Nancy Drew Mystery Stories # 146 - The Ghost of the Lantern Lady

"History becomes mystery as Nancy unravels a haunting case" (cover blurb)

 

"At a haunted historic village, Nancy sees ghostly signs of foul play" (back cover blurb)

 

With this mystery, we step back into the typical Nancy Drew Mystery Stories style of storytelling (in other words, no murders, no attempted murders, no guns, no Files-level danger).  The author of this particular digest is not known; however, it is clear Simon & Schuster used a plot that was more in-line with the kind of mysteries Nancy Drew fans were used to reading.  Yet, it does seem to be we have reached the point in the series where "sabotage" has become the common theme in many of the stories.  Although I do love the title for this book, sadly, it is a bit misleading, as the "ghost" does not really play a major part of the story...

 

The Ghost of the Lantern Lady finds Nancy, Bess, and George volunteering yet again, for the purpose of uncovering the truth behind all of the weird things that have been happening at Persimmon Woods Pioneer Village, a "living history" museum located just twenty miles south of River Heights (p. 1).  It seems Nancy and her friends have done a lot of volunteering lately - at a youth facility, at the local zoo, at Carson Drew's law office, and even in Washington, D.C.!  But, I suppose their eternal summer between high school and college provides them with plenty of time for all of this volunteering, so why not?  In any event, the girls have agreed to help Anita Valdez, who lives just across the street from the Drew residence (p. 2) - Anita work a the village and is concerned that the incidents could eventually lead to someone getting hurt.  Nancy, never one to turn down a mystery, agrees to see what she can find out.

 

By the end of the first chapter, we get our first glimpse of the ghost, as the Lantern Lady makes an appearance in front of the volunteer trainees as they enjoying a hayride (p. 11).  This is the scene that cover artist Ernie Norcia has depicted in his cover painting - and, in fact, this is likely the first book that I am aware of that has the cover scene in the very first chapter!  Of course, the ghost's sudden appearance startles the horse, and several volunteers are jolted out of the cart being pulled by the horse - including Bess and her newfound friend, Cory Worth (a young man who, along with his sister Amy, are first time volunteers as well).  Thus, the adventure/mystery begins!  And, as one might suspect, Nancy knows there are no such things as ghost, so she is determined to find out whether the ghost is the one causing all the problems at the village, or someone else entirely.

 

Those involved with the village definitely come with some baggage.  Jake Parrish, a descendant of the family who originally owned the land and current chairman for the board of the non-profit running the village, seems to have quite the temper - and when Anita finds evidence that money is being embezzled, he fires her and blames her for stealing the money!  Leo Meier used to run the village, but was let go after only three years because his vision for the village did not coincide with Parrish's vision to protect the historical accuracy of the museum.  Mabel Tansy is the director who handles all of the volunteers, and organizing them all can be quite a task.  She seems quite familiar with Leo Meier, yet when confronted about it, she claims she knows little about him.  Then there is the rumor that a developer wants to purchase the land, and what better way to force a sale than to wreak havoc so as to reduce attendance and cause the village to lose money.  There is definitely plenty of suspicious behavior going on, meaning Nancy has her work cut out for her sifting through it all to find out who is really behind it all.

 

For the most part, the sabotage is destructive, but not dangerous - there appears to be nothing directed at any people that would cause injury.  Until someone sets the Windbreak house (the main house on the property) on fire, with plenty of people inside of it!  And poor Cory happened to be pulling a prank of his own, and he finds himself locked in the old beehive oven after everyone else has evacuated!  Of course, Nancy, Bess, and George get a taste of that same medicine when they are locked in a smokehouse, and someone turns the heat up - intending to cook them alive!  They get out before any real damage is done (as if there were ever any doubt), and manage to uncover the truth behind who is doing all of the destruction and why.  It turns out to be a very personal vendetta, but not from the person you would expect.

 

Overall, the story was pretty good - I just wish there had been more focus on the ghost-aspect of the story rather than the sabotage.  This could have been a great tale of hauntings and terrorizing ghosts; but, alas, that opportunity was passed by, so we'll never know what could have been.   What we do get, however, is the real reason why people say "sleep tight" (p. 6); we see more of Bess's computer knowledge and internet savvy (p. 53), which we first saw in The E-Mail Mystery; and we see an editing snafu where George referred to as a man when Nancy is relieved to see "his" ankle bandaged (p. 131).

 

Not a bad mystery, but not necessarily a great one, either.  We will see what The Case of the Captured Queen has for us with the next book!

RATING:   7 old hidden ice houses out of 10 for attempting to mix a bit of history with a bit of mystery, and throwing a ghost in for good measure.