"Mrs Putney satt hemma hos Kitty och fingrade nervöst på sin näsduk.
– En natt för flera veckor sen kom min mans ande till mig. Jag vaknade, åtminstone tyckte jag att jag gjorde det, och hörde en röst som kom långt bortifrån. Jag är säker på att det var Henrys röst. Han sa till mig att gräva ner juvelerna på ett ställe, som han beskrev mycket noga. Han varnade mig också för någon man eller kvinna vad han hade sagt till mig. Om jag gjorde det skulle jag aldrig mer få höra ifrån honom igen.
Mrs Putney saknade uppenbarligen sin man mycket. Samtidigt hade det visat sig, när Mrs. Putney grävt upp juvelerna igen, att någon ersatt dem med förfalskningar.
Kitty lovade genast att försöka hjälpa Mrs. Putney att lösa mysteriet."

NA

00002221

When Mrs. Putney seeks Nancy Drew’s help in recovering her stolen jewelry, the search for the thieves takes the teen-age detective and her friends Bess and George to the colorful French Quarter of New Orleans. But the quest is hampered by the strange behavior of Mrs. Putney, and two young women who are being victimized by so-called spirits. How can Nancy fight these unseen perpetrators of a cruel hoax? And how can she help the gullible victims when the spirits warn them not to have anything to do with Nancy? ( )

Because I grew up with older brothers who had the Hardy Boys series, I missed out on most of the Nancy Drew series while growing up. I've read a few of them in my adult years, but the Nancy Drew books never quite measured up to the Hardy Boys books for me. I expect this is partially because I was older when I read them. In attempting to evaluate this book that I received through LibraryThing's member giveaway, I've tried to take into consideration the audience for which this book was intended.

In this installment Nancy is called upon to investigate a theft of jewels belonging to Mrs. Putney. It isn't long before several local girls begin acting very strangely. Mysterious symbols, ghosts, seances are all elements younger readers will enjoy. I'm personally not very comfortable with the occultic elements being present in this book.

The book just didn't ring true in a lot of ways. It is difficult to imagine a father encouraging a daughter to become involved in dangerous pursuits such as detecting. It is difficult to imagine that the police from multiple jurisdictions would encourage Nancy's participation in the case. It is difficult to imagine so many strangers being cooperative and supplying information. To persons used to flying in the 21st century, the description of larger planes acting like puddle jumpers (with stops where persons board and deplane on the way to what is certain to be the larger airport) is foreign as well as how quickly one is able to catch a flight and leave.

This book would probably be enjoyed by middle school girls. ( )