NANCY WHO?
by Kellye Garrett
Ask any female mystery writer about her influences and you’re sure to consistently hear one name. Well, ask any female mystery writer except for maybe one…
So I have a confession to make. At the risk of being permanently banned from all mystery conferences, groups, amazing blogs like Jungle Red Writers and possibly even reading any mystery novels, I don’t count Nancy Drew among my major childhood influences when it comes to writing.
I know. Eek!
There was actually another whip-smart young detective who was a driving force of my love of all things mystery. And his name was Encyclopedia Brown!!
Leroy “Encyclopedia” Brown may not have driven a cool car. He may not have had a college-age love interest. He may not have been allowed to go around the corner, much less on a ski trip. But what he did have was my heart.
He was a business owner. (Brown Detective Agency! No case too small! 25 cents per day plus expenses.) He wasn’t afraid of bullies like Bugs Meany and the rest of the Tigers. And he could do more crime solving over dinner than McNulty and Herc could do over an entire season of The Wire.
You could see why a girl might be just a tad in love. In fact, he might be the sole reason why I’m still a sucker for a guy in glasses.
And that’s just as a reader. The books are chock-full of great advice that I (try to) use when writing my own books—short scenes that jump right into the action, the need to share information without it feeling like an info dump, and, perhaps best of all, how to subtly plant clues in a way that makes the reader go “Aha!” Plus, it—along with Murder She Wrote—showed that you could totally get away with having so much time in one small town, as long as the story was good enough.
The last Encyclopedia Brown adventure was published in 2012, the same year that his creator Donald J. Sobel passed away. In all, Donald J. Sobel gave us 29 novels and Encyclopedia also has been seen in a comic strip and TV series. There’s even rumors of a movie! I just hope they don’t try to change his name to Wikipedia.
What about you? Any detectives close to your heart who aren't named Nancy? Comment below!
HANK: Yeah. Tell us. I mean, it always kind of drove me crazy that Nancy called her pal Bess “plump.” Some friend. (And, sigh, when I read Nancy there was no such thing as a Ford Mustang.) And okay, I’ll confess. Hanging head--I’ve never read Encyclopedia Brown.
How about you, Reds and readers? What’s your non-mainstream confession? Kellye and I will never tell.
(And Kellye, Hollywood Homicide is terrific. Hilarious. Congratulations!)
Kellye
Garrett spent 8 years working in Hollywood, including a stint
writing for the CBS drama Cold Case. People were always surprised to learn what
she did for a living—probably because she seemed way too happy to be
brainstorming ways to murder people. A former magazine editor, Kellye holds a
B.S. in magazine writing from Florida A&M and an MFA in screenwriting from
USC’s famed film school. Having moved back to her native New Jersey, she spends
her mornings commuting to Manhattan for her job at a leading media
company—while still happily brainstorming ways to commit murder. Her first
novel, Hollywood Homicide, was released by Midnight Ink in August 2017. It was a Library Journal Debut of the Month
and described as a “winning first novel and series launch” in a starred review
by Publishers Weekly.
Actress Dayna Anderson’s deadly new role: homicide detective.
Dayna Anderson doesn’t set out to solve a murder. All the
semifamous, mega-broke actress wants is to help her parents keep their house.
So after witnessing a deadly hit-and-run, she pursues the fifteen grand reward.
But Dayna soon finds herself doing a full-on investigation, wanting more than
just money—she wants justice for the victim. She chases down leads at paparazzi
hot spots, celeb homes, and movie premieres, loving every second of it—until
someone tries to kill her. And there are no second takes in real life.
-->
Congratulations on your book, Kellye . . . I’m looking forward to reading it.
ReplyDeleteI was a Nancy Drew reader when I was growing up. But when I was teaching, the “Encyclopedia Brown” books were one of the children’s favorites. They were always excited when a new book came out and it always went to the top of the pile of books to read out loud after lunch . . . .
So much fun to be able to be with kids when they read a book they love!
DeleteThank you Joan. With Encyclopedia, I think it also helped that the books were essentially short story collections and it let you guess.
