A quick and breezy read. Only 132 pages long. Nancy, George and Bess are on leisurely trip in Andover, about an hour's drive from River Heights. When they arrive they find a local bookstore has been burned to a crisp. This leads them into another grand adventure to find the culprit. ( )

This was another book that I enjoyed reading along with my goddaughter. I know that the Nancy Drew books have developed into a massive franchise, with a team of writers contributing to the composite persona of Carolyn Keene. Well, there is nothing wrong with that to my mind.

As with the other books in the series, the story is sufficiently exciting to keep younger readers gripped, and although everything is entirely wholesome, the book is not reduced to the merely anodyne.

In this case, Nancy and her friends visit a local resort to spend a restful weekend away. Nancy is keen to make some progress with the mystery books she is reading, hoping to take a break from real investigations. Unfortunately, she once again finds herself dragged into a mystifying set of circumstances, this time arising from what appears to be a series of crimes mimicking those from a famous writer’s series of crime fiction. I enjoyed it, and so did my goddaughter. ( )

Book four in the Nancy Drew Diaries, “Once Upon a Thriller” continues the contemporary adventures of teen sleuth Nancy Drew. In this installment, Nancy, Bess, and George plan to spend a relaxing weekend at Moon Lake in the little town of Avondale. However, an incident at the local bookstore sets off a chain reaction of crimes that seem to mimic those written by mystery author Lacey O’Brien. As Nancy struggles to figure out the links and the perpetrator, someone seems to be trying to prevent her from solving the mystery.

As with the previous three books in this new series, I found this one to be mediocre. The spirit of the original Nancy Drew simply isn’t there, replaced by a critical and sometimes almost disrespectful girl who seems aloof and detached much of the time. Several events in the story did not make sense, such as the fact that early on Nancy’s cell phone almost certainly became waterlogged and yet she continues to use it as if nothing happened. The brief appearance of Ned Nickerson was enjoyable, although Nancy worked alone for most of this book. Overall, the mystery was lacking in ingenuity and execution, and the heroine was not much better. Perhaps, though, new readers will find her more entertaining if they are unfamiliar with the original. ( )