Nancy Drew Clue Book 1 – Pool Party Puzzler

Carolyn Keene's Nancy Drew Clue Book 1, Pool Party Puzzler, is a mystery for 8 year olds about a snake that turns up at the bottom of a birthday pool.

What happens

Deirdre Shannon is turning eight, so naturally she's having a sweet half-sixteen. Her beach party has real sand, inflatable palm trees and a giant shell throne carried in by four waiters in fish hats. Nancy, Bess and George are there early to help George's mum with the food.

Then comes the big surprise. A mermaid called Marissa is about to dive in for her show when she spots a snake coiled at the bottom of the pool. It's rubber (it still has its joke shop price tag on), but Marissa is out of there and the show is over.

Deirdre doesn't want anyone poking around. Of course, that only makes the Clue Crew more determined.

This is also the book where Nancy gets her Clue Book. Her dad gives her a shiny red notebook for suspects and clues, and you watch the list grow and get crossed off as they go. There are grumpy waiters with a secret plan, a topiary designer Deirdre was rude to, and a kid in a sea monster costume who won't say a word.

The clues are the kind your reader can spot right alongside Nancy. Pink toenail polish. Dirty hands in a party photo. A riddle from a joke shop owner in an eye patch. Who doesn't love a shop assistant who will only talk like a pirate?

It's very funny too. George is stuck dressed as a jellyfish with ribbon tentacles wiggling over her face. Bess brings three swimsuits to one party. A lobster called Crusty makes a run for it across a restaurant break room, and Bess gets lost in a hedge maze (she finds the way out thanks to a hole in her popcorn bag).

Before the answer, the book stops and hands the case over. Your reader gets a page to list the suspects, name the snake slinger and jot down the clues that gave it away. If you've got a child who loves being one step ahead, that page is probably their favourite bit.

It's American through and through (third grade, summer vacation, bangs for a fringe), but there's nothing here a young reader will trip over.

What to read next

If this one goes down well, the same three friends are back in A Star Witness. This time George's astronomy club takes them to the planetarium, where a famous astronomer has brought a telescope that's the only one ever made.