Nancy Drew #116 Twin Teddy Bears and #117 Mystery on the Menu

In Nancy Drew #116, The Case of the Twin Teddy Bears, Nancy investigates a theft of antique bears from the Bearly Wonderful shop in River Heights.

We finally return to the River Heights of intrigue and mystery.  This is so much better.  The book starts out in the bear shop, and the text is interesting.  A woman is attacked outside the shop, and the attacker runs off.  The next day, a robbery occurs.  The story flows nicely and is interesting.  Best of all, the mystery has no sabotage! 

As the reader, I actually feel that Nancy and her friends are in danger.  I felt very detached in the preceding several stories.  In one scene, Nancy and her friends skate at the lake.  Nancy is alone when she hears a call for help.  She heads towards the shore, not thinking of where she is skating.  She falls through the ice and has to be rescued.  The call for help was a ruse.  Meanwhile, Bess is attacked!  This is all very exciting.

On page 53, Ned makes his return to the series.  He hasn't been seen since #95 The Silent Suspect.  Bess is the only other friend present in this story.

I greatly enjoyed The Case of the Twin Teddy Bears.

In Nancy Drew #117, Mystery on the Menu, George wins a cooking contest, so she gets to take a free dessert-making class at the Wolfe Culinary Institute in New York.  Nancy and Bess decide to pay their way so that all three girls can take the class together.  Soon after the girls arrive, they discover that someone is trying to harm one of the chefs. 

"Sabotage" is finally mentioned on page 111.  I can forgive Simon and Schuster for the sabotage plot of this book, because it is cleverly disguised.  This book starts out with the plot seeming like attempted murder.  It is not until well into the story that the sabotage of the Wolfe Culinary Institute becomes apparent.

This story is a very good whodunnit.  Evidence points to a number of different people, so it is not obvious who the culprit is until the reveal.  I enjoyed trying to guess the identity of the culprit.  I also enjoyed the mystery because it reminded me of several Nancy Drew games.  Nancy pokes around in a deserted wing of the cooking school and has to sift through many clues.  This mystery is fun.