Fun Chapter Titles in the Nancy Drew Mystery Series

 

I love reading the chapter titles in the early Nancy Drew Mysteries. They are so quaint and fun and make me smile whenever I read them.

Here are some of them:

“Following A Clue”

“Nancy’s Risky Undertaking”

“Startling Revelations”

“A Happy Finale”

“An Unpleasant Meeting”

“Nancy Investigates”

“A New Discovery”

“Nancy Bides Her Time”

“In Pursuit”

“A Suspicious Stranger”

“Detective Work”

“A Bold Plan”

The Sleuth: The Original Nancy Drew Fanzine

When I was a girl, I used to hope and pray that on Christmas morning, I'd find a Nancy Drew book under our Christmas tree. Now, I have the next best thing: my Nancy Keene Mysteries are featured in the latest issue of The Sleuth magazine!! Thanks Todd Latoski and Linda Burns for this great opportunity to reach other Nancy Drew fans and I hope people enjoy my humorous PG-rated cozy mysteries that take place in some of my favorite cities in the world. 

Here's a link to The Sleuth:

http://www.ndsleuths.com/thesleuth

Louise Hathaway (me) is features in the series spotlight on page 44 

Here's a link to The Sleuth:

http://www.ndsleuths.com/thesleuth

#NancyDrew #TheSleuth

Cozy Mysteries

Don't you just love cozy mysteries that feature secret compartments and hidden rooms?  I do. Mystery writers have used the plot devise of hidden rooms for years and the writers of the Nancy Drew Mysteries certainly took advantage of the excitement of secret drawers from the very beginning, starting with the first book of the series, "The Secret of the Old Clock" written in 1930.

I have been of fan of the teenage sleuth since I was about 11-years-old and received my first Nancy Drew under the Christmas tree.  No wonder I went on to write traditional mysteries with my husband. I had forgotten about my love affair with Nancy until a dear friend passed away and I was in her library looking at her book collection. Lo and behold, her book shelf had six of the very first books of the series.  I reread them as an adult and fell in love all over again.

Since I read my "chum's" Nancy Drew books, I've gone on to write 6 mysteries starring Nancy Keene, a teenage sleuth loosely based on Nancy Drew.  The latest book in my series is "The Stolen Masterpiece."  

I hope you'll like this story about a teenage sleuth, very much like Nancy Drew, who visits her newly-found Dutch relatives and discovers that their house has a secret room that contains valuable artwork, including a Vermeer masterpiece worth millions. Someone has stolen it, and it’s up to Nancy and her chums to find out who.

This eBook is available at all your favorite

online bookstores for only $1.99

A New Nancy Keene Mystery

My new Nancy Keene Mystery, portrays five loves of mine: Nancy Drew Mysteries, Holland, Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer, genealogy, and a loving, indulgent father.

Join my precocious teenage sleuth, Nancy Keene, on another of her international adventures. This book finds her in Amsterdam visiting her newly-found Dutch relatives who have recently discovered a secret room in their house that contains valuable artwork, including a Vermeer masterpiece worth millions. Someone has stolen it, and it’s up to Nancy and her team to find out who. If you enjoy travelogues, this book includes descriptions of some of my favorite sights I've visited in Holland.

Here is a Four Star Review on Goodreads:  

The Stolen Masterpiece is book #5 of the Nancy Keene mystery series, a parody of Nancy Drew It was by far my favorite story and most like Nancy Drew. 

Available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iTunes, Google Play,

 Smashwords, and Kobo for only $1.99.

Click on the following links to purchase:

Purchase at Amazon
Purchase at iTunes
Purchase at Barnes and Noble
Purchase at Google Play
Purchase at Smashwords
Purchase at Kobo Books

Readers Are Loving "The Stolen Mask: A Nancy Keene Mystery"

Here's what reviewers are saying about this book: 

 "I loved it! This is a very clever parody of Nancy Drew set in the current times. Nancy Keene, her father Drew Keene, and her friend Beth travel to London where they not only meet Daniel Craig (James Bond) but also solve his mystery...I love Nancy Drew and I love England. The two together is a winner."

"Great story line for readers who loved Nancy Drew as a young person. It moves quickly and is a fun light read!"

This eBook costs only $1.99 and is available at Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Google Play Books, Smashwords and Kobo Books

Great Review for a book inspired by Nancy Drew!

I was so pleased last night to discover that a reader had left a nice review on Amazon about my book, "The Stolen Mask: A Nancy Keene Mystery".  Here's what she said:

"Great story line for readers who loved Nancy Drew as a young person. It moves quickly and is a fun light read!"

