Books in Nancy Drew: Girl Detective series

When George's mom asks Bess, George, and me to help her cater a benefit for the library, we're all on board. The event is a Jane Austen-themed party, and George even agrees to wear a dress for the occasion. It seems like the party isn't everyone's cup of tea. The bed-and-breakfast where the event is being held has been plagued by vandalism. Someone is breaking teapots, making a mess, booby-trapping the staircase, and generally terrorizing the old couple that runs the place. No one can figure out how the mysterious intruder is getting in and out of the house--and that's where I come in. I plan on solving this faster than I can get to the bottom of a cup of Darjeeling.

Dad, Bess, and I are all set for London when Ned's Shakespeare professor asks us to do a simple favor: to take a look at his townhouse while we're there, since he can't seem to locate the housekeeper and fears something's wrong. Sounds easy enough, so I take the key.Eager to cross the favor off our list, we stop by 53 Banbury Square shortly after we land. And let's just say things in the townhouse aren't quite tip-top. And the key? Well, it unlocks a Pandora's box of serious trouble.

San Francisco has tons to offer tourists like Bess, George, and me. Fresh crabs, cable cars, hikes -- and stalkers! Well, maybe "stalkers!" is a little harsh, but this older couple, Ed and Harriet, keeps popping up everywhere.Coincidental or not, Ed and Harriet's appearances are smelling fishier than San Francisco Bay to me. So the investigation begins. But who knew it'd lead to more sleuthing -- in "Hawaii?"

A prince is in River Heights. A "prince!" Granted, he's from a relatively minor royal family, but still. This is big news.The headlines get even bigger once the prince is found toting a painting for his family's good friend Mrs. Mahoney -- because within hours of his arrival, the federal authorities arrest him. They suspect he "stole" the painting from his family.Dad and I aren't buying it. We have a hunch there's more to this -- "ahem" -- picture. But can we save the prince before he's wrongfully crowned "criminal"?

Just as I'm gearing up to help plan the Mahoney Library's seventy-fifth anniversary celebration, the beautiful old clock, the very centerpiece of the library, is stolen. There's nothing like a good theft to stop a party!Naturally, I throw down the streamers and get to work. Turns out lots of people wanted that clock -- and what's inside. If I don't hustle, this might become two crimes instead of one....

There's been a snake-napping at the River Heights Zoo, and all clues about the thief seem to point in my good friend Charlie's direction. But why would Charlie want to steal a snake? I'm not convinced he's the perpetrator, but with all the circumstantial evidence that keeps popping up, the cops are on the other side of the fence.Speaking of snakes, George's younger brother, Scott, has been slithering around a lot lately, all sneaky-like. He's not acting like himself, but his lips are sealed about what's wrong. Do these mysteries have anything to do with each other?Stick around. I'm about to find out!

A Civil War reenactment should be fun, right? Not in our town! It feels like war fever's taken over. The tension started to build when we all chose sides. Confederate and Union sympathizers never did mix. And if that wasn't enough to heat things up, someone started to secretly dig large holes in the battlefield. Pretty odd -- and very suspicious. Is someone waging a little war of their own, and trying to cheat? And if so, the bigger question is "why?"

Bess, George, and I are heading down to Key Largo, Florida, to enjoy some fun in the sun with my old friend, marine biologist Delia Duke. But it seems that Delia's state park is clouded over with mystery: Someone has been poaching the park's rare butterfly orchids. Their future depends on us!George seems more interested in searching for treasure in the "Catalina," an old sunken Spanish galleon, than in hunting for an orchid thief. My hope is that George, Bess, Delia, and I can save two priceless treasures in one fell swoop.

When George, Bess and I headed to Brody's Junction, Vermont, to help George's cousin with her cafe's website and enjoy a brief vacation, we were looking forward to some downtime -- "not" to landing in the middle of a media circus. Hundreds of tourists have invaded the town to watch purported UFO sightings. Odder still are reports of townspeople being abducted, and the strange clues that seem to point to little green men as the culprits. All this speculation has the town going wild, and I hope to have a close encounter with some hard facts before things spin entirely out of control....