Nancy Drew: The Secret of Bridleway House (a Fan Fiction mystery)

I first heard about this book on Facebook, in a fan group to which I belong.  Since the first our Nancy Drew books went into public domain, it seems quite a few people have been publishing their own versions of those books, with various covers (many with AI-generated art).  This, however, is the first all-new story that is taken from those early books, with an attempt to tell the story in the way those first few books did.  While the published book does not identify the writer or artist, Amazon lists the author as "Jared Raymond Vuolo," who was also the person who posted about this book in the fan group, which brought it to my attention.  Sadly, his promotion of the book brought some negative comments from people, and any posts about the book have been met with immediate moderation of the post.  My friend, Kevin, read the book and said he rather enjoyed it (pointing out he had a few problems with it, things I also noticed which will be mentioned below), so I figured I might as well give it a chance.  After all, with the stories coming out from Simon & Schuster these days, this fan-written story could not be all that bad...

 

The Secret of Bridleway House is, in many ways, a tale of Gothic mystery and suspense.  It has the old mansion, filled with hidden rooms, a light in the upper tower, and more mysteries than you can throw a stick at.  It has the Whitcombe family, who have lived in the house for generations, but a long-ago feud between brothers has resulted in dark secrets that hold everyone in the family captive.  It has a mysterious stranger with a hat, grey coat, and gloves that seems to be able to slip in and out without anyone every catching him.  And it has a young woman who becomes central to it all, determined to reveal all of the secrets and prevent a villainous evil from destroying the family's legacy - and that woman, of course, is Nancy Drew!  Even the cover art somewhat resembles those old Gothic covers from the 1960s and '70s, with the young woman in the foreground, the old house in the background, a light shining from one of its windows, and a shadowy man watching in the distance.  The book definitely has all the elements for a good old-fashioned, spooky mystery. 

 

The story centers around the sale of Bridleway House.  Elderly Mrs. Whitcombe is set to sell the house, with Victor Hale representing the interests of the purchasers.  But Carson Drew has found some irregularities with the history of the property's title, and with his daughter's help, he intends to clear it up so the sale can go through.  But Nancy quickly begins to realize something is amiss.  Pertinent papers disappear or are torn, so only small portions remain.  A aging photograph of the family goes missing from her father's briefcase.  And with every clue she finds, it leads her to another; however, each and every time, she gets there just a moment too late, with someone staying one step ahead of her.  Thus, with only bits and pieces of clues, and with Victor Hale insistent the sale move forward as planned, claiming the issues with title are only imagined, Nancy has little time left to uncover the truth about what happened all those years ago and what promise was made regarding the property boundaries.  (Plus, just for good measure, there's that little discrepancy of the birth date for one of Mrs. Whitcombe's ancestors - and the truth about that changes everything about the situation - literally!)

 

The cover art and the interior art are clearly created by AI.  There's no denying how gorgeous it is, and I am certainly not against independent authors like this using AI to help spruce up their work with art.  But There are a few issues that I wish the author had caught before sending this through to publication.  First, while I love that every chapter has an illustration to go with it, the fact that sixteen of the twenty illustrations show Nancy with other people bent over a desk or other object looking at a clue makes the reader feel like they are looking at the same image, just different setting.  There were a number of scenes throughout the story that would have made much more exciting illustrations, so I'm unsure why the same basic scene was chosen for each chapter.  The illustrations for chapters two and three are different, and they display tense moments when Nancy sees (or thinks she sees) someone in an upstairs window (chapter two) and when she hears footsteps behind her (chapter three).  Second is the illustration for chapter nine.  While I love that it plays on the cover art for the original Lilac Inn,  I had a chuckle at an obvious error in the AI-generated art - Nancy's left arm is leaning up against the all next to the window, with her hand grabbing on to the molding around the window pane - the only problem is, that hand is a right hand, not a left hand (the thumb is not in the proper place!).  A great reminder that if one is going to use AI-generated art, one must be careful to review it before using it.

 

 As far as the story itself - I have seen some comments on Amazon and in the groups that allege this book is entirely AI-generated.  I obviously cannot say for sure, but having read the story from beginning to end, I am more likely to believe this was written by human hand and not computer created.  Yes, there are some repetitive scenes (for instance, numerous times in the story Victor Hale gets frustrated and makes snarky comments, to which either Nancy or someone else calls him out, and he then glares in silence - this happens almost in every chapter), but I did not find the dialogue unrealistic or choppy, as some have claimed.  In fact, I thought the author did rather nicely with keeping Nancy pretty much in-character, as someone not afraid to stand her ground and filled with determination to help others.  (I do think, however, he made her a bit overly cautious - the Nancy Drew I know would have gladly taken the risks and ignored her father's warnings and climbed up into the upper tower room without waiting for the stairs to be confirmed safe to climb.)  The tension builds slowly, and the mysterious stranger that seems to appear here and there, but remains elusive until the end, is well-played.   Overall, it's not a bad read, and it has the "feel" of some of the early Nancy Drew books.

 

Now, that being said, I do have some major questions about the time period of this book.  Based on the hairstyles and clothing, I would guess the story must be set sometime in the 1940s; however, if you pay close attention to the dates in the story, this could not possibly be the case.  Mrs. Whitcombe is described as "small, silver-haired" and stands "with the help of a polished cane," as "age had bent her shoulders" (pp. 19-20).  Such a description would seem to indicate the matriarch is in her 60s at the very least.  Then, taking into account that Silas Whitcombe, Mrs. Whitcombe's grandfather, was born in 1871 and did not marry until 1898 ... and Adelaide Margaret Whitcombe (the aunt for whom Mrs. Whitcombe was named) was not born until 1901 ... then in order for Mrs. Whitcombe to be, at the very least, in her 60s, then the time frame for this story would have to be in the 1980s or thereafter.  Yet, the descriptions in the story and the dialogue definitely give this more of a '40s or even '50s feel.  I give the author credit - he carefully avoids any references that could potentially date the story, making the story, in a way, "timeless," allowing the reader to identify whatever time period they would like with the story.

 

Last, but not least, I applaud the author's subtle drops of Easter eggs throughout the book to the various Nancy Drew mysteries over the years.  There are references to old clocks, hidden staircases, candles (albeit, not twisted), oak trees, old attics, trunks (although not specifically brass-bound), etc.  Each one I happened upon made me smile, as the references were distinctly a part of the story, yet gives readers a very nice nod to the classic stories read and loved by millions.

 

Would I recommend this book?  I would have to say yes, as long as it is read in the spirit in which it was apparently written - as an homage to the classic Nancy that so many fans love.   With any luck, we'll get a sequel to this one of these days.

 

RATING:  8 inscribed antique compasses out of 10 for giving fans a "vintage" type Nancy Drew story that is fresh and enjoyable1