DeleteCongratulations, Kellye, on such a well-received debut!
ReplyDeleteI'm with Hank that I never read any of the Encyclopedia Brown books, but I love to read children's books, so maybe I'll have to go back and catch up. One of my favorite groups of young detectives was Zilpha Keatley Snyder's Stanley family, found in a series of seven books over the years. I'm not even sure they're all in print anymore. They're about a blended family, and mysteries, and a little touch of the supernatural. Great fun.
I have never heard of that series, Gigi! I will check it out…
DeleteShe was a wonderful writer, who wrote lots of other things besides the Stanley family books. She won Newberry Honorable Mentions several times. A favorite writer since I was about six.
DeleteThank you, Gigi! I've never heard of the series either. I have a three year old niece and nephew and so I already have all the books they'll be reading during childhood planned out. lol I'll have to add that one to THEIR TBR list.
DeleteCongrats on the book Kellye! I loved Encyclopedia Brown growing up, but I think even more important to me was The Three Investigator books. Oh, and The Hardy Boys were a big favorite.
ReplyDeleteHank, don't feel bad. I don't watch This Is Us or drink beer (or any alcohol for that matter) either.
Lots more about the three investigators! I don’t know of that one…
DeleteThanks, Jay! Another book for my niece and nephew's future TBR list. And the list of things I've "never" is so long. Some I take as a badge of honor (Like I've never seen an episode of ER) and some I'm embarrassed about. lol
DeleteHank, You can read more about The Three Investigators here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Investigators
DeleteKelly, you've never seen an episode of ER the drama or E/R the sitcom? Both featured George Clooney by the way. And by the way, shame on you. :D
And yes the list of nevers is long and that only includes the stuff that would be okay to mention in polite company. If you add in the other stuff, the list would fill a library, no?
Ha ha. It definitely would. And I meant the drama but never saw the sitcom either. I do remember when he was on Facts of Life and Roseanne though.
DeleteMy son read Encyclopedia Brown when he was young. I loved the stories, too! Was that where one character called another the Great Brain? Maybe that was another series, and I think it was set in the early 1900s. Congrats on your debut novel - I can't wait to read it!
ReplyDeleteCertainly sounds as if I am going to have to find this… I have heard all about it, of course, it’s just a timing thing…
DeleteThanks, Edith! The Great Brain is a different series. When I googled, I found an article asking who would win: The Great Brain or Encyclopedia Brown. I haven't read the Great Brain but I'm going with Encyclopedia on principle!
DeleteThe Great Brain are definitely different books. He was usually trying to swindle his friends out of something. Not a great roll model at all but lots of fun.
DeleteCongratulations, Kellye on an intriguing book. I confess Encyclopedia Brown is after my time and I was a Nancy Drew fan - meeting her when she drove a roadster! There was another popular series at the time, and I can't remember the name of it. Not Trixie Beldon, have't read any of those, but I do have one on my Kindle that I keep promising myself to spend an hour or so with.
ReplyDeleteHank, I'm with you on the beer, and I never heard of This is Us. Now I'll have to check it out.
There was Cherry Ames, the nurse. And Vicki Barr, the stewardess. )That’s what they call them at the time. ) and there was also Donna Parker, what was she? I think she started out as something like class president. Remember those?
DeleteI also don't watch This is Us but everyone I know on Facebook apparently does. Based on their posts, you're going to need a LOT of tissues when you watch, Kait. And thank you for the congrats.
DeleteDana girls I think. That comes to mind. I remember Cherry Ames, read all of those. Vicki Barr too. Donna Parker was that the occupational therapist? Oh do these names bring back memories!
DeleteDonna Parker, eh? I was in a thrift shop the other day with two members of the younger generation (okay, they're in their thirties) who both like to veg out with Nancy Drew. So I bought them a couple of Donna Parkers and Trixie Beldens. Donna Parker was just an ordinary high school girl. No mysteries. Just the day to day drama of late 1950s American hich school
DeleteCongratulations on the book, Kellye! I'd love to hear how you've found working on a novel is different from/the same as working on an episode of the series.
