Nancy goes to the Excello Flying School in the Midwest to take lessons while her friends Bess and George perfect their horse riding. At once, the young sleuth is confronted with the mystery of a hijacked plane and a missing pilot. Then the rancher's prize pony, Major is stolen. Nancy becomes a detective in a plane and on horseback to track down the elusive sky phantom and the horse thief. A lucky find – a medal with a message to be deciphered on it – furnishes a worthwhile clue. Romance is added when Bess becomes interested in a handsome cowboy. Readers will spur Nancy on as she investigates a strange magnetic cloud, hunts for the horse thief, and finally arrives at a surprising solution. ( )

I found out early on that the higher the series numbers go, the worse Nancy Drew books would be. Not all are completely hopeless; but I guess I'm now reading them through the eyes of a grown-up who, although still likes reading Nancy Drew, becomes less enthused with how the mystery and its solution was written.

The Sky Phantom, though, is one of those occasional ones in the series where the villain was not quite outright obvious (even if the apparent accomplice was). Nancy remains the perfect Mary Sue and the others bask in the brilliance of her person.

P.S.
Bess remained as silly as ever and I am annoyed as ever. ( )

A good read, if you enjoy airplanes and jets. The mystery in this is very well thought out. But unless you know SOMETHING about aircraft, I would not say that you would like it quite as much and MAY be tempted to put the book down. However, the mystery is unexpectedly suspenseful. ( )

Book 53 ( )

I absolutely loved Nancy Drew growing up. This was a series I latched on to for dear life and never let go. Anytime my mom and I would go to antique stores, we'd peruse the Nancy Drews and add them to the collection (oftentimes my mom had to make deals with me on how many I could buy). So, while I don't remember the exact details of each and every one, the entire series was amazing and really fed my love for reading (especially novels full of suspense and mystery). Thank you, Carolyn Keene, for giving us an intelligent female character to fall in love with in Nancy Drew! ( )