Here's what it's about:

What would happen if Nancy Drew met James Bond? Find out in this humorous, PG-Rated tale written for nostalgic women baby-boomers who grew up loving Nancy Drew mysteries. Nancy Keene, the teenage sleuth in this mystery, goes to London and stays in the same hotel as Daniel Craig (AKA James Bond) when his BAFTA award is stolen from his room. When she is not on a Jane Austen pilgrimage or visiting Buckingham Palace, she channels Agatha Christie, Sherlock Holmes, and Rumpole of the Bailey to help her solve the mystery of the stolen mask. Only $1.99.  

Available at Amazon, iBooks, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, Google Play, and Kobo.

Purchase on Amazon

Purchase at iTunes:

Purchase at Barnes and Noble

Purchase at Google Play Books

Purchase at Kobo Books

Purchase at Smashwords

Nancy Drew and James Bond

When I was growing up, more than anything else, I wanted a Nancy Drew book for Christmas.  The books from my childhood that I remember most are my Nancy Drew's and my cool older brother's James Bond novels.  So, when I grew up and started writing my own books, I thought, "What would happen if Nancy met James Bond?  What would happen if she went to London on vacation, and Daniel Craig was staying in the same hotel as she was?  What if his acting award was stolen out of his room and she helped him find out who took it?"

I answer these questions in a The Stolen Mask, a humorous, PG-Rated tale written for nostalgic baby-boomers who grew up loving Nancy Drew Mysteries. The teenage sleuth in my story is Nancy Keene and when she isn't on a Jane Austen pilgrimage or visiting Buckingham Palace, she channels Agatha Christie, Sherlock Holmes, and Rumpole of the Bailey to help her solve the mystery of the stolen mask.

The Stolen Mask: A Nancy Keene Mystery

by Louise Hathaway

Only $1.99

Available at Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Google Play,

Kobo Books, and Smashwords

Lake Wobegon

What would Nancy Drew be like if she made a pilgrimage to Lake Wobegon?  I can imagine her, map in hand, trying to figure out which towns inspired Garrison Keillor when he created his fictional town of Lake Wobegon where "all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average."  My teenage sleuth, Nancy Keene, listens to A Prairie Home Companion with her father every Saturday night.  She talks him into taking a vacation to Minnesota.  He'd like to make a pilgrimage to the home town of Bob Dylan while there, but she has other plans when a "bachelor farmer" (last seen at the Chatterbox Cafe) goes missing and they becomes part of the search team.

My husband and I went on just such a pilgrimage to discover the towns that inspired Garrison's Lake Wobegon and pictures from our trip are included in this eBook.  Only $1.99.  Available at Amazon, iBooks, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Kobo Books, Smashwords, and Scribd.

The Missing Bachelor Farmer: A Nancy Keene Mystery

by Louise Hathaway

Only $1.99

Purchase at Amazon

Purchase at Barnes and Noble
Purchase at iBooks
Purchase at Google Play
Purchase at Smashwords
Purchase at Kobo Books

Nancy Drew Under My Christmas Tree

It's the Sunday after Thanksgiving and the Christmas Season "officially" starts today (at least it does by my reckoning). I've told myself that I'm not going to even think about Christmas until Thanksgiving is over.   I did cheat a little, I confess, when I bought some presents online for my husband on Black Friday. I was not immune to all the hoopla and frenzy about "finding that big sale." Every year, my husband and I see on TV campers lining up outside of Best Buy, hoping to save big time on a TV or computer.  Some people started camping out last Monday for Black Friday.  We live in Southern California where the weather is the mildest in the nation, but this past week it's been cold. I'm talking under 60 degrees in the daytime.  Yes, we are wimps when it comes to winter weather, but it's all we know.

The idea of getting a TV or computer as a Christmas present was an unthinkable luxury when I was growing up.  My parents always strugged financially in order to put presents under the Christmas tree, since my father, who was a carpenter, was usually out of work in the off-season. Even though my parents had trouble making ends meet when it came to buying Christmas presents, we always had packages under the tree.  Each year, my sisters and I would get our yearly supply of bathrobes, slippers, and pajamas.  My parents gave each of us girls one "real" present in addition to bedtime wear.  I might get a stuffed animal--my favorite was a cat whom I named "Grinny".  When I turned 11, more than anything, I wanted a Nancy Drew book under the Christmas tree. I hoped and prayed I might get one and used to feel the packages to see if they might be books about my favorite teenage sleuth.