ReplyDeleteGreed! I really want to hear what it’s like to work on the TV series…Kellye, Will you write a blog for us about that sometime?
DeleteThank you, Hallie! (I worship your Writing and Selling Your Mystery novel book, by the way.) I'd love to write a blog on the differences. The main one though is that they have a Writers' Room so it's about 10 different writers banging their heads against the wall trying to figure out the plot, not just you doing it in a room alone!
DeleteWelcome Kellye and congrats on your big splash with Hollywood Homicide! I would love to hear more about working in Hollywood and New York too...
ReplyDeleteI read Nancy, Encyclopedia Brown, Hardy Boys...you name it! And too bad about the massage Hank, they keep my creaky parts moving:).
I know, sigh, all my friends think I am missing out…
DeleteYou are definitely missing out.
DeleteThank you, Roberta! (And thank you again for doing a blurb for me. It meant so much.) I think I've only had one or two massages. If I have to make a pampering choice, it would be a facial though.
DeleteOh, I've never had a facial, either. (Am I ruining my image??)
DeleteI have never had a massage and don't feel I'm missing out. Can't imagine paying someone to do that. Seems like a waste.
DeleteHank, you must book a complete spa day immediately! Include that in your blog post.
DeleteHank,
DeleteHave a massage! I've been getting them for about 12 or 13 years now, recommended by my doctor. I do it on a monthly basis but my doctor really thinks I should be doing it every two weeks. If I could afford to I would! It's one of the best gifts I've ever given to myself.
DebRo
Hi, Kellye! I have to confess, I've never read the Encyclopedia Brown series. If the author only died five years ago, that could be why. If my kids weren't into it, it wasn't on my radar. They liked the Boxcar Children, but I think I only read one of them to see if the series was okay for young minds. I don't remember a single thing about it, though. Except, you know, children. And a boxcar. And maybe an uncle?
ReplyDeleteMy favorite detectives from childhood were the Hardy Boys. They were so much more interesting than Nancy Drew, who WAS mean to her friend Bess! That did not sit well with me. The Hardys got away with a lot more, too.
Beer, meh. I can take it or leave it. But I enjoyed the first season of This Is Us, and it gives me something to yak about with the daughter who is a big fan. Which is why I read some of the Babysitter Club books, and the entire Harry Potter series, to have common ground with daughters.
Now I need to read Hollywood Homicide and the Encyclopedia Brown books!
Does anyone remember the Edward Eager books? Those were my favorite favorite favorite .
DeleteHi Karen! I think my next blog confession needs to be, "I've never read the Hardy Boys." but don't tell anyone, okay?
DeleteHank, I've never heard of those.
I actually read some of the Babysitter Club books WAY back when they were first being published because my sister was getting them and I would buy her some. They had a couple of spinoff series too I think. Now they are publishing them as graphic novels and I've bought my 10 year old cousin the first five.
DeleteI think the spinoff had to do with Mallory and Jessie (spell?). Now, I'm curious about what the graphic novels look like.
DeleteHere's an amazon link to the first one Kellye - https://www.amazon.ca/Baby-Sitters-Club-Graphic-Novel-Kristys/dp/0545813875
DeleteCongratulations, Kellye! I'm looking forward to reading your book.
ReplyDeleteAs a kid I loved all kinds of mysteries including Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, Encyclopedia Brown, Trixie Belden, Robin Kane, and the Bobbsey Twins.
Thanks for reminding me about these wonderful books! I just for the first Encyclopedia Brown book on sale for Kindle. :)
On sale now? I wonder if it would be the same reading it on Kindle…
DeleteThis is so surprising — all these books I have never heard of. So weird. Who was Robin Kane?
Thanks Cathy! I bought one of the books recently as well for "research" for the blog post. lol
DeleteHank: I *love* reading on my Kindle. If a book as many images, I switch to the Kindle app on my iPad. :)
DeleteRobin Kane was a girl detective, similar to Nancy Drew. Here's a list of the books: https://www.goodreads.com/series/54131-robin-kane
Kellye: Like we need an excuse to buy books! LOL
Hank, I'm with you on beer and This is Us. But you really should try a massage.
