The character of Nancy Drew - ghostwritten and credited to the pseudonymous Carolyn Keene - has appeared in a number of series over the years.
613 Nancy Drew books have been published as of July 2021 over thirteen different series, as follows:
Published by Dynamite Entertainment.
See main article: Nancy Drew Mystery Stories.
| No. | Title | Pub./Rev. | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Secret of the Old Clock | 1930/1959 | Grosset & Dunlap |
| 2 | The Hidden Staircase | 1930/1959 | |
| 3 | The Bungalow Mystery | 1930/1960 | |
| 4 | The Mystery at Lilac Inn | 1930/1961 | |
| 5 | The Secret Of Shadow Ranch | 1931/1965 | |
| 6 | The Secret of Red Gate Farm | 1931/1961 | |
| 7 | The Clue in the Diary | 1932/1962 | |
| 8 | Nancy's Mysterious Letter | 1932/1968 | |
| 9 | The Sign of the Twisted Candles | 1933/1968 | |
| 10 | The Password to Larkspur Lane | 1933/1966 | |
| 11 | The Clue of the Broken Locket | 1934/1965 | |
| 12 | The Message in the Hollow Oak | 1935/1972 | |
| 13 | The Mystery of the Ivory Charm | 1936/1974 | |
| 14 | The Whispering Statue | 1937/1970 | |
| 15 | The Haunted Bridge | 1937/1972 | |
| 16 | The Clue of the Tapping Heels | 1939/1969 | |
| 17 | The Mystery of the Brass-Bound Trunk | 1940/1976 | |
| 18 | The Mystery at the Moss-Covered Mansion | 1941/1971 | |
| 19 | The Quest of the Missing Map | 1942/1969 | |
| 20 | The Clue in the Jewel Box | 1943/1972 | |
| 21 | The Secret in the Old Attic | 1944/1970 | |
| 22 | The Clue in the Crumbling Wall | 1945/1973 | |
| 23 | The Mystery of the Tolling Bell | 1946/1973 | |
| 24 | The Clue in the Old Album | 1947/1977 | |
| 25 | The Ghost of Blackwood Hall | 1948/1967 | |
| 26 | The Clue of the Leaning Chimney | 1949/1967 | |
| 27 | The Secret of the Wooden Lady | 1950/1967 | |
| 28 | The Clue of the Black Keys | 1951/1968 | |
| 29 | The Mystery at the Ski Jump | 1952/1968 | |
| 30 | The Clue of the Velvet Mask | 1953/1969 | |
| 31 | The Ringmaster's Secret | 1953/1974 | |
| 32 | The Scarlet Slipper Mystery | 1954/1974 | |
| 33 | The Witch Tree Symbol | 1955/1975 | |
| 34 | The Hidden Window Mystery | 1956/1975 | |
| 35 | The Haunted Showboat | 1957 | |
| 36 | The Secret of the Golden Pavilion | 1959 | |
| 37 | The Clue in the Old Stagecoach | 1960 | |
| 38 | The Mystery of the Fire Dragon | 1961 | |
| 39 | The Clue of the Dancing Puppet | 1962 | |
| 40 | The Moonstone Castle Mystery | 1963 | |
| 41 | The Clue of the Whistling Bagpipes | 1964 | |
| 42 | The Phantom of Pine Hill | 1965 | |
| 43 | The Mystery of the 99 Steps | 1966 | |
| 44 | The Clue in the Crossword Cipher | 1967 | |
| 45 | The Spider Sapphire Mystery | 1968 | |
| 46 | The Invisible Intruder | 1969 | |
| 47 | The Mysterious Mannequin | 1970 | |
| 48 | The Crooked Banister | 1971 | |
| 49 | The Secret of Mirror Bay | 1972 | |
| 50 | The Double Jinx Mystery | 1973 | |
| 51 | Mystery of the Glowing Eye | 1974 | |
| 52 | The Secret of the Forgotten City | 1975 | |
| 53 | The Sky Phantom | 1976 | |
| 54 | The Strange Message in the Parchment | 1977 | |
| 55 | Mystery of Crocodile Island | 1978 | |
| 56 | The Thirteenth Pearl | 1979 | |
| 57 | The Triple Hoax | 1979 | Wanderer |
| 58 | The Flying Saucer Mystery | 1980 | |
| 59 | The Secret in the Old Lace | 1980 | |
| 60 | The Greek Symbol Mystery | 1980 | |
| 61 | The Swami's Ring | 1981 | |
| 62 | The Kachina Doll Mystery | 1981 | |
| 63 | The Twin Dilemma | 1981 | |