Here we are wearing our new pajamas while my angelic Grandmother looks on

My love of mysteries continues to this day.  My husband and I religiously watch Masterpiece Mystery.  Some of our favorite series star the incomparable Sherlock Holmes--both the Jeremy Brett and the modern Benedict Cumberbatch versions.  We love Scott and Bailey, a modern day British series about women detectives that no one else besides us seems to know exists.  Why hasn't anyone discovered this amazing series?  It's right up there with Helen Mirren in Prime Suspect, for goodness sake.

But, my first love has always been Nancy Drew.  It is because she led such a charmed life: she was popular, knew all sorts of obscure facts, had a very kind and permissive father, a snazzy blue roadster, and plenty of unsupervised time to go off searching for clues in each of her "cases". Many famous women such as Hillary Clinton, Former First Lady Laura Bush, and Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O'Connor and Sonia Sotomayor cite her as formative influences. 

The Nancy Drew books inspired me to try my hand at writing mysteries.  I've created a character who was inspired by the Nancy Drew super-hero of my childhood.  Her name is Nancy Keene and the mysteries about her adventures are humorous and PG-rated.  They're targeted not to teenagers--they'd never get my jokes--but to women babyboomers like myself who grew up reading and loving Nancy Drew.  My books take place in some of my favorite travel destinations, so they are travelogues in addition to being cozy mysteries.

Check them out sometime.  They are available at Amazon, iBooks, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Google Play, and Smashwords.  Here is a list of their titles and the Amazon link for each one:

The Buried Treasure on Route 66: A Nancy Keene Mystery

The Ghost in the Plantation: A Nancy Keene Mystery

The Missing Bachelor Farmer: A Nancy Keene Mystery

The Stolen Mask: A Nancy Keene Mystery
The Stolen Masterpiece: A Nancy Keene Mystery

Hurricane Katrina

It's hard to believe that it's been ten years since Hurricane Katrina.  I love New Orleans and feel so sorry for those who lost their lives and homes as a result of the flooding.  I know there's still a lot more work to be done.  I think these lyrics by Steve Earle sum up how I feel:

This city won't ever die

Just as long as our heart be strong

Like a second line stepping high

Raising hell as we roll along

Gentilly to Vieux Carre

Lower 9, Central City, Uptown

Singing Jockamo fee nane

This city won't ever drown.

I'm an indie writer and I've written two books about this great city.  The first is "The Ghost in the Plantation: A Nancy Keene Mystery."

  Do you like Nancy Drew? Do you like New Orleans? If so, you will enjoy this humorous and PG-rated story about a teenage sleuth that especially targets women baby boomers who grew up reading and loving the Nancy Drew series. Nancy Keene, the teenage sleuth in this story, goes on vacation with her father and friends to the French Quarter. What starts out as a sight-seeing trip changes into a murder/mystery when a docent at Oak Alley Plantation is murdered while they are there. Part travelogue, part ghost story, this book mixes voodoo, ghosts, and bayous into a spicy gumbo of a whodunit. 

Available for $2.99 at Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Kobo, Smashwords

and Oyster and Scribd
Also available in Paperback at Amazon

"Honeymoon in New Orleans" is a travelogue about New Orleans

Come along with my fictional characters Don and Isabella as they discover the wonders of New Orleans on their honeymoon. Learn about their favorite romantic spots, places to visit, spend the night, and dine at. It includes helpful websites to consider before planning your next vacation.

Available for only $1.99 at Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Kobo, Smashwords and Oyster.

Books About Great Fathers

Happy Father's Day to all of the great Dads out there.  I was very lucky: I had a wonderful father and like to include him in my stories; especially the "Nancy Keene" stories that I wrote as an homage to the wonderful Nancy Drew Mysteries I grew up reading.  Mr. Drew was every girl's ideal Dad: definitely not a "helicopter parent", he gave Nancy all sorts of freedom.  All she had to do all day was drive her "roadster" around and solve mysteries with no pestering Mom telling her to clean up her room.  How lucky could a girl be?!

In the first Nancy Keene Mystery I wrote, "The Buried Treasure on Route 66", her Dad is having trouble accepting the fact that his precious Nancy has just turned 18, has a boyfriend, and is going away to college.  How will he handle the empty nest?  And what lessons will he learn when he joins Nancy and her boyfriend on a road trip?  This book is rated PG.

My Nancy and her Dad are big fans of "A Prairie Home Companion" and she talks him into going on a pilgrimage with her in search of the towns that inspired Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon.  Her Dad wants to go on a Bob Dylan pilgrimage while they are in Minnesota, but Nancy has other plans when a bachelor farmer goes missing.  This book is called, "The Missing Bachelor Farmer."  This book is rated G.

