diary in her hand.  It is very reminiscent of the Gothic covers of the past, with the heroine running away from the dark mansion in the background. 

However, at the same time, the cover feels like a copy of the Nancy Drew mystery, The Clue in the Diary - which features Nancy in front of a burning building, either bending to pick up a diary or chasing after someone, the diary being dropped.  Not sure if it was intended to be an intentional homage to Diary (after all, this book also features a diary), or if it was a coincidence (there we go again!), or if it was simply copied from the earlier book.  Who knows, maybe I'm just looking too deep into something that isn't really there...

 

While I would not write the book off as a total failure, I definitely cannot count this as one of the better "Nancy Drew Diaries." The next book is titled Captain Stone's Revenge, with a cover showing Nancy in a sailboat during a storm - so perhaps we'll get a story with a bit more suspense and danger!

 

RATING:  5 chalky fingerprints out of 10 for at least providing a great setting and a promising premise, even if the follow-through fell somewhat short.