Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew 7 – The Circus Scare

Carolyn Keene's The Circus Scare is a Clue Crew mystery for 8 year olds set around a travelling circus, where bits of the performers' costumes keep disappearing.

What happens

The circus has arrived in River Heights by train, with elephants, camels, clowns squashed into tiny cars and a brand-new star called Brownie the Bear. Nancy, Bess and George have a plan. If the whole class goes to every show, they'll have loads of ticket stubs for the prize draw, and the prize is a giant stuffed bear for the children's hospital.

There's one problem. Deirdre is putting on her own circus in her back garden on the same weekend, and everything there is free. If everyone goes to hers instead, fewer stubs go in the box.

Then Nancy notices something odd at the opening show. Some of the clowns have no red noses. Some of the elephant riders have lost their feather headdresses. A few trapeze artists are missing their sparkly capes. Night after night, more things vanish and the performers look crosser and crosser.

Who would want a clown's nose? Bess is sure it's Deirdre, who keeps slipping away during the shows with a mysterious boy and, at one point, a suitcase. (Bess decides the whole Shannon family must be thieves, which is VERY Bess.)

There are lovely bits of circus life too. The girls feed peanuts to four elephants, and one of them is called Nancy (she's the hungriest, apparently). Hannah turns out to have loved clowns ever since she was a girl!

It's light and funny, and the girls have a real choice to make at the end of the big night. Do they stay for the prize draw or go after the thief? It's a nice little moment about what matters most.

One thing to mention. This is a very old-fashioned circus, with performing elephants, lions and tigers in cages and a dancing bear. Everything is gentle and nobody gets hurt, but if your family has feelings about animals in circuses, it might start a conversation.

What to read next

If the animals are your reader's favourite part, The Zoo Crew sends Nancy, Bess and George to three days of zoo camp, where they sleep over in the Discovery Den and help make toys for the animals.