I love New Orleans, so I have Nancy going there on vacation with her Dad and her friends. When a docent at Oak Alley Plantation is found dead, Nancy will not rest until she figures out whodunit. They have to leave New Orleans before the murder is solved, but Nancy twists her over-indulgent Dad around her little finger and he allows her to return to the Crescent City to stay with her fun and funky Aunt Audrey in "The Ghost in the Plantation".  This book is rated PG.

My most recent Nancy Keene Mystery is about Nancy, her Dad, and her girlfriend going to London. Nancy has her first serious crush at 16 when she sees that Daniel Craig is staying at the same hotel as they are.  She's a big fan of James Bond and even goes to Harrods to try a find an outfit like one of the Bond Girls to impress him.  When someone steals his BAFTA award out of his hotel room, Nancy is hot on the trail trying to figure out who stole it and why.  This book is called "The Stolen Mask".  This book is rated PG.

All of these books are available at Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Kobo, and Smashwords.  If you subscribe to Scribd, it's free.

James Bond

Can you find James Bond on the cover of this eBook?  This is a funny story about a teenage sleuth who goes to London with her father and is delighted when she discovers that Daniel Craig (AKA James Bond) is staying at their hotel.  I was inspired to write this book by my love of Nancy Drew books and my love of London.  On vacation in London a few years back, James Bond actually was staying at the same hotel where my husband and I had a room.  At that time, the actor who played Bond was Pierce Brosnan.  Just like Nancy Keene in my story of The Stolen Mask, I was settling into our upper bedroom when I looked out the window and saw Agent 007 drinking champagne in the hotel's garden. I was as star-struck as any teenage school girl would be.

In this story, Nancy opens the door of her hotel room to retrieve the morning paper and is shocked when Daniel Craig opens the door next to hers to do the same thing.  He is only wearing a towel around his waist, and when he sees Nancy in her flannel nightgown, he self-consciously looks down at his towel to make sure nothing's showing.  When he catches her looking in the same place, he winks at her and goes back inside his room.  Nancy feels her first stirrings of passion and is pleased when she has an opportunity to come to his aid after someone steals his BAFTA award out of his room.

I am a total Anglophile and love all things British--its literature, its music, its history, its art. I love writing about places I've traveled to, so in this story I have Nancy sighting-seeing at some of my favorite destinations in and around London.  She goes on a Jane Austen pilgrimage, visits Buckingham Palace, shops at Harrods, and goes to the Sherlock Holmes museum.  Nancy is very precocious and has read a lot, so when she tries to solve the case of the stolen mask, she channels Agatha Christie, Sherlock Holmes, and Rumpole of the Bailey.

This book is one of my favorite ones I've written and I hope my readers will like it, too.  So, come with Nancy Keene on a trip to London where she meets James Bond and even gets to walk the red carpet with him at the Oscars.  A bit of a stretch?  Of course, but a girl can dream, can't she?

The Stolen Mask: A Nancy Keene Mystery

By Louise Hathaway

Only $1.99

Purchase at Amazon

Purchase at iTunes

Purchase at Barnes & Noble

Purchase at Google Play

Purchase at Kobo

Purchase at Smashwords

A Book Inspired by Nancy Drew

The Buried Treasure on Route 66 is a humorous and PG-rated coming-of-age book about young love, rekindled old love, and a father who must learn to let his beloved daughter go. Its main character, Nancy Keene, a teenage sleuth, receives a brand new Prius from her father at her 18th birthday party and goes on a road trip on Route 66 to help a little old lady find a missing will. Along for the ride are her boyfriend and overprotective father.    

This eBook is available for only $1.99 at most online bookstores. 

 Also available in paperback at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.com

Amazon Apple B & N Smashwords


Kobo Google

Do You Believe in Ghosts?

Do you like Nancy Drew?  Do you like New Orleans? This humorous, PG-rated mystery about a teenager sleuth who's very similar to Nancy Drew is written especially for women baby boomers who grew up reading and loving the Nancy Drew series. Nancy Keene, the teenage sleuth in our story, goes on vacation with her father and friends to New Orleans.  What starts out as a sight-seeing trip, changes into a murder mystery when a docent at Oak Alley Plantation in murdered while they are there.  Part travelogue, part ghost story, this book mixes voodoo, ghosts, and bayous into a spicy gumbo of a whodunit. 

eBook available at all of your favorite online bookstores for only $2.99

Available in paperback at Amazon and Barnes and Noble

Amazon Apple B & N Smashwords

Kobo   Google

In Search of Lake Wobegon

My husband and I went on a pilgrimage to "Lake Wobegon" and visited many of the real places that inspired Garrison Keillor's make-believe town.  We even got a chance to meet him when he was coming out of a bookstore.  Here's a book, with pictures, of our experience.  It is told from the point of view of our teenage sleuth Nancy Keene.  A bachelor farmer goes missing and Nancy and her Dad are hot on the trail.

