Nancy Drew #134 Forgotten Cave, #135 Ruby Gazelle, and #136 Wedding Day Mystery

In Nancy Drew #134, The Secret of the Forgotten Cave, Nancy, Bess, and George visit George's aunt, Elizabeth Porter, in Connecticut.  A dangerous curve in the highway has caused a fatal accident, and many residents want to widen the road to make it safer for drivers.  Widening the road will destroy the habitat for an endangered species of bats, and Mrs. Porter is fighting the road-widening project for that reason.  She is facing a losing battle unless she can find the cave in which the bats roost.

This book is very similar to the older Nancy Drew books in overall feel.  The story keeps the reader guessing.  One suspect is exonerated in a rather unique fashion, leaving the reader wondering what is really going on.

The Secret of the Forgotten Cave is outstanding.

In Nancy Drew #135, The Riddle of the Ruby Gazelle, Nancy, Bess, and George stay in Brooklyn to help Zoe Krieger raise money for a park.  A band named the Raving Lunatics is the main attraction at a fundraiser, and an auction of memorabilia will also be held.  The band's lead singer is kidnapped, a theater group opposes something or other, and I really didn't care about any of it.

This book is boring.  The story is uninteresting.  Too many characters are introduced too rapidly.  For example, the entire Raving Lunatics band is introduced in one short paragraph, and we are supposed to remember them with no characterization.  I couldn't keep anyone straight and had no reason to care about any of them. 

The writing is disjointed with too many New York landmarks thrown out constantly.  The title of the book mentions a ruby gazelle, but over half the book is centered around the missing rock star.  The story finally comes around to the ruby gazelle towards the end.

I skimmed large portions of this book because I was so bored.  Around three-fourths of the way into the story, it finally became interesting.  I am glad that I read the last part.  Aside from the ending, the book is terribly boring and not worth reading.

In Nancy Drew #136, The Wedding Day Mystery, Nancy, Bess, and George help a wedding company stage four weddings in one weekend at Heights House in River Heights.  Before long, Nancy discovers that someone is sabotaging the weddings!

This book begins so much better than The Riddle of the Ruby Gazelle.  After suffering from intense boredom through the previous book, I was tremendously relieved to read an engaging story.  The book's storyline is straightforward and interesting.  Soon into the story we have a secret passage, which is always great!

On page 74, Nancy wonders if she is "dealing with a bunch of unrelated culprits committing a bunch of unrelated crimes."  That would be funny!

On page 117, Daphne points out the spelling errors in a warning message, then remarks, "I used to be a freelance copy editor, too."  What, you have to be a freelance copy editor to notice spelling errors?

The Wedding Day Mystery is an excellent book.