ReplyDeleteI remember Encyclopedia Brown with fondness. I did read Nancy, but I loved the Encyclopedia Brown stories and always tried to solve the "mystery" with him. I was so excited when I got it right!
Congratulations on the book, Kellye. It's in my TBR pile.
Mary/Liz
Hmm....the pressure mounts. Maybe I'll try it--after Bouchercon? And do a blog about it. Or is that more than you'd ever want to know?
DeleteI would definitely want to know your thoughts!
DeleteMary/Liz
I vote for a massage blog! It needs to be a complete recap though.
DeleteMary, I felt the same way. I felt "so smart" when I knew how he figured it out. I was ready to open up my own detective agency next door to his.
Exactly! Like "hey, I can do this!" If only my neighborhood wasn't so boring. LOL
DeleteMary/Liz
Stay strong Hank, avoid the maudlin weepiness of This Is Us.
DeleteAnother big Leroy Brown fan here. I'm grateful that my parents would let me order books each month when the Scholastic Book Services flyer/catalog came around. I also remember enjoying an obscure little book from them called Emil and the Detectives. No Nancy Drew for me; I did read several of the Hardy Boys books, but I remember finding the language stilted (yes, I was a picky child).
ReplyDeleteKellye, congrats on your book! It was one of four that I read this summer with female African-American protagonists--the others were Blanche on the Lam, Land of Shadows, and Murder in G Major. I enjoyed all of them.
Hank, I tried really hard during college to learn to like beer, but I never managed it. Was Edward Eager the guy who had little bits of magic in his stories? IIRC he wrote music too.
Yes!Edward Eager wrote Half Magic (where each wish only gives you half of what you wished for. "I wish our cat could talk" allows the cat to whisper,) Knight's Castle (where the characters go to Ivanhoe and get to be in it), Magic or Not, The Time Garden..SO great. And they completely hold up. .
DeleteThank you for reading it, Jim. I adore all those authors that you mentioned. If you're still looking for books with black main characters, definitely check out the Tamara Hayle P.I. series by Valerie Wilson Wesley. Like Blanche, they are a bit older. And if you want a more cozy, check out the Sophie Katz series by Kyra Davis.
DeleteThanks for the tips, Kellye. I've put When Death Comes Stealing on my list. I keep reading all these first books, but at some point I want to read sequels!
DeleteHopefully you like it as much as I did.
DeleteKellye, THANK YOU.
ReplyDeleteI didn't read much Nancy Drew growing up (we had a few books lying around since my mom was a fan), but my school library was packed with Encyclopedia Brown books and I read all they had multiple times. I credit "Encyclopedia Brown Takes the Cake," which had food-related mysteries and child-friendly recipes in the back, for my love of culinary cozies.
I also loved that his best friend was a girl and that she (Sally?) was the muscle. My type of girl!
Mia, that's so wonderful!
DeleteHi Mia! Now I'm going to look up Encyclopedia Brown Takes the Cake and force my niece and nephew to help me make the recipes. Sally is probably my fave character too.
DeleteMia, her name was Sally Kimball.
DeleteKellye! Here I thought I was the only female mystery writer who was not a Nancy Drew fan! So great to read this. (We must talk)
ReplyDeleteOh, the secret come out! And Nancy was a little...bossy, and self-centered, right? And a bit...entitled?
DeleteHi Triss! Yes. Hopefully we can do another event soon and we can plead our case as to why Nancy was not all that.
DeleteI read every Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys book my library had, but not because I was such a big fan, mostly because the librarian wouldn't let me into the young adult section. After I turned 12, I discovered Mary Stoltz, Rosamund du Jardin, Lenora Mattingly Weber, Janet Lambert, Gene Stratton-Porter, Daphne du Maurier...the list is endless and delightful. My sis was a huge Cherry Ames fan. Kellye, congratulations on the new book! Oh and Hank, I'm with on This Is Us, but I do like the occasional red lager on a hot summer day and a massage is just a treat!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Nan. I can't believe you were banned from the YA section! When I was 12, I fell in love with Joan Hess books. I saw her at Malice this past year and completely geeked out on her. Kinda embarrassing.
