Secret at Mystic Lake: 05/23/18

Secret at Mystic Lake by Carolyn Keene is the sixth of the Nancy Drew Diaries. George has invited Nancy and Bess along on a three day bicycle tour of Mystic Lake to celebrate her birthday. From the very first stop things start to go wrong: bags are missing, half the food is gone, and then the tour leader disappears! Nancy might be on vacation but she knows she has to solve this mystery before everyone is hopelessly lost or worse.

Personal circumstances put me right in the middle of this book. Back when I was Nancy's age I worked as a camp counselor for a summer. On our one and only over night hiking and camping trip things went pear shaped. First, an entire carload of stuff (sleeping bags, backpacks, etc) never made it to the site where we were hiking. The working theory was that someone had stolen the stuff after it was dropped off but before we arrived. Next, animals almost made off with our food (raccoons, not bears) and I learned in the process of chasing after them that I'm thankfully not allergic to poison oak. Finally we had to cut the trip short, though I can't remember why.

Because of the similarities of personal experience, I didn't catch on to what was really going on. That made the mystery all the more suspenseful. Of the series so far, it's my favorite. It's the right balance of character driven plot, remote location, isolation, and dangerous weather.

The next book in the series is The Phantom of Nantucket.

Five stars

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