Read the original Nancy Drew mystery! The Secret of the Old Clock is the mystery that began it all for America's favorite teenaged slueth. The accidental rescue of a little girl who lives with her two great-aunts leads to an adventurous search for a missing will.
Kitty and Johnny Blair, two famous actors, adopt baby twins who were mysteriously found in a boat along the river. The cruel Blairs have only adopted the babies as a publicity stunt, as they hope to raise the children as actors, which will help their own careers. Nancy sets off to find their real mother and take them away from the Blairs.
Nancy is asked to locate a stolen pearl necklace that is unusual and very valuable. She soon learns that strange and dangerous people are responsible for the theft. They harass her at home and intensify it when she and her father go to Japan, until they finally manage to kidnap Nancy and her friend Ned Nickerson when she returns to River Heights. Through clever sleuthing, Nancy is able to penetrate the rites of an amazing group of pearl worshippers, some of whose members are far from devout, and she uncovers underhanded dealings of certain employees of World Wide Gems, Inc., a tremendous international jewelry company. Readers will love accompanying Nancy, disguised as a Japanese girl, in this adventure in Tokyo.
Nancy becomes involved in another mystery when she accepts an invitation from Mrs. Chantrey, a client of Mr. Drew, to vacation at her cottage in a picturesque seaside town. Carson Drew has promised to join his daughter, but fails to arrive. The alarming disappearance of Mr. Drew and the odd circumstances surrounding his rescue are only the start of a series of highly dangerous adventures for Nancy and her friends Bess and George. Mrs. Chantrey’s story about a nearby Cliffside cave reputedly inhabited by a ghost intrigues Nancy and she decides to investigate. Several frightened townspeople claim to have seen an apparition and heard the weird sounds of a tolling bell just before water rushes from the cave. Will Nancy discover the true cause of these mysterious occurences?