#45 California Schemin'
#46 Mystery at Malachite Mansion
#47 Stalk, Don't Run
In #45 California Schemin', Nancy, Bess, and George vacation in Malibu in celebrity event planner Stacey Manning's beach home. The famous reality stars, the three Casabian sisters, live next door. Nancy soon learns that Mia Casabian has been staying at the spa on the other side of Stacey's home for the past several weeks. Nancy begins to suspect that the spa is run by a cult, so the girls infiltrate it.
The narrative is obnoxiously informal. Nancy uses "vacay" for vacation and describes Bess and George as her "BFFs."
The three Casabian sisters have a reality television show called Chillin' with the Casabians. Quite obviously, they want us to think of the Kardashians.
I thought that the narrative was a bit flat for much of the book. I liked the idea of a cult, but it wasn't as scary as it could have been. Towards the end, however, the book became more suspenseful.In #46 Mystery at Malachite Mansion, Nancy and her friends have exposed the cult. Everyone believes that the cult leader is dead. The Malachite beach has been damaged by oil stored on a yacht that exploded offshore. Stacey Manning plans a celebrity event to raise money for the cleanup. The girls are asked to move into Malachite Mansion, which is where the cult was. The girls are a bit creeped out and worried.
This book is quite suspenseful. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Finally, we get a trilogy where the second book is not a retelling of the first book. Furthermore, the culprit responsible for the oil spill is quite surprising.
The title of this book is stupid. Does Nancy's stalker stalk and Nancy doesn't run? Does Nancy stalk, and someone else doesn't run? I'm confused.
Nancy's stalker was obvious. Anyone who has read the previous book should know, and it bothered me greatly all through the book that Nancy didn't consider that possibility at all. She was shocked at the reveal, and I knew all along. I hate it when books make something so obvious and then have the protagonist completely ignore it.
Even worse, Nancy, Bess, and George completely ignored Maggie's story about a "monster" in the camp. If they had paid any attention at all, they would have figured out the solution.
I am puzzled that when Nancy's brakes are sabotaged that Mr. Marvin fixes the car. What about Bess? What about Charlie? Speaking of Charlie, I was further puzzled that Mr. Marvin fixes the car, then Charlie delivers it. Does Mr. Marvin now work for Charlie's garage? Since when is Mr. Marvin a mechanic?
Even though the third book in this trilogy is a bit weak, the trilogy is overall very good. I greatly enjoyed it.
2 comments:
This is my least favorite trilogy of them all. If you just focus on the mystery I guess it is pretty interesting and not bad. The rare times I reread this trilogy I get hung up on the blatant attempt to make it "hip" with Miss Zaza and a Justin Beiber look-alike and the Kardashian clones. Plus the oil spill that seems ripped from the headlines of 2010.
Hi, Jennifer. I have bought Nancy Drew and Dana Girls books from you in the past. I stumbled upon a near-perfect copy of Thirteenth Pearl (with the non-italicized Triple Hoax on page 178) and would love to trade for a reading copy or two of the Nancy Drews and Dana Girls I do not have. Would you be interested in such a trade? If not, I'd be happy to send it to you anyway. I have no mechanism for selling it and have enjoyed your blog a lot over the years. In fact, I was able to authenticate this book as a first because of the information you provided. The book is really gorgeous--the corners are bumped, but that's the only flaw I can see.
Best,
Sarah
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