Monday, February 7, 2022

Moonstone Mystery Romance #5 Something Out There by Leslie Davis, 1985

This is by far the easiest title to acquire in the series since it was reprinted as an Especially for Girls book club edition hardcover.  Unfortunately, the book club edition is the only one that can be found without a lot of trouble.  The original paperback is a bit hard to find, just as all of the other books in this series are hard to find.

At home on beautiful Massachusetts Bay, Chips is enjoying the best summer ever.  Her sailing school is a big success, and so is her romance with gorgeous soccer star Ryan Kennedy. 

So why does Chips also get a crush on Jeff, the boy her parents have hired to guard their house?  And why is he acting suspiciously?  Is he involved in the robberies that have frightened everyone in town?  Suddenly, lots of scary things are happening fast.  Soon Chips is awash in real danger - stranded at an abandoned lighthouse in a raging storm, face to face with a rescuer who may be a deadly foe!

I believe that this series was named as a nod to the Nancy Drew book, The Moonstone Castle Mystery.  This book mentions Nancy Drew multiple times.  Chips' boyfriend calls her "Nancy Drew" to tease her about being suspicious of certain events.

From page 83 of the Especially for Girls edition:

Chips settled into the couch, looking up from her book only occasionally whenever a June bug butted against the screen in an effort to reach the lighted room.

She had scanned Melissa's old collection of Nancy Drew mysteries and had chosen one about a lighthouse.  Maybe, she thought with a smile, it would tell her how to recognize clues or convince doubting boyfriends to take her seriously.

Skimming the pages, she found herself engrossed in the story and laughing at the heavy weather, foggy nights, and strangers in the shadows.  When the scratching began on the screen, she didn't look up at first because she thought more bugs were flapping against the mesh.

There are some things about Chips' behavior that I find annoying, but aside from that, this book is quite enjoyable.  I consider it to be overall very good.

4 comments:

Doactmysterious said...

I agree. I have seen several copies of Something Out There at flea markets, peddler's malls, thrift shops, etc. It most likely had a longer print run for some reason.

If you don't mind, I have a question. Whenever you're looking for books in a set, do you try to order them in lots/sets and resell the copies, or do you try to buy individual? Your recent posts have gotten me very excited about trying to add more to my Nancy digest collection, and aside from a few sellers (like you for example) who make a note of versions, I have found that lots/sets of books generally use actual photos rather than generic versions so it's easier to tell their spines/editions. Any tips you could provide would be very much appreciated (´◡`)

I've been working on big Google sheets of digest spine versions, and it's been a really fun challenge. In doing so, I discovered the Hardy Boys digest books went through similar editions, even the weird ones with triangles on the top and bottom of the spine (though they're blue).

Jennifer White said...

I will obtain books I need anyway I can, individually or in lots. I have taken this approach for many years with respect to all books that I collect. My interest in lots quickly led to me selling the extras. It is harder to collect variants when relying only on individual listings. Fun variants often appear in bulk lots.

Doactmysterious said...

To clarify, I meant I have seen a good amount of the paperback and Girl's Club edition, so I think even the paperback had a longer run. I've seen at least five or so of the paperback, and while not a lot, that's a lot to accidentally run into in-person without looking for them.

You're absolutely right. Some of the best things I have gotten have been in lots. I have found the digests to be a bit harder than other series to search for lots for since they're just...Nancy paperbacks. They aren't "files," "clue books," "notebooks," etc. unless the seller knows they are called digests. There's an odd enjoyment gotten from zooming in on photos of lots and trying to notice nit-picky details about books to figure out what they are and if there are any cool variants. Judging from what you said, I think I'll focus on lots, but be open to individual books. I appreciate your response :)

Anonymous said...

The Moonstone was the title of a famous early mystery story from the 19th century so that might be another possible reason for its use in that series.