| 64 | Captive Witness | 1981 | |
| 65 | Mystery of the Winged Lion | 1982 | |
| 66 | Race Against Time | 1982 | |
| 67 | The Sinister Omen | 1982 | |
| 68 | The Elusive Heiress | 1982 | |
| 69 | Clue in the Ancient Disguise | 1982 | |
| 70 | The Broken Anchor | 1983 | |
| 71 | The Silver Cobweb | 1983 | |
| 72 | The Haunted Carousel | 1983 | |
| 73 | Enemy Match | 1984 | |
| 74 | The Mysterious Image | 1984 | |
| 75 | The Emerald-Eyed Cat Mystery | 1984 | |
| 76 | The Eskimo's Secret | 1985 | |
| 77 | The Bluebeard Room | 1985 | |
| 78 | The Phantom of Venice | 1985 | |
| 79 | The Double Horror of Fenley Place | 1987 | Minstrel |
| 80 | The Case of the Disappearing Diamonds | 1987 | |
| 81 | The Mardi Gras Mystery | 1988 | |
| 82 | The Clue in the Camera | 1988 | |
| 83 | The Case of the Vanishing Veil | 1988 | |
| 84 | The Joker's Revenge | 1988 | |
| 85 | The Secret of Shady Glen | 1988 | |
| 86 | The Mystery of Misty Canyon | 1988 | |
| 87 | The Case of the Rising Stars | 1989 | |
| 88 | The Search for Cindy Austin | 1989 | |
| 89 | The Case of the Disappearing Deejay | 1989 | |
| 90 | The Puzzle at Pineview School | 1989 | |
| 91 | The Girl Who Couldn't Remember | 1989 | |
| 92 | The Ghost of Craven Cove | 1989 | |
| 93 | The Case of the Safecracker's Secret | 1990 | |
| 94 | The Picture-Perfect Mystery | 1990 | |
| 95 | The Silent Suspect | 1990 | |
| 96 | The Case of the Photo Finish | 1990 | |
| 97 | The Mystery of Magnolia Mansion | 1990 | |
| 98 | The Haunting of Horse Island | 1990 | |
| 99 | The Secret at Seven Rocks | 1991 | |
| 100 | A Secret in Time | 1991 | |
| 101 | The Mystery of the Missing Millionairess | 1991 | |
| 102 | The Secret in the Dark | 1991 | |
| 103 | The Stranger in the Shadows | 1991 | |
| 104 | The Mystery of the Jade Tiger | 1991 | |
| 105 | The Clue in the Antique Trunk | 1992 | |
| 106 | The Case of the Artful Crime | 1992 | |
| 107 | The Legend of Miner's Creek | 1992 | |
| 108 | The Secret of the Tibetan Treasure | 1992 | |
| 109 | The Mystery of the Masked Rider | 1992 | |
| 110 | The Nutcracker Ballet Mystery | 1992 | |
| 111 | The Secret at Solaire | 1993 | |
| 112 | Crime in the Queen's Court | 1993 | |
| 113 | The Secret Lost at Sea | 1993 | |
| 114 | The Search for the Silver Persian | 1993 | |
| 115 | The Suspect in the Smoke | 1993 | |
| 116 | The Case of the Twin Teddy Bears | 1993 | |
| 117 | Mystery on the Menu | 1994 | |
| 118 | Trouble At Lake Tahoe | 1994 | |
| 119 | The Mystery of the Missing Mascot | 1994 | |
| 120 | The Case of the Floating Crime | 1994 | |
| 121 | The Fortune Teller's Secret | 1994 | |
| 122 | The Message in the Haunted Mansion | 1994 | |
| 123 | The Clue on the Silver Screen | 1995 | |
| 124 | The Secret of the Scarlet Hand | 1995 | |
| 125 | The Teen Model Mystery | 1995 | |
| 126 | The Riddle in the Rare Book | 1995 | |
| 127 | The Case of the Dangerous Solution | 1995 | |
| 128 | The Treasure in the Royal Tower | 1995 | |
| 129 | The Baby-Sitter Burglaries | 1996 | |
| 130 | The Sign of the Falcon | 1996 | |
| 131 | The Hidden Inheritance | 1996 | |
| 132 | The Fox Hunt Mystery | 1996 | |
| 133 | The Mystery at the Crystal Palace | 1996 | |
| 134 | The Secret of the Forgotten Cave | 1996 | |
| 135 | The Riddle of the Ruby Gazelle | 1997 | |
| 136 | The Wedding Day Mystery | 1997 | |
| 137 | In Search of the Black Rose | 1997 | |
