The Nancy Drew Files, or the Nancy Drew Case Files, is a detective fiction series started in 1986 and released by Simon & Schuster,[1] New York. It is a spin-off of the original series of novels featuring Nancy Drew, with a greater emphasis on adventure, malice and romance. All the books have been written under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene. This series has been targeted at readers who are age eleven and up. With a new book released almost every month, 124 titles were released in 11 years. More than 17 million copies are in print and the books have appeared on the bestseller lists of Publishers Weekly, B. Dalton, and Waldenbooks. In 2014, Simon & Schuster started releasing this series in eBook format.
The Nancy Drew Files is a spin-off from the Nancy Drew series. The stories follow teenage detective Nancy Drew. Her father, Carson Drew, is a successful attorney and a widower. Their house is taken care of by their full-time housekeeper, Hannah Gruen. Nancy's companions are usually her friends Bess Marvin and George Fayne, no matter whether she is sleuthing or shopping. Her boyfriend, Ned Nickerson also helps her with investigations. Contrary to their stable relationship in the original Nancy Drew series, Nancy and Ned's relationship is given more depth, and the two are portrayed as a somewhat dysfunctional couple. They break-up and reconcile multiple times throughout the series. But in the last book of this series, it is shown that they kept dating each other.
The Nancy Drew Files is the first spin-off from the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories. The series was developed by the Stratemeyer Syndicate, in its final year. The series was first introduced in two books from the Nancy Drew Mystery Stories, #77: The Bluebeard Room, and #78: The Phantom of Venice. These two books were much more modern and serious, while also featuring romance. These two books were the final books overseen by the Syndicate, prior to its sale to Simon & Schuster in 1986. The publishers soon launched The Nancy Drew Files concurrent to the original series, to aim for more mature readers.
The series is known as the most successful spin-off of the original book series, and also inspired a similar spin-off for The Hardy Boys. In 1995, the series reduced its release rate in half, by beginning to release a book every other month, instead of every month. Finally, the series was cancelled in 1997, in a mass cancellation of all mature-themed Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys spin-offs.
The 1995 television adaption, Nancy Drew, was based on The Nancy Drew Files. The adaption had very little to do with The Nancy Drew Files series, other than its modern and trendy setting, more mature themes, and Nancy and Ned's relationship issues. The series featured a college-aged Nancy, who moved to New York City, to attend college and live with Bess (who was an advice columnist) and George (a mail carrier, and amateur filmmaker). The series was produced by Canadian production company Nelvana, and filmed in Toronto (with an arc in Paris).
The series' stars — Tracy Ryan, Jhene Erwin, and Joy Tanner — were featured on the covers of the books, which were promotional stills of the television series. The promotion began on the 112th book, For Love or Money, and continued until book 119, Against The Rules. Ironically, For Love or Money was released the month the last episode of the series aired. By the time the books stopped the promotion, the television series had been cancelled for over a year (and in another twist of irony, The Nancy Drew Files would also be cancelled that same year).
The series featured 124 books (plus a promotional packet, distributed to promote the series ahead of its launch), all of which were edited by Anne Greenberg. Four additional titles of The Nancy Drew Files were planned, three of them rewritten as entries for the original series.[2]
| Title | Pub. | Manuscript | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Secrets Can Kill | June 1986 | |
| 2 | Deadly Intent | June 1986 | |
| 3 | Murder on Ice | September 1986 | |
| 4 | Smile and Say Murder | October 1986 | |
| 5 | Hit and Run Holiday | November 1986 | |
| 6 | White Water Terror | December 1986 | Susan Wittig Albert[3] |
| 7 | Deadly Doubles | January 1987 | |
| 8 | Two Points to Murder | February 1987 | |
| 9 | False Moves | March 1987 | |
| 10 | Buried Secrets | April 1987 | |
| 11 | Heart of Danger | May 1987 | Susan Wittig Albert |
| 12 | Fatal Ransom | June 1987 | |
| 13 | Wings of Fear | July 1987 | |
| 14 | This Side of Evil | August 1987 | Susan Wittig Albert & Bill Albert |
| 15 | Trial by Fire | September 1987 | |
