Recently, Keith and Lulu combined detective work with
summertime fun down at the Jersey Shore, just like Nancy and her gal pals
in The Whispering Statue.
Keith: Hi readers! Hope you had a great summer. We just got back from an
awesome vacation in Wildwood, NJ where we thoroughly enjoyed reading this
episode aloud at the beach!
Lulu: It was perfect, since much of the action takes place at a seaside resort.
K: But I’ll confess this one kinda threw us for a loop. Everything
we expected to happen didn't!
L: We were excited to discuss
this one, since we remembered having read it back in Chicago.
K: Not everyone knows this, but you and I used to have a lil’ Nancy
Drew book club way back before fredflare.com ever existed! We both lived
in Chicago, had different jobs and would sometimes meet up on the steps of
a church on lunch hours to read mysteries… So good for our image!
L: Totally. You, me and Nancy go way back!
K: Lulu has a more thorough collection
than I do and actually had two different editions of this story so we decided
to be controversial and try the newer 70’s-era mystery, since we’re
so into the 70's right now.
L: We kept waiting for certain events
to happen, but they never did! I wished we had read both versions at the
same time. This edition had a completely different plot!
K: Exactly. It sounds silly to say, but I think the thing I missed most of
all in the rewrite is her dog, Togo. I remember him wreaking so much havoc
in the 1937 edition! Doesn’t he grab some woman’s pocketbook and drop it into the lake?
L: Yes! I totally forgot about that… Oh,
he’s such a nuisance.
I also was excited to have him join the team, though. He really mixes things
up! Unfortunately, he’s hardly mentioned here.
K: And – I suppose it’s no surprise – they make him all
well-behaved in the rewrite. Even the dog has to be a goody-goody in the
new school Nancy world!
L: I still enjoyed this one, though. Let’s discuss that exciting opening
chapter!
K: Okay. It all starts – no surprise here – over a meal. A Mrs.
Merrium has flown in from Waterford, a resort town on the coast of the Atlantic
Ocean, to have dinner with Mr. Drew, Nancy, Bess and George. I love how Nancy
introduces her girlz by saying, "They’re part of my detective
force, so you may speak freely in front of them." How official.
L: As soon as they sit down to dinner
Mrs. Merrium tells them that she has inherited a library of very valuable
art books from her uncle and has been
selling them at a high-class art gallery. Lately Mr. Basswood, the man she
hired to sell them for commission, has not been giving her any money. He
says the books are not selling, but she suspects he is trying to swindle
her!
K: Before Nancy can question Mrs. Merrium, everyone at the dinner table is
startled by the ringing of the front and back doorbells and the telephone,
all at the same time. Nancy answers the phone and is given a threatening
warning, "You tell Mrs. Merrium to shut up or she'll get hurt and you
people too!"
L: Then Dad opens the front door and
is attacked by a masked man! During the struggle, the mask is torn off and our girl is able to get a good look
at the intruder’s cruel face, set jaw and fiery eyes. Oooooh, the bad
guys are always so scary-lookin’!
K: Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Hannah answers the back door and is knocked
to the floor by another masked man! Thankfully, George comes to her rescue
and nails the perp with a judo hold! George is so butch!
L: George may kick butt, but her description
of the other intruder was not as detailed as Nancy's. All she could say was, "He
looked like a gorilla!" Those
girls still have a lot to learn from Nancy…
K: And so do the bad guys. Threatening our girl only whets her appetite for
JUSTICE!
L: Exactly. So, over raspberry shortcake, the girls decide to go back to
Waterford with Mrs. Merrium to investigate. She suggests they stay at the
local Yacht Club since it also could use a little help from the "detective
force". A life-size marble statue – one that actually resembles
Nancy – has been stolen from the lawn! An added twist is that the statue
mysteriously whispers when the wind blows. Nancy is immediately intrigued!
K: Mrs. Merrium jokes that maybe they will be able to solve both mysteries.
Duh!
L: Carson is quiet for a bit, then finally makes a request. He proposes that
Nancy use a disguise and an assumed name while working on this case, since
he fears she may be recognized by one of those masked men.
K: Ooooh, I loved that part!
L: Yeah. They all start to brainstorm ideas for Nancy’s pseudonym.
I thought Bess had the best name suggestions! Since one mystery was about
books she suggested "Libby", short for Library, and "Booker",
because of books.
K: Then she goes in another direction and suggests the name "Carrie
Fisher", since the suspect's name, "Basswood", is partly fish.
K: All of her suggestions are cutting room floor, though, when Hannah comes
up with the name "Debbie Lynbrook" that, for whatever reason, appeals
to Nancy. Debbie Lynbrook?
L: With the Debbie Detective role in place, Nancy further plans her transformation.
She applies tanning lotion, dusts dark powder on her face and wears a long
black wig. She even sports a pair of horn-rimmed glasses!
K: Don't forget that she decides to change her voice, too. She talks a couple
of octaves higher than her normal range. I love Nancy’s attention to
detail. She even has calling cards printed with her new name!
L: She is able to fool everybody with
her disguise. She even parlays it into getting a job at the art gallery.
She figures that is the best way to look for clues.
K: And that’s where it all comes together. Nancy, aka Debbie, uncovers
a ring of clever art thieves that steal original pieces and then make reproductions
in the back room of the gallery to resell to wealthy buyers.
L: They’re also the ones behind the disappearance of the whispering
statue. Even though it magically reappears one day, Nancy suspects it’s
been replaced with a fake! The statue no longer whispers…
K: Her investigations bring her great danger – she’s even held
prisoner inside the mold of one of the statue reproductions! – but
these hardships only make her stronger. In the end, she’s able to return
the original statue to the yacht club and, though it doesn’t whisper
at first, she uncovers the hidden holes that cause the sound. They had been
accidentally covered up during the making of a mold.
L: The ending was cute. "Did you hear that?" someone asks. "I
think the statue is saying, ‘Thank you, Nancy Drew, for giving me my
voice back.’ "
K: Our girl saves the day again! Stay tuned for more mystery and adventure
next month when we help Nancy solve the mystery of The
Haunted Bridge.
09/2003