| 138 | The Legend of the Lost Gold | 1997 | |
| 139 | The Secret of Candlelight Inn | 1997 | |
| 140 | The Door-to-Door Deception | 1997 | |
| 141 | The Wild Cat Crime | 1998 | |
| 142 | The Case of Capital Intrigue | 1998 | |
| 143 | Mystery on Maui | 1998 | |
| 144 | The E-mail Mystery | 1998 | |
| 145 | The Missing Horse Mystery | 1998 | |
| 146 | The Ghost of the Lantern Lady | 1998 | |
| 147 | The Case of the Captured Queen | 1999 | |
| 148 | On the Trail of Trouble | 1999 | |
| 149 | The Clue of the Gold Doubloons | 1999 | |
| 150 | Mystery at Moorsea Manor | 1999 | |
| 151 | The Chocolate-Covered Contest | 1999 | |
| 152 | The Key in the Satin Pocket | 2000 | |
| 153 | Whispers In the Fog | 2000 | |
| 154 | The Legend of the Emerald Lady | 2000 | |
| 155 | The Mystery in Tornado Alley | 2000 | |
| 156 | The Secret in the Stars | 2000 | |
| 157 | The Music Festival Mystery | 2000 | |
| 158 | The Curse of the Black Cat | 2001 | |
| 159 | The Secret of the Fiery Chamber | 2001 | |
| 160 | The Clue on the Crystal Dove | 2001 | Aladdin |
| 161 | Lost in the Everglades | 2001 | |
| 162 | The Case of the Lost Song | 2001 | |
| 163 | The Clues Challenge | 2001 | |
| 164 | The Mystery of the Mother Wolf | 2002 | |
| 165 | The Crime Lab Case | 2002 | |
| 166 | The Case of the Creative Crime | 2002 | |
| 167 | Mystery By Moonlight | 2002 | |
| 168 | The Bike Tour Mystery | 2002 | |
| 169 | The Mistletoe Mystery | 2002 | |
| 170 | No Strings Attached | 2003 | |
| 171 | Intrigue at the Grand Opera | 2003 | |
| 172 | The Riding Club Crime | 2003 | |
| 173 | Danger on the Great Lakes | 2003 | |
| 174 | A Taste of Danger | 2003 | |
| 175 | Werewolf in a Winter Wonderland | 2003 | |
The first four works were published by Grosset & Dunlap. The Nancy Drew Cookbook contained recipes and short stories. Both titles under the Nancy Drew Picture Book banner were illustrated picture books aimed at younger readers. The Nancy Drew Sleuth Book contained short stories that involved Nancy teaching a group of younger girls how she solves her mysteries, and gives lessons to the reader on the techniques used.
The first Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys: Super Sleuths book was published in 1981, after switching over to Simon & Schuster. The book contained seven short stories in which Nancy Drew crosses over to solve mysteries with The Hardy Boys; both the Carolyn Keene pseudonym and The Hardy Boys' Franklin W. Dixon pseudonym are used. The story was so popular, that it spawned a sequel, a spin-off series, and a Campfire Stories companion.
In 1983, Nancy Drew Ghost Stories was published, also containing seven short stories. It, too, spawned a sequel in 1985. Unlike other specials, though, the first volume was reprinted by the later Minstrel and Aladdin imprints.
These titles feature a level of reader-interaction in a manner similar to the Choose Your Own Adventure books. The series was published by Wanderer.
Two more volumes, Jungle of Evil and Ticket to Intrigue, were planned and advertised, but were unpublished after the sale of the Stratemeyer Syndicate to Simon & Schuster.[2]
| Title | Pub. | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Secret of the Knight’s Sword | 1984 |
| 2 | Danger on Ice | |
| 3 | The Feathered Serpent | |
| 4 | Secret Cargo | |
| 5 | The Alaskan Mystery | 1985 |
| 6 | The Missing Money Mystery | |
See main article: Nancy Drew Notebooks.
