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Nancy Drew Files #16
Never Say Die
Nancy investigates some "accidents", involving her friend George, which have been occuring around the bicycle racetrack.
150 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
9 people are currently reading
447 people want to read
About the author
Carolyn Keene
1,281Ìýbooks3,723ÌýfollowersCarolyn Keene is a writer pen name that was used by many different people- both men and women- over the years. The company that was the creator of the Nancy Drew series, the Stratemeyer Syndicate, hired a variety of writers. For Nancy Drew, the writers used the pseudonym Carolyn Keene to assure anonymity of the creator.
Edna and Harriet Stratemeyer inherited the company from their father Edward Stratemeyer. Edna contributed 10 plot outlines before passing the reins to her sister Harriet. It was Mildred Benson (aka: Mildred A. Wirt), who breathed such a feisty spirit into Nancy's character. Mildred wrote 23 of the original 30 Nancy Drew Mystery Stories®, including the first three. It was her characterization that helped make Nancy an instant hit. The Stratemeyer Syndicate's devotion to the series over the years under the reins of Harriet Stratemeyer Adams helped to keep the series alive and on store shelves for each succeeding generation of girls and boys. In 1959, Harriet, along with several writers, began a 25-year project to revise the earlier Carolyn Keene novels. The Nancy Drew books were condensed, racial stereotypes were removed, and the language was updated. In a few cases, outdated plots were completely rewritten.
Other writers of Nancy Drew volumes include Harriet herself, she wrote most of the series after Mildred quit writing for the Syndicate and in 1959 began a revision of the first 34 texts. The role of the writer of "Carolyn Keene" passed temporarily to Walter Karig who wrote three novels during the Great Depression. Also contributing to Nancy Drew's prolific existence were Leslie McFarlane, James Duncan Lawrence, Nancy Axelrod, Priscilla Doll, Charles Strong, Alma Sasse, Wilhelmina Rankin, George Waller Jr., and Margaret Scherf.
Edna and Harriet Stratemeyer inherited the company from their father Edward Stratemeyer. Edna contributed 10 plot outlines before passing the reins to her sister Harriet. It was Mildred Benson (aka: Mildred A. Wirt), who breathed such a feisty spirit into Nancy's character. Mildred wrote 23 of the original 30 Nancy Drew Mystery Stories®, including the first three. It was her characterization that helped make Nancy an instant hit. The Stratemeyer Syndicate's devotion to the series over the years under the reins of Harriet Stratemeyer Adams helped to keep the series alive and on store shelves for each succeeding generation of girls and boys. In 1959, Harriet, along with several writers, began a 25-year project to revise the earlier Carolyn Keene novels. The Nancy Drew books were condensed, racial stereotypes were removed, and the language was updated. In a few cases, outdated plots were completely rewritten.
Other writers of Nancy Drew volumes include Harriet herself, she wrote most of the series after Mildred quit writing for the Syndicate and in 1959 began a revision of the first 34 texts. The role of the writer of "Carolyn Keene" passed temporarily to Walter Karig who wrote three novels during the Great Depression. Also contributing to Nancy Drew's prolific existence were Leslie McFarlane, James Duncan Lawrence, Nancy Axelrod, Priscilla Doll, Charles Strong, Alma Sasse, Wilhelmina Rankin, George Waller Jr., and Margaret Scherf.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
July 31, 2023
A Quickie Review
Another great volume in this long series. It may be more of the same as in the previous novels, but, as the saying goes: If it's not broke, don't fix it.
Score: 4/5
Another great volume in this long series. It may be more of the same as in the previous novels, but, as the saying goes: If it's not broke, don't fix it.
Score: 4/5
March 18, 2009
I devoured this series and wrote "book reports" before I returned the books to the library. :)
May 7, 2009
this book is a cool murder mystery that is really exciting!
March 9, 2023
Pros:
Easy and quick to read
Nacy Drew
Cons:
Plot not that interesting or clever
Neither story nor characters engaging
Easy and quick to read
Nacy Drew
Cons:
Plot not that interesting or clever
Neither story nor characters engaging
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 24, 2016
This books was so annoying, I mean REALLY. I kept hoping someone would manage to kill George, since she really didn't seem to care. I also wished that Nancy would somehow end up dead as well.
January 8, 2021
3 stars. This was another fun installment in the series. I liked that it was another case that was close to Nancy as this was about someone trying to kill her best friend, George. I feel like cases like these are really great for Nancy and her character development. I can't believe I'm sixteen books into this series.
July 4, 2020
Transparent culprit, but nice ending with a focus on the trio's friendship: it's sweet to learn that Georgia admires her cousin (also nice to have continuity: her boyfriend is the same guy from "Murder on Ice")
November 27, 2020
This one was a little off compared to the other books. The tone was different throughout, as if it had a new ghostwriter who wasn’t sure how to write the characters yet.
It was still fun, though, and it was nice to see Jon from the skiing book again!
It was still fun, though, and it was nice to see Jon from the skiing book again!
May 4, 2021
Predictable, but a good read.
April 30, 2022
My summary/review:
(Spoilers!)
(Spoilers!)
January 7, 2025
I think I’m in the minority but I liked the Case Files better than the classic Nancy Drew books
August 1, 2022
The guilty person was so obvious, my god
April 4, 2019
I read Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys throughout my school and college days.
Nancy Drew is an amateur detective who solves crimes with occasional help from her best friends, Bess and George and, her boyfriend Ned. She also has occasional help from her father Carson Drew who runs a private law practice. From finding stolen goods to missing persons and solving mysterious happenings, Nancy is a force of nature.
Until I discovered that Carolyn Keene is a pen name for a whole bunch of ghostwriters, I used to feel confused about the slight differences in each character from books to book over the many series of Nancy Drew mysteries. I like the character of Nancy best in the original books written by Mildred Wirt Benson where Nancy is truly a character to root for � an independent and street smart girl with a penchant for trouble.
Nancy Drew is an amateur detective who solves crimes with occasional help from her best friends, Bess and George and, her boyfriend Ned. She also has occasional help from her father Carson Drew who runs a private law practice. From finding stolen goods to missing persons and solving mysterious happenings, Nancy is a force of nature.
Until I discovered that Carolyn Keene is a pen name for a whole bunch of ghostwriters, I used to feel confused about the slight differences in each character from books to book over the many series of Nancy Drew mysteries. I like the character of Nancy best in the original books written by Mildred Wirt Benson where Nancy is truly a character to root for � an independent and street smart girl with a penchant for trouble.
January 2, 2015
This was the first files book that i have read in the series and it was very exciting! It was filled with suspense and action, and the mystery kept me guessing! And the characteristics and feelings of Nancy and her friends actually felt real to me, unlike the original books where their characteristics and feelings felt kinda bland! Although Nancy didn't do much investigating and the culprit being pretty obvious, this was a really good book and i very much enjoyed it!
September 20, 2012
I probably owned and read about 25 of these books. I was convinced I could be smart as she was, but pretty and blond was not going to happen.
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July 24, 2014Jon from nancy drew files #3 re-appears - unheard of - and is training George for bike racing. Nancy helps find a stolen computer program - on a floppy disk. figured this one out early on.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
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