The Best Nancy Drew Books to Read for New Fans

As the title suggests, Sleepover Sleuths features a sleepover party; but not just any sleepover party. This party includes pizza, cake, a pajama fashion show, and most fun of all, everyone is bringing their City Dolls with them for the City Dolls theme. Deirdre’s party is going to be epic, and Nancy and her best friends George and Bess are so excited to attend. 

But the Deirdre’s City Doll Hollywood Heather goes missing, and Nancy Drew is on the case. Can she catch the thief before Deirdre’s party is ruined? 

Nancy and her friends are exceptionally good at two things: sleuthing, and ice cream eating. So when they find out that the local owners of their favorite ice cream shop are hosting a contest to come up with a new flavor, the Clue Crew knows they’ve got it in the bag. They can use whatever ingredients they want, and Nancy’s confident her Clue Berry idea is sure to please. 

But her plans freeze when she discovers that one of her friends has had their secret recipe stolen, and Nancy suspects the culprit will do much more than scream for their ice cream.

In celebration of her birthday, George is taking Bess and Nancy on a three-day bike tour around idyllic Mystic Lake. They’re excited to explore, and even more excited to go on a camping trip! But they quickly discover that Mystic Lake was appropriately named…mystical goings-on keep occurring, like food being stolen from their backpacks, their tour guide Caitlin vanishing into thin air one night, and all of their bike tires being slashed! 

Nancy suspects it’s less about mythical beings and more about foul play, but regardless, she’ll have to work hard to find the culprit before they’re lost in the woods forever.

On board the posh new ship The Arctic Star, Nancy, Bess, and George are on a cruise of Alaska. Nothing could possibly go wrong when you’re in the middle of the ocean and have this picturesque view, right? Wrong.

Becca Wright, an old friend of Nancy’s and Assistant Cruise Director of the ship, needs Nancy’s help. Some bizarre things have been happening on this trip. The swimming pool becomes a floating grave; a famous passenger is threatened; and even harmless areas like the mini golf course are under siege from peril. It’s up to Nancy to put the pieces together and figure out who is wreaking havoc and why.

When Aunt Eloise finds out her friend has been cheated out of a huge sum of money, she turns to Nancy, George, and Bess for help. When they arrive in New York to visit Aunt Eloise, they’re delighted by a magic performance from a magician’s group. Their best trick? Making wallets and handbags disappear. 

Knowing to follow a hunch when she feels it, Nancy cracks down on the magic miscreants to get to the bottom of the dollar dilemma. 

Nancy never thought an investigation would lead her to a catwalk; but when a star model disappears, Aunt Eloise begs Nancy to take her place in a fashion show. Nancy reluctantly agrees, only to discover that some of the clothes for the show have disappeared as well! 

Once finally on the tail of the elusive villains, the clues quickly pile up, until she discovers the scheme that she must put a stop to before it’s too late.

When Ned Nickerson, Nancy’s boyfriend, proposes to her, Nancy declines. But she didn’t think he would announce his engagement to another woman the very next day! 

Nancy suspects that this other girl may be shady, so Nancy does what she does best: launches an investigation.

Some secrets are better off buried. But when Nancy Drew is on the case, she needs every clue she can get her hands on. 

In Buried Secrets, Nancy (with some unexpected help from Ned and newspaper reporter Brenda Carlton) investigates a 30 year-old mystery involving the peculiar death of Mayor John Harrington. 

A continuation from the preceding book, Perfect Cover chronicles Nancy, Bess, and George as they head to New York City to investigate the second round of the Miss Pretty Face Beauty Pageant. 

But when they get there, they discover that Pretty Face Cosmetics is concealing a lot more than just skin imperfections. 

What do the four Mahoney Scholarship candidates and the four suspects of the River Heights Celebration carnival have in common? They’re the same people; equally qualified for the scholarship and for time behind bars. 

Arson, theft, and threatening notes combine to create a crime that only the most ambitious people could aspire to. Coincidence? Nancy thinks not. But can she find out whodunnit before it’s too late?