The Nancy Drew Notebooks were aimed at younger readers and featured a Nancy who was still in grade school. The series was published from 1994 to 2005.
See main article: The Nancy Drew Files.
In 1986, Simon & Schuster, Inc. began publishing a spin-off series, The Nancy Drew Files, running concurrently with the main Nancy Drew Mystery Stories line. The Nancy Drew Files were aimed at an older, teenage audience, and is similar in style, target audience, and sensibilities with The Hardy Boys Casefiles.
Starting in January 2014, Simon & Schuster began releasing this series as eBooks.
Nancy Drew Files Volume I and Nancy Drew Files Volume II were published September 24, 2019 under the Simon Pulse imprint. These are reprints of the first six titles in the series, books 1, 2, and 3 in volume I and books 4, 5 and 6 in volume II. Cover art by Fernanda Suarez.
See main article: Super Mystery.
The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew teamed up in this 36 volume series of paperbacks. This series follows the formula of the main characters and their friends typically involved in separate mysteries that end up being connected. The sleuths join forces to solve the overall mystery. This series is based in the Nancy Drew Files and Hardy Boys Casefiles continuity, so murder, romance, and flirtation between the series regulars are common. Nancy Drew and Frank Hardy share an attraction in this series, though after a brief kiss in "The Last Resort" this attraction is not acted on. Subsequent books focus on the respect and friendship that developed between the two and their continued feelings for Ned Nickerson and Callie Shaw. Several spin-off series were cancelled by Simon and Schuster at the end of 1997, including the series Super Mystery (also called Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys Super Mystery).
See main article: River Heights (Nancy Drew).
This series does not feature Nancy Drew beyond a cameo appearance in a couple of books, but is set in her fictional hometown and still written under the Carolyn Keene pseudonym. The series focused on romance and lasted for only 16 titles.[3]
See main article: Nancy Drew on Campus.
The Nancy Drew on Campus series, like The Nancy Drew Files, is targeted at an older teen audience. Nancy and her friends Bess Marvin and George Fayne go to college; the series focused on college life and romance, rather than all solving mysteries.[4]
See main article: Nancy Drew: Girl Detective. Nancy Drew, Girl Detective replaced the long-running Nancy Drew mysteries series. This new series is written in first person narration, from Nancy's point of view, and features updated and overhauled versions of the main Nancy Drew characters. In addition, new secondary characters are introduced to populate River Heights and appear over multiple books, adding a framework to Nancy's world.
The drastic changes in the main characters' personalities, and a perception in quality decline, earned the series negative reviews from long-time fans. A switch to trilogies gave even more negative reviews, before low sales forced the series to be cancelled in 2011. In 2013, Nancy Drew, Girl Detective was replaced with the Nancy Drew Diaries series.
Beginning in 2005, Papercutz began issuing a new series of Nancy Drew graphic novels as an offshoot of the Girl Detective series. The series is edited by Jim Salicrup, written by Stefan Petrucha, and illustrated by Sho Murase. The manga-style illustrations and technical allusions (Nancy's hybrid car, George's tablet PC) give Nancy and her friends a 21st-century spin.
In 2010, the series was rebooted as Nancy Drew: Girl Detective - The New Case Files. These new novels center around a River Heights that has become obsessed with vampire books. However, the series was cancelled not long after. In 2014, the series began being re-released as an offshoot of the Nancy Drew Diaries series, with two volumes per issue.
Starting in 2006, Aladdin Paperbacks published a new series to replace the Nancy Drew Notebooks series for younger readers; it exists in the same universe as the series. This series ended in 2015 to be replaced by the Nancy Drew Clue Book series.
Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew features Nancy Drew, George Fayne, and Bess Marvin as eight-year-olds in the third grade at River Heights Elementary School, and solving kid sized mysteries, from finding a stolen ice cream formula entry to the culprit who cut the cake before the bride. This series also sets George's mother working her own catering company, and reveals George's real name to be Georgia.
Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys Super Mystery is a crossover spin-off with The Hardy Boys: Undercover Brothers series. The stories are told in first person, alternating chapters, between Frank's, Joe's, and Nancy's perspective. The first title in the series acts as an introduction between the characters in their new universes. This series published one title per year until the end of the Girl Detective and Undercover Brothers series in 2012.