It just came out in paperback at Amazon.com and is also available as an eBook



Amazon Apple B & N Smashwords

Nancy Keene Mysteries

Hello dear readers,

Our publisher, Smashwords, has been encouraging its writers to take advantage of a tool called "Series Manager".  We've been a little hesitant to use this feature; mainly because of our fear that, by organizing our books in this fashion, it may turn off potential readers who don't want to "make the commitment" to buy 3 or 4 books in a series and read them in chronological order.  We've written each of our books in the "Nancy Keene Mysteries" and "Detective Santy Mysteries" as being contained unto themselves; but they do follow a chronological order.  So we're going to do a little experiment with our "Nancy Keene Mysteries" and label them Book 1, 2, and 3 and see if it results in "more discoverability" and therefore increased sales, as Smashwords predicts.  We'll let you know how it goes.  All of these titles are available at your favorite online bookstores.

Here is the Chronological Order of our Nancy Keene Mysteries:

Book 1: The Missing Bachelor Farmer (Nancy is 15)

Book 2: The Ghost in the Plantation (Nancy is 16)

Book 3: The Buried Treasure on Route 66 (Nancy is 18) 

Nancy goes to New Orleans, Lake Wobegon, and Takes A Road Trip On Route 66

If you're anything like me, now is the time of year when I start thinking about where I'd like to go on vacation in the upcoming year.  My husband and I have been fortunate enough to do a lot of traveling over the years.  Many of our favorite places show up in our books.
Our teenage sleuth, Nancy Keene, loves to travel, too.  Our three Nancy Keene' books have her trying to solve mysteries in New Orleans, Lake Wobegon, and on a road trip on Route 66.
  Our favorite U.S. city is New Orleans and we've been there many, many times.  Our mystery, "The Ghost in the Plantation" takes place there and we've tried incorporating as many of the locales of the Crescent City and Louisiana as possible.
We love the lore of Route 66, and after we went to Disney's California Adventure and saw the movie "Cars", we decided to write a story about the famous highway in "The Buried Treasure on Route 66".
  We've just come back from a pilgrimage to Minnesota where we searched for the fictional Lake Wobegon, and wrote a book called "The Missing Bachelor Farmer".   Check out our books at your favorite bookstores and we'll take you on a wonderful journey with our teenage sleuth, Nancy Keene.

Christmas Gifts for Book Lovers

Hello, everyone.  The Christmas season is officially here.  Are you wondering what to buy for that special person in your life who likes to read?  For baby boomers who grew up loving the Nancy Drew books, we wrote two PG rated mysteries about our teenage sleuth, Nancy Keene.  The books are:  "The Ghost in the Plantation" and "The Buried Treasure on Route 66".  Both are available in print on Amazon.com

Merry Christmas and Happy Reading,
Lewis Hathaway

The Missing Bachelor Farmer: A Nancy Keene Mystery

Our latest Nancy Keene Mystery is here! The Missing Bachelor Farmer is available at all your favorite ebook providers today. You're sure to love Nancy's latest escapades as she travels to Minnesota in search of Lake Wobegon and looking for some Fall color and finds that she can't stay far from sleuthing!

Check out our previously published works for more great reads!

The Missing Bachelor Farmer: A Nancy Keene Mystery

The husband and wife writing team of Louise Hathaway are at it again in their latest homage to the Nancy Drew series. The opening scene of this book has Nancy Keene, a teenage sleuth, longing for the change in seasons since she and her father moved to Santa Ana, California from their home in upstate New York. She tries to prepare for an outside Halloween party in the 90 degree weather of Southern California, with ashes from a nearby brush fire raining down on her while she tries to paint headstones. She and father listen to “A Prairie Home Companion” that night, just as they do together every Saturday at 6:00 PM. Nancy talks her father into taking her on a pilgrimage to Minnesota in search of the fictional town of Lake Wobegon and they end up as members of a search party when a bachelor farmer goes missing. You don’t have to be a Nancy Drew fan to enjoy this book: it is also a travelogue that takes you on a tour of the Twin Cities’ landmarks and also the real towns that Garrison Keillor partly bases his “Lake Wobegon” upon.

Good News: Our Books Are Now In Paper and E-book Formats

Hooray!! Both of our Nancy Keene Mysteries are now available in paper and e-book formats!

Now, you no longer need an e-reader, and can read our books, "The Buried Treasure on Route 66" and "The Ghost In The Plantation",  the good old-fashioned way.

Here's a link to the paperbacks