| 16 | Never Say Die | October 1987 | |
| 17 | Stay Tuned for Danger | November 1987 | |
| 18 | Circle of Evil | December 1987 | |
| 19 | Sisters in Crime | January 1988 | |
| 20 | Very Deadly Yours | February 1988 | |
| 21 | Recipe for Murder | March 1988 | |
| 22 | Fatal Attraction | April 1988 | Susan Wittig Albert & Bill Albert |
| 23 | Sinister Paradise | May 1988 | |
| 24 | Till Death Do Us Part | June 1988 | |
| 25 | Rich and Dangerous | July 1988 | |
| 26 | Playing with Fire | August 1988 | Susan Wittig Albert & Bill Albert |
| 27 | Most Likely to Die | September 1988 | |
| 28 | The Black Widow | October 1988 | |
| 29 | Pure Poison | November 1988 | |
| 30 | Death by Design | December 1988 | |
| 31 | Trouble in Tahiti | January 1989 | |
| 32 | High Marks for Malice | February 1989 | |
| 33 | Danger in Disguise | March 1989 | |
| 34 | Vanishing Act | April 1989 | |
| 35 | Bad Medicine | May 1989 | |
| 36 | Over the Edge | June 1989 | |
| 37 | Last Dance | July 1989 | |
| 38 | The Final Scene | August 1989 | |
| 39 | The Suspect Next Door | September 1989 | |
| 40 | Shadow of a Doubt | October 1989 | Deborah Gaines |
| 41 | Something to Hide | November 1989 | |
| 42 | The Wrong Chemistry | December 1989 | |
| 43 | False Impressions | January 1990 | |
| 44 | Scent of Danger | February 1990 | Deborah Gaines |
| 45 | Out of Bounds | March 1990 | |
| 46 | Win, Place, or Die | April 1990 | |
| 47 | Flirting with Danger | May 1990 | |
| 48 | A Date with Deception | June 1990 | |
| 49 | Portrait in Crime | July 1990 | |
| 50 | Deep Secrets | August 1990 | |
| 51 | A Model Crime | September 1990 | |
| 52 | Danger for Hire | October 1990 | |
| 53 | Trail of Lies | November 1990 | |
| 54 | Cold as Ice | December 1990 | |
| 55 | Don't Look Twice | January 1991 | |
| 56 | Make No Mistake | February 1991 | |
| 57 | Into Thin Air | March 1991 | |
| 58 | Hot Pursuit | April 1991 | |
| 59 | High Risk | May 1991 | |
| 60 | Poison Pen | June 1991 | |
| 61 | Sweet Revenge | July 1991 | |
| 62 | Easy Marks | August 1991 | |
| 63 | Mixed Signals | September 1991 | |
| 64 | The Wrong Track | October 1991 | |
| 65 | Final Notes | November 1991 | |
| 66 | Tall, Dark, and Deadly | December 1991 | |
| 67 | Nobody's Business | January 1992 | |
| 68 | Crosscurrents | February 1992 | Rosalind Noonan[4] |
| 69 | Running Scared | March 1992 | |
| 70 | Cutting Edge | April 1992 | |
| 71 | Hot Tracks | May 1992 | |
| 72 | Swiss Secrets | June 1992 | |
| 73 | Rendezvous in Rome | July 1992 | |
| 74 | Greek Odyssey | August 1992 | |
| 75 | A Talent for Murder | September 1992 | |
| 76 | The Perfect Plot | October 1992 | |
| 77 | Danger on Parade | November 1992 | |
| 78 | Update on Crime | December 1992 | |
| 79 | No Laughing Matter | January 1993 | |
| 80 | Power of Suggestion | February 1993 | |
| 81 | Making Waves | March 1993 | |
| 82 | Dangerous Relations | April 1993 | |
| 83 | Diamond Deceit | May 1993 | |
| 84 | Choosing Sides | June 1993 | |
| 85 | Sea of Suspicion | July 1993 | |
| 86 | Let's Talk Terror | August 1993 | |
| 87 | Moving Target | September 1993 | |
| 88 | False Pretenses | October 1993 | |
| 89 | Designs in Crime | November 1993 | |
| 90 | Stage Fright | December 1993 | Louise Ladd[5] |
| 91 | If Looks Could Kill | January 1994 | |
| 92 | My Deadly Valentine | February 1994 | |
| 93 | Hotline to Danger | March 1994 | |
| 94 | Illusions of Evil | April 1994 | |
| 95 | An Instinct for Trouble | May 1994 | |
| 96 | The Runaway Bride | June 1994 | |
| 97 | Squeeze Play | July 1994 | |
| 98 | Island of Secrets | August 1994 | Louise Ladd |
| 99 | The Cheating Heart | September 1994 | |
| 100 | Dance Till You Die | October 1994 | |
| 101 | The Picture of Guilt | November 1994 | |
| 102 | Counterfeit Christmas | December 1994 | |
| 103 | Heart of Ice | January 1995 | |
| 104 | Kiss and Tell | February 1995 | |
| 105 | Stolen Affections | March 1995 | |
| 106 | Flying Too High | April 1995 | |
| 107 | Anything for Love | May 1995 | |
| 108 | Captive Heart | June 1995 | |
| 109 | Love Notes | July 1995 | |
| 110 | Hidden Meanings | August 1995 | |
| 111 | The Stolen Kiss | October 1995 | |
| 112 | For Love or Money | December 1995 | |
| 113 | Wicked Ways | February 1996 | |
| 114 | Rehearsing for Romance | April 1996 | |
| 115 | Running into Trouble | June 1996 | |
| 116 | Under His Spell | August 1996 | |
| 117 | Skipping a Beat | October 1996 | |
| 118 | Betrayed by Love | December 1996 | |
| 119 | Against the Rules | February 1997 | |
| 120 | Dangerous Loves | April 1997 | |
| 121 | Natural Enemies | June 1997 | |
| 122 | Strange Memories | August 1997 | |
| 123 | Wicked for the Weekend | October 1997 | |
| 124 | Crime at the Chat Café | December 1997 | |