This series, which began in 2013, is a reboot of the Nancy Drew: Girl Detective series. The series continues to follow Nancy and her friends' cases, with first-person narration by Nancy. The series was created to move away from the trilogy format of Girl Detective (besides the first two books, all titles are now individual mysteries), make books longer than its predecessor, and have a cover artist. The new series also attempted to fix some of the more criticized aspects of Girl Detective, with arguable success.
This is the first series to be available in three different formats; paperback, hardcover (with dust jacket), and eBooks. When the series was first launched, three new titles were expected to come out per year (with the exception of 2013 and 2015, which produced four new titles), but was later reduced to two titles per year in 2016. The first four titles had an initial printing of 25,000 copies in paperback and 2,500 copies in hardcover; books five through seven had an initial print run of 25,000 in paperback and 5,000 in hardcover; and books eight through eleven had an initial print run of 10,000 in paperback and 5,000 in hardcover. Though Simon and Schuster do not release sales information for these properties, online sites like Amazon and Barnes and Noble indicate their sales are lackluster to poor.
Books 1-4 were released in a box set in November 2013, and a boxed set of the first ten books was released in August 2016. In addition, the first three titles were packaged in a single paperback book in June 2016. Also available are unabridged audio books for CD or downloads for the first 24 books and the Christmas special, read by Jorjeana Marie.
Artist Erin McGuire has served as the cover artist since the start of the series.
| Title | Released | Manuscript | Editor | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Curse of the Arctic Star | Margaret Wright | ||
| 2 | Strangers on a Train | Kekla Magoon | ||
| 3 | Mystery of the Midnight Rider | |||
| 4 | Once Upon a Thriller | |||
| 5 | Sabotage at Willow Woods | |||
| 6 | Secret at Mystic Lake | |||
| 7 | The Phantom of Nantucket | Amy Cloud | ||
| 8 | The Magician's Secret | |||
| 9 | The Clue at Black Creek Farm | |||
| 10 | A Script for Danger | Ami Boghani[5] | ||
| 11 | The Red Slippers | |||
| 12 | The Sign in the Smoke | |||
| 13 | The Ghost of Grey Fox Inn | |||
| 14 | Riverboat Roulette | |||
| 15 | The Professor and the Puzzle | |||
| 16 | The Haunting on Heliotrope Lane | |||
| A Nancy Drew Christmas | Reuben Sack | Fiona Simpson | ||
| 17 | Famous Mistakes | |||
| 18 | The Stolen Show | [6] [7] | Anna Parsons | |
| 19 | Hidden Pictures | [8] [9] | ||
| 20 | The Vanishing Statue | [10] | ||
| 21 | Danger at the Iron Dragon | |||
| 22 | A Capitol Crime | |||
| 23 | The Blue Lady of Coffin Hall | |||
| 24 | Captain Stone's Revenge | |||
| 25 | What Disappears in Vegas . . . | |||
| 26 | Superstitions of 'The Scottish Play | |||
This is a reboot of the Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew series published by Aladdin Paperbacks. This is an interactive series, as readers may write down their clues and predictions. A page before the final chapter has questions the reader can answer regarding suspects, clues, and solutions. The first two titles were published July 7, 2015, in paperback, hardcover, and eBook editions written by Carolyn Keene with covers and internal illustrations by Peter Francis. The first three titles have had an initial print run of 35,000 in paperback and 5,000 in hardcover.
| Title | Released | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pool Party Puzzler | |
| 2 | Last Lemonade Standing | |
| 3 | A Star Witness | |
| 4 | Big Top Flop | |
| 5 | Movie Madness | |
| 6 | Pets on Parade | |
| 7 | Candy Kingdom Chaos | |
| 8 | World Record Mystery | |
| 9 | Springtime Crime | |
| 10 | Boo Crew | |
| 11 | The Tortoise and the Scare | |
| 12 | Turkey Trot Plot | September 3, 2019 |
| 13 | Puppy Love Prank | |
| 14 | The Big Island Burglary | |
| 15 | The Great Goat Gaffe | |
| 16 | Duck Derby Debacle | |
| 17 | Recipe Ruckus | |
| 18 | Bird Bonanza | |
| 19 | Chimpanzee Spree | |