DeleteYes, I geeked out at Jane Langton. Did you read Diamond in the Window? THE BEST.
DeleteSounds like my kind of book, Kellye! I loved Cold Case and I'm sorry they don't even seem to show reruns anymore. Maybe they will again someday.
ReplyDeleteHope you like it, Judi. Cold Case was such a great show. They used to have reruns everywhere (well, not as many as Law and Order.) It would be so fun when I happened upon my episode.
DeleteI knew there was a reason I liked Hollywood Homicide from the get-go! I was a total fan of Encyclopedia Brown--especially since Sally Kimball was the muscle behind the operation. I did hope that she'd eventually branch out and start her own detective business--I'm sure she would today.
ReplyDeleteMy not-so-secret shame is that I can only watch Love Actually if I'm allowed to audibly heckle throughout the entire movie--there's something about that film that really irritates.
Thank you! Now I'm imagining just how they would update the series for 2017.
DeleteOh, unknown--who are you :-)? I sense a Love Actually debate blog! (To me, it is perfect.)
DeleteI hate to reveal a softer side of me, but I watch Love Actually every Xmas.
DeleteGee, I thought it was boring and I never did finish watching it. Maybe I'll give it another try.
DeleteDebRo
I'm not sure why I was put under 'unknown' (I'll blame google), but I do have to say that making fun of Love Actually is a fun Christmas tradition for me, so...I guess I do like it?
DeleteNow I have to cast Sally in the film version in my head...
Kellye- I am so excited to read your book! I love the premise of a semi-famous actress turned amateur sleuth. I, too, loved Encyclopedia Brown as a kid but I did love Nancy, too. I'm a librarian - I love ALL the books. As for things I am out of step on - Like Hank, This Is Us is not for me. I don't like to cry. I've never seen Breaking Bad (someday!) or The Voice (probably, never) - except for snippets on YouTube. Oh, and I've had exactly one mani-pedi in my life. I can't give up that much time - that's chapters, people! LOL.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jenn! The Voice is one of those shows that I have never watched yet I know too much about it. My mom and I were watching Breaking Bad on Netflix but we randomly stopped. (I'm about to call her to discussing resuming our watch-fest.) The Wire is another great show to binge watch.
DeleteThe Wire. BEST EVER. Agree.
DeleteMani-pedi. Cannot give up. Must have. (Whew.. After my no massage/ no facial confessions, my image in BACK.)
I'm not so much on manicures but pedis OH MY. I love having my feet and legs massaged, find it as relaxing as a full body one. My manicure issue is that I have to keep my nails short, absolutely clean, touched up at least twice a day. Polish can't stand up to that, particularly when the next thing I do is stick my hands in the garden dirt.
DeleteThe Wire is simply put one of the best things ever put on TV...ever.
DeleteAnn, I would love to get more manis but my nails are natural and they always start to peel the day after. :-(
DeleteJay, it really is!!! It doesn't get the credit it deserves even though everyone I know who has seen it always says its the best show ever.
Kellye, I loved "Encyclopedia Brown" growing up, and other favorites were "Nate the Great" and "Harriet the Spy." I think I was partial to Nate because, after solving a case, he would always eat pancakes, which seems like a wonderful idea to me!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on "Hollywood Homicide!" How is it being back on the east coast after living in LA? I made the same move eons ago and wondered what your experience has been like.
I need to find Nate the great!
DeleteHi Ingrid! The only thing I really miss about LA is the weather. My first winter back we had a huge snowstorm on Halloween and I was seriously regretting my choice to move back home. lol
DeleteMy #1 girl detective was Trixie Belden. I read (and liked) Nancy Drew and the Bobbsey Twins and loved Encyclopedia Brown, but - Trixie was always my girl.
