Total Books: 4 Total Pages: 1395 Longest: 387 Shortest: 328
Genres: 4 (Biography – 1, Fiction – 1, Historical Fiction – 2)
Yes, the month of December is half over and I’m just now getting around to reviewing my November reads. Before it gets any busier with the holidays – here they are!
Bummer Camp by Ann Garvin
I had previously read a couple of other novels by Ann Garvin, I Thought You Said This Would Work and There’s No Coming Back from This, so decided to give Bummer Camp a try.
The Amazon synopsis is “Two sisters scramble to save their family’s legacy in a funny, huge-hearted novel about grandiose plans and summers to remember”. While there were humorous and poignant moments, I preferred the previous two novels to this one. Your mileage may vary, of course!
Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade by Janet Skeslien Charles
I have to admit when I downloaded this one, I didn’t realize that “Miss Morgan” was Anne Morgan, daughter of J.P. Morgan, or that the main character, Jessie Carson, was also a real person.
Based on the true story of the American Committee for Devastated France (aka CARD) during WWI and the women who served as CARDS is deftly told by Charles’ through a fictional New York Public Library researcher and writer, Wendy Patterson, who “discovers” their story 70 years later. I really enjoyed this one and went down many rabbit holes while reading it. It is definitely in the running for one of my favorite reads of the year.
The Rose Arbor by Rhys Bowen
I discovered Rhys Bowen (pen name for Janet Quin-Harkin) about 5 years ago, when I read The Tuscan Child and have read 8 other mostly stand-alone novels by her since then with The Rose Arbor being the 10th. My favorite has been The Venice Sketchbook, but The Rose Arbor might supplant it and is also on my 2024 favorites list.
I may have to catch up on some of her series after reading this latest offering because I totally love her writing style. She is so descriptive, and her character development is superb. It’s no wonder that her novels have been nominated for and won many Agatha Awards, Anthony Awards, and Macavity Awards.
The Rose Arbor takes place in both 1968 and WWII England as journalist Liz Houghton tries to get the scoop on a recently missing girl and finds similarities with some girls who went missing during the mass exodus of children from London to the safety of the countryside during WWII. Her investigation finds disturbing clues and leads to her questioning her own past as well. I chased a few rabbits while reading this one as well!
Girl Sleuth by Melanie Rehak
Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her by Melanie Rehak was published in 2006 marking the 75th anniversary of the iconic teen-aged detective. It was an Edgar Award winner and nominated for an Agatha Award as well. I must admit that I spotted this book on the list of Agatha Awards nominations when looking at that list in conjunction with researching Rhys Bowen (one of many rabbits I chased!). Having read my fair share of Nancy Drew Mysteries (some that even belonged to my mom!), I was intrigued to learn more about Nancy’s background.
In the Introduction, Rehak discusses how Nancy rose through the generations from a “the pages of cheap serial novels into the pantheon of American culture” and remarks after reading the 56 original books:
I discovered that the series often relies on formulaic dialogue, totally implausible escapes, and absurd plot twists that Agatha Christie would never have approved of. But I also realized that the stories themselves are secondary. What we remember is Nancy: her bravery, her style, her generosity, and her relentless desire to succeed linger long after the last page has been turned, the villain sent to jail, the trusty car put into the garage. Even though hardly anyone can recall what, exactly, went on in The Hidden Staircase or The Whispering Statue or The Quest of the Missing Map, we know precisely what it was about Nancy that held our rapt attention for so many years. She remains as much a part of the idea of American girlhood as slumber parties, homework, and bubble gum.
Edward Stratemeyer, the syndication wizard behind the Hardy Boys and the Bobbsey Twins stories, dreamed up Nancy (initially Stella) in 1929 and assigned her to one of his many ghostwriters, Mildred Wirt (Benson), to write the first five books based on his outlined plots. Edward died in 1930 just a few days after the first volume, The Secret in the Old Clock, was published. His daughters, Harriet and Edna, found it impossible to sell the syndicate in those initial trying days of the Great Depression and decided to make a go of it by relying on their father’s one employee, Harriet Otis Smith, to help them understand the Stratemeyer Syndicate’s workings.
Over the course of the next 5 decades, Mildred Wirt Benson and Harriet Stratemeyer Adams were Carolyn Keene. The book is a fascinating look into the lives of the two women as they struggled to keep the “girl sleuth” and themselves alive through the Great Depression, World War II, and the Great Society and beyond. Indeed, they were successful, because in the very next book I read (you’ll have to wait for December’s post!), there is a reference to Nancy Drew!
Until next time, read what pleases you!
Notes By Nancy 
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