A strange light is seen in the woods at night, and an intruder keeps entering the library, even though Uncle John has changed the locks. Nancy and her friends learn that a ship called the Lucy Belle sank in the river in 1835. The ship reputedly carried a fortune in gold. Mr. Rorick tells the girls that the ship also contained some wedding gifts for Miss Abigail Rorick.
One theory about the phantom is that somebody is searching Mr. Rorick's library in order to find a clue that will lead to the missing treasure. Book collectors will appreciate that Mr. Rorick's library contains thousands of books. Nancy and her friends even find money hidden in some of the books. Mr. Rorick uses books with titles such as The Roaring Twenties and The Roaring River in order to remember which books contain money. "Roaring" is a reference to Mr. Rorick's name.
In the woods, one of the villains tries to scare Nancy by dropping a piece of paper that has extremely large thumbprints on it. Um, okay. It just seems bizarre.
The illustration on page 87 does not match the description of Nancy's attire from page 85. Nancy is supposed to be wearing a "pretty dress" with a "full-length smock over it" in order to keep it clean for church. Nancy wears pants in the illustration.
Mr. Rorick's coin collection is valuable. I always thought so as a child, but now I have a new perspective. The most valuable coin was given as being worth $7,500. That coin sold for $1,380,000 in a 2008 auction. Mr. Rorick's coin collection is worth millions of dollars in today's money. Wow.
I thought it was a nice touch making Bess the hero near the end of the book. Way to go, Bess!
The Phantom of Pine Hill is an enjoyable mystery. Even though Nancy is away at Emerson, the story has the feel of a book set in River Heights. Nancy Drew books set in River Heights have always been my favorites.
1 comment:
This is a good read, and feels like a "local" story. The boat story is plausible, but some elements are a little odd. I like the fact that Fred is playing a "dumb Dora," and causing issues as a real bad guy behind the scenes. This is one of the first non-Bolian books that shows the girls in shorts. The lemonade error is funny. The issue of the pearl necklace annoys me; why was she carrying valuable items? Even Jackie Kennedy wore faux pearls and costume brooches much of the time, wearing real stone rings or evening jewels, not daytime. Bess to the rescue is pretty darn good!.
Post a Comment