ReplyDeleteI wish we could post pictures, because I bought a Trixie Belden at the last Malice. It is Trixie and the mysterious code. Could not resist! That is one of those cello coated cardboard bound books. Love it!
DeleteHi Laura! I've never read the Bobbsey Twins either. All the comments make me want to go back to childhood and read more books.
DeleteConfession is good for the soul, so here goes.
ReplyDeleteI've never read Nancy Drew, Jane Austen, (nor Proust for that matter), but I still have enjoyed a long and happy life.
When I was nine or so, old enough to get to the library on my own, my mother told the librarian, Miss Marie Ohlhausen, that I could read anything on any shelf. So I went from zero to sixty, children's books to adult novels, especially Agatha Christie, Ellery Queen, Nero Wolfe, et al.
I must add that there was not a copy of Lady Chatterley's Lover in that library. I know. I checked.
Ha ha ha Ann. I started reading Jackie Collins at like 13 so I feel you. Now that you're older, do you think a 9 year old would enjoy Agatha Christie today?
DeleteI don't know. But there's only one way to find out. Something my dad did to encourage his students was to read aloud, get to a cliff-hanger, and put down the book. This was a bunch of 1930s farm kids, many barely literate. He said it worked every time. There was a run on the library for that book after class.
DeleteAnn, That's how I wound up reading THE SCARLET LETTER at age 13. I had read (or heard) the beginning, knew there was an illicit romance, and dove in for all the steamy scenes between Hester Prynne and Rev. Dimmesdale.
DeleteI let The Girl read LOLITA when she was 13 or 14. Does that make me a bad mother?
DeleteMary/Liz
Bad mothers are those who limit a child's reading. So , Mary, the answer is no.
DeleteAnd they're going to read it anyway...
DeleteAnother huge Encyclopedia Brown fan here. It's funny Kellye should bring him up - I spent last weekend mucking out Youngest's room while she was away (on college visits!) and I put a lot of her older books in crates to go up in the attic until the next ten-year-old reader comes along in our family. One of her collections? Twelve different Encyclopedia Brown mysteries.
ReplyDeleteThe apple does not fall far from the tree.
Oh jealous! I would have started cleaning and then just sat down and read them. lol
DeleteHank, in re Pretty Woman, I never got it either. A million dollars for what I've done for dinner and a movie? Naw
ReplyDeleteRight. Plus all you need is a man to save you?
DeleteI had big sets of Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, and The Bobbsey Twins that I shared with my brother. I wish we'd kept them. But I loved Encyclopedia Brown too.
ReplyDeleteI know, sigh. Would that we all had kept them..
DeleteI read Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden as my gateway books into a lifelong love of mystery books. When my kids were growing up, one of my favorite books we shared was The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin, a great mystery full of word play and illusions. Another author from my kids' growing up is Zilpha Keatley Synder and especially her book, The Trespassers, which first came out in 1965, which means I could have read it as a child, too. I am aware of Encylopedia Brown, but I missed reading these books. I'm thinking I need to try and fit in a few now.
ReplyDeleteI remember being fascinated by hidden passages and Egyptian mummies and tombs when I was a kid. In grade school, a friend and I wrote a mystery play with an Egyptian setting, and our class performed it for the school. I have no idea where the play went to, and with all that my mother saved, I'm surprised that I don't have a copy of it.
Oh, looking up The Westing Game!
DeleteOh gosh Kathy! I think I spent most of 6th and 7th grades trying to figure out how to get to Egypt and explore the pyramids and tombs.
DeleteKathy, that is so cool that you were a playwright with produced works in grade school!!
DeleteI love "The Westing Game," Kathy!
DeleteDid you know "The Westing Game" was made into a movie?
