Nancy Drew: Girl Detective facts for kids

Riverboat Ruse, from the Girl Detective series

The Nancy Drew: Girl Detective series was a collection of mystery books published from 2004 to 2012. It took over from the very popular original Nancy Drew mystery series. In these books, you read the stories through Nancy's eyes, as she tells them herself. The series also updated the classic Nancy Drew characters and added new friends and people in her hometown, River Heights.

Even though the series tried new things, some fans found it hard to get used to the changes in Nancy and her friends. Because of this, the series eventually ended in 2011. After that, a new series called Nancy Drew Diaries started in 2013.

Meet the Main Characters

• Nancy Drew is an 18-year-old detective who lives with her dad in River Heights. Her mom passed away when Nancy was only three. Nancy, along with her best friends Bess and George, and her boyfriend Ned, solves mysteries wherever they go. Nancy is brave and determined, though her dad calls her "stubborn." She has shoulder-length, strawberry blond hair and blue eyes. She's about 5'8" tall and likes comfy clothes.
• Georgia "George" Fayne is one of Nancy's best friends. She's a sporty tomboy who is great with computers and new tech. George has short brown hair and brown eyes. She's tall and thin and doesn't care about fashion. Unlike in older books, this George can be a bit sarcastic.
• Bess Marvin is Nancy's other best friend and George's cousin. They are very different but great friends with Nancy. Bess is friendly and seems perfect to Nancy. She has blond hair, blue eyes, and a curvier figure than George. In one book, Murder on the Set, Bess is said to be 5'2".
• Ned Nickerson is Nancy's boyfriend. He sometimes joins Nancy on her cases. Ned is in college and works for his dad's newspaper, the River Heights Bugle. He's pretty relaxed. In Murder on the Set, Ned is said to be 6'1".
• Carson Drew, Nancy's father, is a well-known lawyer in River Heights. He's good at solving crimes, just like Nancy. Sometimes, he even asks Nancy to help with smaller cases from his clients.
• Hannah Gruen has lived with the Drew family since Nancy's mother died. She is their housekeeper and feels like family. Hannah is very protective of Nancy, even when Nancy is busy solving mysteries.
• Deirdre Shannon is Nancy's rival and used to be her classmate. Deirdre's dad is also a lawyer, like Nancy's. Deirdre is often jealous of Nancy because her parents compare them. She hates her old nickname, "DeeDee," which George often uses to annoy her. Deirdre also has a big crush on Ned, even though he's dating Nancy. She has black hair, green eyes, and pale skin.
• Chief Pete McGinnis is the local police chief. In these stories, he and Nancy don't always get along. Nancy often solves crimes before him, which makes him a bit jealous. His first name, Pete, is revealed in Fishing for Clues.
• Harold Safer is Nancy's neighbor. He owns the town's cheese shop and loves sunsets and Broadway shows. In the first book, Without a Trace, Nancy helps him prove he didn't smash a zucchini patch. He even co-stars with Nancy in a TV movie filmed in River Heights.
• Charlie Adams works at Carr's Garage and is Nancy's friend. He often doesn't charge Nancy for car repairs because he likes her, though Nancy doesn't feel the same way. In Pit of Vipers, Nancy finds out he collects snakes.
• Luther Eldridge is an expert on River Heights history and often helps Nancy with her cases. Nancy enjoys learning from him. Luther's family died in a car accident when Nancy was young, and he struggled with sadness afterward.
• Mrs. Mahoney is the richest person in River Heights and owns Rackham Industries. Her husband's family was part of a famous gang that stole money in River Heights long ago. She is very kind and gives to charity, unlike her late husband.

Books in the Series

The Nancy Drew: Girl Detective books were released as paperback books by Simon & Schuster. From 2008 to 2012, the mysteries were told in groups of three books, where one big mystery was solved over three connected stories. The covers of these books showed model Jessica Silverman as Nancy Drew.

Regular Series

Trilogy Series

Girl Detective Super Mysteries

Spin-off Series

Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew

Starting in 2006, Aladdin Paperbacks began publishing a new series for younger readers, replacing the Nancy Drew Notebooks. This series takes place in the same world as the Nancy Drew: Girl Detective books.

It shows Nancy Drew, George Fayne, and Bess Marvin as eight-year-olds in third grade. They solve smaller mysteries, like finding a stolen ice cream recipe or figuring out who cut a cake too early. In this series, George's mom runs her own catering company, and we learn George's full name is Georgia. This series ended in 2015 and was replaced by the Nancy Drew Clue Book series.

Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys Super Mystery

This is a spin-off series that combines Nancy Drew with The Hardy Boys: Undercover Brothers series. The stories switch between Nancy's point of view and Frank or Joe Hardy's point of view in different chapters. The first book introduces the characters to each other. One book was published each year until both the Girl Detective and Undercover Brothers series ended in 2012.

Graphic Novels

Starting in 2005, Papercutz began publishing new graphic novels about Nancy Drew, connected to the Girl Detective series. These books are like comic books with manga-style art. They feature brand new stories and show Nancy and her friends using modern technology, like Nancy's hybrid car and George's tablet.

The graphic novels also include fun nods to other Nancy Drew stories. For example, in The Old Fashioned Mystery of The Haunted Dollhouse, people in River Heights dress up in 1930s style. In Global Warning, a character from a Nancy Drew PC game appears. Even The Dana Girls, another mystery-solving duo, appear in some stories, first as rivals, then as teammates.

Some of these graphic novels tell longer stories over several issues. For instance, issues #9-11 form "The High Miles Mystery" trilogy. In 2010, the series was relaunched as Nancy Drew: Girl Detective - The New Case Files. These new stories focused on River Heights being obsessed with vampire books. The third book in this new series, Together with the Hardy Boys, featured a crossover with The Hardy Boys graphic novels. This was the last book in the series. In 2014, the series started being re-released, with two volumes in each new issue, as part of the new Nancy Drew Diaries series.