Dude Ranch Detective is the 37th book in the Nancy Drew Notebooks series. It was first published in August 2000. The cover tagline says “Nancy’s riding high–until her favorite pony disappears!”
Back of the Book Summary:
A spooky legend ropes Nancy right in!
At the Galloping Grits Dude Ranch, Nancy and her friends hear a creepy story: Any horse that drinks from the lake under a full moon disappears. That night there’s a full moon–and the next day Nancy’s pony, Star, vanishes!
Josh Fleckner is the biggest pest in the West, and he really wants a horse. Annie, the ranch manager’s daughter, acts as if Star belongs to her. Now cowgirl Nancy is taking the reins, to corral the most beautiful Star in the West!
Inside Teaser:
Now you see them, now you don’t!
The kids were gathered around the campfire, roasting marshm
allows, when Ron said, “Why doesn’t Annie tell one of her famous ghost stories?”
“Okay,” Annie said. “I’ll tell you the story of the drinking horse of Galloping Grits.”
Everyone became silent. The only sound was the crackle of the campfire.
Annie’s eyes were on Nancy as she began to speak. “Every summer one pony on this ranch…disappears.”
“Oh no!” Bess gasped.
Annie nodded. “And it always happens on the night of a full moon.”
“There’s a full moon tonight!” George declared. “I believe that story. Do you, Nancy?”
Nancy shook her head. “It’s a good story. But ponies can’t just disappear.”
Bess gave a little shiver. “I sure hope not…” she said softly.
Review:
Nancy and George join Bess and her parents on a vacation to Galloping Grits Dude Ranch. After having fun swimming, riding, visiting the gift shop, their day ends with a campfire cookout and a ghost story. The next day, Nancy’s favorite horse is gone.
They start suspecting other kids visiting the ranch and also the ranch manager’s daughter, but also a few ranch hands who are acting suspiciously. The girls eavesdrop, find clues and follow up on leads, but also lie about needing to use the bathroom as an excuse to snoop somewhere else. at one moment Bess is afraid of getting her new blouse dirty and George chastises her, saying “Oh stop being so prissy!”
The ranch has a lot of fun cliches for the girls to enjoy, making this theme rich for readers. Some mild teasing occurs, and the ending climaxes in a wonderful surprise.
Nancy Drew Canon Observations:
Nancy is described as having reddish-blond hair with bangs. She keeps a blue notebook for her sleuthing, using her pencil with a dolphin eraser. In this story, she and her friends have already had riding lessons back in River Heights of which aids their experience in riding horses on this ranch. The story mentions Hannah Gruen, the Drew housekeeper, who has cared for the Drews since Nancy’s mom died when she was three.
George’s real name is Georgia and is described as having curly dark hair and brown eyes.
Bess, George’s cousin, has long blonde hair and blue eyes. She wears horseshoe-shaped earrings in one scene.
Extra Notes:
Published for Minstrel by Pocket Books, a division of Simon & Schuster.
Cover art by Joanie Schwarz. Inside pages are illustrated by Jan Naimo Jones.
Length: 71 pages in the main story (more with the title page, series lists, and ads).