DeleteI'm afraid EB was after my time. I read the original Nancy Drews before they started "modernizing" them in the early 60s. I was enchanted by the lifestyle and the times. So foreign and exotic to a young girl in the 50s and 60s. I actually preferred The Dana Girls. I read all my brother's Hardy Boys and Rick Brant books. Tried Trixie once. As for the Bobbsey Twins, they were just unnatural. Brothers and sisters are just not that nice to each other all the time. I mean, really! I also liked Vickie Barr and Cherry Ames. There again I think it was the time period that attracted my interest. Needless to say I am still a huge fan of historical fiction.
ReplyDeletePat, I have three year old twin niece and nephew and they definitely aren't. But on the flip side, don't let anyone else try to mess with the other. My sister was telling me how they'll fight and when she goes to punish one for being mean to their sibling, the sibling gets mad at her too!
DeleteYup. Agree. Bobbsey Twins downright weird.
DeletePerhaps it’s a twin thing . . . the interaction between each of the sets of twins in the stories seemed exactly right to my [twin] sister and me . . . we loved those books.
DeleteI was a huge Encyclopedia Briwn reader back in the day. Loved them. And I was a fan of the male Nancy Drew books - The Hardy Boys. Yes, I read some Nancy as well, but the I found Trixie Belden and I never went back.
ReplyDeleteI seriously need to read Trixie!Everyone is mentioning her.
DeleteI will read my new/old one and let you know how it holds up! Mark, do you still like Trixie now?
DeleteI've reviewed all 39 of the Trixie books on my blog, reading the last couple this year. Does that answer your question, Hank? Some of the books are better written then others, but the well written ones are still so much fun.
DeleteKellye, I have a confession. I've never read Encyclopedia Brown! But I plan to check him out. Hank, I'd pay my pedicurist for the foot massage alone, without the nail polish! BTW, K, Hollywood Homicide totally rocks. Congrats!
ReplyDeleteWe'll all read it together! The Jungle Red Encyclopedia Brown book club! (I can never type his name without singing it...)
DeleteKellye, i'll be looking for your book!
ReplyDeleteAs a kid, I did read Nancy Drew, and I also read the Hardy boys and Cherry Ames, Trixue Belsen, and another series that I don't remember much about. The female protagonist was a teenager whose name I think begin with the letter L. Lucy? Leticia? Lydia? Something else? I never heard of Encyclopedia Brown until I was an adult, so I suspect that those books came after my time. But from everything that I've heard about them I think I'd like to read them!
Nancy Drew always seemed to me to be a little bossy and I got the impression she felt superior to her friends. I always felt sorry for her friends. (I read her in the "roadster" days.) She also seemed to have a lot more freedom than my siblings and my friends and I had!
By the way, I have never seen an episode of ER. I remember that back when that program was on TV I could not call my mother while she was watching it! (Is it still on? I wouldn't know; I don't have TV. )
DebRo
Trixie Belden! My darn phone keeps changing the spelling of her name!
DeleteDeb
Right? We would never have been allowed to run around like that. Was Nancy in high school? Did she ever...attend?
DeleteGood questions, Hank! I always used to wonder about that. If she didn't go to school at all why wasn't she working?
DeleteDebRo
Hmmm. Sounds like an investigative story. :-)
DeleteHa! Maybe she was a trust fund baby!? But you're a mystery writer, so you probably assumed that the source of her funds may not have been a legitimate one!
DeleteDebRo
This sounds like a great book (and I LOVED Cold Case -- one of the best shows EVER). I haven't read everyone's comments so perhaps this has been said already, but for a little girl in the 1950's, Nancy Drew was so amazing. I also loved Cherry Ames who was a nurse. But we really did have far fewer choices back then!
ReplyDeleteWe did! I learned so much from Cherry Ames. Very specifically, that I did not want to be a nurse. xoxoo
DeleteI loved Nancy Drew when I was a child in the 60's. I might have read them all!!! I did not start reading for pleasure until after 5th grade. Nancy helped build on my new found pleasure! I have enjoyed mysteries ever since! I really enjoyed Hollywood Homicide Kellye.
ReplyDeleteI always loved Trixie Belden and another series I liked to read was Alfred Hitchcock’s Three Investigators. I did read some Nancy Drew though.
ReplyDelete